Limited Power of Consequences

Back in December, I gave a message on the profound meeting of the words of Thomas, My Lord, My God. And I wanted to follow up that sermon with another message talking about the progression of what it takes to get to that point, to be able to say, My Lord and My God, and have that sort of belief, that love, that passion, that energy. With Passover being tomorrow evening, this is an interesting time because hopefully we've gone through a process of self-examination. Hopefully we've been asking ourselves questions about where we are on our spiritual journey towards truly loving God, the first commandment, and loving our neighbor, that second one after it. We know that God is love, and He loves and cares for us, and it is from this love that we desire to keep God's commandments. I think we know this. We hopefully hear this every week in services. Hopefully we are digesting that and meditating on that through the week. But the reality is that this journey is often a two-steps-forward-and-one-step-back process because we just don't always get it right. Then there are things that come out and we realize, Oh, I didn't handle that well, or I'm not really doing that with the right attitude. And there's sin, and that's why we have to pass over. Because we sin, and there's nothing we can do. It's built into our DNA to do that, and yet we are progressing towards this kingdom, and we're putting that sin away, and we're examining why we do these things and what our motivations are. And so there's this natural human weakness in our human condition. And this is where fear enters into our thinking. And when I say that, to be more precise, what I mean is there's a certain fear of consequences that can come in. For example, we may know that we shouldn't steal. Pretty simple. I don't think any of us would walk into a 7-11 and steal something, as I've told you before. But, you know, we might be tempted to do something because we're in a difficult situation. Maybe we feel we've been wrong in some way, and maybe we deserve it. But, you know, we might not steal just because we fear the consequences of that. Even though we maybe could justify our rationale. We know there will be consequences. There's a camera in the 7-11 that will catch us, you know. Or, well, if we do that, you know, the IRS is going to... they're going to catch me. I just can't do that, you know. And if they do, that'll be really a mess. And so sometimes we don't do things because of the consequences for what that might be, you know. Sometimes a man might be tempted to cheat on his wife, or a wife might be tempted to cheat on her husband. But, you know, the consequences of what that would mean. The consequences can be so devastating in our minds that even though we might be tempted, the consequences themselves might just keep us from doing that. And so we can say that person didn't technically break the commandment, but the motivation wasn't quite what it should have been. And in fact, sin was probably already taking place because there was such that, that sort of, you know, entertaining of that thought. And so consequences can often be a big motivation for why we do things. And I'd ask you to look over it in Colossians 3 verse 23, because there's another side of the coined consequences. Because a lot of times we can say, well, you know, consequences. But actually, sometimes our obedience can be transactional, and the other side of the coin from that can be our desire to be rewarded for doing something good.

So we do it because we'd like to get a reward. We'd like to be blessed for obedience. Okay, so now that's beginning to get a little closer to maybe some of our thinking. Like, you know, yeah, I want to do what's right, and God said, He'll bless me if I do what's right. And look at Colossians 3 verse 23, and let's actually see this here. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ. So there's nothing wrong with doing it because you want to get blessed. You know, Paul says, you know, do it heartily, knowing that the Lord will, you will receive a reward. And so really, I think these verses are often the starting point for a lot of us when it comes to obedience. They're just starting point. We have fear of consequences. We want to be blessed for doing good. But then, ultimately, we're going to talk about doing it because we love God. Right? Because that's, you know, if you love me, keep the commandments. How can all three of these things be true?

I did it because I feared I was going to get caught. I did it because I wanted to be blessed. And I did it because I love God. Can all three of these things be simultaneously true?

Or is there some sort of progression that we might be going through here as we learn to understand how to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God? And so today, I want to talk about this spiritual maturity, this journey in relation to understanding the commandments, understanding how to love God, understanding how to say my Lord and my God, and really understanding what that ultimate maturity is.

And I think we'll see there's a natural progression from thinking about what we're going to get by following God to understanding what it means to abide with God. Just do it because we want to just be with God. One can be legalistic. God, where's my reward?

I'm waiting. One can lead to frustration. The other, in my view, is filled with grace and joy that comes from a long-term vision of what it means to become the image of Jesus Christ, to become like God, to be one as they are one, as it says. And so in this sermon, I want to cover four points. We're going to talk about how God dealt with the physical nation of Israel in terms of rewards and punishments. We're going to look at a progression that we see in the Apostle Peter from a state of rewards to a state of just abiding with God.

We're going to see how this understanding can often send people down the wrong path of not thinking the law is necessary. And finally, I'm just going to ask some questions of myself and of us in terms of where we are in this progression. The title I've put on today's message is The Limited Power of Consequences. The limited power of consequences. Because what we'll see in the end is if we're doing this for fear of something or to get something, in the long term, it's not going to work. Consequences only have a limited power on us. So the first point I want to go through is that transgressing God's law has consequences. Transgressing God's law has consequences. Let's go to Deuteronomy 28. This might be a familiar verse. I remember hearing this verse many times growing up in the church. Deuteronomy 28, blessings and cursings. Deuteronomy 28.

And let's see this basic equation that is outlined in Scripture for us. The consequences of keeping or disobeying God's law. Deuteronomy 28. Now it shall come to pass, verse 1, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God to observe carefully all his commandments, which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. There's the formula. Obedience equals blessings. It's right there, black and white. And then what follows from verse 3 to verse 14 are 11 verses of blessings. If you do this, you will receive this. If you do this, you'll receive it. And it's very straightforward. And then in verse 15 we see the other side. But it shall come to pass if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God to observe carefully all the commandments and his statutes, which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.

And so then from that point forward we see disobedience is equal to a curse. And from verse 16 to verse 68, 48 verses of cursings. 48, a lot more. The nation of Israel operated in this way. If they obeyed God, God would bless them. And if they disobeyed, they suffered the consequences of their disobedience. And we can sometimes operate at this level ourselves as well. Personally, when I was a teenager, when I was a young man growing up in the church, I looked around and I saw a lot of people suffering from consequences of bad decisions.

My dad had left the church and the crowd he ran with, I saw a lot of issues.

I saw anger. I saw addiction. I saw divorce. I saw failed relationships. At that time, it was during the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. I saw literally people dying from the consequences of their actions. And I saw being baptized and following God's way as a path to success in my little 18-year-old brain. If I'm going to be blessed and successful and have some of the things that are really meaningful to me, I'm going to obey God because God said He's going to bless me if I obey Him. And you can read Deuteronomy 28, and I think it's just as applicable today. It hasn't changed, and you can look through the Bible and you can see that all the way through. He would bless me with family financially, give me help. My list was very long. Maybe your list is long, too. That's how I thought. And frankly, that's how I still think, but there's a little something that I've learned along the way.

In fact, I felt God did bless me. I don't feel He did. I feel incredibly blessed, richly blessed. And that went on for about 10 years, and then something changed. God took a break.

And if our conversion and baptism are about getting something from God, if we obey God only to get something, then where's the love? I mean, think about it just on a physical term. If we're in a relationship, let's say we're married, and if our marriage is all about what we're going to get from the other person, right? If I do all this for you, honey, then you'll give me all this. And if that's what your relationship is based on, that's not going to last. That's not going to last, because the other person isn't always going to come through, and you're not always going to come through, and then there's going to be problems.

Now, a marriage can't be based upon what you get from the other person. If I give you these things, then you'll give me those things. I mean, yeah, that's there, too, but it's got to be more than that. It's got to be more than just about consequences or getting something from the other person. If a husband and wife only operate in a way that is based on what they get from one another, it's not going to last. And our relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ is not going to last that way, either.

Let's see how this attitude was demonstrated in Matthew 19. This touches on this progression in the Apostle Peter. Matthew 19 verse 23, we'll see Peter... we'll call it the teenage version of Peter. Obviously, he was married, although maybe he was married as a teenager. You know, people got married younger, but you'll see the younger version of Matthew... of Peter here that Matthew describes. Matthew 19 verse 23, Jesus said to his disciples, Assurely I say to you that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

And then his disciples heard it, and they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looked at them and said to them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. So there's this story that is about this rich young ruler, and who's going to be in the kingdom, and so forth. And you know, I mean, this is... if you were listening to this story, how would you respond to this? What would be your response? Would you say, Oh, that's amazing! Thank you so much for sharing that. I've learned so much from you, you know, Master, thank you. What else can you tell me?

But what was Peter's response? So this is what Peter says. Then Peter answered and said to him, See, we have left all and followed you. Therefore, what shall we have? What are we going to get? You know, we've worked really hard here. What are we going to get? And the way the Greek is rendered, you can look at different commentaries on this, it implies that Peter is asking basically, What's he going to get in return for the sacrifice that he's made? I think what we have here is a give and take relationship.

What are you going to do for us? And you know what's interesting is that at this stage in Peter's conversion, just like I think in my stage when I was a younger man, God is very kind and merciful, and he answers us just where we're at. Jesus said to him, Surely I say to you that in the regeneration when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. When we're new to the faith, God wants to encourage and bless us with our obedience. And like a loving father, he wants to see us prosper and follow him.

And he's going to say, You follow me and I'm going to bless you. And that's what he says to Peter right here. But I think as we mature, he also wants to know that our motivation is more than just what we're going to get. He wants to know that what we're going to do is because we just want to be with him. We just want to be with our Father.

And this brings me to my second point here, that we must grow to where we keep God's way, not to avoid punishment, or not to reap some sort of a gain, but because we love God. We've got to move beyond just this particular point. And again, in my personal journey, about 10 years after I was baptized, I was faced with a lot of difficult trials, and I wondered what I was doing wrong. What happened? God, I used to, you know, if I changed, is there something I'm doing wrong? Why wasn't God blessing me? Well, blessing we put in parentheses, right? Or we put them in quotation marks. It seemed that I had followed the formula correctly, and yet it wasn't happening. I want you to notice a change in the way that God dealt with Peter in John 21.

This is three and a half years later, three years later. We're guessing at the number of years, but let's say the beginning of Peter's time with Jesus towards the end of Peter's time with Jesus as a physical being on this earth. And let's see how God dealt with Peter here in John 21 verse 18.

John 21 verse 18, Most assuredly I say to you, this is Jesus speaking to Peter, When you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you up and carry you where you do not wish. Okay, well, what about the blessings, God? What about the 12 thrones?

What we see here, verse 19, he says, This he spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, Follow me.

Ooh, this is a little different. Now, now Jesus is saying to Peter, You're going to die, and it's going to be unpleasant. Follow me.

So I expect obedience, but there won't always be incredible blessings that come from that. There will be difficulties and trials as well that will come. So it's a little bit of a different message. Peter is ready, without him recognizing maybe that he was, he was ready to move to another level of obedience, an obedience that could lead to persecution and even death. Go back and read the previous few verses. I think we're familiar with the story. What was it that Jesus wanted to really get across to Peter in this story? And we see it in verse 15. So when they had eaten, again, John 21, 15, so when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon, Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?

And he said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And he said to him, Feed my lambs, do my work. If you love me, do my work. Feed my lambs. Verse 16. And he said to him again, a second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? And he said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And he said to him, tend my sheep. And there's lots in here. I think we studied it. There's a lot of meaning to the feed and the tend and all sorts of things. And that's not my intention to go into that detail as much that you walk away with the term love. Verse 17. Then he said to him a third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? And Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. Jesus knew that Peter was ready to move to another level of understanding of what obedience meant. And maybe Peter didn't know, but Jesus knew. And sometimes God knows something about us that we don't know, that it's time to move to another level of spiritual maturity. Peter had gone through a lot of things with Jesus, and Jesus told him this time that obedience would mean a difficult death. Now, again, if you were told this, what would your response be?

Well, let's see what Peter's response was in verse 20. Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on his breast at the supper, and said, Lord, who is the one who betrays you? And Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, but Lord, what about this man? So Peter's not quite there yet. He's like, okay, all right. Well, you know, if there's going to be bad news, I want to know about what's going to happen to the other people around me. Are they also going to get bad news? Is there some bad news also for them? Verse 22, Jesus said to him, If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?

You follow me. Jesus said, don't worry about the other person. It's between you and me.

And Jesus asked, will you follow me, even if it doesn't bring you obvious blessings?

So I think we're seeing a progression of understanding. I believe there's a process of growth from obedience to avoid consequences, obedience to obtain blessings, to obedience because we love God.

And personally, I had to learn this myself, as I described, coming to understand that God was interested in blessing me, but he was also interested in the kind of relationship he had with me.

And my relationship needed to go to another level.

Like I said, it's two steps forward and one step back, and I've done a lot of the two steps forward and sometimes one step forward and two steps back, but hopefully there's always a step forward.

Let's see how the Apostle Peter understands obedience a third time in 1 Peter 2 verse 21.

And this would be at the end of his life. We saw the young Peter, the Peter who was told he needed to go to another level, and now Peter at the end of his life writing to the church, sharing something that is difficult to understand sometimes but is the truth about what it means to be a disciple. 1 Peter 2 verse 21, For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. He suffered and we're going to suffer.

Obedience can mean suffering as well as blessing.

Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in his mouth. When he was reviled did not revile on return, and when he suffered he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.

Peter's understanding now goes beyond getting a promise to sit on thrones and rule over 12 tribes, or even learning to not look at the other person and begin to compare himself with that other person. Peter understands that just as Jesus trusted his father and remained faithful despite the difficulties and the persecution, that he too must trust God and learn to love God to the point of suffering and persecution.

I think the apostle Paul sums this up well in Philippians 3 verse 8.

If you turn over there, Philippians 3 verse 8.

Philippians 3, 8, But indeed I also count all things loss, for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered, the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish.

That I may gain Christ. God, nothing else really matters. All those other things that I was interested in when I was younger, they don't really matter. Like, my relationship with you matters.

So let me go to the third point here, because at this point, maybe you're visiting... I don't know if we've got visitors here today. Maybe people who might listen to this, who are from a Catholic or Protestant persuasion, I think they'd agree. We need to obey God out of love. That's not too earth-shattering, and not out of fear of consequences. But where traditional Christianity goes off the rails, is when they start saying that we no longer need the law, because we're keeping God's faith and truth out of love.

Though they would say the law is no longer necessary, because we love God, and we'll do these things without having to worry about what the law says.

And that's completely false.

People ask me, why do you keep the commandments? I keep the commandments because I love God. That's true. I keep the commandments because they're commanded by God to keep. That's also true. I don't get a choice.

There are consequences to failing to keep God's law. That's true.

And I'd like to run through a section in the book of Galatians that I think explains well this concept. I think Paul had some of these things in mind. We'll go to Galatians 3, verse 19. We're pretty close to it here.

Because sometimes we can go off the rails here, too. Oh, I love God so much. I love you God. I'm doing these things. But then when temptation comes, and we have a weak point, that love maybe isn't strong enough, and maybe the consequences need to kick in a little bit. There are consequences for failing to obey God.

Galatians 3, verse 19.

What purpose, then, does the law serve? I'm breaking into the middle of thought.

But it's a good question. What's the point of the law?

It was given, or it was added, because of transgressions. Till the seed should come to him, to whom the promise was made. And it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now, a mediator does not mediate for only one, but God is one.

So there's a lot here. It's not my intention to explain the whole book of Galatians, but to bring out how Paul is describing this concept of maturity from consequences to love.

And in the letter here to Galatians, Paul was combating teachers who wanted to have everyone in the church focus on being righteous before God because of all the wonderful things they were doing. They were keeping all these traditions and laws and very, very tightly done things. And they were going to show God how good they were, and God was going to bless them because of all the strict obedience that they had.

And to combat this heresy, Paul went back to the covenant with Abraham. And he showed that Abraham's faith was based on belief, and obedience came after that. He believed God, and therefore he obeyed God.

And then there's a virtuous cycle that comes from that we understand of love and so forth. And Paul showed that God made a covenant with Abraham, and through the covenant all nations would be would be blessed. And so here in verse 19, Paul says that God made this covenant with Moses and the nation of Israel, and it was added to this covenant. It was added. That's a very important word.

It was added. The other one wasn't canceled. This was added to this covenant, to this Abrahamic covenant, because people were doing things that were contrary to God's intention, and they were sinning. And by adding more details about what God expected of his people, Israel would understand what leads to sin, and people could avoid sinning.

Verse 21. And you can go through this. You know, we're going through a Bible reading program in the French-speaking areas, and we're going through Genesis right now. And you can see God's commandments all the way through there, with Joseph fleeing the adulterous activities of Potiphar's wife, and we can see Jacob's activities and stealing. We can see the Ten Commandments all through Genesis, long before the covenant of Sinai.

Verse 21. Is the law then against the promises of God? Far from it! Certainly not. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. So Paul asks if the Sinai covenant canceled the covenant with Abraham, and the answer was no. It certainly did not. No law given by Moses was going to give anyone eternal life. God promised eternal life to Abraham if he believed, and from that belief led to obedience and led to life. Verse 22. But the Scripture has confirmed all under sin—excuse me, the Scripture has confined all under sin—that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

So Jesus, as Abraham's human descendant, and spiritually as Abraham's God—which is a very interesting study in the New Testament to look at—confirms to each and every one of us that the promises made to Abraham are ours if we believe. Verse 23. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. So speaking of Christ, Paul says that before his coming, the conduct of an Israelite or Gentile follower was governed by the law. They followed the law to avoid the consequences of that sin.

God's law was like a personal tutor or teacher that told us what was right and wrong and was prepared to receive—and at some point we would be prepared to receive a greater understanding, but it was there. Verse 25 now—this is the key—but after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. And again, this is where Catholics and Protestants will go off the rails because this phrase, Urkam e Deho Pistas, having come now faith, Pistas here, faith means to be persuaded or come to trust. That's the Strong's definition if you want to look that up, 4102.

Now that Jesus Christ has been revealed, we no longer think about God's law in terms of consequences, like a child constantly weighing what he can get away with. His tutor's right there. Can I get away with this? Am I going to get away with this? Oh, see, I'm doing really good things. I want some candy now. That person is right there, just making sure that that little child understands the consequences. Instead, our faith leads us to see God as our Father who loves us and who we love as well. And we keep his law because we believe as Abraham believed. After the tutor finished his assignment because the child was fully grown, you did not murder the tutor.

Okay, you didn't kill him because his job was done. You didn't banish him from the household, send him away, no longer needed. No, the tutor, that man, that guardian, still in the household, still around, still a mentor, still a person to go talk to. That tutor's still there. The law and that still there, you just don't need it right by your side all the time.

You're not saying, should I do this because I get caught? I'm not going to get caught. No, you don't think in those terms. Should I do this because I want to be rich? No, you don't. We don't keep God's law thinking in those terms. We don't have that tutor right there, just like, I might do this. No, I'm doing this because Jesus Christ has come, and I can have the same promises that were promised to Abraham of eternal life, and I want to be with God forever.

God is amazing. I want to be with him forever in his kingdom. Verse 26, For you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ. That's the bigger picture. It's not about what we're going to get in this life. That's the bigger picture. Now that Jesus Christ has been revealed, we don't think about God's law in these terms.

You can jot down Hebrews 11.10, where it says that Abraham's looked forward to a city with solid foundations where God is the architect and builder.

That's the vision he had. That's the vision we can have. The requirements didn't change.

Just our understanding of why they are important and our ability to consistently follow them.

The fact is, as much as we like it, we're human and we don't always have that vision in our minds. We lose that vision when we're tired. We lose that vision when we're stressed. We lose that vision when we're under a lot of pressure. We lose that vision when we open ourselves up to temptation. We lose that vision when God allows certain things to occur in our lives. And when we lose that vision, there are problems. There are going to be consequences that come from that.

Even Abraham lacked that vision sometimes. You can check because he had a child by Hagar, and it created a lot of problems in his family.

Abraham sinned. Abraham had problems, too. And there were consequences when that happened. But that doesn't mean Abraham kept the law just because of consequences or to be blessed. He kept the law because he had a long-term vision of what God was all about. And he wanted to be with God. He wanted God to be his Father.

Verse 29. And if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. We have that same promise of eternal life. If we can just understand what it means to dwell with God, to love God, how many times does God have to ask us, Do you love me before we really get what it means to be his follower? I think verse 29 shares that the Gentiles of Galatia didn't keep God's law to earn salvation.

That's what they thought they were doing. But they kept God's law because they believed Jesus was the Messiah, and that God had a plan, and that he loved them, just like Abraham.

Paul's teaching never discouraged lawkeeping. You can jot down Romans 7 verse 13 if you want to make that note. The law is holy, and the commandment is holy, just and good.

So we see Peter evolve in his understanding of why he kept God's law. We see Paul explain why the law was added to Abraham's covenant, and its fundamental purpose, to remind us of the consequences of sin. And this is part of why we're taking the Passover tomorrow night, because sin has consequences, and God had to send his Son to pay the price for our sins.

The final point I want to make is just basically a list of questions that we can ask ourselves to see where we are in this progression.

I've got 10 here. It's not my intention to write all these 10 down. Maybe there's 10 that you could ask yourself, even tonight and tomorrow, in advance of Passover. And as you hear these, I ask you to think about where you're at, as I'm thinking about where I'm at.

In my observance of divine laws, do I try to just do the minimum that's mentioned?

Do I try to find ways to avoid certain things that seem too difficult to observe by reasoning within myself that God will just understand my weakness?

When I sin and pay the consequences, am I annoyed at having to pay them? Or do I realize that I've hurt God's feelings?

And that saddens me more than the consequences that I have suffered.

Am I sometimes a little envious of people in the world who seem to be more successful than I am? Do I think more about what I shouldn't do on the Sabbath than what I could do, and making it a delight?

Do I think of the Sabbath as a day when I can stay in bed till 11 a.m., rather than a day when I can commune with God and my brothers and sisters, visiting the lonely and the sick, and rejoicing in the beauty of God's creation all around me? Do I look forward to coming to the Sabbath and the feasts of God so that I can find myself in and among my brothers and sisters in Christ, and understand their struggles?

Does sin seem less attractive in the past? Excuse me. Does sin seem less attractive then in the past, even disgusting? Am I disgusted by my sin?

Do I go through trials without doubting that God loves me in spite of the difficult conditions in which I find myself?

Because Hebrews 11, 6 says, without faith it is impossible to obey Him.

In other words, consequences have limits.

Does it sadden me to hear so many people on the radio mocking God, the radio, television, internet, because He's my friend, and it hurts me to see how mankind is treating Him?

As I reflect on this list, I think I have a ways to go. I hope you can draw up a small inventory of perhaps you already have.

I have not reached perfection, and I don't think any of us have, but that is our goal to move towards spiritual maturity.

I want to contrast two scriptures in conclusion. First, Ecclesiastes 12, verse 15, because I asked the question in the beginning, can these things be simultaneously true? I think they can, depending on where we are spiritually. Interestingly, where we are spiritually can change minute by minute.

Let's look at Ecclesiastes 12, verse 15.

Let's read what one end of the spectrum looks like.

Ecclesiastes 12, verse 15 and 16.

Did I say 15? 13 and 14, excuse me.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.

Fear God and keep His commandments.

For this is the whole duty of man.

For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil. Our responsibility is to fear God and keep His commandments, knowing that everything we do will be judged.

That's one side of this spiritual maturity. And sometimes we need to be in this space.

God, I am very concerned about the consequences of what I'm thinking about right now. And I'm not going to do it, because I fear you. And I know that what I'm going to do, if I do that, is going to come before you in the judgment. And it's not going to be good.

Look over in John 14, verse 23.

And let's see the other side.

And again, as I read this, remember, the tutor is not dead. He wasn't banished. Still there. The guardian is still there.

But we've grown to this point.

John 14, 23.

We're going to read that verse tomorrow night. And it's going to be one verse among many. But let that just sink in for a second.

We will come to him and make our home with him.

God's ultimate goal is for us to dwell with them in their kingdom.

It's about understanding what God has always intended, which is to bring us, as his children, into a relationship with him so we can dwell eternally in his house.

Let's consider this kind of spirit maturity when it comes to the choices that we make.