Is Obedience Optional?

Many Christians today use the “grace card” as an excuse why they don’t need to concern themselves with obedience to God’s commandments.  In other words, they feel that since we are saved by grace through faith, and not by works, our works are not important.  But this could not be farther from the truth.

God places great importance on obedience in the life of the disciple.  This is what Jesus taught.

Condition for Eternal Life
The apostle Paul said that Jesus Christ is the source of salvation to all those who obey Him.  "Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation." (Heb 5:8-9). That's not my opinion, it's God's Word.

The apostle John said, “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1Jo 2:17).  If you do the will of God, you’ll live forever.  If not, you will pass away with the world and its lusts.

Jesus also said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death." (Joh 8:51) This is a conditional sentence containing the word “if.”  It is only “if” you keep His word that you will never see death.  Surely we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus.  But once you are saved, the Lord expects you to keep His word. If you want to meet the conditions for eternal life, you must keep Jesus’ Word!

As John the Baptist said, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (Joh 3:36).  The wrath of God abides on the one who does not obey the Son, and he will not see life.

Loving Means Obeying
Jesus also said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (Joh 14:15).  Many people say they love Jesus or they believe in Jesus. But they don’t do what He said.  They don’t keep His commandments.  They make excuses why they don’t need to give tithes and offerings or keep Sundays holy. They justify why it is ok for them to practice sexual immorality, occultism, or idolatry.  But their actions show the true condition of their heart.  A person can appear to be a true follower of Christ on the outside but God knows the heart. There are multitudes of churches on the Earth and many of the churches are filled with many people. However, most of them are not true Christians.

If you want to abide in Jesus' love, here is what you must do: you must keep His commandments!  He said, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. (Joh 15:10).  Jesus set the example for us and kept His Father’s commandments, so we need to imitate Him.

He was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, not just a natural death.  Paul said, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus… Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phi 2:5,8).  The Father expects that kind of obedience from disciples of Christ.

Hear and Act on Jesus’ words

Not everyone who believes in Jesus is going to heaven.  Not everyone who calls Him, “Lord” is going to be saved. 

Listen to what Jesus taught.  "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall." (Mat 7:21-27)

Your salvation is based on grace through faith in Christ.  But it ultimately depends on whether or not you hear and act on Jesus’ words.  Those who hear His words and act on them will be saved.  When the storms come, they will not be shaken.  But those who hear His words and do not act on them will not be saved.  Jesus will call them “you who practice lawlessness,” and command them to depart from Him. They will be destroyed like the house built on sand. 

Don’t build your house on the sand!  All your prophesying, working miracles, and casting out demons in Jesus’ name will not save you.  Those are good to do, but if you are not acting on the words of Jesus, keeping His commandments, you will be blown away.

Jesus’ True Family Does God’s Will
If you are truly Jesus’ brother, sister, or mother, you will do the will of the Heavenly Father.  Jesus said, "For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother." (Mat 12:50).  It doesn’t matter if you have prayed to ask Jesus into your heart and you go to church every week.  God is watching to see whether or not you will do His will. If you fail on some point, repent sincerely and ask forgiveness.  God is gracious and will forgive you.  But don’t keep walking in the same sin or you will eventually wind up in hell. 

Feeding on Obedience
When Jesus had once spoken to the woman at the well, His disciples asked if he wanted something to eat. Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” (Joh 4:34).  For Jesus it was nourishing to Him to do the will of God, and it is for every disciple of His who chooses to do God’s will. Man lives on every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.

Sheep and Goats Judged on What They Did or Did Not Do
Jesus is coming back very soon.  At the final judgment, He will sit on His glorious throne.  Here is how He described it:

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Mat 25:31-46)

Jesus taught that what we do to His brethren, we do to Him.  Remember that He taught us His brethren are those who do God’s will.  So whatever you do to them you do to Jesus.  Whenever you feed His brethren who are hungry, visit those who are sick or imprisoned, clothe those who are naked, or invite those who are strangers into your home, you are doing it to Jesus Himself.  Conversely, whenever you neglect to do so, you neglect to do it unto Jesus. 

The sheep and goats will be judged on what they did and didn’t do.  Both the sheep and the goats will call Him “Lord.”  But only those who do God’s will, who act on Jesus’ words will inherit eternal life.  Those who do not will go away to eternal punishment.

The Word Will Condemn Those Who Don’t Keep It
This is the part people don’t like to talk about.  It doesn’t fit with their idea of grace and freedom.  But these are the words of Jesus our Savior.  He said, "If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me." (Joh 12:47-50)

Jesus clearly taught that the word He has spoken will condemn anyone who hears His sayings and does not keep them.

Putting it All Together
Jesus Christ is the source of salvation for all who obey Him. If He is truly your Lord, then that means He is your Master.  It means you do whatever He says.  If you love Him, you will keep His commandments.  If you don't keep His commandments, then you don't really love Him.

In that final judgment, you won’t be able to pull out the “grace card” from your hand and claim that you are saved by grace alone.  You need to take care now that you are doing the will of God, keeping His commandments, hearing and acting on Jesus’ words, and feeding on obedience to the Lord. 

When you see one of Jesus’ brethren hungry, feed them.  Clothe those who are naked.  Invite those who are strangers into your home. Visit the ones who are sick or in prison. Listen to Jesus’ words.  Study the Bible.  Know what God has commanded, and do what He says.  Then you will prove that your faith is genuine.  Then you will be one of Jesus’ brothers or sisters.  Then you will prove yourself to be one of His true sheep, and you will inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Christians, living under the New Covenant, are not under the Old Covenant law, but able to fulfill its intent through faith in Jesus Christ. Those who chose to ignore God's commandments and neglect the words of Jesus will die in their sin.  They will perish and go away to eternal punishment.


Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: This article is related to the following messages:
The Obedience of Faith
Doing What is Right
Righteous Deeds and White Robes 
The Law of Love in the New Testament
The Law Established Through Faith
The Law Fulfilled in Us
Faith Works!
Keeping Sundays Holy
Resting from Work
Is Tithing Required for Christians?
Salvation with Fear and Trembling
If -- A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

I invite you to read my daughter's poem, Overflowing Blessings. You can also find my complete collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Photo credit: Image is from a post by Dr. Michelle T. Johnson, called Obedience is the Antidote, on her Alabaster Woman blog. "Wise and Foolish Builders" painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Self-Help Gospel

There is a self-help gospel preached in the world today, which is not the true gospel at all. It is a gospel of self-improvement. Just look in the bookstores and you will find them stocked with best selling books about how to do this or that to improve yourself. I’m not saying that every “how-to” book is bad. I’m just saying that much of what is written in the name of the Lord is not what the Lord would say to us. Let’s look at what the Lord says in His Word.

Hollow and Deceptive Philosophy
The apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians and said: "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ." (Col 2:8). That's a clear warning for us today, as well. We need to make sure we don't let anyone captivate us through hollow and deceptive philosophy. It doesn't matter who they are who teach it. This kind of philosophy does not depend on Christ, but on human tradition and the basic principles of this world.

He went on to challenge those among them who had already begun to fall for these teachings. He wrote: “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” (Col 2:20-23)

Let's remember that Paul was writing to the Colossian church, not to non-believers. They had already died with Christ, and Paul is asking them a question. He asks: “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’” Essentially he is saying that they already died to the world, so why do they act as though they need to live according to basic, worldly regulations about what you can and cannot handle, taste, and touch?

We could ask the same question of the church today. Why do these self-help preachers fool the church? Why do we keep falling for their lies? These are simply the commandments of men and the teachings of men, as Paul puts it. He gives the reason why some people listen to them. He says that these things definitely have the appearance of wisdom. That’s why it’s so enticing. But he exposes it for what it really is: self-made religion, self-abasement, and severe treatment of the body. Let's explore those three things.

Self-made religion
The word in the original Greek language, which this passage was written in, connotes voluntary piety that is arbitrary and unwarranted. It also may connote sanctimony or will worship.

This brings up thoughts of many different practices we see today. For example, we see people exercising voluntary piety that is unwarranted and arbitrary. Outwardly they try to seem pious and sanctimonious. They are part of the “do not handle,” “do not taste,” “do not touch” crowd. Where the Word has given us freedom, they have chosen to forbid themselves and others.

Paul also refers to will worship. The best thing I can use to illustrate what I see as will worship is the phrase, “Believe in yourself!” Or the philosophy that “I can do whatever I set my mind to do.” People who live according to this philosophy essentially worship their own will. They exult in the power of their own will to accomplish good things for themselves. These teachings range all the way from positive thinking and positive confession to various humanistic philosophies that teach man to try and be a good person without God.

All of these are self-made religion. They are man’s attempt to worship according to a way that he in himself determines is right. But these fail to please God. They fail to save anyone or make anyone holy, because they focus on outward performance and outward appearance, rather than on a change of the heart within. They focus on what man can do, rather than on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and what He can do.

Self-abasement
This word for self-abasement connotes false humility. This is another aspect of the worldly regulations Paul is talking about, which entice us away from the Lord. These regulations may appear to make you humble, but they really don’t do so. You can deny yourself from eating or touching anything you like, and it may appear that you are extremely humble. But we’ll find out how humble you are when someone throws up on you. Some things can be put on like a mask and you can pretend, but under the right circumstances, your pride will shine through.

Only the gospel has the power to save. Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16). And when Jesus prayed for his disciples, He prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." (Joh 17:17). He didn't pray that we would be sanctified through the commandments and teachings of men, or through man-made regulations and traditions. Only the Word of God has the power to make you holy.

Severe treatment of the body
The word Paul used to describe severe treatment of the body literally connotes a kind of asceticism, austerity, and neglecting of oneself. The Christian monks of old were famous for sleeping on beds of nails or broken glass, taking vows of silence and depriving themselves the company of other people in order to achieve deeper spiritual lives. It appeals to some people, because it looks spiritual, and it seems so disciplined, orderly, and hard on the flesh. But Paul says that these regulations are of no value against fleshly indulgence. That’s the reality. It’s not that they have some or little value, but they have no value when it comes to dealing with the sinful impulses inside of man.

Again, only the gospel has the power to deal with the flesh, by putting it to death with Christ, and giving us new life in Him.

Food, Drink, and Holiday Police
Some people still teach that certain days are more special or holier than other days.

Paul wrote to the Colossians about such people, saying, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Col 2:16-17)

If you aren’t in church or celebrating the festival or holiday on that day – whether its Christmas, Easter, Ash Wednesday, or All Saints Day, you’re looked at by these people as if you are less spiritual. This is what happened to the Galatians. Paul wrote to them saying, “You observe days and months and seasons and years.” (Gal 4:10) Because of this, Paul was concerned that he had labored over the Galatians in vain. There is no Scripture that says you must celebrate the birth of Jesus or His resurrection on a certain day each year. If you love Him, you will worship Him every day.

And we should certainly not let anyone judge us and make us feel less spiritual with regard to the Sabbath Day or any holiday. I have no problem if someone wants to worship the Lord and hold their church meetings on Saturday, rather than Sunday. But when they claim it is more correct, more biblical, or more spiritual to do so, that’s all part of these worldly regulations.

Neither should we let anyone judge us regarding what we eat or drink. For example, there are some who teach that certain diets are scriptural or more spiritual, like being a vegetarian. I'm not saying the Lord condones gluttony or drunkenness. And I agree that some foods and drinks are more healthy than others. But when you are partaking of food or drink in moderation with thankfulness, and someone looks down on you because of it, that’s not the heart of God. It’s all just a shadow of things to come. But reality is found in Christ. Our focus should be on Him, not on the calendar, the cup or the dish.


All these things are part of the written code that has been cancelled. As Paul wrote: “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Col 2:13-14)

Paul speaks to disciples of Christ. He says, when you were in a place where you could do absolutely nothing for yourself, because you were completely dead in sin, it was then that Christ made you alive together with Him. It was then He forgave all your transgressions. It was then that He canceled out the written code that was against you with all its decrees and regulations. The Holy Spirit described it like this through the prophet Ezekiel when He said, “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!'” (Eze 16:6) It’s a picture of you lying there in their own blood, squirming and about to die. The Lord saw you there as He passed by and said, “Live!” By His mighty power, He made you alive with Christ. His Word has power! His cross has power! It was through no effort of your own.

The true gospel
This is the true gospel – repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (Acts 2:38; 16:30). Paul says to the Romans, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." (Rom 10:9-11). This means you need to believe in your heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and confess Him as Lord of your life with your mouth. If you do so, you will be saved.

Putting it All Together
I think the Scripture is very clear about all this. Don’t let anyone judge your spirituality based on what you eat or drink or whether you observe certain festivals or Sabaaths. We’re not supposed to observe days and months and years on the calendar. And it’s not what you put into your body, but what comes out of your mouth that defiles it.

Don’t pay attention to those who preach the self-help gospel. They tell you not to taste, touch, or handle certain things. They are the ones who promote self-made religion, unwarranted piety, self-abasement and harsh treatment of the body. None of these things has any power to restrain the sinful nature with its self-indulgence. They deal with the outward performance, not the inward matters of the heart and character.

Instead, focus on Jesus Christ. Reality is found in Him. He alone can save you in your most depraved and helpless state. And it's only through the power of His Word and His Spirit that you can become more like Jesus.

For more on this topic, be sure and see the other posts in this blog, especially Righteousness, Peace, and Joy. There are also some other authors on this topic, including one by Mark Lauterbach, and another article by the American Presbyterian Church, with which I am not associated in any official capacity.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.