It Pays to Obey
God reveals His concern for His chosen people, as He says in Romans 10:21, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. We need not read far in the Old Testament to see how disobedient and rebellious the Children of Israel were. Repeatedly, the Lord pled with them to obey. Usually they responded with promises to be obedient, but their works proved otherwise. It is clear that their forty years of wandering in the wilderness was the direct result of their continued disobedience to God.
As time went on, things did not change much. Jesus said to His little body of disciples, as well as to every believer since, If ye love Me, keep My commandments (John 14:15). Did they obey? Do we obey? The proof of our love for God is evidenced by our obedience to His Word.
There is no question about it. Our generation has more knowledge available concerning Christian truth than any former generation in history. It might be thought that the church of Christ would be thriving with obedience, but such is not the case. Talk to any pastor about the condition of his congregation. If he were to open his heart to you, the stories would sound incredible. It is hard to conceive some of the things happening among those who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ. There is one word that describes the whole horrible mess — disobedience, an unwillingness on the part of some of those who claim to be Christians to obey the Word of God. The church has plenty of knowledge about the truth, but knowledge is not enough. We may have knowledge of cancer in our body, but knowledge does not heal. The cancer must be treated.
Many Christians read the Word of God regularly. They know what the Bible says, but the tragedy is they don’t always do what it says. Bible truth needs to be put into action.
I read an article one time about the mailing room of the University of California in Berkeley. Termites had eaten through a large stack of pamphlets entitled, “Control of Termites.” We would think a building at the University of California would be free of termites since so much is known about them and the destruction they cause. It is one thing to have all this information printed in pamphlets, but quite another to make the practical application.
Recall what Jesus said in John 13:17 as He spoke to His disciples regarding the things He had taught them. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. Knowledge is not enough. There must be action. We have thousands of books providing greater understanding of the Bible and its teaching, but there must be more than this. Scriptural truth must be lived out in obedience to the Lord by those who name the name of Jesus Christ. We must guard against being disobedient and gainsaying people (Romans 10:21). We are called to obey God and follow Him regardless of the cost.
Before his conversion, the apostle Paul hated and despised Christians. He used every ounce of his political authority to pour out his wrath upon them. In fact, having heard that there were many Christians in Damascus who, because of their deep commitment to Christ, were causing problems among the Jews, he went to the High Priest and requested special permission to be an assigned deputy. Then he planned to go to Damascus to persecute and arrest all these Christian trouble makers. On the way, as he neared Damascus, a blinding light shined about him. He fell to the earth, and a loud voice was heard saying, Why persecutest thou Me? God was saying, “When you lay your hands on believers in Jesus Christ and persecute them, you are laying your hands on Me and persecuting Me.” Blinded by the light from heaven Paul replied, Who art Thou, Lord? The answer: I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. The man of violence, the fearful enemy of believers, stood trembling from head to foot and replied, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?
The Lord told Saul what to do. He obeyed instantly, and he, on a mission to destroy God’s people, became one of them. He began immediately to serve the Lord and never deviated. It was extremely costly. He suffered bitter opposition from unbelievers everywhere he went. But he never turned from his mission to obey the Lord.
Suppose all Christians were to say and mean, “Jesus, I will obey you whatever the cost.” It could cost friendships, advancements, popularity, money, and dozens of other things. But it would be worth it. There is absolutely nothing more important for the believer in Christ than to obey God’s Word.
There is no such thing as half obeying, or obeying three quarters of the way, or anything else. It is either, or. Either we are obeying the Lord, or we are not. If we are obeying God, even though we may be in the most difficult circumstances, we have peace within. If you are not obeying him, even though you may be living in the best of circumstances, you are miserable within.
Jesus made it clear that we cannot move in two directions at one time. He said, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). There is no way we can enjoy God’s blessing and care while doing things we know are displeasing to Him.
I marvel at the faith of Matthew, the tax collector. Tax collectors in our Lord’s time were as dishonest as anyone could be. Being a tax collector was an extremely lucrative position, because one could easily pocket much of the money handled. Matthew was busily engaged in this despised profession when Jesus walked up to him and simply said, Follow Me. We might expect Matthew to reply, “Who are you and why should I follow you?” But what do we read in Luke 5:28? He left all, rose up, and followed Him. He left all! No longer did he fleece the people. He did not argue with Jesus. There was no hesitation. He turned himself over to our Savior without any reservation whatsoever.
This is one of the best examples of what it means to become a Christian. But how many people do this? The usual attitude is, “I will follow Him so long as it doesn’t infringe on my plans.” Do we think we can experience God’s blessing with that attitude? It is all or nothing.
A bird is at its best when it is soaring in the air. Submerge a bird in water, and he will die. The fish has liberty in the water but leave him on the sand and he will perish. He is out of his realm. The Christian is at his very best when he is obeying God. To obey is as necessary for a believer in Jesus Christ as it is for the fish to be in water and the bird to be in the air.
The biggest problems most of us have as Christians is not what we do, but what we don’t do. We go so far for Christ, then we stop. We go only as far as we want to go. But let’s change that. Let’s go as far as God wants us to go. Then we shall discover the key to blessing.
What or who is causing your disobedience to God? You know what the Scriptures teach. You have heard your pastor. You have read devotional articles. You know you should do something about your disobedience. When do you plan to do it? Don’t be too late. Get on target! If you don’t know what you should do, simply ask the Lord, like Paul: Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? (Acts 9:6). I guarantee you, He will make things clear to you very quickly. Then obey Him; follow Him.
You may need to be saved. Some of you write to me and say, “I know I should become a Christian, but . . . ” In place of “but.” say, “and I will.” God will forgive you of all the past as you become a new person in Christ.
J. Allen Blair
REFLECTIONS with Dr. Blair
Have you learned how to give thanks and praise to Almighty God for everything? This is what God tells us to do. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 He says, In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. We are to give thanks for adverse things as well as the things that please us. As followers of Jesus Christ, nothing enters our lives without divine approval. With this in mind we can give thanks for all things. Some believers are only thankful for the things they like. The real secret of happiness in life is not getting what you like, but liking what you get. When you have the right attitude and your heart is yielded to the Lord, you will like what you get, and praise God for it.
The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of the Rock of my salvation
2 Samuel 22:47
Dear Glad Tidings, 9/13/2004
In the Summer of 1995, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, repented of my way of life, and turned my heart over to Him. As you know, being a Christian is not always easy. However, for me, it has been very rewarding and changed my life forever. My journey has been helped very much by the ministry of Glad Tidings.
I have a number of Dr. Blair’s books and am re-reading The Gospel of John, Living Eternally, by Dr. Blair. John is my favorite. I can never thank you enough for all the encouragement, tracts, books, prayers, radio messages, and tapes that have come my way. I, in turn, have passed many of these to other people. Dr. Blair has an extra special manner about himself. This comes across in his talks and books. God bless you for all you do at Glad Tidings. Thank you for helping me so much, Ed