Grace Thoughts
The Great Mandate
Google the word “mandate” and about 330-million results will appear in less than a second. The top results concern vaccine mandates, testing mandates, employer mandates, government mandates and mask mandates.
Little Mandates
Definitions of the word “mandate” include:
an official order to do something .. Merriam-Webster
the power to act that voters give to their elected leaders .. Merriam-Webster
an authoritative order or command .. Dictionary.com
the authority given to an elected group of people, such as a government, to perform an action or govern a country .. Cambridge English Dictionary
Governments and businesses have long used mandates (orders and commands) to accomplish their objectives and goals. However, even today’s mandates that impact billions of people around the world do not compare in size, scope or importance with the Great Mandate.
The Great Mandate
You won’t find the word “mandate”in the Bible, but that doesn’t mean mandates don’t exist in God’s Word. Remember that mandates are authoritative orders or commands. There are lots of those in the Bible. Here are several examples:
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Genesis 1:28
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you. shall surely die. Genesis 2:16-17
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return. Genesis 3:19
So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:7-8
And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. Genesis 7:5
Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it. Genesis 9:6-7
Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Genesis 21:4
And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.’ Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did. Exodus 7:5-6
You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lordyour God which I command you. Deuteronomy 4:2
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another. John 15:16-17
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20
For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak. John 12:49-50
But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it:‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 22:34-40
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 1 John 2:3
The Great Mandate comes directly from God Himself.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5
God is the Commander. All human beings are the commanded. That’s because God is the Creator and humans are the created. It’s as simple as that. People may or may not like that fact, but it’s still a fact.
Everyone on this planet should take the Great Mandate seriously, but most don’t. That is unfortunate because God’s mandates affect this life and the life that follows. Whether you agree or disagree with human mandates, they can only affect this life. Humans don’t have the authority to mandate anything beyond this life. Only God controls life after death. We would be wise to listen to what He commands and do it without hesitation. Why? Because everyone, and I do mean everyone, will one day stand before God.
Some will be rewarded because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for their sins. Some will be judged for their sins and pay the penalty. The key is your name and where it is or is not written ..
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15
Is your name written in the Book of Life? How will you respond to the Great Mandate?
For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Published by gracelifethoughts
Founder & Director of GraceLife Ministries View all posts by gracelifethoughts
