Obedience- Is It Overrated?
2 Thessalonians 1:8-10
He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
Wow, nothing like a light-hearted scripture to get an article started! At any rate, what is at issue here? Obedience to God’s word is the issue. We are called to obey the gospel. What is the gospel- the good news? Jesus Christ and Him crucified! Jesus then calls all men to follow him because he is: the bread of life John 6:48, the light of the world John 9:5, the gate for the sheep John 10:9, the good shepherd John 10:11, the resurrection John 11:25, the true vine John 15:1 and finally we see in John 14:6 he is, the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. With this kind of intensity of teaching, Jesus called all of his followers to truly follow him. He sacrificed everything for us by coming here to lay down his life. In his ministry and finally on the cross, Jesus poured out his life for us and commands us to then follow his example of devotion to his Father by obeying him. What is it that God wants from us? He wants all of our heart, mind, soul and strength- that’s all, nothing less. Amazingly, that is what Jesus gave. He was the perfect example, living out the life he commanded us to lead, with a passion. He never backed down, made excuses or gave up under pressure.
Psalm 51:16-17
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
Obedience seems so very difficult when we are not sold-out. When we are still holding on to the world, even if it is a little bit- obedience feels like harshness and looks to be far too difficult. This is where the excuses start coming and we get weak, worldly and have difficulty changing. But when you and I are sold-out to the Lord- we love obedience!
In the preceding scripture, David has truly blown it and gone head over heals into sin and the world. Nathan confronts him, hard-line, and David makes no excuses. He sees his sin and quickly repents. Perhaps one of the reasons we love David so much is due to his failures and then the following radical changes. Our God is moved by a broken and contrite heart. God is longing for us to obey and delight in Him, because he delights in us. Phoenix Church- let us each love obedience!
He stoops down to make us great,
Matt Sullivan
