Obedience: A Study in the Scriptures, by Diane Dew

OBEDIENCE

"If ye love Me, keep My commandments."

John 14:1

I. Jesus always did the will of the Father.

John 6:38 "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will,
but the will of him that sent me."
John 8:29 " ... for I do always those things that please him."
Hebrews 10:7 " ... Lo, I come ... to do thy will, O God."

A. Although He was the Son of God, He learned obedience through suffering.

Hebrews 5:8

B. He was obedient even to the point of death.

Philippians 2:8

C. The life of Christ is our pattern for perfection.

I Peter 2:21-22

II. It is "for our good " that we should obey.

Deuteronomy 6:24 "... And the Lord commanded us to do all these
statutes ... for our good always ..."

A. God offers many blessings for obedience.

Genesis 22:18 "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."
Genesis 26:4-5 " ... all the nations of the earth be blessed; because
that Abraham obeyed ..."
Deuteronomy 11:26-28 "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing a
nd a curse; a blessing, if ye obey ... and a curse if ye will not obey ..."
Deuteronomy 15:4-5 " ... the Lord shall greatly bless thee... only if thou
carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do
all these commandments ..."
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 "And all these blessings shall come on thee, and
overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God."
Psalms 19:11 "Moreover by them (commandments) is thy servant warned;
and in keeping of them there is great reward."
Jeremiah 7:23 "But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice,
and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and walk ye in all the
ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you."

1. Peace and rest.

Psalms 19:11 "... in keeping of them there is great reward."
Psalms 37:37 " ... behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace."
Proverbs 3:1, 2 " ... keep my commandments: for ... peace, shall
they add to thee."
Isaiah 32:17 "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and
the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever."
Isaiah 48:22; 57:21 "There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked."

2. Prosperity ("success ").

Deuteronomy 6:3, 10-11, 18, 24 "Hear ... and observe to do it; that it
may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily ... do that which
is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee ..."
Deuteronomy 7:11-14 " ... therefore keep the commandments ... do them,
that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy ...
and he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee; he will also bless
the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, ... Thou shalt be blessed
above all people ..."
Joshua 1:8 "This book ... observe to do according to all that is written
therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt
have good success."
I Kings 2:3 "... walk in his ways ... that thou mayest prosper in all that
thou doest ..."
I Chronicles 22:13 "Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takes heed to fulfil
the statutes ..."
Job 36:11 "If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in
prosperity, and their years in pleasures."

3. Joy.

Psalms 40:8 "I delight to do thy will, O my God ..."
John 13:17 "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

4. Victory over the enemy.

Exodus 23:22-23 "But if you shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that
I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies ... for mine Angel
shall go before thee in unto [thine enemies] ... and I will cut them off."
Leviticus 26:3, 7-9 "If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my
commandments, and do them ... and ye shall chase your enemies, and
they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase 100,
and 100 of you shall put 10,000 to flight; and your enemies shall fall ..."
Deuteronomy 6:18-19
Deuteronomy 7:15, 16 "And the Lord will take away from thee all
sickness ... but will lay them upon all them that hate thee. And thou shalt
consume all the people which the Lord thy God shall deliver thee ..."
Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 7
Psalms 81:13, 14 "Oh, that my people had hearkened unto me, and
Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their
enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries."
Malachi 3:11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he
shall not destroy the fruits of your ground ..."

5. Health.

Deuteronomy 7:15
Exodus 15:26

6. Long life.

Deuteronomy 4:4; 6:2
I Kings 3: 14
Proverbs 3:1, 2 "My son ... keep my commandments: for length of days,
and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee."

B. But the consequences for disobedience are severe.

I Samuel 12:15 "But if ye will not obey ... then shall the hand of the Lord
be against you..."
I Kings 13:21-24, 26 " ... Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed ... thy
carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. And it came to
pass, ... a lion met him by the way, and slew him. ... It is the man of God,
who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord ..."
Isaiah 1:19-20 "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the
land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured ..."
Romans 11:22 "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on
them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in
his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off."
II Thessalonians 1:7-9
John 5:14 " ... sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

III. To what extent are we required to obey God?

A. Even as those in the world are born slaves to sin, so ought we who have been
born from above to be servants of righteousness.

Romans 6 :16, 17

B. We have been chosen to obey (I Peter 1:2), and God has given us grace
(that is, the ability) to perform His purposes in our lives (Romans 1:5; Ephesians 2:10).

IV. However, God is more concerned with the attitude of the heart – not blind obedience.

Deuteronomy 5:29 "O that there were such an heart in them ... "
Romans 6:17 "... obeyed from the heart ... "
Ephesians 6 :6 "... doing the will of God from the heart "

A. Obedience is not to be a response of fear (I John 4:18), but of love.
Those who love will obey, for obedience is proof of love.

John 14:15, 23 "If ye love me, keep my commandments ... If a man
love me, he will keep my words ..."
I John 2:3-6 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep
his commandments. He that, I know him, and keepeth not his
commandments, is a liar ... He that saith he abideth in him ought himself
also so to walk, even as he walked."
I John 5:2, 3 "By this we know that we love the children of God, when
we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God,
that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."
II John 6 "And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is
the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should
walk in it."

B. "His commandments are not grievous."

I John 5 :3

C. It is because we are His people that we owe God allegiance and obedience
to His word.

Deuteronomy 27:9-10 " ... this day thou art become the people of the
Lord thy God. Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the Lord ..."

D. He demands both willingness and obedience.

Philippians 2:13 (1. to will and 2. to do)
Isaiah 1:19 (1. willingness and 2. obedience)
II Corinthians 8:11 (1. willingness and 2. performance)

E. Submission is a matter of the heart; but obedience is an act of the will.
(Compare Acts 5:27-29; 23:1-5.) God expects both.

V. It is not sufficient that we hear the word of the Lord. We must keep His
commandments.

Matthew 7:21 "Not every one that saith ... but he that doeth the will of
my Father ..."

Matthew 7:24, 26 "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine,
and doeth them ..."

Luke 6:46 "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

James 1:22-25 "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer ... and continueth therein ...
a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."

James 2:20, 22 "... faith without works is dead ..."

A. Salvation is based upon continued obedience to the word of God.

John 8:31 " ... if ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed."
   Philippians 2:12 "... as ye have always obeyed, ... work out your own
   salvation with fear and trembling."
   Hebrews 3:6, 14 "... whose house are we, if we hold fast ... unto the end.
   For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our
   confidence steadfast unto the end."
   Hebrews 5:9 "... he became the author of eternal salvation unto all
         them that obey him."

B. A walk of obedience is necessary for a fruitful prayer life.

         Proverbs 28:9 "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law,
         even his prayer shall be abomination."
         John 9:31
         I John 3:22 "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because
         we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing
         in his sight."

C. Obedience plays an important part in the claiming of our personal
inheritance in the kingdom of God, and all the blessings to be obtained
therein are conditional upon our relationship to the Lord.

Exodus 19:5, 6 "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed,
and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me
above all people ..."
Deuteronomy 6:17, 18
Joshua 1:6, 7 " ... turn not from it to the right hand or to the left,
that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest."
I Chronicles 28:7 "Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever,
if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments ..."
Hebrews 10:36 "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have
done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."

D. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

I Samuel 15 :22 "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings
and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to
obey is better than sacrifice ..."

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