“New beginning of obedience!”
- May 15
- 5 min read
Charles Finney said, "All that is necessary for revival, all that revival really boils down to is a new beginning of obedience to God."
“A new beginning of obedience to God” - every one of us that seek to follow Jesus, needs this!
Thinking of our blog last week, Jesus linked obedience to love. He said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Just as Jesus’ love for the Father was expressed in His obedience, so our love for Jesus is expressed in our obedience to Him (John 14:31; 15:9-10).
C.H. Dodd once said, "To know God is to experience his love in Christ and to return that love in obedience."
Jesus has been teaching much about His true identity, and He has to make it clear to those listening about their true identity too. Interestingly, we touched on the ‘distinguishing mark’ of a Christian last week.
This is an issue that’s been facing Jesus for some time (just go to John 8:31-32). Note that verse 31 says, “If you really hold to my teaching, you really are my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jesus is suspicious about their following Him. On the surface, they claim to be those who are His disciples, but He is not convinced that their faith is genuine. What He doesn’t want is a crowd made up of those who passionately believe they are 'in' when in reality they are 'out'! Let me ask you today, "are you in?"
Note also the big "if" in verse 31! Three things follow from the "if". Bear in mind Jesus is speaking to people who had already expressed belief in Him: "you are truly my disciples; you will know the truth; the truth will set you free."
He says that remaining (or "dwelling") in Him and being obedient to His word is another distinguishing mark of being His disciples. Jesus made it clear that obedience is a condition of intimacy with God. He said, “You are my friends, if you do what I command” (John 15:14).
True obedience is motivated by love. Following Jesus in obedience is proof of our love for Him and means putting His words into daily practice. This must lead to a transformed faith that changes mere belief into a lifestyle of active obedience in following Him.
Elisabeth Elliot commented, “When obedience to God contradicts what I believe will bring me pleasure, let me ask myself if I love him.”
As followers of Jesus, are we those with a courageous faith in trusting God and following Him at any cost?
I agree with D.A. Carson's observation, "No one is more miserable than the Christian who hedges in obedience. He doesn't love sin enough to enjoy its pleasures, and he doesn't love Christ enough to relish holiness."
Trusting Jesus without obeying Him is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously calls “cheap grace.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Cheap grace, is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace.”
And by cheap grace, Bonhoeffer means faith without obedience. It is the “grace which we bestow on ourselves,” he writes. It is “grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without the living, incarnate Jesus Christ.”
Costly grace, on the other hand, is "the call of Jesus Christ which causes a disciple to leave their nets and follow him." Costly grace is faith to trust Jesus and to obey Him at all costs.
Jesus said obedience is key for those who follow Him and is a core issue to what discipleship means. Remember, obedience needs to recognise the One who gives the instruction; to have a right relationship with Him; and to be released from those things that make it necessary to obey.
Remember the Great Commission? Jesus said the church was supposed to "make disciples". He told us what that means: "Teaching them to observe [obey, keep] everything I have commanded you" (Matt 28:19).
Jesus had touched on this before and He insists that we live and act right - Luke 6:46: "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?" What a powerful reminder of what Jesus expects from those who follow Him. No excuses, no technicalities, no loopholes!
“If you really hold to my teaching, you really are my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31).
I believe Jesus is saying, pay close attention to what I am saying so that you will see the truth, understand the truth, walk the truth, and be set free by the truth.
Truth has to be personal, and touch our hearts and minds.
In the film ‘A Few Good Men,’ we get the iconic line from Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson) under cross examination by Lieutenant Kaffee (Tom Cruise): “You can’t handle the truth!”
I find this phrase interesting!
As Christians, of course we can ‘handle truth’, that is what we do, isn’t it? Jesus said in verse 32, we "will know the truth and the truth will set us free."
However, herein lies the challenge! Truth indeed can set us free, but we can’t always handle the truth, at least not without grace!
C.S. Lewis said, “You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.”
To take seriously Jesus' claims about setting us free, we truly need to check and see where we are enslaved to particular religious identities, heritages, and practices, yet pretending that dwelling in those things is the same as dwelling in Jesus and His word. They are not!
Christianity is a faith-life grounded in the truth of all that Jesus is, and lived out in and through the work of the Holy Spirit in our life. Notice what John 16:13 says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”
So, are there any areas where we know the truth, yet we often live the lie? In our loving response of following Jesus today, is there any part of the truth we’re leaving out?
"For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit" (1 Thess 4:7-8).
What a verse! This reinforces or emphasises the call that following Jesus must mean being obedient to Him.
Just stop for a moment and ponder.
So, obedience is a glorious hallmark of a Christian and must impact every area and every moment of our life as we walk in His ways honouring God.
“The best measure of a spiritual life,” said Oswald Chambers, “is not its ecstasies, but its obedience.”
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