Discipleship: Obedience
Week 2 Devotional
OK Men,
Humans have a sin nature. That is never more evident than when you’re raising kids. They’re cute, loveable, and yet, entirely motivated by their own desires. Some of their first words are usually, “No” and, “Mine!” Early on, these prideful little sinners need to be taught how to share because their first instinct is to rip any desired object right out of the hands of someone else. As they get older different struggles emerge, like your 10-year-old never wanting to wear a coat, or your teenager failing to clean their room. The desire to rebel and be led by ourselves never fully goes away, and eventually, our disobedience carries over into our relationship with God.
Last week, we explored the theme of action and how it’s crucial to our discipleship. Jesus’ final instructions to his followers were, “go and make disciples”. However, he included one additional step. He said to teach the disciples that you make to “obey everything I have commanded you,” (Matthew 28:20). Obey everything. Just as proper discipleship requires action, it also requires obedience.
In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commands.” He goes on to say this a total of four times in only three paragraphs, stressing the importance of obedience, as well as it’s connection to loving Christ. This verse can be challenging because it tends to highlight how disobedient we’ve been to him in the past, and how disobedient we can still be. What exactly is it that we need to be obedient to? What does Jesus teach and command of us? Even for the most established believer it can be tough to name them all. Here are only some of the instructions Jesus gives to his followers:
· Jesus tells us to reconcile and forgive (Matthew 5:24)
· Jesus warns against looking at a woman lustfully (Matthew 5:28)
· Jesus teaches us to be men of our word (Matthew 5:37)
· Jesus expects us to love and pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44)
· Jesus says not to worry (Matthew 6:27)
· Jesus tells us not to judge others (Matthew 7:1)
· Jesus says to treat others the way we would want to be treated (Matthew 7:12)
· Jesus tells us not to fear (Matthew 10:28)
· Jesus instructs us to honor our parents (Matthew 15:4)
· Jesus teaches us to deny ourselves (Matthew 16:4)
· Jesus wants us to help the poor (Luke 14:12)
· Jesus commands us to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul (Matthew 22:37)
· Jesus expects us to make disciples all over the world (Matthew 28:19)
· Jesus tells us to repent and leave our lives of sin behind (Matthew 4:17)
How in the world are we expected to be obedient to all of that? It’s hard to offer forgiveness when we’ve been blatantly wronged. Every person has been guilty of fear and worry. Every man has fallen to the temptation of lust. As followers, how do we refrain from judging others, love our enemies, and then go and make disciples? We can do these things by trusting that when God gives us his instructions for life, and then tells us to obey, it’s for our protection. He knows how the world corrupts and affects us. He knows how our own heart will lead us astray.
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Now, disobedience on our part doesn’t change God’s love for us. However, he does care about our obedience because the very nature of his ways bring blessings and rewards. His teachings lead to a flourishing life. Like the good earthly father who tells his 10-year-old child to wear a coat, he better understands the reasons why it’s important. Disobedience leads to problems. First, it sacrifices our future self for the comfort of now. If the kid doesn’t wear the coat, he’s going to get cold, and possibly get sick. He can’t see his personal discomfort or sickness on the horizon. His understanding is limited. When a man gives in to lust, it’s to gain satisfaction in the moment. The horizon, or future version of himself, isn’t typically his concern. Another problem is that a man can desire to be obedient, yet still keep his temptations within arm’s reach. When this happens, he’s obedient most of the time, but when the temptation is kept close, the derailment is also near. A final problem is when a man stays faithful to the Lord until challenging situations arise. He follows the Lord when it’s convenient. When it gets difficult, he follows his own path, because he wants his own comfort over the will of the Lord. There are an abundance of other reasons why a man would disobey the Lord. Regardless of what they are, we must acknowledge the truth that partial obedience is not obedience.
When Saul was king of Israel, the Lord told him to “attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys,” (1 Samuel 15:4). Saul gathered his army, they fought, and won. However, they kept the best of the cattle, destroying only what was worthless. Samuel, the prophet, heard the animals and confronted Saul. “Saul answered, ‘The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest” (1 Sam. 15:15). Saul had an excuse ready, one that even sounded holy, as if his disobedience was devotion.
Samuel replied, “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king” (1 Sam. 15:23). Saul would go on to admit, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave into them” (1 Sam. 15:24). Saul showed partial obedience, which is not obedience. When he became fearful of the potential thoughts and actions of other men (not even the actual thoughts and actions of the men), he caved. He stopped listening to God when it got difficult. Partial obedience excuses sin, it puts our own comfort over God, and allows the enemy to keep a hook in us.
Additionally, if the motivation to be obedient isn’t properly centered, then we’re destined to fail. If our obedience is rooted in fear of condemnation, repentance feels like a shameful reprimand, when it’s intended to be a graceful realignment with God. If we only obey because we want God’s blessings, any challenge that comes our way can have us thinking that God is punishing us. Often, God lovingly lets challenges befall us to produce spiritual fruit or strengthen our faith and reliance on him. Even obedience for obedience sake will come to feel like an obligation simply because we’re fallen humans with hearts that are prone to wandering.
Obedience is only sustainable when it’s rooted in love for Jesus and gratitude for the cross. Remembering that Jesus was perfectly obedient to the Father, only to have his body ripped open, then nailed to a cross, so that we might inherit a salvation that is unbreakable helps a man deepen his love and appreciation for Christ. Only then does it become easier to follow his ways, which ultimately, are instructions for the best kind of life, not rules meant to bog us down. And when we do fall, because we will, the grace of Christ is still there to catch us.
Sometimes obedience feels like suffering. When the difficulty to stay true to the Lord increases, that’s not the time to look for the shortcut. Suffering through obedience is what produces the greatest changes within. Hebrews 5:8 says, “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” Even Jesus suffered in his obedience! Yes, it can be incredibly difficult. Obedience crucifies the flesh and requires us to push ourselves, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, outside of our comfort zone. But as we live on the edge of what is difficult, challenging, and uncomfortable in order to honor the Lord God Jesus Christ, that’s where sanctification happens. Jesus never promised that following him would be easy. But he did promise that it would lead to life.
Obedience helps us experience the goodness of God on this side of eternity. My own struggles remind me that I can’t measure up. I’m always pointed back to Christ and his immeasurable grace. Because of that, obedience is not something that needs to cause worry or anxiety. When I’m obedient, he’s gracious. When I fail, he’s still gracious. It’s a struggle and lifelong process to be made Christ-like. But every once in a while, I can look back and notice that some things are easier to follow now than they once were, and I can see how the Holy Spirit has done good work in me. And even though we’re covered by a depth of grace that we can’t fathom, we must still take obedience seriously, because the will of the Lord is accomplished through the actions of faithful, obedient, servants.
We need to understand that our obedience is important to God. It’s crucial for his plans to unfold, as well as instrumental in our own faith and sanctification. C.S. Lewis said, “Obedience is the key that opens every door.” It doesn’t make sense to the outsider, but the fulfillment that comes from the Christian life begins with obedience to Christ. Does all of this mean that you don’t love Jesus if you sin? Of course, not. God’s not expecting you to be perfect, which is why you’re covered by the blood of his perfect Son. But the man who truly loves Jesus is willing to get uncomfortable in order to remain obedient. The world, our families, and even Christian circles need to see more men getting uncomfortable for Christ.
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