Faith Must be Obedient

Introduction

I think we all know the old hymn Trust and Obey. Well, we were just looking at the Foundation of Faith with relation to Trust - what we trust in and what we do not trust in.

Today we will see that Faith requires Obedience. Speaking of obedience:

Father’s Day is that one time of the year when I get complete obedience from every member of my family. I tell them not to spend a lot of money on me—and they don’t.

One of the foundational elements of true faith is that it always leads to obedience.

Romans 1:4–6 AV

4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

1. Obedient to God’s Word

Since God’s Word is foundational to our Faith - it is the object of our faith - then our response to it is important as well.

Genesis 12:4–9 AV

4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. 9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

A. Faith Hears God’s Word

Genesis 12:1 AV

1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

We find here that the Lord spoke to Abraham - the Lord ‘said.’

In order to be Obedient to God’s Word you must hear what He is saying. See faith is not blind. Not some wishful random hope in karma or luck.

It is a response to God’s Word. Now in Abraham’s day they didn’t have the written Word. So the Lord spoke directly - but today we have His Word and what has been revealed through the person and word of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1:1–2 AV

1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

John 1:1 AV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And how do we know of Christ Jesus?

John 5:39 AV

39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

A newly licensed pilot was flying his private plane in a cloudy day. He was not very experienced in instrument landing. When the control tower was to bring him in, he began to get panicky. Then a stern voice came over the radio, “You just obey instructions, we’ll take care of the obstructions.”

Also God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

But the Holy Spirit will speak to us in a way that is consistent with the Bible and with the person and work of Jesus Christ.

B. Faith Responds To God’s Word

Hebrews 11:8 AV

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Note the phrase ‘by faith Abraham…obeyed’

1) Abraham Followed God

Genesis 12:6 AV

6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

Genesis 12:8 AV

8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

Genesis 12:9 AV

9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

Abraham understood that he had to follow God in a world that didn’t.

He was just passing through - he had to trust God for the direction he was going in his life.

We are not of this world - we are just passing through - it is imperative that we follow God.

Obedient faith keeps following God regardless of what the world says or does.

2) Abraham Worshiped God

Genesis 12:8 AV

8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

He built an altar and worshipped God. The obedient faith of Abraham show us someone who acted upon God’s word and responded to it.

Notice a couple ways that people aren’t worshiping God with obedient faith.

See obedient faith doesn’t use God as an excuse to do what I want. Sometimes people will be ‘obedient’ as long as they are getting some advantage out of it. Maybe they go to church because of friends or networking, etc. Maybe they’ll read the Bible and pray so they can talk about their great spiritual development. This is not worshipful.

Matthew 6:1 AV

1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Also, some are obedient but merely out of a slave-like heart. Now yes, practically we do belong to the Lord. But there are some who serve and obey God merely because they are required to - there’s no heart in it and no joy. They’re practically forced to obey.

You can see a faith that is obedient in the way that a person worships and honors God with their life.

But Abraham’s faith was his great motivator in obedience - he loved and trusted the Lord.

2. Obedient to God’s Direction

In order to see another characteristics of obedient faith, let’s look at the life of Noah

Genesis 6:13–14 AV

13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

Genesis 6:22 AV

22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

A. Understand God’s Way is Best

We know the story of Noah - He is to build an ark, a boat to survive the upcoming destruction of the world.

He has to build it far from the ocean or seas and certainly in a time and way that make him look half-crazy.

Now God could have sent a miracle to save Noah. That would seem better to us - less work for sure.

But God’s way was to put Noah to work. Noah had to put effort into His Christian walk - his obedience required effort.

Philippians 2:12 AV

12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

One interesting quote is, “We cannot do it without God, and he will not without us. Both the providence of God, and the grace of God, own and crown the endeavours of the obedient and diligent.”

Like Abraham, Noah didn’t have all the answers - Abraham had to leave Ur without knowing his final destination. Even sinful people will follow God if they think they’ll get an advantage out of it.

It’s not our job to decide if God’s way is worth it - it’s always worth it, it’s always best.

Spurgeon said, “The people of today will not go out from their kindred; they will put up with anything sooner than risking their livelihoods. If they do go out, they must know where they are going, and how much is to be picked up in the new country.”

Many people do not have an obedient faith to go God’s Direction - understanding that His way is best.

B. Understand We Must Endure

Not only did Noah have to trust God’s way - building an ark, but he had to keep on for a little bit - 120 years!

He had to persevere and endure in his work for the Lord.

I imagine that there were some pretty tough days. It was so long that there were probably really tough years.

It would have been easy to have long periods and times of complaining, doubts, etc.

Doubt will destroy the endurance of your faith. Once you’ve obeyed, well keep on obeying!

3. Obedient to God’s Call

Lastly, let’s look quickly at the Apostle Paul. Paul has probably the most dramatic salvation experience in the Bible.

A. We Must Be Willing to Surrender

Acts 22:3 AV

3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

Here we have a record of one of Paul’s defenses. Here he states that not only was he a Jew but scholarly and well-trained. That Paul himself was training to be a teacher.

We know also that he was a Pharisee - the best of the best. He was faithful to the law, the traditions, and was on track to be the greatest of all Pharisees in his time. His influence was incredible.

But amazingly something changed when he was saved and here’s what Paul thought about all of that history and all of those accomplishments.

Philippians 3:8–10 AV

8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

When Adoniram Judson graduated from college and seminary he received a call from a fashionable church in Boston to become its assistant pastor. Everyone congratulated him. His mother and sister rejoiced that he could live at home with them and do his life work, but Judson shook his head. “My work is not here,” he said. “God is calling me beyond the seas. To stay here, even to serve God in His ministry, I feel would be only partial obedience, and I could not be happy in that.” Although it cost him a great struggle he left mother and sister to follow the heavenly call.

Judson’s churches in Burma have had fifty thousand converts, and the influence of his consecrated life is felt around the world.

In order to go where God wants us to go, and do what God wants us to do - we must be willing to surrender. And sometimes to be obedient to God we have to surrender what is most precious to us.

B. We Must Be Willing to Suffer

Acts 14:19–21 AV

19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. 20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

But Paul didn’t just have to surrender things, he also suffered in carrying out God’s will.

In the passage above, we find that he was stoned and left for dead. As the disciples gathered around him, he rose up! And then incredible went back into the very same city to preach again!

I think sometimes we believe that if we are obedient to God’s Call and have surrendered things that everything will be great. There will be no trials because I’m doing what God wants me to do.

But this is not the case. Often, the call God has for us will be one of surrender and suffering. Suffering the loss of all things, suffering trials, shows that our faith is genuine. It shows that we are the real deal.

CONCLUSION

A gray-haired old lady, long a member of her church, shook hands with the pastor after the Sunday morning service. “That was a wonderful sermon,” she told him, “just wonderful. Everything you said applies to someone I know.”

Obedient faith hears what God’s Word is saying to me, and it responds with appropriate action. It begins with hearing the gospel, that salvation is not by my merit or good deeds, but rather that salvation is from the Lord. He has provided everything to reconcile sinners with Himself. Repenting of my pride and disobedience and abandoning all trust in myself, I cast myself completely upon Christ. Such saving faith results in a new life in which I obey God in response to His great love for me.

Maybe like Abraham you need to be obedient to the word of God by hearing and responding to it.

Maybe like Noah you need to be obedient to God’s warnings and endure through what He has for you, understanding that God’s way is best.

Maybe like Paul you need to be obedient to some call of God upon your life - abandon some worldly things you’re holding onto and even be willing to suffer for him.