Obedience in the Christian Life

In the New Testament, the obedience of Christ stands in contrast to the disobedience of Adam. The disobedience of Adam brought death, but the perfect obedience of Christ brought grace, righteousness, and life ().[1]

“there is no road to faith or discipleship, no other road-only obedience to the call of Jesus.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer The Cost of Discipleship (pg 58)

Obedience- The whole of biblical theology centers on divine revelation and receptive human response: God speaks his word; we hear and must obey.[1]

Presupposition- As good Protestants we affirm a central truth like sola fide, but have not articulated what it means to live a obedient Spirit filled Christian life.

[1] Ronald F. Youngblood, F. F. Bruce, and R. K. Harrison, Thomas Nelson Publishers, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1995).

Intro- Now that we did a brief overview of obedience, we will now do a brief survey of theological thought on obedience. When formulating believes we are most importantly thinking in terms of sola scriptura. If after the examination of scripture draws us to new truths, or something that no other Christian has found then that should make us pause. This is where Historical Christian thought is useful.

1. Historical thought on Obedience

a. Ante-Nicaean

i. Clement of Rome (1st Century)

1. “We are justified by our works, and not our words.” (Ante Nicene Fathers, Volume 1)

a. These words echoe of James that an obedient Christian is one who obeys. It is interesting that Clement unities our justification with our works.

ii. Ploycarp (69-156 A.D.)

1. "He who raised him (Jesus) up from the dead will raise us up also - if we do his will, and walk in his commandments, and love what he loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness." (Ante Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, pg.33)

b. Augustine (354-430 A.D.)- “Departure from God would be no vice unless in a nature whose property it was to abide in God.” (De Civitate Dei)

i. God is righteousness itself therefore obedience to God’s will is the criterion for righteousness for all His creatures. Augustine takes this to more to the criteria as to our righteousness. It is our duty to do the will of God because it is our deepest will too.[2]

1. What is the definition of duty, and why is it the duty of Christians to do God’s will?

2. Duty- a task or action that someone is required to perform, or a moral or legal obligation

ii. Those who are disobedient are rebelling against the commands of his own nature.

c. Aquinas (1225-74 A.D.)

i. Not a special virtue in which all good deeds which have a special reason of praise.

1. This is a distinction between obedience and good works

ii. “Obedience, like every virtue requires the will to be prompt towards its proper object, but not towards that which is repugnant to it.” (Suma Theologiciae: Obedience)

d. Calvin (1509-1564 A.D.)

i. “When God designs to forgive us, he changes our hearts and turns us to obedience by His Spirit.”[3]

ii. Calvin uses hyperbole in Institutes of the Christian Religion “” this [grace] restrains itself [the soul] from sinning, not out of dread of punishment alone; but because it loves and reveres God as Father. . . . Even if there were no hell, it would still shudder at offending him.”

1. What is Calvin’s point here?

a. Calvin believe in hell, his main point that we are not simply motivated out of the fear of going to hell. The motivating factor in our obedience isn’t just that we fear hell: it’s that we’re justified by Christ’s death in our place and are adopted as beloved children of God in Christ. It’s grace-driven obedience rather than Law-driven striving. It’s obedience that looks at God’s Law with delight rather than dread because Christ has obeyed the Law in our place and has taken its penalty in our place.

e. The Carnal Christian Controversy

i. ;

ii. Modern theological construct to accommodate those who made a ‘decision’ for Christ, but whose lives were not changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. For all intents and purposes they were living like the world lives. At a later time they would then become spiritual people and be obedient to the will of God.

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iii. John MacArthur The Gospel According to Jesus

1. “The gospel in vogue today holds forth a false hope to sinners. It promises them that they can have eternal life yet continue to live in rebellion against God.” (p. 19)

Trans- Now that we have briefly looked at some Christian historical thought let us turn to the use of obedience in the OT.

2. OT use of Obedience

a. Hebrew- šāma; to hear, to obey

i. (, ; ; ; )

b. Examples of individuals whose relationship with God are exemplified in faithful obedience.

i. Noah ()

1. As a result of Noah’s obedience God saved him and his family.

2. God makes a covenant with Noah to never again flood the earth.

ii. Abraham ()

1. His faith & obedience is so unwavering that he is willing to sacrifice the only evidence of the promise that God has given to him.

2. God made a covenant with Abraham and gave him a great blessing

iii. What are some lessons we can learn from obedient people in the OT?

c. Disobedient individuals

i. Saul (, ) “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams”

ii. “The biblical motif of obedience conveys nothing short of total surrender to the will of God.”[4]

d. Promises and blessing for the obedient

1. First he says, “See, I have set the land before you.” What the esv translates as “set” the niv translates as “given,” though the more literal “set” may be more appropriate here. The nasb translates the expression as, “I have placed the land before you.” It’s there for the taking, but the people have to go in and take it. So God continues, “Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers.” The generation that was given this command refused to obey God and did not take hold of the promise. Therefore, only their children entered the promised land. Earl Kalland explains, “The promise … was irrevocable, but the fulfillment in time and personnel was contingent on the people’s obedience to the Lord’s directives to enter, conquer, and take possession of the land.”[5]

Trans- This of course only touches on a little of what the OT has to say. It is clear that obedience in the OT was active listening then doing what God commanded. There were promises and blessing attached for those who were obedient, and condemnation and curses for the disobedient. Now as NT Christians let us examine the NT use of obedience.

3. NT use of Obedience

a. Greek- hypakoē; hoop-ak-way obey/obedience used 21 in NT

b. Incorporates OT language of to hear and obey

i. (; ; , ; ; cf. ; )

c. ‘Faith’ and ‘obedience/works’ used as virtual synonyms

i. J. C. Ryle wrote, ‘Saving faith and real converting grace will always produce some conformity to the image of Jesus ().[6]

d. The New Testament and the reality and necessity of works, obedience and faithfulness

(1) Loving or knowing God is linked with obedience

, , ; ; ; , ; ; ; ;

(2) God will efficaciously work ‘in’ us, moving us to obey him

(3) ‘Faith’ and ‘obedience/works’ used as virtual synonyms

2 Thesss. 1:8; ; ; ; cf. 6:9

(4) The ‘obedience of faith’

; ;

e. Loving Jesus, keeping His Word, filled with God’s Spirit.

Trans- If we love Christ we will keep his commands by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no such thing as a permanent disobedient Christian. There are Christians who at times are disobedient, but this does not define us. How then are we to apply these truths to our lives?

4. Application

a. Trust and obey

i. When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way! While we do his good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain: Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. (John Sammis 1887)

ii. We are sojourners in a foreign land

1. There is a great need for us to trust and be obedient in times of need and fear

2. The Christian response to fear is to address it with our belief in the sovereignty of God, because of which God will give us victory over what causes it if we are obedient to him.[7]

b. As leaders we must spur others down the path of obedience.

i. Faith exhorted Christian and began to sing

1. The trials that those men do meet withal, that are obedient to the heavenly call, are manifold, and suited to the flesh, And come, and come, and come again afresh, that now, or some time else, we by them may be taken, overcome and cast away. Oh! Let the pilgrims, let the pilgrims then, be vigilant, and quit themselves like men.

c. Holding onto the promises

i. The children of Israel believed the promises and heeded God’s command to obey him. They conquered the opposition and occupied the land. Those struggling with the challenge of obedience, perhaps discouraged by the behavior of their leaders and spiritual ancestors, do not need to give up. The promises of God come over and over to them. God’s promises are like oaths; they are sure. “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” ().[8]

d. Going back to our statement from Calvin let each individual ask themselves what is their motivation for obeying God?

[1] Gary M. Burge, “Obedience,” ed. Daniel J. Treier and Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2017), 606.

[2] James Bissett Pratt, “The Ethics of St. Augustine,” International Journal of Ethics 13, no. 2 (1903): 222–35.

[3] John Calvin (2012). “John Calvin's Commentaries On Zechariah And Malachi (Annotated Edition)”, p.194

[4] Leland Ryken et al., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 602.

[5] Hughes Kent R., “A Word to Those Who Preach the Word,” in Preaching the Word: Deuteronomy—Loving Obedience to a Loving God, ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 41–42.

[6] Bradley G. Green, Covenant and Commandment: Works, Obedience and Faithfulness in the Christian Life, ed. D. A. Carson, vol. 33, New Studies in Biblical Theology (England; Downers Grove, IL: Apollos; InterVarsity Press, 2014), 19.

[7] Hughes Kent R., “A Word to Those Who Preach the Word,” in Preaching the Word: Deuteronomy—Loving Obedience to a Loving God, ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 64.

[8] Hughes Kent R., “A Word to Those Who Preach the Word,” in Preaching the Word: Deuteronomy—Loving Obedience to a Loving God, ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 43.

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