| Christian Life and Doctrine | February 1967 |
Walking with God
“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” —Amos 3:3
THE word “agreed” as used in our text is a translation of a Hebrew word which means more than merely to be agreeable. It has the thought of having made an agreement. In Exodus 21:8 it is translated “betrothed”; Revised Version, “espoused.” Prof. Strong suggests the thought of making an appointment. The text is addressed to natural Israel, with whom the Lord had entered into an agreement based upon the Law given to the nation at Mount Sinai. The Israelites had agreed to keep this Law, and God had agreed to reward them for their faithfulness.
In the preceding verse the Lord said to the Israelites, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” God’s covenant with Israel was an exclusive one. He was wholly devoted to them, and he looked for devotion from them, but much of the time they failed to render the obedience which they had promised. Under the circumstances it was difficult for God to walk with them because for the most part they failed to live up to their side of the agreement into which they had entered with him.
For a long time the Lord was patient with this half-hearted and intermittent faithfulness on the part of the Israelites, but finally he gave them up, in the sense that he no longer recognized them as being exclusively his people. Their rejection of Jesus as their foretold Messiah was the final test, and it was not long after that that the Lord turned to the Gentiles, his favor spreading out to whosoever believes of every nation and race.
God’s dealings with natural Israel were as examples to us. (I Cor. 10:11) There were many individuals among the Israelites, and even before their time, who were faithful to the Lord. A number of these are mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. These were heroes of faith, a great “cloud of witnesses” who encourage us as we endeavor to walk with the Lord. James wrote that we are to take the prophets as an example of suffering affliction and of patience. (James 5:10) It is a blessing from the Lord that we do have the record of these Ancient Worthies as examples of faithfulness.
On the other hand, natural Israel as a nation was prone to waywardness and disobedience. This attitude should serve as a warning to keep us from taking the same course. We do not want to follow their course of unbelief. We should not permit ourselves to be led into spiritual idolatry; that is, into the worship of pleasure, or of self, and thus to fall away from our steadfastness before the Lord.
Our Covenant
Like the Israelites, we too have entered into a covenant with the Lord. God’s covenant with us is different from the Law Covenant, but it is none the less binding. It is because we have entered into a covenant with the Lord that we can walk with him. Our covenant is described in Psalm 50:5 as a covenant by sacrifice. This is not a group covenant, but an individual one. As far as the Lord’s people of the present age are concerned, they are from all nations and races, selected on an individual basis, and in response to the call of the Lord through the truth. It is through the Lord’s providence that we have been brought into contact with the truth. This itself is a marvelous manifestation of God’s favor. The truth has been witnessed to millions, but generally speaking a deaf ear has been turned to it.
God’s purpose in giving us the truth is that we might dedicate ourselves to him and to his service. God’s invitation for us to do this is stated in various ways in the Bible. In the 45th Psalm, where Jehovah is identified as the great King, and Jesus as his Son, the prospective “bride” of Christ is addressed thus: “Hearken O daughter, and consider and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty.”—vss. 10,11
This is a very meaningful invitation. First we are to “hearken,” or give ear to the message of the Lord. And then we are seriously to consider it. This weighing of the invitation is spoken of by Jesus in one of his parables as counting the cost. (Luke 14:28) And the cost is high! The psalmist admonished, “Forget also thine own people.” This is a reference, apparently, to those of our own fleshly household. Entering into a covenant with the Lord involves the placing of the Lord first in our affections and plans, and this is not easy to do. Jesus enlarged upon this when he said that if we do not love him more than the members of our own household we are not worthy of him.—Matt. 10:37
We are also, according to the psalmist, to give up our claim on our “father’s house.” This might well be a reference to father Adam’s house, and giving it up would mean laying aside our hope of being restored to perfection here on the earth during what Peter describes as “the times of restitution of all things.” (Acts 3:19-21) Unless we had heard the true message of truth from the Word of God we would not know anything about the restitution of mankind to life on the earth. But having heard and appreciated this great feature of the divine plan of salvation, we now learn that to enter into a covenant with the Lord by sacrifice we must give up our hope of a share in those restitution blessings.
True, the Scriptures reveal a much grander hope for those who faithfully devote themselves to the Lord’s service during the present age. Jesus said he would prepare a place for these. (John 14:3) And he added that when he returned he would receive them unto himself. Peter speaks of our heavenly inheritance, and Paul mentions the “heavenly calling.” (I Pet. 1:4; Heb. 3:1) These are wonderfully revealing texts of Scripture, but they are descriptive of spiritual truths which, while we are approaching the Lord and counting the cost of full devotion to him, do not have such a vivid meaning as do the promises of restitution. So we must count the cost of entering into a covenant with the Lord by sacrifice.
Not Our Own
II Corinthians 5:14,15 reads, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again.” Here the matter of full devotion to the Lord is shown as being brought about through our appreciation of what the Lord has done for us. This is referred to in I Peter 3:21 as “the answer of a good conscience toward God.”
So we hear the call, and we respond to it. To begin with we do not know all the details that will be involved, but we do know that it will mean sacrifice and suffering. We know, in harmony with Jesus’ invitation, that it will mean taking up our cross and following him into death. We understand that this covenant with the Lord is basically one of sacrifice. It is on the basis of this covenant that we are espoused to Christ. It is on the basis of this covenant, through the impartation of the Holy Spirit by God, that we become his children, and he becomes our Heavenly Father.
We Walk Together
It is when we thus become God’s covenant people that we begin our walk with him, and he begins his walk with us. Now we have the vital responsibility of giving heed to the voice of the Lord, that we may be directed in the way in which we should walk. As we have noted, Israel did not do this. Through Jeremiah the Lord said to Israel, “I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.” (Jer. 11:7,8) Let us not be like those wayward Israelites!
In II Corinthians 10:4,5 the Apostle Paul admonishes us through the proper use of our spiritual weapons of warfare—particularly the Word of God—to cast down imaginations, and “every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,” and bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Our fallen human minds will think of many ways of serving the Lord which will avoid the responsibility of sacrifice; so, if we are to walk faithfully with God according to our covenant, we will have to be prepared to deal with these “reasonings” and to answer every temptation to step aside, with a “thus saith the Lord.”
And it will be a constant struggle! Paul reminds us that in times past we walked according to the course of this world, and it is not easy to change our direction and walk with the Lord in the way of sacrifice. (Eph. 2:2) Satan is the prince of this world, and he is ever on the alert to exert his influence through subtle suggestions to lure us away from the course of faithfulness. Satan appeals to us through the world, and our fallen flesh is very much inclined to follow the suggestions of the great Adversary, and it is also appealed to by the various selfish influences of the world.
Walking in Truth
In III John 3,4 we read, “I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” In writing thus John knew that walking in the truth implied walking with the Lord. If we walk in harmony with the truth of God’s Word, it means that we will be walking in harmony with our covenant by sacrifice and thus walking with the Lord. But this is more than a matter of words. Again John wrote, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself so to walk, even as he walked.”—I John 2:6
Jesus walked according to the instructions of his Heavenly Father, those instructions contained in “the book”—the Old Testament Scriptures. He did not do his own works, but the Father’s works. The truth which he presented was not his own, but the Father’s. He heard “a word” from behind him; that is, from the past, saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” (Isa. 30:21) And this “way” was the narrow way, the way of the cross. He was led by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit led him into death—as a lamb to the slaughter.
For us to walk as Jesus walked means, therefore, that we walk in the way of sacrifice, and it is this that we have covenanted to do. This is the way in which the Holy Spirit is leading us, even as was true of Jesus. Another scriptural expression regarding this way of sacrifice is “baptism,” which means the act of being “buried.” Paul wrote that we are buried with Christ, being baptized in the likeness of his death. At the same time, as Paul further explains, “like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”—Rom. 6:4
To walk in newness of life means to walk as new creatures in Christ Jesus. Having covenanted to give up our earthly joys and hope of life, we have received new joys, the joys of walking with the Lord; and we have received a new hope of life, even glory, honor, and immortality. (Rom. 2:7) Paul wrote that if we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfil the lusts, or desires, of the flesh. (Rom. 8:4) This is a vital test of our relationship with the Lord.
Have the things of the flesh become of minor importance to us, and have the things of God, the things of the Spirit, become the all-absorbing consideration of life? If so, then we can rejoice that not only have we entered into a covenant of sacrifice with the Lord, but that it is being fulfilled.
Walking Humbly
Micah 6:8 reads, “What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” To walk humbly with God means to be on the alert to obey as far as possible every detail of his will. In this text, for example, he indicates that he wants us to practice justice. No matter how many other virtues we might possess, if we should in any way be unjust in our dealings with others, it would be displeasing to the Lord, and in this respect we would be failing to walk humbly with him.
God also wants us to “love mercy.” The Hebrew word here translated “mercy” really means “loving-kindness.” We are to love loving-kindness; that is, we are to be so in harmony with God’s ways of love that it could be said that we are in love with them. Is this true in our everyday experiences in life? Do we find ourselves delighted to walk in the way of love, even though it often calls for sacrifice on behalf of others? “Love suffereth long, and is kind.” Are we kind to those who are unkind to us, bearing with their imperfections, and praying that the Lord will help them to see and to overcome their weaknesses? This also is part of walking with the Lord. Paul wrote, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.” (Eph. 4:1,2) Thus Paul confirms Micah’s outline of the Lord’s requirements of those who would walk with him. And Paul adds that such a humble, loving attitude is essential in order to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” To walk with the Lord means that we have a new vocation in life. That new vocation is being “workers together” with the Lord.—II Cor. 6:1
Thus we see that walking with the Lord implies much more than merely being good friends with him. It actually means a partnership with him in the outworking of his plan for the reconciliation and restoration of the lost world of mankind. Paul explains that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, and hath given unto us the word of reconciliation,” and that because of this we are now “ambassadors for Christ.”—II Cor. 5:18-20
The work of God in connection with his plan during the present age is the call and preparation of those who will live and reign with Christ a thousand years. The promulgation of the Gospel of Christ is an important aspect of this work, a part in which we are invited to share. This means that when we are bearing witness to the truth, in any of the many ways in which that is possible today, we are actually working together with the Lord, walking with him as partners in the greatest project this earth has ever seen, or will ever see.
Together
Again Paul wrote, “Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.” (Phil. 3:16) Those who are walking with the Lord will inevitably find themselves walking together. They will all be minding the same rule, and that rule is that they lay down their lives in keeping with their covenant of sacrifice. And they will be “minding” the same thing, which is what Paul refers to as “this one thing.” (Phil. 3:13) And what is “this one thing”? Paul explains, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (vss. 13,14) And then Paul adds, “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.”—vs. 15
Paul said that he was forgetting those things which were behind. This does not mean that he forgot all the many blessings which he had enjoyed from walking with the Lord. The things he was forgetting, in the sense of not allowing them to have any deterring effect upon his consecrated life, were the many advantages which had been his as a man of the world, particularly of the Jewish world. He had turned his back upon all this, counting it all as having no real value, and he was pressing forward to the things which were ahead, those glorious things which were involved in his hope of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. This is what walking with God meant to the great Apostle Paul.
And it should mean the same thing to us. Paul indicates that some might be otherwise minded. This is a reference to any who, while having made a covenant with the Lord by sacrifice, seem to think that they do not need to be so single-minded in obeying the terms of that covenant. They may think that they can allow the world to influence their lives just a little; or they may like to cater to the flesh somewhat. Nevertheless, if these are sincere at heart, as Paul explains, God will reveal their shortcomings to them, and they will be given an opportunity to “gird up the loins” of their minds with a view to making more strenuous efforts to do “this one thing” which they have covenanted to do.
And how blessed is the association of those who are walking faithfully with the Lord! Because they are minding the “same thing” there is a common bond between them. Because they are close to the Lord they are close to each other. A little ambition, a little pride, a little desire to have one’s own way—all these works of the flesh strain the cords of complete harmony which should be binding us together in a sweet unity of faith and service as together we walk with the Lord and serve in his great cause.
The Lord Helps
Walking with the Lord is not an easy task. The way is rugged and narrow. Ofttimes we might well faint by the wayside except that the Lord gives us help. How wonderful is the promise of Isaiah 40:31: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.” If we are walking with the Lord there will be no need to faint, no need to become weary, in the sense of desiring to give up the walk, for the Lord gives strength unto his people.
We receive the necessary strength from God’s promises. We are strengthened by the example of the Lord’s people of the past, that great “cloud of witnesses” mentioned by Paul in Hebrews, chapter 11, and 12:1. We are particularly strengthened when we observe the example of Jesus. And the Lord uses us to strengthen one another. Surely the Lord is good to all those who walk with him and are bound to him by their covenant of sacrifice!