Revisiting Obedience

The theme of scriptural obedience will just not go away. I am still troubled by the fact that obedience gets so little attention in today’s church world. It certainly seems to be relegated to an optional activity that lies a great distance from the top of the spiritual food chain. Just believe in Jesus we are told. Have faith in Christ we declare to the masses. Trust in the saving work of the cross we are instructed. It is as if all of scripture has been reduced down to the activity that is known as believing and the entire plans and purposes of God are somehow summed up in a moment in which someone utters “some form of faith filled words” that signify that they in fact are now in compliance with God’s conditions for life now and forever.

While obedience may be alluded to, it is clearly a secondary theme in today’s gospel and certainly not something that carries eternal consequences with it. We wrap obedience up in terms that move it from the arena of holy requirements pleasing to a holy God into spiritual options that we might consider for living a better life. Obedience is now a pick-and-choose exercise that we might consider to better our marriages or families, our standard of living, our health, or our status in a church or community. Gone are the ideas of commandments, obligations, or duties that we must embrace and obey in order to live as God intends. Gone is the idea that obedience has any relevance to eternal life. Gone is the idea that what we do with our lives is of utmost importance both now and forevermore. We have successfully replaced faithfulness with faith and reconstructed faith to mean belief.

A brief overview of the teachings of Jesus suggests that scriptural faith is just the opposite of what we now celebrate. Here are a few of the words in red that might bear attention:

• "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" Luke 11:28
• “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” John 14:15
• "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him” John 14:23
• “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” John 14:24
• “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” John 15:10

Here are some words that are not in red that enforce the words of Jesus from other parts of our New Testament. We might want to reconsider our whole framework of what the faith should look like if we dare take these seriously:

• “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” - John the Baptist
• “It is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous” - Apostle Paul
• “And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” - Writer of Hebrews
• “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” - Apostle John
• “Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.” - Apostle Peter
• “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” - Apostle James

My list could go on. It shouldn’t have to however. What we do matters to God. It is clear from Jesus and it is clear from those who interpreted him to others. And it is not as if we can just place obedience in the special category of “pleasing God” or “making God’s day” without any other connections to spiritual life. If we bother to think that idea through with any type of intelligent thought, we would need to believe that a displeasing life to God doesn’t really matter as long as we believe. We are called to obey God and this obedience has consequences. The difficult parable of the sheep and the goats that Matthew records from Jesus implies that eternal consequences rest upon the actions we take in living an obedient life. However much we wish to equate eternity solely with an act of faith, scripture leaves us with an uneasy testimony to the contrary.

Lest I give the impression that obedience is something that I have all figured out, let me say with conviction that I find it troubling. It is troubling to me personally and troubling to me as a leader. What are we to obey? What are the commands that we are obligated to embrace and live in order to please God? What are the commands of Jesus that we do to show our love for him? For those who wish to simply sum it up as “Love God and love others” I wish to extend some caution. If all of scripture is reduced to those five words, then it seems as though there is a great deal of wasted ink within scripture. I agree that all the Law and all the Prophets are fulfilled in these words, but it is not as simple as five words. Furthermore, what does loving God and loving others look like? How would I know if I’m doing it? We all exist with some form of legendary status in our own minds. It is only concrete things within the world of reality that force us to evaluate where we truly are. I may think that I could compete on an NFL football field; the fact that I may not be able to finish a 40 yard dash might suggest otherwise. Commands from Torah and commands from Jesus all point out specific applications that in reality form a series of 40 yard dashes indicating whether we in fact love God and others.

I wish I knew the parameters for obedience. A minister friend of mine suggested that Jesus’ commands are not binding on us since they were given before the cross at the concluding chapter of Jewish Law and before the onset of grace. I struggle with that. If the one I call Lord has nothing to say to me then something is wrong. Another minister friend suggested that Jesus lived the Law perfectly so I don’t have to. That grace is now the guiding force in everything we do. The implication to this is frightening as it suggests that we can do pretty much whatever we want because we are under grace (a state that resembles much of what is in practice in the lukewarm Christendom we see today by the way!). Others quickly point out that actual obedience to commands is not necessary as long as we want to obey. In other words, God knows our hearts and the feeling I have in my heart of love for Him and others are what counts. To be honest, that is terribly frightening as I sense God knows more about my heart than I do and what he knows is not favorable to the cause.

The answers are not easy ones for the call to obey must have something tangible to attach itself to. Otherwise judgment makes no sense. It makes no sense that is unless we see our judgment only as one of reward while those outside of the “faith” suffer the ignoble experience of being judged for their sins. That picture sends Christians to a wonderful fantasy world with visions of mansions, crowns, and divine “atta boys” for accepting Jesus as Savior. It also sends shudders down my spine. It makes the whole judgment process hinge on the question, “Did you or did you not believe in Jesus?” and transforms God’s justice and holiness into a judgment call on whether the person actually believed or not. On the basis of that, demons seem to have a shot because James suggests that they themselves believe (something that he invokes in his argument for the status of works and obedience within the parameters of New Testament faith). This issue demands a fresh visitation of scripture and more conversations with others around the table of spiritual community. It won’t go away. I hope that you will engage in the discussion and revisit this final frontier of Christianity.