When we talk about obeying God we're not talking about rule keeping. When you play a game, there are rules to the game. We don't play a lot of games in our family because we argue a lot about the rules. Does anyone else do this? I can't tell you how many times we've played a game that we should've finished in an hour or so, but, we didn't finish at all because we kept going back to look at the rules. What we do with games, we do with faith. Of course most of the time that we check the rules we're making sure the other guy is playing fair, right? It's never about our game play. We do this in church, too. When we talk about obedience we're not talking about making sure everyone is playing by the rules. Jesus ranted on rule checkers calling them "hypocrites, snakes, and children of hell." So we should really pursue the idea that obedience has nothing to do with keeping a bunch of rules.
If living in obedience isn't about keeping the rules then what is it about? Memorize this answer. Spend some time for the next few moments and let this sentence hang on your heart.
Living in obedience to Jesus is about having the right perspective of who God is.
Over and over and over again, Jesus pointed his students to His Father. Jesus lived with a "Thy will be done" attitude. At the end of his life, he was nervously pacing back and forth in the garden before His arrest because he knew the torture and the cross were moments away. Even then Jesus didn't take matters in his own hands, even then Jesus didn't push God away, ESPECIALLY then Jesus simply said, "Thy will be done."
This is what we want to talk about for the next few minutes. How do we get the right perspective of who God is? How can we live like Jesus, not for the rules, but for the love of our heavenly Father? When we struggle with our faith, when we doubt, when we wonder if God is "there for us," when we feel that we're not "close to God", these are feelings that are mostly associated with disobedience. God says, "nothing can separate you from my love for you." God doesn't leave. God loves you even when you're disobedient. God loves you all the time. But our sin does cause a separation from God's presence. Here's how Paul teaches it in Ephesians,
"Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else."
Well, that's a pretty bleak picture isn't it? We're all subject to God's anger. Why is God angry? Because of our sin. Sin causes death. Eternal death. When a human being is given the choice to live with Jesus, but, instead decides they would rather live with death, it really makes God mad. This is the first thing we learn about obedience from the teaching of Jesus:
We have the choice to be rebellious or to be obedient. John 3:36
"...anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”
God loves his children and He wants all of us to obey Jesus. He wants all of us to have the perspective that Jesus had, that, we obey God, our Heavenly Father, because we love Him. I don't know why people have a hard time understanding why God can be angry and yet love at the same time. I'm a dad. I get angry with my kids, especially when they disobey me after being confronted and yet, still refuse to change their way. I get frustrated sometimes with my kids. But I love them. I will never stop loving them. And that's what Romans 8:38 means, God loves people even when a person decides to disown His Son and live for themselves. That ticks Him off, that frustrates Him, but, in no way does His frustration, or His anger diminish His love.
Living in obedience to Jesus is about having the right perspective of who God is.
It would be really sad for all of us if Paul stopped in Ephesians 2 with, "By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else." There would be no reason to worship Him if this was the end of the story. We wouldn't have any hope, no reason for life, we would have no will to endure if this was it. But this isn't it. Paul continues,
"But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead...you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."
You see what Paul does here? He challenges the whole rule keeping thing. Your Salvation is not based on good things you do. And we should all breathe a long sigh of relief. We can't boast about being good, because we're not good. We need Jesus for our eternal life. And this is the second thing I learn from Jesus about obedience.
Those who choose to obey Jesus do so because they love Him. John 14:15
“If you love me, obey my commandments."
We can't work for our Salvation. We can't earn it. We can't buy it. We can't go to church for it. We can't get baptized for it. We can't pray for it, either. God just gives it. It is a gift from God. It's a present.
Now. How do we open this present? A gift doesn't do any good unless it's put to use. We know what to do with a present. We open it. We tear the paper off, we cut out the packaging. We take the gift and we use it. But what is the first thing we teach our kids about receiving a present? To say, "Thank you." Why? Because the person who gave the gift offered a sacrifice of time and money to find the gift, to purchase it, and then to wrap it. Do we look at the person who gave us a gift and say, "I deserve this gift, so it makes sense you would give it to me?" But, in a very real way, this is what we say to God when we believe that because we do good stuff we've somehow earned the sacrifice of Jesus. Obedience is how we say, "Thank you, God" and unwrap His precious gift of our Salvation. This is what baptism is about. Just like Jesus who went to the cross out of obedience to His Father, we are raised to new life just like He was by the same power of the same Father.
Living in obedience to Jesus is about having the right perspective of who God is.
As we conclude, let's get practical. Obedience is NOT about perfection. Obedience is simply about asking why we do what we do. Why do I read the Bible? Why do I pray? Why do I attend the worship time on Sunday? Why do I help people? Why do I make sacrifices of my time and money to help the church? Why should I get baptized? The answer is because we're doing everything we can to love God as He loves us. And as we live in obedience the third thing I learn from Jesus is:
Obedience is rewarded with eternal life. John 8:51
"I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”
This isn't about keeping a bunch of rules. We obey Jesus because we love our Heavenly Father, and we know it's not easy. We need each other, because we don't always succeed, sometimes we fail, we give in to our selfish nature, we don't always make the sacrifice. You are valued and needed because we motivate each other to live for Jesus. Hebrews 10:25 You are valued and needed because we model for each other what it looks like to live obediently for Jesus. Matthew 25:37-40 and you are valued and needed because we need each other to mentor our young people to walk the same way. Titus 2:4-7
Living in obedience to Jesus is about having the right perspective of who God is.
God loves me and this is why I obey Him. I say to God, "Thy will be done."
