Obedience.

It’s hard for my four year old. (It’s also hard for that four-year-old’s momma.)

Though I long to live a life of obedience to His commands, I struggle daily to keep my feet on the narrow path.

Obedience is not simply a choice of the will, as our efforts will only bring us so far. Our beliefs come in to play as well.

When I disobey I am ultimately saying that I know better—just like my four year old. Now, I might never say so with my mouth—that I know better than God—but I say it daily when I choose my own way.

You do too.

Disobedience, even in the smallest of choices, is at its core rebellion against the God of those commands.

When I choose selfishness instead of sacrifice, I sin. When I “vent” my frustrations about a difficult person instead of holding my tongue, I disobey. When my thoughts drift to discontentment and dwell in an attitude of ungratefulness, I rebel.

In each of these situations, I say “Katie knows best.”

Obedience is saying “God knows best.”

Holiness is not a series of do’s and don’ts, but conformity to the character of God and obedience to the will of God. – Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness

The Beliefs of the Psalmist

Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. (Psalm 119:129)

The psalmist was not some super-Christian, who had more ability to obey than you or me. We have all been given everything we need for godliness (2 Peter 1). We just need to figure out what hinders us. Oftentimes it is because we don’t believe that God and His commands are good. The psalmist saw God’s commands as wonderful, and I fully believe that had all to do with his commitment to obedience.

Here is more of what the psalmist believed:

God’s words gives light and understanding. (Psalm 119:130)
His rules are forever right and faithful. (Psalm 119:138, 144)
God righteousness is everlasting. (Psalm 119:137,142)
His Word is very pure. (Psalm 119:140)
His law is truth and well tried. (Psalm 119:142)

Because of these beliefs, the writer of this Psalm had a resolved commitment to the Word of God, and the God of those words. This commitment flows naturally into obedience.

The Actions of the Psalmist

Here are just a few actions I saw of the psalmist:

He longed for God’s commandments. (Psalm 119:131)
He prayed for God to teach him His statues, and direct his steps by the Word (Psalm 119:133, 135)
He loved the Word. (Psalm 119:140)
He delighted in God’s commands. DELIGHTED. (Psalm 119:35, 143)
He was determined to walk in obedience to God’s Word. (Psalm 119:33,34,57)

The psalmist understood the relationship between God and His commandments. They could not be separated. If He wanted to be near to God, He must walk in His commands. He saw God and His commandments as good, right, and trustworthy. That made all the difference in his obedience.

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.

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at his feet,

or we’ll walk by his side in the way;

what he says we will do,

where he sends we will go;

never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

–John H. Sammis

What did you see in the verses you studied this week? Come and share with us what you learned!

Photo Credit

I am not very good at darts. I hit the board most of the time. Sometimes I can even get fairly close to the bull’s eye. But I have never hit that tiny little red spot in the middle of the dart board. It is definitely far beyond my skill and ability. It doesn’t matter if I hit the wall or get within an inch of the bull’s eye. I still missed the mark.

Every person who has ever lived has “missed the mark.” For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. See Romans 3:23. The following discussion on the meaning of sin is taken from God’s Truth Revealed, a 12-session Bible study for spiritual seekers and new Christians.

Various Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible have been translated as the word “sin.” In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word chata is frequently used to describe disobedience towards God. It means to “miss the way” or “fail.” According to The Complete Word Study Old Testament, chata carries the idea of being off-target or coming up short of the goal. The Complete Word Study New Testament identifies hamartia as the Greek word used for sin. This word for sin, defined as “missing the true goal and scope of life,” specifically points to “offense in relation to God.”

So just what is this goal or target that we miss? It is the perfect image of God. God created mankind in His image. God’s intended purpose for us was to bring Him glory by reflecting His image here on earth. Sin is anything less than the perfect image of God. A wrong act. Failure to act. An attitude, motivation, thought, or word that is different than God’s. In his book, Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem defines “sin” this way:

Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.

Even our best efforts to be good are tainted by sin. My noble acts and good deeds are marred by prideful attitudes, selfish motivations, and self-righteous thoughts. The Bible says that all our righteous acts are still like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). In fact, I am so steeped in sin that I cannot even come to God on my own. “No one can come to me (Jesus) unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

The price of sin is high. My sin – and yours – deserves spiritual death and eternal separation from God. “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23a). But as we will see in future posts, our merciful, loving God has provided a way to be saved. “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).

Today, let’s acknowledge we are sinners and thank our gracious God for the Savior.