Page 11 - Of Course You Can Walk On Water - eBook

"'Keep the commandments,'" Jesus responded (Matt. 19: 17).

"I have been doing that," was his reply.

But he hadn't. He had been living by his own, and the Pharisees', understanding of what
the law required. He had depended upon human ideas of law-keeping, and was trying to
float against the tide of sin and human nature, to God. In reality, he was being carried
farther away.

He hadn't been keeping the commandments. He couldn't. The only way it is possible to
keep the law is by walking on water, which is impossible for a person to do on his own.
But it is no more impossible than keeping the law on one's own.

Eugene Nida tells us that in several of the Indian languages of Mexico there is no

difference between the words for to believe and to obey. And the people who speak those
languages are surprised by the distinction we make between the ideas. "If you believe, do
you not obey?" they ask incredulously. Are we surprised at their question? Might we think
them naive?

Yet that concept, which those Indians take for granted, but which is likely to surprise us,
is precisely the Biblical idea of belief. Let us look at a Bible text that illustrates this.

In Acts 5:37 we have a reference to a certain rebel leader, Judas of Galilee, whose
movement came to nothing. As a result he was killed, "and all, even as many as obeyed
him, were dispersed" (K.J.V.).

It is interesting to note that some King James Bibles have a marginal reading "believed"
as an alternate reading for "obeyed," because the Greek word contains both ideas.

Many modern translations wed the two ideas and refer to those who "followed" him,
implying that they believed him and so obeyed.

The close relationship between the two ideas may be further illustrated by reference to
other texts. In Acts 28:24 (K.J.V.) we read that some of the Jews "believed" the message

Paul preached to them. In Hebrews 13: 17 is the exhortation to "obey your leaders." The
same verb is used in both instances, indicating the close relationship of the two ideas.

We may conclude that if we do not obey God we really do not believe, in the Bible sense.

We sometimes meet Christians who constantly express the desire to have victory over
their sins, who want peace, faith, and other similar imperatives in their lives, but who

11