Posted by rayww on October 25, 2004, at 14:08:46
What is the meaning of the word, command?
The entire Bible is a book of commandments. With every commandment there is listed a negative and positive consequense. It is laid out very clearly for instance that if we get laid by anyone other than our legal and lawful spouse of opposite sex, there will be serious consequenses, not only in this life but the hereafter. It also affords us the opportunity to repent and make all things right with God. (atonement)
I see the word "command" as a synonym for "covenant".
God might say, "I covenant with you that if you will keep my commandments you can live with me forever, for my house is an house of order and no unclean thing can enter therein."1 John 3 is an example of a commandment with a clearly outlined consequense. http://scriptures.lds.org/1_jn/3/23#23. Verse 24 states: And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
If we interchange the word covenants with commandments, it gives us an understanding of what we must do and how we must live if we want to be a spiritual person. So, the commandment, or covenant God makes with his children if we love one another and treat each other with goodness, is that we will be filled with his presence through the spirit. It is more than just a feeling. It is a nearness to God, a protection, a sense that no matter what happens in life all will be well.
God has never given a commandment without covenant. God's promises to man cannot be broken. It should behove each of us to study and learn what these covenants are. Since God's covenant cannot be broken because He does not lie, and since His commandments can be broken, it implies that we may choose our own eternal destiny. Freedom, agency, and accountability is a serious matter.
When God issues a commandment it is done through love, not condemnation. Each command is a thing of divine love, a love so powerful we have no comprehension of how great it is.
http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=%22condemn+the+world%22&search.x=37&search.y=12
poster:rayww
thread:407075
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20040914/msgs/407075.html