In the beginning, God had a plan to rescue us from wickedness. Over the next centuries, through His prophets, He would remind and assure us of His promises. In the meantime, He gave us laws to protect us from our impulsiveness which leads us into ourselves and out of His presence.
When Jesus came into the world, He paid the penalty for sin by taking it in full upon Himself in fidelity to His Father. There is no greater act of love anyone can show than this. In His life, death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled both prophecy and law. Now, He gives us a new law – the law of Love. And He gives us a new prophecy, that of His second coming. God was perfect in keeping all of His previous promises and He’s not about to start failing now.
In gratitude, our most natural response is living in fidelity to our loving Savior. Of course, we know that fidelity cannot exist in the absence of obedience. Jesus declares by Himself that those who live in fidelity to Him are faithful to keep His commands. And nestled perfectly within Jesus’ law of love rests His command to lovingly share our salvation with others in our continually making disciples for Him.
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 NLT
