Obedience

[JS1789]

If you read about HOW people were saved in the New Testament, ( read the book of acts) you will quickly see that “obedience” was always necessary and was evident in every case of salvation after Jesus was no longer here to save people in person. Jesus left a “will” (Hebrews 9:16-17) and in His “will” he specified what a person must do to receive salvation. Just exactly like anyone today who has money, leaves a will, sometimes leaving “conditions” that must be met before one can inherit.

The Bible says that God is NOT partial, nor is He a respecter of persons.( Acts 19:34, Roman’s 2:11, 1Peter 1:17.). That’s why, in the New Tesrament after the death of Jesus , every person was saved the same way. Not different “plans of salvation, not different doctrines, churches, or faiths. Ephesians 4 says “ONE FAITH, one baptism, one church (body).” Even though there are many denominations, all teaching different ways to be saved—“sinner’s prayer”, “faith only”, Holy Spirit baptism, etc. the Bible still only teaches one way for all people. The Bible has not changed. Look for your answers there.

Jesus Himself told Saul of Tarsus in Acts 9, “Go into the city and there it shall be told you what you MUST DO.” There was something he “MUST” do. That’s works and obedience. I might point out, he already believed the moment he saw and talked to Jesus. His faith is evident when he asked Jesus “what would you have me to do, Lord?” Ok, look at what we have—we have something that must be done, commanded by God. It wasn’t something that Saul came up with by himself. It wasn’t Saul’s work—it was a work of God that he “must do;” it came from God and was commanded by God. It was a work ofGod—not man. Not a work Saul can boast about because it is not Saul’s work. John 6:28-29 talks about “works of God.” So Saul “ believed”. On the road to Damascus, then he spent 3 days praying, repenting I’m sure, but that didn’t save him, either. He still hasn’t been TOLD anything and Jesus said he would be TOLD what he MUST DO. Finally, after 3 days, Ananias comes to him and says, “what are you waiting for? Arise and be BAPTIZED and WASH AWAY YOUR SINS.” (Acts 22:16) Up until this moment Saul still has his sins that he needs forgiveness for. He has believed, repented, prayed, but still has his sins. This must be true because the Bible is not wrong and Ananias says he needs to get rid of his sins by being baptized. This, by the way, HARMONIZES with what Peter says in Acts 2:38 where he says baptism is “…for the forgiveness of sins.” It harmonizes with what Jesus said in Mark 16:16- “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” It harmonizes with what Peter teaches in 1 Peter 3:21 that baptism saves us. It harmonizes with what James says in James 2:24- “…not by faith only.”
Now, Saul has been told “what he MUST DO.”

Does he need to OBEY what Ananias tells him to do? Do you really believe God will save him if he doesn’t obey God? I don’t think so. Just like, I don’t believe God woujd have cured Naaman’s leprosy if he had refused to dip 7 times in the river Jordan or if he had tried to dip in a different river. God doesn’t lie; if He says you MUST do something, I believe God means what He says, and we are indeed foolish to believe we can just ignore and disobey God.

Grace is unmerited favor from God. We don’t deserve God’s grace. It is a “gift” from God. A favor from God to us. I’d like to try to illustrate God’s grace and how it works with “works” and “salvation, by using Noah as an example. God decided that He was going to destroy the world with water. Mankind had no idea that God was planning on doing this. But there was one good man, Noah, God decided to do Noah a “favor” and tell him what He was planning to do and to offer him a way to be saved. It was God’s GRACE that offered him a way to be saved. Would Noah have been saved without God’s GRACE? No, of course not. He would have drowned just like everyone else. He needed a plan for how to be saved. So by God’s grace, he was given a chance to be saved. God told him something he had to do. ( work) . He MUST build a boat. To be saved. Does Noah have to OBEY God to be saved? Of course he does. He would not have been saved otherwise. God’s grace provided a plan for salvation and revealed it to Noah. God HAD to reveal it to Noah or else he would not have known what to do. That’s all GRACE! God did His part. Now, Noah had to BELIEVE God and obey God’s commands for salvation to be possible. All three work together, Grace, works (of God) and obedience. What about us? By Grace, God sent His Son into the world to die for us. By God’s grace He revealed his plan for salvation to us. God has done His part. He’s given us a chance to be saved. But God has given instructions, commands for us, that we MUST Do if we want that salvation. God has done His part, but we must do ours. God has made promises to us and He does not lie. So Jesus says, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” There are other scriptures that tell us more that we must do. Like Acts 17:30 -God commands all men to repent. And Romans 10:10- confession is made to salvation. And Acts 2:38 - Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Psalms says we must take the “SUM” of His word. That means we must take it all and add it together. All of God’s words and commands that apply to us are true (Psalms 119:160).

Revelation 22:18-19 warns us not to leave anything out-“don’t take away..”. So it’s important that we obey Him.

Are you a member of the church of Christ? I am.

 

[TMS]

Obedience isn’t works. Take God's grace out of the equation, for just a minute. Now, how much all of God' commands save you or avail you?

Zero.

Now, take away all the commands of God. Have only God's grace. Would you be saved without works/commandments?

No. Otherwise, everyone on earth would be saved by grace.

So, you need both.

But those “works”, those commandments, are not devised by man. Man did not originate them. They are devised by God for mankind.

I have been trying to say this for years...

Faith and works can not be seperated...

Faith alone saves and works are an outward revelation of your faith.

If you have lots of faith and no works it is dead Faith. If you try to work your way to heaven you will fail.

Faith in Jesus is the key to salvation but faith is not just about forgiveness and grace. We also need faith in Christ's power to save us out of sin and cause us to be obedient.
By faith Jesus will transform us into obedient followers.

 

[studier]

I have been trying to say this for years...

Faith and works can not be seperated...

Faith alone saves and works are an outward revelation of your faith.

If you have lots of faith and no works it is dead Faith. If you try to work your way to heaven you will fail.

Faith in Jesus is the key to salvation but faith is not just about forgiveness and grace. We also need faith in Christ's power to save us out of sin and cause us to be obedient.
By faith Jesus will transform us into obedient followers.

As I read our Text, part of what you're saying here I see as a misunderstanding of it that we keep repeating

Faith and obedience are different words and I see Jesus dealing with this in Luke 17. But Scripture uses faith in parallel to obedience as seen in Rom10:16 and other areas of Scripture. In 1John3:23 and others belief in Jesus Christ is commanded, so to believe is to obey God.

The life of faith begins in obedience and as faith grows so does obedience and vice versa. Along with this growth sinning becomes less and less as it has to because faith-obedience is the opposite of sin.

Good works result from faith-obedience and faith-obedience in all the nations on behalf of the name of Jesus Christ is what Paul says in Rom1 & 16 is his mission in the grace and apostleship given him by the resurrected Jesus Christ.

I agree with what you've said re: [true] Faith and works cannot be separated. When we realize how obedience parallels Faith, how can works be separated from faith-obedience? We believe God <> we obey God <> we do the Good Works God commands. All else is lack of faith thus lack of obedience thus lack of good works.

 

[vassal]

Faith and trust are closely connected, but faith comes first. Faith is the foundation—it is believing in God, in who He is, and in His promises. Trust flows out of that faith. When you believe that God is who He says He is, you can trust Him to guide you, provide for you, and keep His word. Faith plants the seed, and trust is the action that grows from it. Without faith, there can be no trust, because trust depends on believing that God is worthy of it.

Faith and trust are most evident when they lead to obedience to God. When we have faith in Him, we believe His word is true, and this gives us the courage to trust Him, even when life is uncertain or difficult. Trusting God means living out our faith through obedience, knowing that He has a good plan for us and that His way is always best.

A powerful example is Abraham. God called him to leave his home and go to an unknown land, and Abraham obeyed because of his faith. Later, when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham trusted God’s promise that Isaac would be the key to fulfilling His covenant. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8, NKJV). Even when Abraham didn’t understand, his faith in God led him to trust Him completely. “Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering’” (Genesis 22:8, NKJV). And God did, showing His faithfulness and rewarding Abraham’s obedience.

This story teaches us that faith is where it begins—we believe in God and His promises. That faith gives us the confidence to trust Him in every situation, and true trust leads us to obey His commands. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5, NKJV). When we have both faith and trust, we can follow God’s will with peace, knowing He is always faithful.