Obedience

How can a person obey any law without first having respect for the creator of that law? How can a person obey the Ten Commandments without first knowing who God is and what He expects from you? How can a person obey a god he does not know?

Questions about obedience to the Law:
1. Are Christians sanctified by obedience?
2. Are Christians justified by obedience?
3. Are Christians redeemed by obedience?
4. Are Christians saved by obedience?
5. Are Christians righteous by obedience?
6. Should Christians have faith in obedience?

Answers:
1. Christians are sanctified by having faith in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, by the Word of God and prayer, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all and by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ (Acts 26:18; Romans 15:16; 1 Timothy 4:5; Hebrews 10:10; Jude 1:1).
2. Christians are justified by having faith in Christ, by His grace and by His blood (Galatians 2:16; Galatians 3:24; Titus 3:7; Romans 5:9).
3. Christians are redeemed by Jesus, who gave His life as “a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45) and having “redemption through His blood” (Eph. 1:7).
4. Christians are saved by His life, by hope, by Holy fire and by His grace through faith according to His mercy (Romans 5:10; Romans 8:24; 1 Corinthians 3:15; Ephesians 2:5, 8; Titus 3:5).
5. Christians are counted as righteous by having faith in God and they must believe in Him and that He is (Romans 4:3, 5)
6. Christians should have faith in God and in the Lord Jesus, the Christ who is the Son of God (Mark 11:22; Colossians 1:4).

“In the Old Testament covenant between God and human beings, obedience was the basis for knowing God’s blessing and favor (Ex. 19:5; 24:1–8). Samuel emphasized that God’s pleasure was not in sacrifice but in obedience (1 Sam. 15:22). Even the promise of a new covenant emphasized obedience as God’s gift (Jeremiah 31:33).

In the New Testament, the obedience of Christ stands in contrast to the disobedience of Adam. The disobedience of Adam brought death, but the perfect obedience of Christ brought grace, righteousness, and life (Romans 5:12–21).”

1. Obedience is carrying out the word and will of another person, especially the will of God.
2. Obedience is a positive, active response to what a person hears.
3. Obedience is the result of faith in God.
4. Obedience is the evidence of the Christians confession of faith in Christ Jesus.
5. Your faith is proven when you act upon it in obedience.

Can we get to heaven by obeying the Law of Moses, the Ten Commandments?

The problem is that no earthly man or woman can obey all of the Ten Commandments. It is impossible. Well, except for Jesus Christ because He is the spoken Word of God manifested into the flesh of man and only God alone can keep His own standards for righteousness (John 1:1-5,14). However, if we are in Christ (those who are Christians), we are not under the Law of Moses or the Ten Commandments but we are under the law of grace, mercy and truth and all things are possible with God. The only way to be free from the Law is through faith in Christ Jesus.

I love the way that the Apostle Paul illustrates this point in Romans 7:1-6, “Don’t you know that the law applies only to a person who is still living?” “When a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.

So this is the point: The law no longer holds you in its power, because you died to its power when you died with Christ on the cross. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, you can produce good fruit, that is, good deeds for God. When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced sinful deeds, resulting in death. But now we have been released from the law, for we died with Christ, and we are no longer captive to its power. Now we can really serve God, not in the old way by obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way, by the Spirit (NLT).”

See that? “Now we can really serve God, not in the old way by obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way, by the Spirit!”

Romans 8:2-14 – “For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. The Law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.) Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you.

So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God (NLT).”

How do we know that what we do is from the Holy Spirit? How are we to be led by the Spirit of God? How do we know that we are obeying the Spirit? How do we know what is fleshly and what is Spiritual?

“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin (Galatians 5:19-21).”

“But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another (Galatians 5:22-26).”

Therefore, obedience to the Law or the Ten Commandments does not justify a man in the eyes of God. It is by obeying the Spirit of God that lives inside the Christian that pleases Him. If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Obedience to the Holy Spirit proves to God your confession of faith in Christ Jesus. Consequently, “what does the use of saying you have faith, if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone (James 2:14).” Love is not just words but is demonstrated in action by good works. As a result, good works are the result of genuine faith.

Notice the first fruit of the Spirit is love; and love is what fulfills “all” the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus came to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:14) and it was by His great love that we can be saved (John 15:13). In Galatians 5:14 Paul said, “For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself (NLT).” In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments.” Moreover, Jesus’ new commandment is “Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other (John 13:34).”

Thus, if you have faith in Christ Jesus and are led by the Spirit, you would obey the Spirit and have love for God and for your neighbor and the fruit of it would be known. To be obedient to Christ is to love God and others as you would love yourself. You will have fulfilled “all” the Law of Moses and the Prophet’s requirements by doing so and you shall counted as being sanctified, justified, redeemed, saved and considered righteous before Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ.

Obedience pays off. Why? Because if we pray, seek His counsel and through careful consideration, we can reach a clearer conviction within us. When such an option is God’s will for us, obedience then requires us to do what we desire, maybe even to follow a long lost dream that God has given us. If we embrace this obedience, God can unlock all kinds of possibilities and potential for our lives and to that, there can be no end to this abundant life we call the great adventure in Christ Jesus.

The simple truth is, you should obey God simply because you love Him.

References: Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, the New King James Version, King James Version and New Living Translation of the Holy Bible.