Why the Consternation About Election?

Americans like to think like William Ernest Henley in Invictus that we are the "captain of our souls and the master of our fates."  To think that God is ultimately in control of our destiny is like making God a despot. The Bible teaches that God chooses some to salvation, and not because of anything in them, (merit) or of anything they have done, but "according to His good pleasure." I have heard it said that God gives everyone an equal chance; that He is equal opportunity, as it were. (Did God give Pharaoh the same opportunity as Moses, or Esau as He did to Jacob?) Then some are better qualified to be saved than others; however, the chief qualification to be saved is to realize you don't deserve to be.

If God did give everyone an equal chance and woos everyone the same, then why do some respond positively? Are they better than others? Do they have more inherent virtue? Faith is not a work and therefore non-meritorious. The Bible teaches that faith is a gift and not something we conjure up ("Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God," according to Rom. 10:17).
We are elected unto faith, not because of faith.

This is the so-called prescient view that God just sees ahead who will believe and chooses them. However, the election is unconditional, and not because we deserve it--we are in no superior or more virtuous than others who don't happen to believe because it is grace all the way. If mercy is deserved, it is no longer mercy, but justice. Jesus said that we are unable to come to Him and only when the Father "draws" us ("No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him...") can we respond to the gospel message (cf. John 6:44; 65).

Sometimes the gospel falls on deaf ears because God hasn't worked in their hearts to prepare them. We do naught to prepare ourselves unto salvation. There is an inward call of God and a general call that we do by preaching. Then who believe? "The elect attained unto it, and the rest were hardened," says Rom. 11:7. Acts 13:48 declares, "As many as were appointed unto eternal life believed." According to Rom. 8:30, everyone whom God calls gets saved. Left alone, none of us would've chosen Christ. We love Him because He first loved us. "No one seeks for God," says Romans 3:11.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Is There A Social Gospel? Or Is This A Misnomer?

N.B. the Bible addresses this issue directly in Amos, who decries the lack of social justice (5:24).

"Where there is no vision the people perish..." (Prov. 29:18 KJV).

N.B. a church has a mission to the un-churched and a ministry to its congregation. We are all ministers and should all be on a mission. Many believers confuse works and faith not realizing that works are not a replacement of faith, but the fruit of it. Faith without works is dead according to James 2:17 and dead faith saves no one. We need people of social concern, but this is not the primary function of the church--discipleship is.

However, the faith you have is the faith you show, they say. We are not saved by works and we are not saved without works either. We are not saved by service but unto service. If we have no good works, our faith is suspect or spurious. Eph. 2:10 asserts that "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." We don't want to be like the Cretans: "They profess to know God, but by their works they deny Him." True faith yields fruit: no fruit, no faith. John 15:16 says, "But I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide...." Again: "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works" (Heb. 10:24). The danger is that there will be some who are converted to the program but not to Christ. To sum it up, the Reformation formula was that we are "saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

This terminology became popular in the era of social change in the 20th century from so-called fundamentalists. There really is no "social gospel," but one gospel message: the preaching of Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection on our behalf. Papists (Romanists) are very earnest and sincere in doing good deeds for the less fortunate, like opening soup kitchens, hospitals, schools, and orphanages, et al. However, they are misguided as to the plan of salvation. Evangelicals are very good at preaching the gospel, but of neglecting the application and further responsibilities of the church (like caring for the widow and orphan which are commanded).

We are all light and salt; the church is the vehicle or instrument of grace in the world. We are to keep the main thing the main thing, and not major on the minors (the Great Commission is where it's at and is to be our focus).

God isn't looking for a church of do-gooders or works-oriented believers. But we need to be people on a mission to be sure. We need not be remiss in our duty to our fellow man and offer a cup of water in the name of the Lord, as it were, with our gospel message. Taking care of the needs of the poor is an open door to preach and gives us the opportunity to spread the Word (our goal). It is not the mandate of Christ to convert us to one philosophy or political persuasion or viewpoint: God loves us despite this. Jesus is not going to inquire of our political aspirations or beliefs at the Bema ( the Judgment Seat of Christ). "He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well, Is not that what it means to know Me? says the LORD" (Jer. 22:16). Do we indeed know Him, whom to know is eternal life (cf. John 17:3)?

I do not believe He is even going to ask us if we are Arminian or Reformed in our interpretation of Scripture. However, He is going to say," I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was naked and you clothed me, and I was in prison and you visited me." Christianity is not a philosophy, but a relationship with a living Lord (and this has become a cliché) but, nevertheless, it is vital that our faith doesn't vanish into a religion of do's and don'ts, or a duty done out of obligation, rather than love as a high calling and not as duty (God sees our motives).

In Mal. 3:5 God is "against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages" and who "thrust aside the sojourner". God is indeed concerned about social issues (there are many social injustices that one could get concerned about privately) and it may be the calling of individual Christians to go on a crusade (e.g., against child labor or slavery), but this is not the calling of the church at large.

Great Christians like William Wilberforce have influenced the end of slavery as we know it in the free world. The job of the church is to make disciples of all nations and teach them to observe all that Christ commanded (cf. Matt. 28:19-20).  n sum, there is a social commission, not a social gospel,  that has not been rescinded but we are to keep the main thing the main thing and not get sidetracked by turning loaves into bread.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Happy Thanksgiving/Hanukkah!

The scholars say that the convergence of these two holidays won't happen again for 70,000 years--what a special day! I recall that Lincoln proclaimed the feast of Thanksgiving in October of 1863 and it was fixed as the fourth Thursday in November by FDR. The Last Supper or Holy Communion, also known as the Eucharist (which means thanksgiving, by the way, in Greek) is a unique Christian tradition. Thanksgiving is our heritage (not to celebrate seems un-American). One of the first lessons we learn as children is to be thankful and say thanks, especially saying grace at dinner time (a family ritual, if you will). It is ingrained in us to think of the holiday as Turkey Day, with an afternoon of football and family get-togethers. One of the two real family holidays with Christmas.

Jesus healed ten lepers and only one came back to give thanks: He said, "Where are the nine?" Romans 1:21 talks about people knowing God (though not in a saving way, of course) and neither being thankful nor giving Him the glory--"so their foolish hearts were darkened" and consequently "God gave them up." Truly sober words and a word to the wise is sufficient. About giving thanks, what if you have a meal for a guest and he was to say afterward, "How much do I owe you?" Wouldn't you be insulted? We can't pay God back even for all eternity to do it. The psalmist says in Ps. 116:12, "What shall I render to the Lord for all His goodness to me?"

Lincoln said the greatest gift God has given a man is the Bible and he said it was the greatest cure for depression. The Great Hallel (Ps. 136) exhorts us to give thanks unto the Lord several times as does Ps. 107 ("Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, His mercy endures forever"). Whey gives thank you might venture to ask. Just as there are benefits to being a veteran like health care and the G.I. Bill and there are fringe benefits to a job, there are benefits to being joint-heirs with Christ and heirs of God. "And do not forget all His benefits," says Ps. 103:2. We thank God for who He is and for what He has done (as recounted the history of Israel in Psalms 78 and 105, and the praises of the Great Hallel. "The Lord has done great things for us; whereof we are glad" (Ps. 126:3). Most importantly, we thank God to gain entrée into His presence per Ps.100:4, which says, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, enter His courts with praise."

I cannot help but be reminded of the following hymn: "Count your blessings, name them one by one, and you will see what the Lord has done." We are to thank God in all things (1 Thess. 5:18), for all things (Eph. 5:20), and with thanksgiving let our requests be made known unto God (Phil. 4:6). A friend of mine has a daughter that complained about the pain in her foot and he told her to thank God for blessing her foot! What faith! God turns curses into blessings and makes the wrath of God to praise Him (Ps. 76:10). The key to a Spirit-filled walk is to be "abounding in thanksgiving" (Col. 2:7). Finally, the offering of sacrifice makes us acceptable to God (Lev. 22:29), and is considered a thank-offering or a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Jonah offered sacrifice with a "voice of thanksgiving." "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies Me," says Ps. 50:23. In heaven, the elders and angels will offer thanksgiving to God: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen" (Rev. 7:12).

The best biblical example of contentment and thankfulness for God's provision despite matters is in Habakkuk 3:17-18: "Though the fig tree, not blossom...yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." We must learn to be content in all circumstances just like Paul in Philippians 4:13. Ever hear of the man without shoes that became thankful when he saw a man without feet? How about the father who took his son to a third world country to show them how they live to teach him gratitude, and the son was impressed that they didn't have fences! I'm sure you can think of examples galore for this blessed day.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Nixing So-Called Easy-Believism

A. W. Tozer said that God will not save those whom He cannot command--what a deathblow to those who deny lordship salvation! [Lordship salvation means you must accept Christ as Lord as well as Savior to be saved.]  Some refer to this as antinomianism (against the law, we are not under the law, but we are not lawless--the sinner knows no law and the saint needs no law!) and think that they have permission to live as they please, simply because they are secure in their salvation.   It all has to do with the sovereignty of God and His divine prerogative to rule us and all His creation as He sees fit to His glory. Every knee shall bow according to Phil. 2:10 (either in this life or in the hereafter at  Judgment Day). In surrendering,   I recall the song "All hail the power of Jesus' Name! Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all."

Many people have lordship issues with life per se: e.g., some say, "I don't like to take orders." Some fear a taste of authoritarianism and lack of individuality and infringement on their free will. We have authority figures in our culture from the time we are children when parents are in loco Dei (in the place of God). Even the king is accountable to God! Actually, the 5th commandment to honor our parents really can be applied to respect all authority and to give honor to whom honor is due even to the emperor. Some people say they believe in God and do lip service but are practical atheists (believing in God, but denying Him by their witness and testimony), because they live like there is no accountability and authority above their own person. I got news: Everyone is under the authority and no one is above the law--we all reap what we sow, according to the law of the harvest.

Christ is "Lord of all" regardless of our decision and even Satan has to take orders from above and get permission for his mischief.     We don't make Him Lord--He is already Lord. We acknowledge His sovereignty and control and ownership of our lives--to do less is to reject Him. Do you own Him as your personal Lord--can you freely (if you don't know, you will at the judgment) confess Him as your Lord, as Thomas did: "My Lord and my God." Jesus is either Lord of all--or not Lord at all. "There is not one maverick molecule in the universe," says  renowned theologian and pastor R. C. Sproul, "which is out of His control." The toss of the die is in His control as well (c.f. Prov. 16:33)--yes, He micromanages  (even the minutiae) the cosmos and superintends all to His glory and purpose---nothing escapes His attentiveness.    Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory).

The question we must ask ourselves is whether we are holding out on God and if we are gung ho or not to the Great Commission. We cannot escape authority figures who teach us to respect and obey, but we must not kowtow or pay homage to any human as to God. We don't want to get lax, lethargic or blasé about serving God, but getting with the program and having a vision. ("Without a vision, the people perish," Prov. 29:18.) In our daily lives we are not to leave God out of the reckoning and out of the equation, as it were, but to seek His revealed will and be committed to it. The greatest prayer we can pray is this: "Into Thy hands, I commit my spirit, and not my will, but thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This means there is no secular versus sacred areas of our lives but we can worship God in all that we do and bring glory to Him in everything ("Whatsoever you do, do to the glory of God," says 1 Cor. 10:31).  Our lives are to be in harmony with God and then we will have His blessing and smooth sailing, so to speak. The easiest way to put is to "Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."

"Father knows best," (everything is "Father-filtered, as it were) we should say, as we sell out lock, stock, and barrel to the Lord. If we are not in God's will, and this is the safest place to be, trusting Him, we are what we call "wandering in the wilderness" like Israel  (i.e., in a trial period), and we must learn to submit to Christ as Lord just as we have trusted Him as Savior--by faith! "The just shall live by faith" (Rom. 1:17). 

Let's summarize:  it all has to do with respect for authority and honoring all people because we are all in the image of God.  1 Pet. 2:17 says to "honor all people," and Rom. 13:7 says to give "respect to whom respect is due."  With all due respect, we disagree, but we don't slander or libel one's reputation, or cast a slur on our fellow man.   Soli Deo Gloria!

A Failure To Communicate?

I have learned through experience that even the closest of brothers can misunderstand each other and ruffle each other's feathers, despite loving each other and get upset or angry and then "bite and devour each other." "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath" (cf. Ps. 37:8). Jesus warned in Matt. 5:22 that we shouldn't be angry at a brother or even insult him. There is a fine line drawn between "speak[ing] the truth in love" and being judgmental. In my definition, judging (I do not mean rebuking, admonishing or correcting) is not something we have the prerogative to do (I mean reading minds, determining motives, or deciding someone isn't a Christian who claims to be). 1 Cor. 5:12 says, "Do you not judge those who are in the church?" (He was talking about known sin in the church body). God judges those outsides--we are to save them not condemn them. Yes, the Bible says that judgment must begin at the house of God. If believers are scarcely saved, what about the infidel?

All Christians should be willing to swallow their pride and apologize when wrong or convicted of sin and want fellowship more than a win so-to-speak. The truth often hurts and it takes bravery to tell someone the truth and to rebuke or admonish a believer, but sometimes it must be done. Let love be the rule: "Love bears all, believes all, hopes all, endures all, love never fails." It is unfortunate when we carry our feelings on our sleeves, are hypersensitive, or have vulnerable areas--we all live in glass houses with skeletons in our closet, as it were, and shouldn't judge harshly or rashly. Our motive must not be to cause hurt nor damage egos but to edify or correct.

When we know someone we know how to press their buttons and manipulate them if we want to and sometimes we inadvertently push the wrong buttons and get a rise out of them--let's learn from our mistakes. In my opinion, it is an unfortunate event to judge someone in a judgmental spirit intentionally, but we should not return the favor and do likewise if you know what I mean. We don't return evil for evil or insult for insult--it just retaliates, escalates, and estranges.

As they say, familiarity breeds contempt, which is probably a maxim, with the exception being Christ himself. In the final analysis, we all have "feet of clay" or have vulnerabilities and weaknesses not readily apparent, and must be sensitive to each other's feelings as well as accept believers the way they are--God did! (Because we are "accepted in the beloved.")   Soli Deo Gloria!

Are We Called To Preach?

Preachers often have favorite doctrines or agendas that they enjoy, but Paul said he was not remiss to proclaim the whole counsel of God. Just because we preach--and we are all called to preach in some vein--doesn't mean we are perfect, experts on the subject, or deserve the right to preach on it. What is important is that we key into our listeners and know where they are at and where they are coming from, and tailor the message to them specifically and clearly. God has chosen us to preach the Word regardless; however, it is hoped we will not become hypocrites, and we will practice what we preach. Jesus was the prototype preacher par excellence in that He practiced what He preached and preached what He practiced--but we all fall short of this ideal. By the way, Paul said he preached not himself, "but Christ and Christ crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2).

Someone has said of Jonathan Edwards that "his doctrine was all application and his application was all doctrine"; we are not to just make our preaching an intellectual thing that has no relevance. Our preaching should challenge us as well as our hearers and we should humbly thank God for the honor and privilege of preaching and for the high calling that it is. Sometimes it is even ironic that we can preach on a subject because of our background. For example, many ex-drug addicts or ex-convicts have dramatic testimonies, and sometimes the experts on home life actually come from broken homes or less than ideal situations. Sometimes it is very interesting to hear what they have to say and what their point of view is because of their experiences.

Let's not second-guess God as to why we are preaching and accept the authority of the pulpit as being from God and has His anointing. The focus should be to preach the Word according to our faith and gifting. In the final analysis, we really want to know what the Bible says more than some one's experiences which can be biased. (We test our experiences by the Word of God, not the Word of God by our experiences.)   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Chief Of Sinners...

"But let him who boasts boast that he understands and knows me" (Jer. 9:24).

Our knowledge about God is no measure or gauge of our knowledge of God or personal acquaintance with him as Lord and Savior. It is tempting to be just content to be theologically correct and not apply what we know; still, thirst and desire for the truth is a good thing and a positive sign of spiritual life and of its fruit. The Bible says this about unbelievers and the reason for their condemnation: "Because they refused to love the truth and so be saved" (cf. 2 Thess. 2:10). Orthopraxy (right ethics) is important just as orthodoxy (right doctrine) is, and that is why the epistle of James was written: the faith you have is the faith you show!  However, one can be wrong in nonessential doctrine and still be a good Christian.    

John Bunyan wrote a masterpiece, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners!  Could Paul be the chief of sinners and still know God? Actually, yes! Jesus said in his great intercessory prayer that eternal life is to "know [God]." Being a Christian is not about being religious, memorizing the dance of the pious, or playing along with the game or the rules. There are indeed hypocrites who talk the talk but don't walk the walk and pretend to be Christians and are ones in name only (nominal Christians) in order to gain something (by ulterior motive).  

 NB:  Someone has wisely said that Christ didn't come to make bad people good, even though Christ changes lives and many who are born again have wonderful testimonies of being such vile sinners and have had their lives turned around. Someone then added that Christ came to make dead people live (spiritually, that is). All Christians are sinners--but justified sinners, though,(if one has a relationship with God through Jesus).

All of our righteousness is as "filthy rags" (Is 64:6), and our "fruitfulness" comes from God (Hosea 14:8). And all that we have done is through Christ's power (Isa 26:12 says He has actually has accomplished it through us!). What is paramount is knowing God (Hos 6:6 says: "I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." We have then only done our duty and what is required of us as a servant of God (vessels of honor). "Since You have performed for us all our works" (Isa. 26:12). "For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me" (Rom. 15:18). In other words, our goodness and virtue is God's gift to us, not our gift to God.   

God isn't looking for religious people who keep all the so-called "rules of engagement". He's looking for thirsty souls who want to seek his face and have a desire to have fellowship with him and worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Amos 6:13 mentions believers who boasted of what they had accomplished as if God didn't just use them to do his own will--it wasn't by their strength at all.  Paul said that he "would not venture to speak, but of what Christ had accomplished through [him]"  (Rom. 15:18).   "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD," says Zechariah 4:6.

God's chief controversy, or peeve, against Israel, as Hos. 4:1 says that "there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land." So, who is the better Christian? One who is moral and ethical and has a successful life, achieving the American dream, for instance, or the sinner, saved by grace, who knows he's a work in progress-- but truly knows the Lord? Prosperity, therefore, is not necessarily a sign of God's good favor or approval. Ps. 17:14 says the wicked have their reward or portion in this life.   Soli Deo Gloria!

What About the Queen Of Sciences?

You cannot avoid theology as a believer; it is a "given" that you must know the basics; R. C. Sproul has said that to "avoid theology is to avoid Christ," and is "spiritual suicide."
NB:   one can be well-versed and familiar with theology and be a good student of it, be talented or excel at it in seminary, and still hardly know the Lord, because one doesn't apply what one learns. We are all theologians, it just is a matter of what kind of one we are.

Theology is often called the queen of sciences because it is a search for truth that predates the scientific method (or scientific empiricism) laid down by Sir Francis Bacon. In short, you must be willing to go where the truth leads you and keep an open mind ("If any man wills to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine..."), and be as unbiased as possible (total objectivity is impossible to achieve). Theology has been called "God-talk" because it is literally the study or "ology" (Greek) of God or "theos" (Greek). Spurgeon says that the proper study of the Christian is the Godhead. He adds that nothing will so expand the intellect or humble the mind that the study of the Deity.

An ancient Greek philosopher was asked to describe God: He couldn't come up with one, needless to say.  In the Bible we get no adequate description of God, they help us know Him--other so-called holy scriptures do not do the job. It is really an exercise in futility to make speculations about God--we must rely on special revelation as the Bible claims it has. What is God like becomes the million-dollar question? We engage in mental gymnastics to ponder the depths of God: There is no higher science, loftier speculation, or mightier philosophy. J. I. Packer adds that in the 17th-century theology was the hot topic and every gentleman had this as a hobby. People used to be well informed of what the Bible taught.

Is theology just theoretical? No, it has practical applications too. We study the holiness of God to see how to be holy and what God expects: to always do the right thing (Mother Teresa of Calcutta says that "holiness consists in doing the will of God with a smile." We must study God to learn to be godly and knowing God keeps us in touch with reality (we often need a reality check). "What you think about God is the most important thing about you," according to A.W. Tozer.  The most important thing about us is our character and I believe the most important aspect of that is our integrity--God isn't necessarily trying to change our personality, but our character. God's character or the sum total of His attributes shows us how to have godly character. We are to imitate God and emulate Jesus: "What would Jesus do?"(WWJD?)

So who needs theology? It is paramount to our getting to know God. However, knowledge about God is no substitute for knowledge of God and it can remain purely theoretical if we don't apply what we know. We must learn to contemplate the Deity and meditate on His attributes as we interact personally with Him to get to know our personal God.   Soli Deo Gloria!

What Is The Will Of God?

Many look at the appalling circumstances in the world and wonder if God cares or is doing anything--where is God? We may not know where God is, but we can conjecture the whereabouts of the devil who is acting within the permissive will of God, getting His divine approval on everything as God's servant (and vessel of dishonor). John Wesley used to read the daily paper to find out what God was doing in the world. One must distinguish the different aspects of the will of God. The decreed or secret will of God is unknown until it happens and is none of our business. "The secret things belong to the LORD our God..." (Deut 29:29). The so-called preceptive will of God is what we seek according to God's Word and we can know it. The first English Bible translator John Wycliffe had a tenet: "All things come to pass of necessity." The Westminster divines in 1646 said that everything that happens is decreed to take place: "God ... doth uphold, direct, dispose and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence..." All is going according to divine plan; there is no plan B.

God is in absolute full control of His universe (there is not one stray, maverick molecule even) and is not limited by our so-called free wills. The will of God is different from the blind kismet of Muslims who just resign themselves to their fate and say: "It is the will of Allah." God has a reason for everything that happens and He "makes everything beautiful in His time." (Cf. Eccl. 3:11)   "No one can stay His hand or say to Him: 'What have You done?'" (Dan 4:35). There is the permissive will of God that Satan got to do to Job and God allowed him to do his will with divine permission and under God's superintendence and oversight.

We are to seek the good, perfect and pleasing will of God (per Rom. 12:2) as believers and not presume on God or test Him. Some say like Doris Day sang: "Que Sera, Sera" (what will be, will be). Some say they will do what they want and "Let the chips fall where they may." It is a fact of Scripture that God works through the most diabolical actions like the crucifixion (Acts 2:23 says, "Jesus,[was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God." Acts 4:28 says, "[this was] to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place [the crucifixion]").

It is personified or called Providence because God orchestrates history (which is His story). We have the power but not the right to thwart God's preceptive will but God sovereignly controls the outcome as He wills for His glory in His decreed or secret will.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Are There Disobedient Christians?

To answer the question ahead of myself for your benefit, it depends on what you mean by disobedient. The Navigators call the obedient Christian one who prays, witnesses, reads the Word, and fellowships or worships regularly, regardless of where else he may fall short: smoking, drinking, Sabbath-breaking, or what have you. Read on to draw your own conclusions.

The big question: "For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Pet. 4:17).

"But as for Israel, He says, "ALL DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE" (Rom. 10:21). "The wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience" (Eph. 5:6). '...the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2). For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all" (Rom. 11:32).
Unbelievers are called disobedient but disobeying God after salvation doesn't make you a son of disobedience, but persistence in disobedience proves one isn't a child of God. "For I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19). "Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience" (Rom. 11:30). We are talking about being obedient to the faith and to the gospel.

A caveat in Scripture: "They stumble because they were disobedient to the Word, as they were destined to do" [This is called reprobation: cf. Jude 4 and 1 Thess. 5:9] (1 Pet. 2:7).
A pertinent promise: "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land" (Isa. 1:19).
A word to the wise: "For your obedience has become known to all..." (Rom. 16:19).
A challenge to those who stumble: "Who hindered you from obeying the truth?" (Gal. 5:7). The right attitude: "The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey" (Josh. 24:24). Priorities: "Obey those who rule over you..." (Heb. 13:17). "...For we must obey God rather than man" (Acts 5:29).

Intrinsic motivation: "But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed" (Rom. 6:17).
Warning: "If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed' (2 Thess. 3:14).

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who is obedient believes, and only he who believes is obedient." These two are linked together as in Hebrews 3:17-18: "And to whom did he swear that would not enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient? And so we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." John 3:36 says, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." These two are distinguished but not separated--they go hand in hand and are complementary or two sides of the same coin. Did not Abraham believe God and obey to leave Ur, and Noah obey to build the ark? "Faith without works is dead," and one must obey the gospel to be saved; to obey the gospel ("in flaming fire inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus," according to 2 Thess. 1:8). is to repent and accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior or trust in him for salvation (believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ) and submit to His Lordship or ownership of your life.

You can disobey God and not lose your salvation. Salvation is not contingent or probational, but permanent and once for all ("He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him", says Heb. 5:9 "He who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out," says John 6:37). Contrary to what Romanists teach, there is a continuity in the state of grace after salvation and the permanency of our relationship and position in Christ doesn't change, though our experiential life in Christ does fluctuate. We cannot be unborn as a child of God. Jonah disobeyed God by going in the opposite direction. Moses disobeyed God and struck the rock twice instead of speaking to it (and consequently was not allowed to enter the Promised Land). The Bible doesn't gloss over King David's faults and mistakes and gross sins but shows us that even the best of us can fail on occasion--look at Solomon! As they say, "To err is human," and "Nobody is perfect." There is no such thing as sinless perfection or "entire sanctification." We are all works in progress and even Paul said he did not claim to have been there yet (at perfection referred to in Phil. 3:13, "...I do not claim to have laid claim of it yet...").


The Christian doesn't obey God out of some fear that he will lose his salvation but from gratitude. He does it because he wants to not because he has to. When you feel you have to, it is legalism. God says he will give us the heart to obey him. "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules" (Ezek. 36:27).

Many priests became obedient to the faith and got saved in Acts 6:7, and Paul talks about the obedience of faith. We obey God in the Spirit and not according to the Law. The Law kills but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6). We become obedient from the heart because the true circumcision is in the heart (Rom. 2:29). "...so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit" (Rom. 7:6). As Christians we learn to walk in the Spirit: "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law" (Gal. 5:18). "And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to those who obey him," says Acts 5:32).

There is a great reward and there are many perks to being obedient: answered prayer, prosperity, success, family blessings, abundant life and the bearing of fruit. In Job they questioned whether it was profitable to obey God, but found out it was--God restored him twice his former worth. Psalm 19:11 says that "in keeping them [the law] there is great reward." 1 Sam. 15:22 sums it up as an exhortation: "To obey is better than sacrifice...." Jesus also said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). In God's economy, there are paradoxes: poverty comes before riches and trial before success. Even Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered (Heb. 5:8). "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits" (Psa. 103:2). God was angry at the people in Malachi who said that it was "vain to serve God" (Mal. 3:14). Isaiah 48:10 announces, "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go." Other passages that are food for thought are Psalm 1:3 and Joshua 1:8.

Israel had good intentions, but poor follow-through as they promised to obey the Law in Exodus 24:7 instead of asking for mercy, and ended up in disobedience. Jesus saw the disciples sleeping in the garden and said "the spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak"--recognizing human weakness, and not necessarily sin itself--in all its ugly colors. We all fall short of our ideals and standards, but that doesn't make us hypocrites (they pretend or make a show to impress their faith). Jesus talked in a parable of two brothers and asked which one obeyed. The one that finally decided to obey not the one who had good intentions. As they say, "The road to hell is carved with good intentions." sincerity counts but it is not everything: there are many sincere people who are lost. God is looking for "sincere," and "unfeigned faith" and not necessarily perfect faith (1 Tim. 1:5). "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.," (cf. Mark 9:24).    Soli Deo Gloria!