From last week’s Sermon of Sunday the 27th of June 2021, we learnt about some of the Laws of Health that God gave the children of Israel through His friend Moses. The context of the Mosaic Laws is; first, the Laws were given to Israel at the time they were on the journey from slavery into the Promised Land. Second, the Laws were given to the children of Israel at the time when the Presence of the LORD was with them 24/7 as a pillar of fire during the night and pillar of cloud during the day.
The implication from the above is that inspite of the Presence of the LORD being with the children of Israel, they still had a responsibility to obey God’s Laws. Therefore, being with the Presence of God is not an exemption from obedience of God’s Word. Even as children of God born to Him through Jesus Christ have His Presence dwell in them by the Holy Spirit, that is not a license for them not to obey God’s Laws.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 and verse 13 says, “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: … 13 The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.” There is a level of blessedness that the Presence of God does impart but it does not take away individual responsibility to obey God’s Word. The level of blessedness mentioned in the above verses was the kind that can only be attained through obedience of God’s Word.
Deuteronomy 28:15 says, “15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:” There were clearly laid out consequences for disobedience of God’s Word. This is important for followers of Jesus Christ to put into perspective too that His death at Calvary did not take away our responsibility to obey God’s commands either but rather paves the way for all to have it fulfilled God’s way.
Galatians 5:1 and 5:13-14 say, “1 Stand[a] fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage… 13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The above scripture guides and instructs that the liberty we have as children of God in Christ Jesus is the kind that brings the opportunity to love one another because in doing so, we fulfill the entire law. In other words, when we observe Biblical laws of Health, we are practicing loving our neighbors. Since none of us is exempted from loving one’s neighbor which fulfills all the law, we can safely conclude that neither has Jesus Christ provided the children of God an exemption from fulfilling all the law.
Galatians6:7-8 says, “7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” The reference to Man in this scripture does include both believers and non-believers in Jesus Christ. – all are subject to the law of sowing and reaping. How does sowing in the flesh look like?
Galatians 5:19-21 says, “19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: [d]adultery, [e]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, [f]murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” When we practice the above works, we are sowing in the flesh and our reaping is corruption whose ultimate price is failure to inherit everlasting life – period!
In conclusion, none of us – irrespective of our faith in Jesus Christ, is exempted from fulfilling all the law which is about loving one’s neighbor as oneself. In observing the law of love, we are fulfilling the entire law. On the other hand, in observing the law of sowing and reaping by sowing in the Spirit, we harvest everlasting life. We are deceiving ourselves when we think that we who are born-again are exempted from the law of sowing and reaping when it comes to reaping the consequences of continuously practicing the works of the flesh. The grace of God does not exempt us from observing His eternal law of sowing and reaping. Just as continuous practice of sowing in the flesh denies one from inheriting the Kingdom of God, practicing sowing in the Spirit makes such a one reap everlasting life.
By Dr. Dennis K. Mugimba