Dec 17 2008
Obedience
The Bible tells us to be “doers” of the word, and not just hearers (James 1:22-25). It says that our “doing” or obedience is proof that we have a living faith (James 2:20). Scripture also states that our obedience is proof of our “friendship” with Jesus (John 15:14). And, the Bible declares that our obedience proves that we know and love Him (1st John 2:3-4; John 14:15; 1st John 5:3).
Jesus said that, if we don’t obey Him, we should not even call Him our Lord (Luke 6:46). And, Scripture states that God only gives His Holy Spirit to those who do obey Him (Acts 5:32). Also, the Bible says that God’s “end-time people” will be distinguished by keeping God’s commandments (Revelation 12:17; Revelation 14:12); moreover, the Apostle John stated that anyone who claims to know Jesus, but does not keep His commandments, is a liar (1st John 2:4). Plus, Jesus declared that only those who do God’s will, which is obedience, can enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21). Furthermore, God’s Word states that Jesus offers His eternal salvation to those who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9).
Solomon sums things up by saying that the conclusion of the whole matter is that we need to “fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). And, Jesus’ parable in Luke 6:47-49, teaches us that our obedience to Jesus’ word will ground us on the “Rock” and enable us to stand through the storms we face in this world. Obedience is important indeed, in fact, the Bible clearly tells us that it’s a necessity.