by John Squires

Created on: December 12, 2007   Last Updated: December 13, 2007

Culture Obedience

Obedience is something we learn through our experiences. It is a principal thing, a vital necessity for spiritual growth. In order to get better at it we must begin to practice it.

The obedience of faith is something we must practice in an immediate manner. By that I mean that faith itself, being in the present tense, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Heb. 11:1, must be used when it comes, not some day or time later.

The faith you had yesterday is not the faith you have today. Faith must be used when it comes. It needs to be obeyed, for it comes from God by His holy Word for the furtherance of His work in this world and blessings in the world to come. Rom. 10:17 says, "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."

1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

It is, therefore, of utmost importance to learn obedience. "But, obedience to what", you say. It is obedience to what you hear God telling and leading you to do today. "Should I talk to this person? Should I give this or that? Should I go to this place or not? Am I supposed to speak up or be quiet? Surely you have felt led to do things that were good, many that may have felt a bit uncomfortable, like speaking out against the enemy's plans. Beloved, if we do not do something about the enemy in this world, nobody else will. Has the Lord told you to pray for someone? Do it now, not later. That is obedience. Procrastination is not obedience. It is rebellion and an avoidance of responsibility.

Rom 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Rom 1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name;

Rom 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Rom 1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name;

Rom 16:26 But now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

Did you know that many, even in the Church, are obeying the enemy rather than God? Have you yielded to sin lately? " What sin?" Many sins are subtle but, if we listen to our conscience, we will know where they are. Examples could be holding something against someone who has offended us, holding some bitterness or unforgiveness in our heart, talking bad about someone who has been evil, gossiping, spreading bad news rather than "the good news", leading someone to believe something that is not true, exaggerating, pointing the finger (being an accuser at some subtle level), taking something small and insignificant that is not yours or that you have not asked for, not being perfectly and absolutely honest, staying angry, not loving yourself (self-hatred is very common), not helping one in need of help when it is in your power to assist and on and on. "The wages of sin is death," whether the sin is very tiny or very large. It makes no difference.

Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

I like to think of the old song, "Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey." How true it is.

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