Why Obedience?

Bowed before God is a holy place. Listening to His Word is a holy place. Doing what He says is also a holy place, even the menial daily tasks when done as He commands and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I love Bible study, but hearing is not enough, for hearing without obedience is deception. Being made clean from sin is not enough either. The whole point of my redemption is that I obey God:

“Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:21–22)

God says that obedience is like building a house upon a rock, like the houses in Italy that have stood for hundreds of years: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24)

Obedience is an expression of love and opens my heart to receive God’s love. It also opens my eyes that I can see Jesus: “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21)

Of course continued obedience keeps me in that loving relationship, the same as the obedience of Jesus kept Him there: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10)

Obedience declares and maintains freedom from sin: “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:17–18)

Not only is the Holy Spirit needed for obedience, He is further poured out when I obey the Lord: “And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” (Acts 5:32)

Obedience delivers me from self-deception and I am blessed in the doing:

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 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.” (James 1:22–25)

Obedience is the icing on the cake of faith: “You see that faith was active along with (Abraham’s) works, and faith was completed by his works.” (James 2:22)

And that icing produces assurance that I am redeemed and it gives me confidence in prayer:

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” (1 John 3:18–22)

Tozer says we do not lack the power to obey, but the will, making this my responsibility. Yet the Word of God says:

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12–13)

Even that will to obey is a work of God!

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Jesus, there is so much work to be done in Your kingdom. Some days I feel so utterly useless. Yet You are the King, totally in charge of who does what. I’m thankful that Your commands are both general and specific. I know that I’m to think and talk like You and have Your attitude. I also know that You always tell me what is on my to-do list.