True Obedience Part 1

Through the years there has been a lot of confusion about the relationship between faith and works. We have tended to go from one extreme to the other. At times we emphasize faith; other times we emphasize works. There is no doubt that we are saved by faith and faith alone. The problem, I believe, is most of us either don't know what salvation by faith is or we have a wrong idea of how it works. Personally, I think that it is a mistake to believe that a person is saved by a simple affirmation of faith or by accepting some intellectual truth or by repeating a sinner's prayer. Many people seem to have mistaken knowledge for Christian faith. They get some new views of religious truth, which gets them excited, or someone convinces them that faith is a formula. They are led to believe they are saved by repeating some magic words. I like how one person put it, "Don't let any person tell you that you are saved. You know your heart!" But then, let's go back to the question of faith and works; or, to say it another way, let's talk about the question of faith and obedience. It is absolutely true that salvation is by faith alone. "By faith alone" simply means that we cannot save ourselves. Only God can save us. However, it is also true that you can know when a person has received salvation by faith, because he will always, and there is no exception to this, desire to be obedient. Faith and true obedience simply always go together. You can't have one without the other, because obedience in the final analysis is what salvation is all about. A person who is not converted cannot obey God, because the carnal heart is not subject to the law of God. This is the reason a person who has not accepted Christ cannot be obedient in the true sense of the word. Obey is what people who have received salvation by faith in Jesus do. What I am saying is that it is impossible to truly obey God without faith in Jesus. In a sense, we can say that the first step in salvation is that the lost are called to come to Christ, and then, that having come to Christ, they are called to a life of obedience in Him. Obedience is the objective test as to whether a person has really received salvation. Jesus said, putting it in plain English, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." In another place He says that "a tree is known by its fruits." True obedience is not an act, but an attitude. You hear me refer to "true obedience." You may ask, "But is there such a thing then as false obedience?" Not really, but the word obedience is often used rather loosely. The fact is, a person is either obedient in God's eyes or he is disobedient. You see, God does not measure obedience like we do. We look on the outward appearance; God looks on the heart. For this reason we need to understand that obedience is, first and foremost, something that comes from the heart. Obedience is an attitude. I say that because a person can appear to be obedient on the outside and actually be hating every minute of it. Many of us have been somewhat confused in respect to obedience. We have thought that obedience was somehow our part in salvation. We have thought salvation had two parts: God's part and our part. The fact is that all of salvation is God's part. He not only forgives my sins, but He, in a miraculous way, gives me an attitude that actually wants to obey whatever He asks. The whole plan of salvation has as its primary purpose to create in us a new heart--that is, a new attitude--which says, "I delight to do your will, O my God. You have written Your commandments in my heart." If there is anyone here today who doesn't enjoy obeying God or feels that God's will--His commandments--are not fair or is asking too much, do not pass "Go," do not "collect two-hundred   Rands," but go directly to your knees and acknowledge to God that you have not let Him give you the greatest gift of all--the gift of obedience. Jesus said, "He that has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me." (John 14:21). And in another place He said, "If a person loves me they will keep my words." (John 14:23). Some people think that in the Old Testament a person was saved by obedience, and in the New Testament we are saved by faith. Jesus didn't do away with obedience. He made obedience an even greater issue then Moses ever did. The Old Testament said don't run off with another person's wife. Jesus said don't even think about it. I am thrilled as I realize Jesus is giving me a heart that loves to obey. A new attitude is necessary though, because a person persuaded against his will is always of the same opinion still. A person who does not have an attitude of obedience will tend to play what we might call "obedience games." That is, he will be obedient in some things and disobedient in others. But true obedience is nondiscriminatory. It is an ongoing attitude that operates all the time. A person who knowingly obeys part of God's commandments and not others is not 50% obedient or almost obedient--that person is simply disobedient. When we talk about what it means to be "true to God" or "faithful to God," what are we talking about anyway? Think about it. How can a person ever be true to God or faithful to God unless he is obedient to what God requires? So the first characteristic of true obedience is that it is an attitude that God puts in our hearts. Another point that we need to understand about true obedience is that: God measures obedience in a person's life by his capacity to obey. As I have already pointed out, true obedience is an attitude that comes when a person accepts Jesus as His Savior and the process of salvation begins to impact his life. Does this mean then that a person who has an attitude of obedience will obey God in the absolute sense of the word? A life of obedience must not be confused with a kind of absolute perfection. The Scripture is clear that God takes into account where a person was born (Psalm 87:6), that is, where he is coming from, his background, who he is and what opportunities he has had. It is an eternal truth that the Ten Commandments are, and always have been, the standard by which absolute obedience to the will of God is measured But remember, God looks at the heart. A first grader goes to school with an attitude to learn. He makes mistakes along the way, but his attitude to learn makes it possible for him to grow. In the Christian life, it's a little like going to school. Obedience is an attitude. Along the way we make mistakes, but the mistakes are committed by an obedient attitude, which will acknowledge the mistakes and learn from them. Using the illustration of school again-a good student tries to get 100% on his examination. When he misses a question, he is not satisfied. But knowing that this is his area of weakness, he will actually give special attention to the matter until he is able to get the question right next time. I believe that God judges a person in relationship to who the person is and where he is coming from. God does not hold us all equally accountable. That may not be fair, but it is just. By the way, we tend to see things from a point of view of "is it fair?" Fairness says that, if you have a Rand and there are four people, each one gets a quarter. But God acts from the principle of justice. Fairness gives to each person equally. Justice will divide the Rand up among those with the greatest need. Although God uses the same yardstick on all of us, He doesn't hold us all equally accountable. The standard by which a first grader gets A's would, if applied strictly to a person studying for a PhD, be absurd. In the same way, the standard that applies to a PhD candidate would completely crush a first grader. Obedience must be seen from God's point of view. He says, "To him who knows to do good and doesn't do it, to him it is sin." (James 4:17). In other words, a person is held accountable by God according to the light he has. Does this mean ignorance is bliss? Not at all. A child of five can be as implicitly obedient as a youth of 22. But the difference between the two lies in what is expected of each one.