Almost, but… 1 Samuel 15:3; 13

This post concerns obeying God exactly.

‘Almost, but’ describes Saul not obeying exactly. God sent Samuel with a command to King Saul, 1 Samuel 15:3. “Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel, and donkey.’”

Saul went and slaughtered the Amalekites. When he returned, he told reported, 1 Samuel 15:13. “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”

But he had not obeyed exactly. He had almost obeyed. But he kept the king and the best animals alive. He had done part of what God commanded and then claimed he had obeyed. Samuel pointed out that this was displeasing to God.

Another case of almost obeying, but not exactly, concerns a man who asked Jesus a question, Matthew 19:16. “And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

Since they still lived under Moses’ laws, Jesus told him to keep the commandments.

The ruler then asked, “Which ones?” Jesus responded by citing six commandments of Moses’ Law.

The young man wanted more, Matthew 19:20. “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”

Then, Jesus told him, Matthew 19:21. “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give… and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

This caused the young man to sadly go away because he was rich. He had done much by following Moses Law. But he failed to obey completely and exactly what Jesus said.

We can be like either Saul or the rich ruler. We can obey the commands and examples of the New Testament partly and feel we have obeyed. For example, have we been baptized? Do we faithfully worship every Sunday? What name do we wear religiously? What does the Bible say on these subjects?

So, what did we learn?

1.Saul obeyed partly, but not completely.

2.The young ruler was living by Moses’ law but failed to obey Jesus’ command to sell his possessions and follow Him.

3.Today, we must completely obey the New Testament.

For more on the Bible, click tdroberts.org or https://justchristian.com or https://podcastjustchristian.com

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