Obedience and Holiness

I Samuel 15:22 says that obedience is better than sacrifice. That means the Lord appreciates our obedience to His commands more than our worship and offerings. The Lord demanded that His people obey Him more than 50 times in the Bible. He has imposed certain duties and responsibilities upon us, and demanded that we obey His commands. This is not because He feels good about having humans obey His whims; but because He loves us and knows that obedience is the best thing that can happen to us.

Really, the message of the prophets – all of the prophets throughout the Old Testament – was a call to the people to obey the Lord. Exodus 19:3-8 is a good example of His call to obedience. That’s all God requires: obedience. See Jeremiah 7:23; 11:4, 7. But again, God asks this because it is for our good. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 is a summation of the blessings of obedience.

Holiness is living a life in conformity to the commandments of the Lord. It is being obedient to our Lord. Romans 8:13 says we are to mortify the deeds of the flesh. Another way to translate that verse is to say that we are to put to death the misdeeds of the body. Note, however, that this can only be done through the Holy Spirit. Without this source of great spiritual strength, there can be no mortification. But it is not all done in the Spirit – there is a work we must do as well.  Mortifying the deeds of the flesh means to destroy the strength and vitality of sin. How do we do that? This requires two things.

First, there must be a conviction that living a holy lifestyle is the commandment of God for our lives. This conviction is not just general, but it must be for specific sins in specific areas of our lives. This is important, for Hebrews 12:14 tells us that without holiness, we will not see the Lord. We develop these convictions from exposure to God’s Holy Word. We can become accustomed to the world around us. It is an evil world. Even though we are Christians, the world around us is constantly trying to conform us to its value system.

The warning of Romans 12:2 is: Don’t let the world squeeze you into its own mold. It is through God’s Word that our minds are renewed and remolded, and our values are made new. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:21.

Obedience is the walk of righteousness. But we can only obey His commandments if we know them. God’s Word must be so thoroughly fixed in our minds that it becomes the dominant influence in our lives. Think about this: What is the dominant influence in your life right now? Is it the influences of Madison Avenue, or Hollywood, or Sports or anything of this present generation? Or is your life influenced most greatly by the Bible?

David said: “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin.” Psalms 119:11. This is one of the greatest weapons in our arsenal. Let God’s Word condemn the wrong we are tempted to do. The choice to obey necessitates that you know the scriptures. You must know God’s will so you can choose God’s will. As I said, you develop convictions by bringing God’s Word to bear on specific situations in your life.

But, someone may say, the Bible does not cover every single situation. There are no scriptures condemning cigarette smoking, or earrings or motorcycles, or many other situations that crop up in this life. True; but there is a biblical method that employs four questions, based on three scriptures. If you ask these four simple questions, you will know what your conviction should be regarding any situation that presents itself.

Question One. Is it helpful – physically, spiritually and mentally? See I Corinthians 6:12: “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient.”

Question Two. Does it bring me under its power? Again, I Corinthians 6:12: “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”

Question Three. Does it hurt others? I Corinthians 8:13: “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.”

Question Four. Does it glorify God? I Corinthians 10:31: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

So, it takes conviction to be obedient to the Lord. There must be a conviction that living a holy lifestyle is the commandment of God for our lives. But that, alone, is not enough.

Second, in addition to conviction, there must also be commitment. It takes commitment to put to death the misdeeds of the body. Romans 8:13. Jesus said in Luke 14:33 that if you do not give up everything, you cannot be His disciple. Ask yourself, “Am I willing to give up this item or practice that is keeping me from holiness?” Many fail at this point. They feel they’d rather dally with sin, trying to play it a little, without getting in too deep.

The command of Colossians 3:5 is: Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature. God doesn’t do this all for us magically. Yes, we receive power from the Holy Ghost, but we must employ that power to bring into obedience every thought. According to II Corinthians 10:5, we are to be casting down wicked thoughts,  and bringing our thoughts into obedience to the teachings of the Bible.
In James 4:7, that apostle said we are to submit to God and resist the devil. Is that so much to ask? Sure, it takes effort. II Peter. 3:11, 14 admonishes us to employ our will; make every effort – to be spotless and blameless. Your dependence on the Holy Ghost does not mean you get to do nothing. You have responsibility to make every effort. The Holy Ghost won’t drag you into an unwilling obedience. No, the Holy Ghost gives you the power to obey.

You cannot say you lack the power or ability. If you sin, it is because you choose to sin, and not because you lack the ability to say no to temptation. Don’t say you were “defeated” by sin. “Victory” and “defeat” are not the best words to use when talking about overcoming through progressive sanctification. You weren’t “defeated;” you were just “disobedient.” It is better to use terms such as “obedient” and “disobedient” rather than terms like “victorious” and “defeated.”

When you say you were defeated by sin, you are saying you succumbed to a stronger force. You are subtly denying your responsibility for the choice you made. But when you say you were disobedient, that places the responsibility for sin squarely on your shoulders. You may have been defeated, but the reason you were defeated was because you chose to disobey. There is no point in praying that the Lord will help you rise above a certain sinful habit in your life, if you are not willing to make a commitment to say no to the temptation.

Christianity is a religion of obedience. There are dire consequences for not obeying. The warning in II Thessalonians 1:7-8 ominously states that the Lord will take fiery vengeance on those who obey not the gospel. And Romans 6:12-18 points out that we now live under obedience. Let’s live a life of holiness. That is, let us live in obedience to the will and the Word of God. As Peter said in I Peter 4:17, we in the house of God should obey the gospel.