Obedience To God

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16 (KJV)

Have you had times in your life when you just felt like rebelling against authority and normal conventions, you know, having to always obey the rules and submitting to authority?

This especially happens when we are younger, usually our teen years, trying to find out “who we are” and dealing with the constant peer pressure and other stresses of finding our place in life. 

Well, this may surprise you, but as human beings we are still dealing with peer pressure, and are still trying to find out who we are. And as long as we are in sin, we are still rebelling against authority — only spiritually! That rebellion comes through disobedience to the authority of God. 

To paraphrase our verse, we either obey God unto life, or obey sin unto death!

Remember that life is always about movement, and that movement hinges upon our decision to obey, or not obey, the will of God as God is the only power in existence. Every endeavor in life reflects this movement, you are either moving forwards, or backwards, you never stand still. 

However, because of man’s will factor (freedom of choice which God has given to His Children) we don’t always move consistently in one direction or the other. In other words we don’t always obey. It is imperative to realize that as children of God, it is required of us to constantly strive to move forward. Sin is moving backwards, or away from God, righteousness is moving forward, or towards God.

Let’s take an example.

Climbing the corporate ladder takes a determination to succeed, at whatever cost. We also must take responsibility for our own destiny, by applying a good Christian ethic, actively positioning ourselves in the faith culture, and other means to move forward. Faith is about working out our destiny in Christ.

Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).  Philippians 2:12 (Amplified)

And herein lies the key, ambitiously climbing the rungs of the corporate management ladder entails the concept of movement. Moving from one place of authority and responsibility to another more advanced position. Again, life is about movement, going from one state of being, to another. Up or down, life is the ultimate corporate ladder. 

We must obey the rules of engagement, with dedication and focused action, in order to achieve our goals, as obedience requires commitment, to gain our desired results. One hundred percent obedience equates to one hundred percent commitment, and effort, which in a perfect world would result in a one hundred percent return on our investment of time and energy. 

As with all things, the amount of effort is directly in proportion to the results we wish to achieve. Give a hundred percent, get a hundred percent. The real question is, what corporate culture are we moving in, in God’s or the world’s? 

So how does this relate to obedience, personal identity, and submission to, or rebellion against, God’s authority? To rephrase the previous question, we must first define who’s culture we are embracing, God’s or the world’s, and in doing so we can define which side we are on and what reward we should expect. (Reading the previous post titled: Are You In The Body Of Christ? gives a good foundation in this).

Because obedience is service, when we decide who we will serve (obey) we choose what destiny, or reward, we shall receive. And a one hundred percent service (obedience) secures our destiny, or reward, one hundred percent. It is very simple and straightforward. There is only one authority, God's.

First we must understand that there is only one power in the world, and that is God’s power. And that power is derived from the divine authority of God that expresses in all of creation. It is when we are in submission to that power and authority, through obedience, that we move forward in life. Life is all about moving forward or backwards, and obedience or disobedience to the authority of God is the mechanism by which we travel this road.

When we accept and embrace the standards, and consequent lifestyle, of the world, we are actually in rebellion against God and His power in our lives. Again, He is the only true authority in life, therefore not accepting that authority puts us in a state of rebellion against life itself, which means we have chosen death.

The principles of faith are consistent, we either identify with God and accept His authority in our lives, which is obedience unto righteousness (as stated in our reference verse) or we go into identity crisis by taking on the standards of the world. I know I am repeating this but it is crucial to our lives in a very direct and real sense.

It is by our choices in life that we either gain or lose our full inheritance with God. We also lose our familial status with God, namely adoption, as we become children of perdition and no longer remain children of God. That is our identity crisis. Our true identity is in being the Children Of God that we are meant to be. 

Always remember that Satan is not a god, and never was, therefore he can only be the father of lies—not the father of men. We are never under his authority, nor do we have a familial (family) relationship with him. Through the agency of our free will we can give a stranger, and a thief, our most precious of valuables, but in doing so it does not convey an inherent right to them. But we have an inherent hope, a place in God's heart for redemption.

To open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power ofSatan to God, so that they may thus receive forgiveness and release from their sins and a place and portion among those who are consecrated and purified by faith in Me.  Acts 26:18 (Amplified) 

Neither does Satan have an inherent right of authority over mankind.

So we see three elements in action in our lives spiritually: God’s authority, our own authority in our lives, and our level of obedienceto God’s authority. In submitting authority to God in our lives, through obedience, we are also identifying ourselves as being His children. 

This requires us to obey His principles, rules, and tenets of faith, as this is the acknowledgement of the authority and power of God! By living a worldly lifestyle, with all the sins and lusts therein, we are in rebellion, or disobedience, to the authority of God. When we do this we are relinquishing our will to the world, and the rebellion that is in the world, rather than to God, and lose our inheritance and identity (family ties) with God through this disobedience. 

It is important to understand that God is the only true authority, and His authority is always intact. Disobedience to that authority is rebellion and sin. And sin’s reward is death. Sin has no authority in our lives, except that we ourselves have given it.

Which way are you moving?

We will always be moving in one direction or another, as we are always making decisions in life, and acting upon them. Each decision is inherently calibrated to either serve the world, or to serve God. Every decision, and consequent action we make, is either in obedience with the authority of God, as clearly stated in the principles, laws and tenets of our faith, or are in disobedience of that authority. 

In other words, we are either sinning or not sinning, we are making decisions that either reflect sin, or reflect righteousness. So again, this is how we move forward, or backwards, in life through the application of obedience, or lack thereof, to God’s authority. 

I believe I've said this enough to give the idea of what obedience and disobedience DO in our lives. One hundred percent effort gives a one hundred percent return, and only in this way do we achieve success. 

And as children of God, we want to be successful in reaching our heavenly home, through the front door of discipleship in Christ, and free from sin. This can only be achieved by being in total submission to the authority of God, and anything that is in rebellion (meaning sin) to that authority must be taken out of our lives completely! This is a crucial point. 

We must be one hundred percent obedient, one hundred percent of the time, in order to receive within ourselves, complete, or one hundred percent, righteousness.

"Do you not know that if you continually surrender yourselves to anyone to do his will, you are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)?" Romans 6:16 (Amplified)

Obedience to God’s authority brings life, and that life is perfect and eternal. It is because in living the laws, truths, and promises of God, as reflected perfectly in the life of Jesus Christ, we lose the ability to sin. 1 John 3:9 (KJV) states: "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."

Obeying God places us in the center of His will, and that will is to bring about the redemption of our souls, and to bring us home to the heavenly kingdom. Sin is rebellion to the authority of God, and as such, loses all the fulfilling of the promises of hope that God gives under that authority. 

Obedience is the only key to moving forward towards this fulfillment.

If we are moving forward only to move backwards again, we will never reach our goal. We must move consistently forward, in order to arrive at our destination on time! As in always obedient When we are being obedient to the will of God, we are being consistent with the teachings of Christ and the tenets and principles of our faith. 

So when we are obedient all the time, in every act of thought, emotions, and deed, then we are being constant in our efforts to obey, and have risen to another level in our Walk Of Faith. Now we begin to walk in the power of dynamic change in our lives. The power to change us from carnal man, into the Children of God that we are. 

It is in our constant obedience that we cast aside the destructive power of sin in our lives—without wavering, faltering, or ultimately, without failure, because we are applying it one hundred percent of the time in our lives. It is much like when we learn or acquire any skill, habit, or discipline, in life. You must practice consistently AND constantly, to master it. Consistent in that you do it the same way, or method, that has been proven to gain the same results. You do it constantly so that it establishes the skill, habit or discipline. 

You may apply the same method each time to attain a desired result, but it is in the constant application of that method that increases your ability to attain the result each, and every, time. Much like learning to play a piano, you first learn the basic skills, such as the musical scales. As you progress (move forward) you gain new, more advance skills and abilities. The ability to acquire these greater skills comes from constantly putting into use what you have learned, and then seeking constantly to learn more. 

The only way to one day play Moonlight Sonata, is to first learn how to play Mary Had A Little Lamb. Each level builds on the one before it. It is an immutable rule of life—and applies to any accomplishment.

So applying our obedience, at every opportunity, accomplishes this same principle of progression in our Walk Of Faith. First we overcome the old habits of our sinful nature, the basics (and beginning) of our Christian walk, by constantly putting forth the effort to obey God. Then as we overcome these things, we can apply our newly acquired skills to more areas of our lives, building upon our previous efforts through the discipline that we have acquired by the constancy of those efforts. 

But until we have developed a level of success, we won’t have the tools to move forward with God. But we have a living hope in God:

"But You deal with me and act for me, O God the Lord, for Your name’s sake; because Your mercy and loving-kindness are good, O deliver me."  Psalm 109:21 (Amplified)

So we see that we need not only consistency in our obedience, but we also must be constantly obedient. This is how we mature in our faith. It is this maturity, that ultimately erases all sin from our lives, and opens the door to receiving the fullness of God’s will, power, and authority in our lives. 

When that happens, all that is unlike God is transformed, including (or especially) ourselves. Being one hundred percent obedient, one hundred percent of the time IS the power of constancy, and consistency, that matures us in our faith.

And one last thought on God’s forgiving mercy.

In our walk with God there will at times be setbacks, as we are not perfect until we are perfect. In other words, you are not at your destination until you get there! God knows this, just as He knows our hearts. In this we are given a great gift, it is called Grace. God forgives us of our sins (our moving backwards) until we reach an age of maturity in Christ.

"Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]."  James 5:16 (Amplified)

It is in that maturity, that we can constantly, and consistently, move forward. So, much like when we were young and trying to find ourselves amongst the pressures of life, so are we in our Walk Of Faith. Grace gives us God's mercy until we finally mature, overcome our identify crisis, submit our will to His authority, and cease our rebellion. Then we will gain our heavenly reward.

It is then we understand that obedience is not a cruel constraint, placed upon us by some capricious god. But rather, through our Father’s love, it is the very key to the heavenly realms. In the final analysis, we must ask ourselves which master we would rather choose to serve and obey; sin unto death, or God unto life eternal?
I for one, choose life. 
  
Be blessed, be loved and be at peace. May the light of God's glory and presence fire the brilliance of your souls. You are greatly loved.