If there was ever a four-letter word that makes today's Christian cringe, it's the word "obey". It brings up thoughts of dead legalism and memories of control within the body of Christ. It brings up thoughts of failure and unfulfilled promises. And the flesh itself rails against the idea of submitting and obeying to anyone or anything but itself. You will never see a Christian pastor or influencer get popular teaching others obedience so it's a topic that gets forsaken. So, I just wanted to quickly list below a few things about what obedience is and isn't (specifically, obedience to God).
OBEDIENCE
....is humility. Obedience is the outward expression of a heart humble before the Lord. It says "You are God. And I am not. You are Father I am child. You are Master and I am servant. You know the end from the beginning. I can barely make toast". Obeying God humbly recognizes our own finiteness and knows God has us in the palm of his hand.
....is trust. Obedience is the heart of a young child who trusts his parent when he jumps off the diving board for the first time. It is the reaction of the driver who has no clue where to get where he needs to be, so he listens intently to and follows the voice on his GPS. He is the Way, our GPS. We trust and obey.
....is worship. We tend to think of worship as emotional experiences and often choose the church we attend based on the worship service provided. Does it make me feel good and worshipful? Does it sing hymns or modern worship? While I believe singing has value and we are told to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, it is not the kind of worship God is looking for. We get a definition of our spiritual act of worship in Romans 12 when we are told to present our bodies as living sacrifices to Him, as obedient slaves to righteousness. Every act of obedience to God is an act of worship. We worship Him through obedient lives overflowing with thanksgiving.
....keeping in step with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in believers and is working in us, He has sanctified us in Christ and continues to sanctify and guide and correct us. The way we "keep in step with the Spirit" or "Partner with the Spirit" in our sanctification is by our obedience. When the Holy Spirit prompts someone to an act of love or service, obedience is the way we keep in step with Him. Think of it as a dance...the Spirit leads, we follow. We keep in step and create something beautiful.
....is often difficult. Satan doesn't bother with a Christian who doesn't obey. That Christian is already doing what he (Satan) would have him do. And the world just loves a Christian who does not actually act and behave like he actually believes what he says. Our flesh definitely loves it when choose to obey it instead of Christ. This type of Christian has it easy. They have taken the easy path and it leads to destruction. It is the Christian who is determined to obey Christ that the world hates, the one Satan attacks and the one at war with the flesh. Obedience has a price. It's worth it. Jesus is worth it. But make no mistake...there is a cost.
....is not legalism, it's wisdom. Sure, obedience can be preached legalistically and can be done legalistically. If you are obeying God to get something out of it, chances are you are obeying legalistically. If you are obeying God in order to make Him love you and approve of you, chances are you are doing it legalistically. He has given us all things (namely Himself) and this is why we obey. He loves us intimately and thoroughly and this is why we obey. When we obey, we obey "unto the Lord" and not "unto my desires". We don't obey to "get". That is prosperity driven legalism, but to obey the Lord out of a humble heart because He is God and you are not, isn't legalism, it's Wisdom.
...is loving God. In John 14 and 15 and John's first epistle, we are told that if we love God then we will obey Him. Like worship, every act of obedience is us declaring to Him and to the world that He is the One we love, that he is the One we belong to. It's not just an emotion or feeling. It's an act. Obedience and love go hand in hand. As C.S Lewis said "You do not fail in obedience through lack of love, but you have lost love because never attempted obedience".
...is the path to joy. This may sound like I am contradicting my point of "getting" above, but Jesus tells us in John 15 that when we obey Him, we remain in his love and our joy will be complete. Obedience may lead to persecution here on earth, and it may even mean the death of our earthly dreams and desires, but in doing so we can and will rejoice and experience his Joy.
... is abiding in Christ. Again, in John 15, Jesus tells us the way to abide/remain/live/dwell in Him is through obedience. Jesus often uses the words "abide" and "belief" synonymously with the word "obey". When you believe you obey and when you obey you abide and when you abide you believe and when you believe you abide and when you obey you abide. It is our way of living in the Lord.
...affects our prayer. When we are abiding in Christ through our obedience, we can pray with confidence that He hears and answers our prayers. As we abide in Christ, like branches with the vine in John 15, our thoughts and desires come to mirror those of Christ. What does the vine want? To bear fruit. What does the vinedresser want of the vine? To bear fruit. What does the branch want? To bear fruit. When we abide in Christ our prayers reflect the desires and will of the vine and the vinedresser and they will be answered.
Join me in this old hymn
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
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