Obedience Week 1
- Aug 13, 2024
- 7 min read
INTRODUCTION :
The litmus test of genuine, credible discipleship is the consistent walk of a disciple. Godly obedience is not simply working through a check list of do’s and don’t, but rather responding actively to the grace and revelation of God.
“Grace,” “faith,” and “obedience” cannot be disconnected. They are inseparable and interdependent. The apostle Paul taught the church at Colosse that we are to “walk” in Christ, just as we received Him by faith.
In Ephesians 2, Paul tied the walk of the believer to God’s grace when he said we were saved by grace through faith and that we were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Walking in obedience is something that is learned. It is a process. Peter challenges us to grow in learning obedience in I Peter 1:14, “…as obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had…” He continues in I Peter 2:2, “Like newborn babes, crave the pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”
Our effectiveness as disciples is dependent upon consistent, daily input from God’s Word about Himself and our immediate response in obedience. The result will be seen in our lives, our conduct, and will be seen in the lives of those we lead and influence and disciple.
Over these next few weeks, we will raise our awareness of the importance of obedience to God’s Word, understanding that it is both a means and a product of faith. We will work to understand the simple, straight-forward nature of obedience and will see its theme through the New Testament. Our faith always grows as we obey Him.
Let’s begin our look at our topic of obedience in
Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans can be divided into two sections. The first section of eleven chapters is doctrine. The second section is practical application. We base our practical application on the doctrine.
Here we see Paul bringing all of the doctrine in the previous 11 chapters together and it starts off with…”Therefore….”
Main Points for this passage are:
We respond to God by sacrificing…
In verse 1 we see that Paul urges his readers to respond by offering themselves as a living and holy sacrifice.
He uses the word appeal which is a plea, strong request, not a command so we have a choice to make
Think for a minute what Paul’s audience would have thought of when they heard the word “sacrifice.” They would have associated this with offering an animal sacrifice. The Romans also practiced this so they too would have been familiar with this concept. Animals gave their actual lives as a sacrifice as an offering to God. Paul uses this image, but says that we are to give ourselves as a living sacrifice.
We are a living sacrifice as opposed to a dead one
Our sacrifice is performed through the life we live
God may not require us to die for Him right now, but He asks something far more difficult. He asks us to live for Him. We are to die to self and live for Him every single day. We are to give our entire being, all our heart, all our love, all of our talents, all of our energy, and all of our strength to serve Him. Remember a few months ago when we studied our calling as disciples, we looked at Luke 9:23-24 which says And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
We sacrifice because He sacrificed
This is not easy. Someone may look at this and say, “Why? Why should I sacrifice myself for God? I look out for number 1.” Paul gives us the answer. He says, “by the mercies of God.”
In some translations it says, ‘in view of God’s mercies.” It is because of what God has done for us. He is not asking us to do something He is not willing to do. Jesus gave His life as the ultimate sacrifice.
Sacrificing is actually a form of worship
Paul says that presenting your body as a living and holy sacrifice is your “spiritual service of worship.”
When surrender our lives to His will - we are holy and acceptable to God
If the Creator sacrifices Himself for the creation, should not the creation sacrifice for the Creator?
Do not conform to the patterns of this word
Paul writes that we must no longer be conformed to the world. The word "world" is often used in the New Testament to refer to the "world system," or the way that every human being lives by default.
Paul tells us to abandon the chase for pleasure, possessions, and status—to stop living like everyone else. Instead, he urges us to be transformed from the inside out. (remember last week and the heart talk? We are living letters!)
Do not BE conformed , BE transformed– this implies that we have control over this, we have a choice of how we allow the world to affect us and direct our lives.
Conform vs Transform – To be conformed is to be molded by outside pressure and Paul exhorts us… Don’t be molded by the outward pressure of the world, but be transformed from the inside out.
Specifically, he writes that we must be changed in how we think, to have our minds renewed so that we can begin to understand God's will for our lives.
Renew your mind – renovation, complete change for the better. Not just a slight adjustment, but such a complete overhaul that total transformation of the whole being takes place starting internally.
God may or may not allow us cool stuff, relationships, and status in various forms. No matter what, he urges us to learn how to look at life with a new question: What does God want for me? What is truly a good, acceptable, and perfect use of my life for His purposes and not for my own?
The will of God is good and acceptable and perfect. One of the results of the renewal of our minds is that we may know and understand what the will of God is.
Now that we have read and heard Paul’s challenge on obedience. Let’s rewind to Luke Chapter 6:46-49 and see what Jesus has to say… keeping in mind what Paul just told us.
Luke 6:46-49
Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
I think this is one of the simplest lessons the Lord Jesus ever taught His disciples. The interpretation is pretty straightforward. However, the application is what is critical.
Simply put, Obedience to Christ is not optional. It lies at the heart of genuine conversion and true discipleship. Now I know it may take some time, BUT there should be a genuine desire to be obedient...
Afterall, to call Jesus Lord, is a place of authority and "lordship" and to call anyone Lord also communicates allegiance is owed.
Look at these two houses He speaks of...the contrast between the two...
A solid foundation that is not shaken is built by the one who listens and obeys.....
Then there is this other house built without obedience.... It has a shaky foundation and when approached by the stream it collapses.
Jesus is telling us...The one who COMES to me, HEARS me and OBEYS is on track for super coolness with a solid foundation.
CONCLUSION:
So how do we tie these two sections of Scripture together? Well if Paul is challenging us to sacrifice and not conform to the world, how can we accomplish that without obedience to Christ? Jesus simply says, COME to ME, HEAR ME, OBEY ME and build upon the foundation that I am.
Imagine that you were given an inheritance from an extremely wealthy relative, This inheritance included a plot of land and everything you needed to turn it into your dream home - the plans for the home, all of the supplies needed to complete the building, all of the tools to do the work but there is one catch- you have to do the actual work of building and putting it together and you have to follow the plans exactly as written - Are you in? Do you choose to accept this gift? Do you trust the giver in their provisions or will you fight to do it your own way?
The grace of God is like this - we have been given this gift and incredible inheritance. We must first choose to accept it by Faith. Then we honor the giver by following his wishes and directions. We trust that everything will come together even when we question or don’t fully understand.
More next week about faith, grace, works and how they fit together. He has an amazing plan for you and my prayer is you are allowing Him to build a solid foundation and you are experiencing a relationship with Him that is not of this world. Obedience is key.
Thoughts/Questions To Consider:
What are your thoughts about the statement, “God may not require us to die for Him right now, but He asks something far more difficult. He asks us to live for Him.”?
How would you describe the difference between conformation and transformation?
What are the areas in life where we tend to conform to the world and need to constantly renew our minds in order to be transformed?
Today’s Scriptures:
I Peter 1:14
I Peter 2:2
Romans 12:1-2
Luke 9:23-24
Luke 6:46-49