God always requires His children to be obedient. Adam and the woman were the first to disobey God and this has been the practice of God's children since that act. Thomas Watson(1620-1686) wrote a book entitled "The Ten Commandments" which includes a section on the meaning of obedience. We are going to review five aspects of obedience which Watson covers in his book.
First of all we must have a love for God in order to obey Him, Deuteronomy 7:6-9. If our motivation for obedience is not love then we become legalistic and harsh. This leads to a heart that judges other people for not being the type of Christian we think they should be. Love removes the roughness in our hearts, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a.
The next ingredient of obedience is self denial. This means I put away what I want and sincerely follow the Lord and become the person He wants me to be, Mark 8:34-37. In Romans 7:21-25 we read about the spiritual battle within our hearts which causes us to put self before God. By denying self and walking in the Spirit we do not full fill the desires of the flesh.
Our view of God's Word is another factor of obedience. If we love God's law, Psalm 119:97 and delight in it,Psalm 119:16 then it will not be a burden for us but a joy to keep, 1 John 5:3.
Finally, once we realize that obeying the Word of God is good for us obedience is not difficult, Deuteronomy 10:12-13. Everyone wants to do what is good for themselves. One of the benefits of obedience is the peace we have in our hearts and nothing trips us up, Psalm 119:165.
As a Believer, our hearts desire should be to obey the Lord as He reveals His truth to us in His Word. I challenge each of us to meditate on these truths to see if my heart is one that desires to obey the Word of God.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
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