Have you ever given your children a list of chores to do with instructions on how to complete each chore? If you have, you expected the chores to be completed as instructed in the timeframe stipulated. Would you feel a child did as requested if he failed to do four out of five assigned chores? No, we would ask him why he did not do as we asked him. What if he did three of the five chores? We would still say that he did not do as asked. Would you feel the same if he completed four of the fives chores on the list?

We do not allow our children to choose which of the chores they want to complete and we cannot choose which of God's laws we want to obey. When we deliberately and conscientiously fail to obey one or more of God's laws, we are telling God "I am going to do what I want and I do not care what you have said about it." Whether consciously or unconsciously, we are saying the Bible has no authority.

James deals with this principle in James 2:10. "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." Just as we tell our children that they did not follow our instructions when they failed to complete one of the chores assigned, James, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us that when we break one of God's commands we become a lawbreaker. James further explains this verse with verse 11. "For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law." Jesus commanded that we do not commit adultery (Mark 10:19). He also commanded that we not kill (Mark 10:19). When an individual commits murder he breaks the law of God. Even though he did not commit adultery, he is still a lawbreaker.

The same set of laws that we obey when stopping at stop signs and red lights requires us to obey the speed limit sign. If we choose to run the stop sign or red light, we become a lawbreaker. If we choose to travel five miles above the posted speed limit, we become lawbreakers. When we deliberately and conscientiously break a law of the land, we are telling the government that it has no authority over us. According to Romans 13:1-7 and Titus 3:1, we are to obey the rulers of our nation as long as those rules do not conflict with God's law. Peter stated, "we ought to obey God rather than man" (Acts 5:29). If God's laws do not address a law of the land, we must obey that law of the land in order to be pleasing to God. If we fail to obey the laws of the land, we fail to obey God's law in reference to Romans 13:1 and Titus 3:1.

Another area in which we may choose which of God's laws we want to obey is in the realm of the home. Many times we forget God's instructions in Ephesians 5:22-25. God commands that the head of the wife is the husband. The husband is to make the final decisions for the home. This does not mean that the wife cannot make suggestions or give an opinion on matters that affect the home (a wise loving husband would want his wife's input before making such decisions), but the husband must make the final decision. The husband can also delegate authority to the wife so that he is not making every minute decision. In this manner, he still has final authority. The family unit as God has described would have the parents ruling the children, NOT the children ruling the parents or ruling themselves (Ephesians 6:1-4). Children are to obey their parents and parents are to not unnecessarily anger and upset the children. Proverbs 13:24, 22:15 and 29:15 are just a few of the words of wisdom from Solomon on rearing children. He instructs us to lovingly discipline our children, because, if left to themselves, they will bring heartache and disappointment. When husbands, wives and children fail to assume the roles God has outlined in the Bible, they, in essence, are telling God "We are going to do what we want regardless what you have said within the pages of the Bible on the subject."

All men sin (Romans 3:23). Obedience and repentance will wash away that sin (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:16). However, Christ's blood cannot wash away the sins of those who willingly choose to obey some of God's laws but not all of God's laws. Let us diligently study God's Word, applying it to our lives to the best of our abilities so that we will not be found guilty on Judgment Day (2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27).