Obedience, Our Gift to God
Many Christians today have come to believe that obeying God’s commands, to kill sin and live in righteousness, will cause them to ultimately resent the Lord and love Him less. The Christian landscape is littered with those who have chosen to "try harder" in obedience and faith only to become weary and give up.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The reality we so often fail to grasp is that no matter how hard we work, often called "works righteousness" that will not give us a free pass into the presence of God. That reality does not set us free from being obedient but helps us to have the right relationship and mindset with it. Paul refines this thought in Ephesians 2:10.
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Our culture and the Satanic realm whisper that if we try to kill sin and live in righteousness life will become worthless. Just as in any endeavor in life it will often hurt or require a sacrifice by us. Killing sin in our lives is painful and difficult. Choosing to develop spiritual health now helps to build up our resilience to endure more intense trials and temptations later. Just as a soldier amid combat relies on his training and fitness to help him survive, if we persist in the habit of obeying God’s Word, we can rely on it when we find ourselves under spiritual attack.
Training in Obedience
When we intentionally and obediently meditate on God’s Word day and night we will, like Christ in the wilderness, run to it in the moments of our spiritual affliction.
Psalm 1:2
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
When we also pray without ceasing.
Matthew 4:1-11
1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
When we cry out to the Lord in the darkest of times.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
17 pray without ceasing,
When we don't neglect coming together.
Psalm 88
88:1 O LORD, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. 2 Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! 3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. 4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, 5 like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. 6 You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. 7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah 8 You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; 9 my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O LORD; I spread out my hands to you. 10 Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah 11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 12 Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13 But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14 O LORD, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? 15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. 16 Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. 17 They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. 18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.
We can from this obedience be helped as our burdens are carried along by one another. Galatians 6:2
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Christ told us!
John 14:15
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Our feelings are by our human nature is dynamic (changing in intensity and focus). Our behavior therefore can be very static. When I choose freely and enthusiastically to read my Bible, pray, and act with Christian integrity God, it helps keep my affections grounded in the love God has for me and the love I have for Him.
The dynamic works by our freely offered obedience which helps us to feel more loving toward God.
Better Witnesses
We avoid obedience because it forces us to look into our sinful hearts.
Because our world, our lives are surrounded by selfish ambition, lust, folly conceit, gluttony, rivalry, and many other sins we don't want to swim against the current.
But the opposite of obeying God's Word.
James 1:25
25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
When we obey God’s Word, the world sees “there is something different there”. this makes us better witnesses and opens the door for genuine gospel-centered conversations while giving credibility to our ability to speak truth into people's lives.
Jonathan Edwards said: “The glory of the saints above will be in some proportion to their eminency in holiness and good works here. Christ will reward all according to their works.”
Obedience is Difficult
Obedience is difficult, yet it need not be drudgery.
As we become accustomed to an obedient life we are no longer slaves but are free to live as we were created to live. We will eventually find ourselves to be more spiritually fit, more in love with our God, and more able to witness, more prepared for heaven than we could ever possibly imagine.
So let us not grow weary of well doing (Gal. 6:9) but with renewed vigor, understanding,a positive vision let us run the good race till one day we receive our Crown of Glory (1 Peter 5:4).
Comentários