God’s Commandments
Are God’s commandments directed to the individual believer, a particular group of believers, or to the entire Body of Christ. The individual’s response can be very different for each case. The answer is that God’s commandments are always directed to individuals. They may be directed to all the members of a particular group of individuals but always as individuals. The idea is that the weight of responsibility lies with each individual in his own locale and not to any group of believers as a whole.
In particular, the commandment to teach the nations to obey all God’s commandments was directed to each of the Apostles and is directed to each member of the Body of Christ as an individual. Fellow believer, that means you and I are personally responsible to obey this commandment of God as individuals.
Why is this important? It is because a personal responsibility always carries more weight than a group responsibility. God’s people are all sinners and habitually tend to take the easy way out. When a task is assigned to a large group, it is too easy to think in terms of it being a huge task, of which I am responsible for just a tiny part. It is so small a fraction of the total that any neglect on my part would never be noticed. When many think in these terms, the total neglect can be very significant.
God, though, always speaks to His people as individuals and not as a group. He is infinite and is able to provide an infinite amount of attention to each of His followers. He speaks to all (as individuals) in His Great Commission:
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)
God here asks all that believe in Him to spread the good news of His free gift of eternal life to everyone that will listen. The objective is a world that believes in Him and obeys all His Commandments. He specifically says here that all the nations are to be taught to obey all His commandments. This is nothing less than a Christian world!
God, in His infinite patience, waits for a generation to arise that will fully obey these commandments. What does that mean? How can a nation as a nation be taught obedience? It is only by changing its laws to make them conform to God’s Laws. This is just what the Roman Emperor Justinian and his wife, Theodora did during his reign in the sixth century. It is what all God’s people should be doing, as a first priority activity, today. Sadly, it seems to have little or no priority for God’s people at all.
Did God change His mind? No, He never changes His mind. He gave us this command two thousand years ago and is still waiting for us, His so very highly blessed people to obey Him. When? When will we put away all our foolish pursuits and begin to obey our God?