THOUGHTS ON “OBEDIENCE AND THE GOSPEL”

Many of us have grown up with “moralistic preaching,” calling for obedience to God’s commands. There can be a dangerous failure to connect the commands of God to the cross of Christ. This disconnect can lead you into either self-loathing or self-righteousness.

Moralistic preaching is often the ground in which the devil sows seeds of legalism.

THE GOD OF THE COMMAND: Naked commands separated from the character of God, lack both weight and compelling beauty. Focusing on the God of the command moves us beyond the command to the holy, trustworthy, good, loving, faithful, kind, just God who gives it.

THE GRACE BEHIND THE COMMAND: God’s commands are given to God’s people who live in a covenant relationship with God by grace (see Exodus 20:2). God’s commands do not make us perfectly good, but show God to be good! God’s revealed will is not so we can build our confidence in our ability to keep the commands, but so we can exalt and exult in the God who is known by grace.

Remembering the grace behind the command moves us from fearful performance-based religion to a delight in the will and ways of God!

THE GOSPEL ABOVE THE COMMAND: When the commands of God are laid out, and we feel their weight and significance, it is important for us to remember these truths:

1. Jesus atoned for our failure in this command (Col. 1:3; 2:13-14; Eph. 2:16; Rom. 5:9). The commands of God are pure and beautiful—a perfect reflection of God’s character and will. We stand in stark contrast to that revelation—we are spiritual failures justly condemned for our sin. But, Jesus fully atoned for our sin through his death on the cross, and by it we are reconciled to God!

2. Jesus fulfilled this command for us (1 Cor. 1:30-31; Rom. 5:19; Phil. 3:9). God forgives our unrighteousness and gives us the righteousness of Jesus, declaring that in him we are holy and blameless. In every point where we have failed, Jesus has been faithful. He was not only righteous, but was righteous for us!

3. Jesus empowers us to live out this command (Phil. 2:12-13; Eph. 6:10-20; 1 Pet. 4:11). The good news of the Gospel is that in Christ we are delivered from the curse of the law, and we are empowered by God to keep it. Relatively, we remain sinners, and find ourselves unable to loose ourselves from sin’s presence this side of the resurrection, but God is at work in God’s people to empower us to walk in God’s ways.

We really can live a godly life in which we acknowledge and repent of our sin, and submit ourselves to the will and ways of God through the power that comes by the Holy Spirit.

We call this process a Joyful Walk With Christ and it’s the focus of our church family and my preaching career. I encourage you to bring to our church service someone in your life who has lost their way and can benefit from our love.

Please join us at 11 a.m. this Sabbath Saturday for the Word of God though an uplifting message!

By the grace of God, may the whole counsel of God bring us greater conviction and encouragement in our daily Joyful Walk with Christ!

Duff