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| Photo courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography, Free Digital Photos |
A Life of Obedience
by Andrew Murray (1828-1917) is
an old Christian classic I hadn’t read before. I’m glad I read it now. As God
usually works, He puts the right information in your path at the right time.
This book is shorter and easier to read than I expected from that time period.
Mr. Murray begins with “The Place of Obedience in
Scripture,” which is the foundation for the rest of the book. About man in the
Garden of Eden: “Note how obedience to the command is the one virtue of Paradise,
the one condition of man’s abiding there, the one thing his Creator asks of
him. Nothing is said of faith or humility or love—obedience covers all.”
At the very end of the Bible, in Revelation 22:14, we
read, Blessed
are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of
life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. So, all through the Bible, “from beginning to end, from
Paradise lost to Paradise regained, the law is unchanged: it is obedience that
gives access to the tree of life and the favor of God. How was the change
effected? The Cross of Christ. From disobedience at the beginning that closed
the way to the tree of life, to obedience at the end that gave entrance to it
again, that which stands midway between the beginning and the end is the Cross
of Christ.”
This is very basic stuff and
provides a complete understanding of the message of grace in the Bible.
Mr. Murray speaks of Abraham’s
obedience: “a will completely yielded to God’s will.” He notes that the book of
Deuteronomy uses the word obey more
frequently than any other biblical book. Blessing is guaranteed when Israel
obeys and cursing if the people don’t. Murray says, “God will not honor the man
who is not obedient.”
There’s lots more in this book!
Mr. Murray talks about how we learn to obey, personal devotions, and what Jesus
said about obedience. It’s all good teaching, and I know it will be a great
blessing to your own walk with God.
I highly recommend A Life of Obedience to you.
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