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Obedience
to God
In this article we will consider the topic of obedience.
To start we will go to Romans 6:15-18. There we read:
Romans 6:15-18
"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but
under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom
you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves
whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or
of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked
that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed
from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were
delivered. And having been set free from sin you became slaves of
righteousness."
According to this
passage, one is the servant of the one he obeys, with two
possibilities available: either, by obeying sin, he will be a
servant of sin, or, by obeying from the heart God
and His doctrine, he will be a servant of righteousness. In other
words, it is impossible for one to truly serve God if his heart
does not obey Him. It really doesn't matter how active we may be
in religious activities. What matters is how OBEDIENT we are to
Him, for it is our obedience and the one we obey that determines
the one we serve in reality. As James 4:7-8 tells us:
James 4:7-8
"Therefore SUBMIT TO GOD. Resist the devil and he will flee
from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your
hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you
double-minded"
We need to draw near to
God, so that He draw near to us. We cannot serve Him from
distance, without knowing Him. We can serve only the one we obey
and to whom we subject ourselves. As it says in Philippians
2:5-11:
Philippians 2:5-11
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be
equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the
form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and BECAME
OBEDIENT TO THE POINT OF DEATH, EVEN THE DEATH OF
THE CROSS. Therefore God also has highly exalted him, and given
him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow of those in heaven, and of those on earth,
and of those under the earth; and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father."
The same mind that was
in Christ Jesus should also be in us. What was this mind? IT WAS
THE MIND OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD, THE MIND THAT, OBEYING GOD, DIDN'T DENY
EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS. It was the mind of the garden of
Gethsemane:
Matthew 26:36-39, 42
"Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and
said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over
there." And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then
he said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to
death. Stay here and watch with me." He went a little
farther and fell on his face, and prayed saying, "O my
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless,
not as I will, but as you will.......Again, a second
time, he went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if
this cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it, Your will be
done."
The mind of Jesus
Christ, the mind of obedience to God, was "NOT AS I WILL, BUT AS
YOU WILL". This is the mind that the Word of God tells us to
have. Not as we will, but as God wills. It is easy to be obedient
when everything is going our way. When God gives us what our
heart desires, we receive it with great gladness. However, what
do we do when this does not happen? How do we react when the
plans of the Lord seem to divert from our own plans? Here is the
difference between the obedient and the disobedient. In
happiness, both they will react the same. It is not happiness
that causes the people of the second category of the parable of
the good sower to fall. In contrast, as Jesus said, "they
receive the Word WITH JOY" (Luke 8:13). Yet, this doesn't
last. In the first tribulation, they fall away (Matthew 13:21,
Luke 8:13). When a choice of the Lord is not what he would like,
the disobedient will run away, while the obedient will stay,
saying: "if it is possible ........ nevertheless, not as I
will but as you will".
1. Obedience
to God is better than
sacrifice
In I Samuel there is a well known story:
the story of Saul's rise and fall in the kingdom of Israel. Saul
was appointed by God to be the first king of Israel. In the
beginning, he was humble. In fact, in the day of his proclamation
as a king he was hiding from the people (I Samuel 10:22)!
However, his humility didn't last much. Soon it was turned to
pride and haste for action, under the leading of the people,
instead of submission to the leading of the Lord. In I Samuel 13
we see his first rebellion: Saul and the people waited for Samuel
to come for the sacrifice, while the Philistines were ready for
fight in the other side. Yet, Samuel was late. Seeing this, Saul
did what he should not have done: he offered the sacrifice
himself. The obedient waits for God and keeps His commandments,
whatever the cost may be. On the other hand, the disobedient is
obedient as far as the things are going OK. Nevertheless, when
the status changes, then he takes the things in his own hands. He
thinks that he waited much and at the end of the day he has to do
something. Samuel came exactly when Saul had finished with the
sacrifice. However, he didn't bring him good news.
I Samuel 13:13-14
"And Samuel said to Saul, You have done foolishly: YOU
HAVE not kept the commandment of the LORD YOUR God, Which he
commanded YOU: For now the Lord would have established
your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not
continue. The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own
heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over
his people, because YOU haVE not kept What the LORD commanded
YOU."
This probably was
Saul's critical test. If he passed it, if he obeyed the Lord and
his commandment, his kingdom would be established. If he didn't
obey, his kingdom would be lost. As Samuel told him: "for NOW
the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
But NOW your kingdom shall not continue".
Obviously, Saul didn't pass the test of obedience to God. When he saw
that Samuel was not coming, he abandoned the commandment of the
Lord to do his own thing.
Later we see him repeating the same sin.
In I Samuel 15:1-3 we read:
I Samuel 15:1-3
"Samuel also said to Saul, "The Lord sent me to anoint
you king over his people, over Israel. Now therefore heed the
voice of the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: I
will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he
ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and
attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not
spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing
child, ox and ship, camel and donkey."
Saul was commanded by
the Lord to utterly destroy Amalek. Verses 7-9 tell us what he
finally did:
I Samuel 15:7-9
"And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way
to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He also took Agag king of the
Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the
edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the
best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that
was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them.
But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly
destroyed. "
Despite the fact that
Saul had very clear from the Lord that he was to utterly destroy Amalek, he didn't perform His commandment, or more accurately, he
performed it only to the extent that he and the people LIKED it.
Thus they destroyed what they were WILLING to destroy, keeping
safe what THEY WERE UNWILLING TO DESTROY. However, this is not
obedience. Obedience to God does not mean that you do His will partially, only
to the degree that you like it. Instead, it is to do what God has
commanded you fully and exactly. As Jeremiah 47:10
tells us:
Jeremiah 48:10
"Cursed is he that does the work of the Lord
negligently"
(NKJV-ASV)
Obedience is to do what
God has commanded you either through His written Word or, as it
was the case with Saul, by revelation. To the degree that we do
something that God hadn't said, we are disobedient, even if what
we do is done in the name of the Lord. The Lord does not want us
busy workers doing our own thing for Him. Instead, He wants us
OBEDIENT workers, working EXACTLY what He has commanded us. Saul
and his people did the work of the Lord negligently. According to
him, they didn't have bad intentions. As he said later: "But
the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the
things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to
the Lord your God in Gilgal" (I Samuel 15:21). The people
wanted to sacrifice, YET THEY DIDN'T WANT TO OBEY.
As Samuel said:
I Samuel 15:22-23
"So Samuel said "Has the Lord as great delight
in burnt offerings and sacrifices AS IN OBEYING THE VOICE OF THE
LORD? BEHOLD TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE, AND TO HEED
THAN THE FAT OF RAMS. FOR REBELLION IS AS THE SIN OF
WITCHCRAFT, AND STUBBORNNESS IS AS INIQUITY AND IDOLATRY.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has
rejected you from being a king."
It doesn't matter how
many sacrifices you do for the Lord. What matters is how OBEDIENT
you are to Him. Acceptable sacrifices are only the sacrifices
that the Lord has commanded. Genuine service can only be the
SERVICE THAT THE LORD HAS ORDAINED. Everything else, even if it
is done in His name, is disobedience, action directed by the old
nature under the appearance of the new. As Jesus Christ said:
John 7:16-18
"Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but
His who sent me. If any one wills to do His will, he shall know
concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God, or whether
I speak of myself. He WHO speakS of himself seeks his own
glory: but he that seeks the glory of the one who sent
him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him."
Saul was seeking to
please men. He cared more for them and their opinion than for God
and His opinion. When later he admitted his sin, what he was
afraid of losing was not his relationship with God but his honor
by the people: "Then he [Saul] said, "I have sinned; yet
honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before
Israel, and return with me.." David, Saul's
successor, also committed adultery and then murder. However, when
Nathan confronted him (II Samuel 12:1-14), what he was concerned
for, was not his throne but his relationship with the Lord
(Psalms 51). That's why David, seeking restoration of his
relationship with the Lord, was forgiven, while Saul seeking
restoration on the throne, was rejected.
2. The example of Abraham
In the very opposite of Saul's example
stands another example, the example of Abraham. We all probably
know the story of Abraham and Isaac. Isaac was the only son
Abraham had from Sarah. He was also the son that God had promised
him and for whom he waited for many years. However, one day
Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice Isaac:
Genesis 22:1-2
"Now it came to pass after these things that God tested
Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said,
"Here I am." Then He said, "Take now your son,
your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah,
and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains
of which I shall tell you."
God knew very well how
much Abraham loved Isaac. He knew that he was "his only son that
he loved". After all, it was God that gave Isaac to
him. However, did Abraham love Isaac, God's blessing, more than
God Himself? Having to choose between the two, what he would
really choose? Would he submit himself to God even if this
implied a great personal cost or as Saul he would rebel doing his
own thing? Turning the question to us: Do we really follow God
because we want to know Him and have fellowship with Him, or we
follow Him only for His blessings, for the "Isaacs" He
gave us, or we expect Him to give us? Really, what would we do,
if as in the case of Abraham we were called to put on the altar
the greatest blessing that God gave us or we expect Him to give
us, whatever this may be? Would we really do it? Though there are
uncountable blessings in the Lord, of course these are not to be
the focus of our relationship with Him. Instead, the focus should
be to know intimately HIM, AND HIS WONDERFUL SON THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST. As Paul said:
Philippians 3:8-15
"Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the
excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them
as rubbish that I may gain Christ.......That I may know him, and
the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his
sufferings, being conformed to his death; If by any means
I mAY attain to the resurrection FROM the dead."
ALL, even the biggest
blessing in this world is but rubbish in comparison to the
EXCELLENT of the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. Returning to
Abraham, let's see what he finally did:
Genesis 22:3-10
"So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his
donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his
son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and
went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third
day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And
Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey;
the lad and I will go yonder and worship and we will come back to
you." So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and
laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a
knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to
Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said,
"Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire
and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the
lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went
together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him.
And Abraham built and altar there and placed the wood in order;
and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the
wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to
slay his son."
Abraham followed
exactly what the Lord had told him. It was certainly not the most
pleasant thing in his life. He, as well as the other men of the
Bible, were not robots that did the will of God mechanically.
Instead, they were like us, free will beings that by their own
will chose to submit themselves to the Lord. Their obedience was
not robotic but "FROM THE HEART". This is
the only obedience that the Word of God speaks about. God didn't
want robots, ice men that would mechanically do what He says,
putting no heart in it. Instead He wanted people that WOULD LOVE
HIM WITH ALL THEIR HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH (Mark 12:30).
He wanted free will beings, that would decide "FROM
THE HEART" to subject themselves to Him. Returning
to Abraham, he followed the Word of God despite the fact that it
seemed to imply the loss of his own son. Then, when he reached at
the critical point, the Lord interfered:
Genesis 22: 11-12, 15-18
"But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and
said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I
am." And he said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or
do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you
have not withheld you son, your only son, from Me.".........
Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of
heaven, and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord,
because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son,
your only son - blessing I will bless you, and multiplying
I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the
sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the
gate of his enemies; And in your seed all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed; BECAUSE YOU HAVE OBEYED MY VOICE."
The purpose of the test
was to show whether Abraham would obey God, even if this implied
the sacrifice of his blessing. Both Saul and Abraham were blessed
by God. The former was made the first king of Israel. The latter
had the promise that in his seed all the nations would be
blessed. However, there was a great difference between them.
Their difference was that the former was after the blessings and
their defense. This in turn led him to disobedience and fall. On
the other hand, the latter was after the Blesser, taking at the
end back his son, together with the confirmation of the blessings
for him and his seed.
3. Conclusion
We examined in the above the topic of obedience to God. Though the examination was by no means exhaustive, I
hope it made clear the importance of the matter. As it says in
Micah 6:6-8:
Micah 6:6-8
"With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself
before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt
offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with
thousands of rams? Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my
firstborn for my transgression? The fruit of my body for
the sin of my soul? HE HAS SHOWN YOU, O MAN, WHAT IS GOOD;
AND WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE OF YOU BUT TO DO JUSTLY, TO LOVE
MERCY, AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD?"
All that God wants from
us is to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with
Him. To humble ourselves under His mighty hand so that He
may exalt us in due time (I Peter 5:6). Disobedience, either in
the form of doing what the Lord has not said or not doing what
the Lord has said, is action separately from God. It doesn't
matter what we do, or the intentions we may have. What matters is
whether what is done comes out of obedience to God, as the
sacrifice of Abraham, or of disobedience, as the sacrifice that
Saul said he intended to do.
Tassos Kioulachoglou
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