Obeying God

The gospel tells us that we do not have to do anything to gain God's acceptance by a list of do's and don'ts. All we have to do is receive Christ as Lord and God accepts us because of the finished work of Christ on the cross. We are free from the burden of the Law which requires sacrifice for sin because Jesus was our sacrifice. We are totally forgiven for our sin and we will never lose the salvation God has given those who put their faith in Christ.

So, do that mean we can live however we want to without the fear of losing our salvation? If you think that, you view your salvation as a license to sin instead of freedom to serve God. Even though, we are free from the law and Christ took the curse that comes from the law (see Galatians 3:13), there are still called to obey God. The Bible tells us those who say they know God but does not obey him is a liar (1 John 2:4). So why are Christian called to obey God when all our acceptance is in Christ?

First, obeying God means we know God. 1 John 2:3 says, "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments." Second, obeying God is a display our love for God. 1 John 2:5 says, "whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected." Jesus said, "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him" (John 14:21). 1 John 5:4 tells us that love for God is keeping his commandments, which "are not burdensome." Finally, obeying God means we are born again. When we were lost, we had no desire to obey God. When we receive Jesus, we are given a new heart to obey God as spoken through the prophet Ezekiel, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules" (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

One test you can do to check your motives for obeying God: Are you obeying God because you love him based on the acceptance you have with him in Christ or are you obeying God based on some religious conviction so he will bless you without sending some lighting bolt as if he were one of the Greek mythology gods?