Having covered in a general sense why God deserves our respect last week (Article #2), we want to develop more fully the concept of increasing our respect for what God has said. If we can "make our case," it would go a long way toward building respect for Bible authority and religious unity among all.

How much trust would you deposit into a person who never told you a lie? We've all been lied to before. We know what such emptiness and betrayal feels like. However, we are assured that God has never and will never lie to any man. He cannot lie. It is against His nature to speak anything other than truth (Num. 23:19; Heb. 6:18; Titus 1:2). The very essence of His word is undeniable truth (Jn. 17:17).

We also should remember that His word will never lose its force. It "lives." It will never become "dead." Many a word has been spoken in history, but it eventually loses its force because times or other forces beyond man's control change. Not so with God. He is the only Being whose word will abide forever (cp. Mt. 24:35; 1 Pet. 1:23-25).

Lastly, we would do well to remember that God's word is "...for our good always" (Deut. 6:20-24). While we admit these words were spoken to Israel, therein lies a principle that we need not overlook. Many try to paint God into a corner as some tyrant who wants to deny us anything fun. Not so. Whatever God has told His people was always for their good. Parents treat their children the same way, even though their children may falsely accuse them. Read these words to Israel and then make the parallel application to us today. What do God's commands mean? Like the Hebrews, were we not in bondage (Jn. 8:34)? Were we not redeemed (Rom. 3:24)? Does He not want to bring us into a promised land (Jn. 14:2; Heb. 4:9)?

May we never see God's word as a burdensome intrusion into our "freedom" (1 Jn. 5:3). Rather, may we see His words as life itself (Jn. 6:68)... a life we'll only see by His grace and through our respectful obedience to what He has said (Heb. 5:9).