John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
It is one thing to be willing to hear the teachings of Jesus...or to even to desire to be a learner of Jesus through diligent study or regular attendance at various Bible studies...or even, in many ways, to be like Jesus. But it is quite different to be obedient to the Will of God. Jesus though, says that obedience is one of those defining characteristics of being a disciple. What does it really mean to be obedient to God?
It means that we MUST do what God wants REGARDLESS of what we want.
In other words, SUBMITTING to the WILL of God. And it is doing THAT will for the right reasons. That really is the key. Consider this. By percentage, my guess is that only 1% or less of the world’s populations has ever committed murder. By mathematical definition then, 99% of the world has not murdered anyone and subsequently has followed the directives of God in that regard. Does that mean that the world has been obedient to God? Not necessarily! Because most of those people did not refrain from murder BECAUSE God said so! But rather because they simply were not inclined to commit that act or did not feel the need to. To make a comparison now. Do we have that same kind of loyalty to God’s will in regards to sins of a sexual nature? Have 99% of the world’s population refrained from adultery, fornication, and homosexuality? Of course not. In fact the numbers are possibly reversed. So why then do so many people participate in this sin? Because THEY WANT TO! Their desire to fulfill their own sensual pleasures are more important than what God wants. So then why do faithful Christians refrain from sexual immorality? Is it because we do not have the same kinds of desires? Of course not. But rather we refrain BECAUSE God has told us to.
So many people think that just because their lifestyles parallels, to a large degree, the teachings in the Bible, that they are obedient. Or that because they obey God on certain things that they AGREE with him on that they are obedient. Obedience, however is not numbers game. It is the COMPLETE replacement of my will for the will of God regardless of what I want. Obedience, by in large, is a mind set. It’s a way of life.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Walking in the light is not an accidental intersection of God’s command. We cannot live contrary to God on a variety of issues, And think that we are obedient because we approve of and subsequently follow a couple of God’s directives. Obedience is a conscientious decision to live as God would want. It is adapting our lives to be as much like God’s nature as we can humanly get. When we comprehend that basic concept, Then it becomes much easier to Not to do this sinful act, to stay away from that sinful environment, And to be willing to participate in any other service that God would want us to do. When we do, THEN we are Jesus’ disciples
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Not only does Jesus say obedience is a defining characteristic of discipleship, he also says that obedience is inseparably to the greatest command!
Matthew 22:36-37 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? (37) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
The greatest thing single thing that we can do for God is to love him with all of our being, And the greatest demonstration of our Love to him is through our willingness to submit to his will.
Reflecting the SON,
Dennis Hogan
12 Hours of Jesus is a community focused effort to teach the world more about Jesus. Our first event is May 10th in Radcliff Kentucky.
Questions, comments or further explanation? Contact me at: dennis.hogan@icloud.com
If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward
their e-mail address to me and I will add them to my mail list.
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