As a Christian, how important is your obedience to God? In Matthew 28 Jesus instructs his first followers to teach his next followers to obey all Jesus commands:
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Matt 28:19-20
In our Exodus sermon series we are learning God sets his people free to choose to obey him. When we live in relationship with God, there are expectations to be obeyed. Our obedience gives holy space in our lives for God to work, to change us. Given this, how important is your obedience to God?
When selecting worship songs, I was surprised to find how few songs speak to our obedience. One hymnal has listed 2 songs under the theme of ‘obedience’. ‘Trust and Obey’, ‘Seek Ye First’. From our 350 congregational songs, I identified 4. There are many songs with related themes such as surrendering our will to God, or trusting God. Yet songs on the delight of living obedient lives or a determined intent as expressed Exodus 19:8, “We will do everything the Lord has said”? Nearly nothing.
Why is this? Could it be we are afraid the message of ‘earning our righteousness’ might be caught more than the ‘grace of God’? This fear is probably accurate. Even without strongly emphasising obedience, many people still reduce the Christian faith to only doing good deeds. This misses the heart of the gospel. The Bible teaches we don’t obey in order to earn God’s love or acceptance—we obey because we are already loved by Him.
Yet, what is the cost of avoiding the call to obedience? The abundant life Jesus offers can not be experienced without obedience. The church as the light of the world cannot be seen without obedience. The loving family that is the church cannot be formed without obedience. The work of the Spirit cannot be released without obedience. Perhaps we need a few more songs saying so? More than that, let us not miss the freedom and delight that comes from living obediently for God.
In Him,
Jason
Photo by NATHAN MULLET on Unsplash