Question: "What does the Bible say about obedience?

"

Answer: The Bible has much to say about obedience. In fact, obedience is an essential part of
the Christian faith. Jesus Himself was “obedient unto death, even death on a cross”
(Philippians 2:8). For Christians, the act of taking up our cross and following Christ (Matthew
16:24) means obedience. The Bible says that we show our love for Jesus by obeying Him in all
things: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). A Christian who is not obeying
Christ’s commands can rightly be asked, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do
what I say?” (Luke 6:46).

Obedience is defined as “dutiful or submissive compliance to the commands of one in

authority.” Using this definition, we see the elements of biblical obedience. “Dutiful” means
it is our obligation to obey God, just as Jesus fulfilled His duty to the Father by dying on the
cross for our sin. “Submissive” indicates that we yield our wills to God’s. “Commands” speaks
of the Scriptures in which God has clearly delineated His instructions. The “one in authority”
is God Himself, whose authority is total and unequivocal. For the Christian, obedience means
complying with everything God has commanded. It is our duty to do so.

Having said that, it is important to remember that our obedience to God is not solely a
matter of duty. We obey Him because we love Him (John 14:23). Also, we understand that the
spirit of obedience is as important as the act of obedience. We serve the Lord in humility,
singleness of heart, and love.

Also, we must beware of using a veneer of obedience to mask a sinful heart. Living the
Christian life is not all about rules. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time relentlessly pursued acts of
obedience to the Law, but they became self-righteous, believing they deserved heaven
because of what they had done. They considered themselves worthy before God, who owed
them a reward; however, the Bible tells us that, without Christ, even our best, most righteous
works are as “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). The Pharisees’ external obedience still lacked
something, and Jesus exposed their heart attitude. Their hypocrisy in obeying the “letter of
the law” while violating its spirit characterized their lives, and Jesus rebuked them sharply:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which
indeed appear beautiful outside, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones, and of all
uncleanness. Even so you also appear righteous to men outwardly, but inside you are full of
hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27–28). The Pharisees were obedient in some respects,
but they “neglected the weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23, ESV).

Today, we are not called to obey the Law of Moses. That has been fulfilled in Christ (Matthew
5:17). We are to obey the “law of Christ,” which is a law of love (Galatians 6:2; John 13:34).
Jesus stated the greatest commands of all: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And
the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the prophets hang on
these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36–40).

If we love God, we will obey Him. We won’t be perfect in our obedience, but our desire is to
submit to the Lord and display good works. When we love God and obey Him, we naturally
have love for one another. Obedience to God’s commands will make us light and salt in a dark
and tasteless world (Matthew 5:13–16).
Question: "Why is obedience to God important?"

Answer: Obedience to God proves our love for Him (1 John 5:2-3), demonstrates our
faithfulness to Him (1 John 2:3-6), glorifies Him in the world (1 Peter 2:12), and opens
avenues of blessing for us (John 13:17).

Faith is necessary to please God (Hebrews 11:6), and if our faith is genuine and true,
we will live a lifestyle characterized by righteousness, modeling the example set for
us by Jesus Christ. We obey His commands, not because we have to, but because
we want to, because we love Him. We are enabled to obey because, once we believe
in Christ and are saved, we are remade. We are not the same people we once were.
As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the
old has gone, the new has come!”

When we obey the Lord, we can live a life of joy, without shame, rooted deeply in the
Lord and confident in our eternal hope. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Our obedience is actually part of our assurance that
we truly know God (1 John 2:3).

When God’s children obey their Heavenly Father, He is glorified. Jesus told us that
the plan is for others to “see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”
(Matthew 5:16). Of course, performing “good deeds” requires obedience to the One
who calls us to good deeds. A Christian’s testimony of holiness is a strong witness that
God is at work in the world.

“Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him” (Psalm 128:1).
The Bible often tells us that God blesses and rewards obedience. James 1:22-25 says,
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. . . .
Whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—
not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they
do.” See also Psalm 119:1-2.

God is gracious. If we haven’t been living for Him, if we haven’t been following His
commandments, if we’ve been living in and for the world, we can be transformed by
the blood of Jesus Christ. We can ask God for forgiveness, and He will give it. And He
will choose to forget the sin, just as if we had never committed it in the first place.
God is glorified when He extends forgiveness, because it is written, “I will put my
laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. . . . Their sins and lawless
acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:16-17).

Recommended Resource: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald

Whitney

Question: "What is active obedience? What is passive obedience?"

Answer: Active obedience is when we obey the commands of someone else. Passive
obedience is the total submission to another, even when harm or suffering may result.
The two concepts are very similar, but active obedience usually involves the
performance of certain deeds, while passive obedience implies non-resistance. In
reference to God, active obedience is seeking out His commands and setting our
hearts to do them. Passive obedience is the state of ongoing surrender that says, “Not
my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Jesus exemplified both active and passive
obedience at all times during His ministry on earth, and Christians are to rely on the
Holy Spirit’s power to follow His example (Acts 1:8).

God required active obedience of the Israelites in the Old Testament. That active
obedience was detailed and difficult because God wanted them to realize that they
could not be righteous enough to deserve His mercy and grace. He was setting the
stage for the entrance of His Son, Jesus, who would fulfill every letter of the law
(Matthew 5:17). Through Jesus’ active obedience, He fulfilled the totality of the law’s
requirements. He said, “I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29). In
passive obedience, Jesus submitted Himself to cruel and unjust treatment because it
was the will of God (Isaiah 53:7). The Bible never uses the terms active
obedience or passive obedience, but some biblical descriptions of Jesus’ passion do
emphasize passivity: “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;
when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who
judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23).

A Christian is to remain in a constant state of passive obedience to God. Walking in

the Spirit means we stay sensitive to His leading and respond the way He wants us to
(Galatians 5:16, 25). When hardships come, we endure (James 1:2). We live in the
knowledge that God will work everything together for our good (Romans 8:28), so we
need not pursue vengeance (Romans 12:19). We know that God is at work in our lives,
and we give Him free rein to accomplish what He wants (Galatians 6:9; Philippians
2:13).

However, passive obedience is only half of the responsibility of the Christian. God has
specific commands He wants us to obey, and many of them are contrary to what we
would naturally choose. Jesus told us that in order to follow Him we must “deny
ourselves and take up our crosses” (Luke 9:23). Those are actions. Among other
things, we are told to “be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit”
(Ephesians 5:18), “flee sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18), “love one another” (1
Peter 1:22), and “pursue holiness” (Hebrews 12:14). Those commands all require
active obedience. First Thessalonians 5:12–22 is a list of commands from Paul to the
church. It is not an exhaustive list, but it demonstrates that the Christian life requires
performing certain actions.

With Jesus as our perfect model and the Holy Spirit as our strength, we must pursue
lives of both passive and active obedience (Acts 1:8). It takes both to fulfill commands
such as this: “As far as it is up to you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).
Passive obedience overlooks wrongs and leaves judgment with God. Active obedience
seeks ways to do good and avoid evil. When we live this way, we glorify our Father in
heaven (Matthew 5:16).

Recommended Resource: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald

Whitney

“The mind commands the body, and obedience is instant; the mind commands itself and
meets resistance. The mind tells the hand to move, and all goes so smoothly that it is
hard to distinguish the command from its execution. Yet the mind is the mind, and the
hand is a body. The mind tells the mind to will; one is the same as the other, and yet it
does not do what it is told.”