A L M A C I A S

ARE WE RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING ALL THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

As we study the scriptures, sometimes we will find passages which we need to examine more carefully. One such passage of scripture is Matthew 23:23. Here we find the Lord saying: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgement, mercy, and faith; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." As we analyze this passage of scripture, what do we find? Was the Lord saying that we are only responsible for keeping certain commandments of God, and not all of His commandments? If such were true, how could we determine which commandments to keep and which commandments are not necessary?

As we study this portion of scripture, we quickly see that the Lord in no way was saying to us that some commandments were more important than others, and therefore those were the only ones we were responsible for keeping, and we could forget all others. As we study what was written here, and what we are able to find in other portions of scripture, we actually find the opposite to be true. We are responsible for keeping all of the commandments given to us by the Father through His Word. As we study the scriptures, we find that the Lord expects from us total obedience, not just partial obedience. In fact, we find so many lessons that teach us that partial obedience is not sufficient for one to enter Heaven. By this, I am not saying that the Lord expects us to be perfect in everything we do, but I do mean that we are to strive to be as perfect as we possibly can.

In the passage before us at this time, we find the Lord calling the scribes and the Pharisees hypocrites because they, in essence, were doing just the opposite of what was expected from them. In Matthew 23:23, the scribes and Pharisees are described as making a big thing of keeping only certain commandments, while being indifferent to the others. The Lord made reference to how they were tithing everything they could, including their mint, anise, and cumin, and yet they were neglecting those commandments which had to do with judgements, mercy, and faith. They were not practicing justice with their fellowmen. They were not bothered in the least that some were suffering affliction and were destitute, needing whatever help they could get from anyone. How had they arrived at this kind of conduct? They did this by thinking that they were not responsible for keeping all of the commandments from God. Where do we find ourselves?