Just how do you view the Bible? Do you view it as God’s great love letter to humanity? Or perhaps you view the Scriptures as the great holy book of God. Or maybe you view the Bible as God’s book of wonderful promises. While all of these answers are correct one other answer is not always popular in evangelical circles and that is that the Bible is a book of commands to be obeyed. I like how Charles Spurgeon commented on this point when he said: “We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives.”1
And one of the reasons I say that the Bible is not always popular among Christians is that obeying God is not always easy. Let’s face it the commands to be thankful in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44) are sometimes really hard to do. But these commands are not optional if we want to be obedient to the Lord and His Word. But may I suggest three observations that I pray may just make obeying the Word of God a little easier.
Obeying the Scriptures is the pathway to real joy and it pleases God (1)
Christian if you want to experience deep and abiding joy then start obeying God. One of the greatest lessons that the Lord has shown me in my walk with Him is that joy is a by-product of obeying God and it doesn’t depend on circumstances. In other words, as we obey God and do His will, He will fill us with abundant joy. And not only that, but obeying the Word of God puts a smile of approval on the face of the Lord of the universe.
Obeying the Scriptures will make our prayer life much more effective (2)
I don’t know about you but having an effective prayer life is one of the most important things in my life. It is clear to me that if I am not obeying the commands of God that I am sinning and according to (Psalm 66:18): “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” But the flip side is also true that having an obedient heart will bring power to my prayer life for we read: “…The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16).
Obeying the Scriptures is the best investment we can ever make with our time, talents, and treasury (3)
When we use our time, talents, and finances to advance the kingdom of God there are so many benefits that we accrue, that it makes obeying God a very wise investment. As I have already mentioned obedience to God brings us joy, it pleases God, and helps our prayer life. But in addition, when we obey God we experience great peace, a great night’s sleep, and great riches in heaven.
Yes, I will admit obeying the commands of God, that are found in the Bible, will often go against our old flesh nature, but we need to focus more on who we are now in Christ and not the past. We now have the Holy Spirit indwelling us and the Spirit gives us the power to say yes to God and no to the flesh. As we yield more to God and give the Spirit control of our life we will have the power to obey even God’s difficult commands. Obedience is like a key that can unlock incredible blessings in our life if we use it wisely.
So many Christians choose to spend too much time in worrying about what they have to give up by obeying the Lord. I choose rather to focus on the rich storehouse of blessings that obedience to God promises to accrue to my account. My friends obeying God – I kind of like the sound of that!
Very solid reminders!