OBEDIENCE TO GOD

1. Obeying the
Lord:

A. Obedience to God
is our duty:

Eccl.12:13               Keep
His commandments: for this is whole duty of man

Deut.13:4               Walk
after the Lord...& keep His commandments, & obey His voice, & serve
Him

Deut.27:9b,10        Thou
art the people of God...therefore obey the...Lord

Jer.11:7   I earnestly protested... saying,
Obey My voice

Jn.2:5      Whatsoever He
(Jesus) saith unto you, do it

(See
also Lk.17:10.)

B. Obey
wholeheartedly:

Rom.6:17                Ye
have obeyed from the heart that doctrine

Deut.26:16             The
Lord hath commanded thee to do these statutes... keep & do them with all
thine heart, & all thy soul

Psa.119:34              I
shall keep Thy law...with my whole heart

(See
also Psa.119:69b)

C. Obey in all
things:

Deut.5:32               Observe
to do as the Lord...commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or
to the left

2Ki.22:2  He did that which was right in the sight
of the Lord...& turned not aside to the right hand or to the left

(See
also 2Cor.2:9)

2. If you love
& know the Lord, you will obey Him:

Jn.14:15,21             If
ye love Me, keep My commandments (See also vs.23)

1Jn.2:3    We know we know Him, if we
keep His commandments

1Jn.3:24  He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth
in Him

1Jn.2:4    He that saith, I know Him,
& keepeth not His com mandments, is a liar

2Jn.6a     This is love, that we
walk after His commandments

3. Blessings
for obeying the Lord:

Deut.11:26,27        I set
before you...a blessing, if ye obey the com mandments of the Lord your God

Josh.1:8  Meditate therein (the Word)...observe to do
all that is written therein: then shalt thou have success

A. Souls are saved:

Rom.5:19                By
the obedience of one shall many be made righteous

1Tim.4:16b             Heed
the doctrine...in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, & them that hear
thee

B. Spiritual
blessings:

Exo.19:5  If ye will obey My voice...ye shall be a
peculiar treasure unto Me above all people

Jer.7:23   Obey My voice, & I will be your
God, & ye...My people

Jn.13:17  If ye know these things, happy are
ye if ye do them

Jn.15:10  If ye keep My commandments, ye shall
abide in My Love

Jn.15:14  Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I
command you

Acts
5:32               The
Holy Ghost...given to them that obey (God)

1Pet.1:22                Ye
have purified your souls in obeying the truth

(See
also Jam.1:25)

C. Material
blessings:

Deut.28:2               All
these blessings shall come on thee, & overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken
unto the Lord

Deut.32:46,47        Set
your hearts unto all the Words...& through this ye shall prolong your days
in the land

Job
36:11                If
they obey & serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, &
their years in pleasures

Isa.1:19   If ye be willing & obedient, ye
shall eat good of land

Jer.38:20 Obey...voice of the Lord: so it shall be well
unto thee, & thy soul shall live

Heb.11:8 Abraham, when he was called to go into a place
which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed

(See
also Deut.28:1-14; Jer.35:18,19.)

D. Protection:

Exo.23:22                If
thou shalt obey & do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine
enemies

Lev.25:18               Do
My statutes...& shall dwell in the land in safety

4. Submission to
godly pastors & leaders in the Lord:

A. Exhortations to
submit to pastors & spiritual brethren:

Heb.13:17               Obey
them that...rule over you, & submit yourselves: for they watch for your
souls

Heb.13:7 Remember them which have rule...whose faith
follow

1Cor.11:1                Be
ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ

Phi.3:17  Be followers of me &...them which
walk so, as ye have us for an (example)

(See
also 1Cor.16:16; 2Cor.2:9.)

B. Obeying
wholeheartedly, "as unto the Lord & not unto men":

Eph.6:5   Be obedient...in singleness of
heart, as unto Christ

Eph.6:6   Not with eyeservice, as
menpleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart

Col.3:22  Not...menpleasers; singleness of heart,
fearing God

Col.3:23,24             Whatsoever
ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, & not unto men...for ye serve Christ

Phlm.21  I wrote...knowing that thou wilt do more
than I say

5. Jesus' example
of obedience:

Lk.22:42  Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine, be
done (See also Mat.26:39,42)

Jn.5:30    I seek not Mine Own will, but
the will of the Father

Jn.14:31  As the Father gave Me commandment, even
so I do

Phi.2:7,8 (Jesus) took upon Him the form of a
servant...& became obedient unto death

Heb.5:8   Though He were a Son, yet learned
He obedience

6. Yieldedness to
God:

A. Let the Lord
have His way in your life:

Job
1:21  Lord gave, &...hath taken
away; blessed be the Lord

Isa.64:8   Lord...we are the clay, & Thou
our potter

Mat.6:10 Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done

Jn.3:30    He must increase, but I must
decrease

Rom.12:1                Present
your bodies a living sacrifice...unto God

Jam.4:7   Submit yourselves therefore to God

(See
also Mat.26:39; Lk.1:38; Rom.6:13,16.)

B. Submit your
plans to God:

Heb.6:3   This will we do, if God permit

Jam.4:15 Ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we
shall do this

C. Obeying God even
when it hurts:

Gen.22:2,12            Take
thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, & offer him for a burnt offering
(See also Heb.11:17-19)

Jer.42:6   Whether it be good, or whether it
be evil [hard to do] we will obey the voice of the Lord our God

Mat.26:38-54         [Jesus
agonised in prayer, knowing the cost, but then yielded to God's
will.--See also Lk.22:44; Jn.18:11.]

D. Yield to God
& pray for His leading:

Psa.27:11                Teach
me Thy way, O Lord, & lead me in a plain path

Psa.139:23,24         Search
me, O God, & know my heart...know my thoughts: & lead me in the way
everlasting

Psa.143:10              Teach
me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: lead me

E. Yielding to God
spares you from judgments:

2Chr.30:8                Yield
yourselves unto the Lord...that His wrath may turn away from you

Mat.21:44               Whosoever
shall fall on this Stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it
will grind him

7. Obeying God
rather than ungodly men:

Acts
4:13-20          Whether
it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you (Pharisees) more than unto
God, judge ye

Acts
5:29               We
ought to obey God rather than men

(See
also 1Sam.22:17; 1Ki.18:3,13; Ezra 4:21; 5:1-5; Dan.3:1-25; 6:1-13; Heb.11:23.)

8. Disobedience to
God--how the Lord views it:

1Sam.15:23             Rebellion
is as the sin of witchcraft, & stubbornness is as iniquity & idolatry

Mat.7:26,27            Heareth
these sayings of Mine, & doeth them not...a foolish man,
which built his house upon the sand

Jam.1:23,24            A
hearer of the Word, & not a doer, is like a man beholding his face...&
straightway forgetteth

9. Various
categories of disobedience:

A. Merely
"agreeing" is not enough:

Ezk.33:30-33           They
sit before thee as My people & they hear thy words, but they will do them
not

Mat.21:28-31b       He answered
& said, "I go, sir": & went not

Mat.23:2,3              Do
not after their works: for they say, & do not

Lk.6:46    Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord,
& do not the things I say?

Tit.1:16   They profess that they know
God; but in works they deny Him, being...disobedient

(See
also Jer.42:1-22; 43:1-4.)

B. "Good
works" not a substitute for obedience:

1Sam.15:22             Hath
the Lord as great delight in... sacrifices, as in obeying? To obey is better
than sacrifice

Jer.7:22,23              I
spake not...concerning sacrifices. But this thing commanded I them, Obey My
voice

Mat.7:22,23            Have
we not...in Thy name done many wonderful works? Depart from Me (Jesus),
ye that work iniquity

Lk.11:42  Ye tithe...& pass over judgment &
love. These ought ye to have done, & not to leave the other undone

C. Half-hearted
obedience:

2Chr.25:2                He
did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart

Jer.3:10   (She) hath not turned unto Me with
her whole heart, but feignedly

Acts
5:1-11            [Ananias
& Sapphira pretended to give all, but kept back part of the money from the
sale of their land]

10. Reasons for
disobedience:

A. Being deceived:

Gen.3:13 [Eve said:], "The serpent beguiled me,
& I did eat"       (See
also 2Cor.11:3)

1Ki.13:1-26             [The
young prophet was deceived by the old prophet & disobeyed the Lord's
original instructions]

Gal.3:1    Who bewitched you, that ye
should not obey the truth?

Gal.5:7    Who did hinder you that ye
should not obey the truth?

B. Having a
"better idea":

1Sam.15:2-15         Thus
saith the Lord, "Utterly destroy all they have!" (Saul) spared
the best...to sacrifice to the Lord

Pro.3:5,6 Lean not unto thine own understanding

Act
21:4,10-14       [Paul
was warned by the Spirit to not go to Jerusalem, but his heart was set
on it]

C. Lack of love for
others:

Jon.1:1-3;
4:2         [Jonah
disobeyed & fled from God, knowing God would be merciful to the Ninevites,
his enemies]

1Jn.3:16,17             Whoso
hath this world's good [& doesn't help a needy brother], how dwelleth the
love of God in him?

D. Fear of man:

1Sam.15:24             I
transgressed the commandment of the Lord...because I feared the people, &
obeyed their voice

Pro.29:25                The
fear of man bringeth a snare

Jer.38:17-20            [Zedekiah
disobeyed God out of fear of his opponents]

Jn.12:42,43             Many
believed on Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him

E. Lack of faith in
the Word:

Gen.3:1-6                [Eve
believed the devil's lies & doubted God's Word]

Gen.19:14               [Lot's
sons-in-law thought his warning to flee Sodom was merely a joke]

Num.20:7-12          [Moses
hit the rock twice instead of speaking to it]

1Sam.13:8-14         [Saul,
doubting that Samuel would come, sinned by impatiently offering the sacrifice
himself]

1Pet.2:7,8               Them
which stumble at the Word, being disobedient

2Thes.2:12             Believed
not the truth, but had pleasure in (sin)

F. Being distracted
by less important things:

1Ki.20:39,40           "Keep
this man." As thy servant was busy here & there, he was gone

Lk.14:15-24            [The
Lord invited men to His supper, but they all made excuses, saying they had other
things to do]

G. For material
gain:

1Ki.20:29-34,          [Captured
king promised king Ahab cities & markets, so

42            Ahab
let him go, instead of slaying him]

2Ki.5:14-16,            [Elisha
refused to receive any reward, but his servant,

20-27       Gehazi,
disobeyed & accepted it & was judged]

H. Pride:

2Chr.26:14-20        [King
Uzziah, lifted up in pride, broke the law]

3Jn.9,10  [An exalted pastor refused to obey the
apostle John]

I. Allowing
disobedience to become a habit:

Jer.22:21 This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that
thou obeyedst not My voice

Jer.3:25   From our youth even unto this day,
(we) have not obeyed the Lord (See also Eccl.8:11)

11. How to relate
to the disobedient:

A. Use the Word to
teach & warn them:

Ezk.2:3-7 Speak My Words unto them...they are most
rebellious

Ezk.3:17,18             Hear
the Word...& give them warning from Me

B. Win them with
your example, not just your words:

1Cor.9:19                I
made myself servant to all, that I might [win them]

2Tim.2:24-26          Servant
of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle... patient...instructing...to
acknowledging of the truth

1Pet.3:1-4               That,
if any obey not the Word, they may without the Word be won by the [way of life]

(See
also Jam.5:19,20.)

C. Try to get them
to change:

Lk.1:17    Turn the...disobedient to the
wisdom of the just

D. Keep an eye on
them:

Pro.29:15                A
child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame

E. Do not keep
company with them:

Eph.5:11 Have no fellowship with [them], but rather
reprove them

2Thes.3:6               Withdraw
yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, & not after the
(instructions)

2Thes.3:14             If
any man obey not our word...have no company with him

1Tim.6:3-5              If
any man...consent not...from such withdraw thyself

F. If the offence
isn't serious, don't give up on them:

2Thes.3:14,15        If
any man obey not our word by this epistle...count him not as an enemy, but
admonish him as a brother

12. God's
punishments for disobedience:

Deut.11:26,28        I set
before you...a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord (See
also Jer.11:3)

Josh.5:6  (They) walked 40 years in the wilderness,
till all the people...were consumed, because they obeyed not

Judg.2:2,3              Ye
have not obeyed...I will not drive (enemies) out

1Sam.12:15             If
ye will not obey...the Lord (will) be against you

1Sam.15:23b          Because
thou hast rejected the Word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being
king

1Ki.13:all                [Young
prophet disobeyed God by heeding the old prophet, & was slain by a lion]

Psa.68:6  The rebellious dwell in a dry land

Isa.1:20   If ye refuse & rebel, ye shall
be devoured with sword

Jer.3:25   Confusion covereth us: for we
have...not obeyed

Jer.18:10 If (they) obey not...then I will repent of the
good, wherewith I said I would benefit them

Dan.9:11 (Did) not obey Thy voice; therefore curse is
poured

Dan.9:14 The Lord watched upon the evil, & brought
it upon us: for we obeyed not His voice

Mat.7:26,27            Every
one that heareth (My) sayings & doeth not...foolish...house on sand...great
was the fall of it

Lk.12:47  (He) which knew his Lord's will, &
[did not] according to His will, shall be beaten with many stripes

(See
also Gen.3:6,16-19; Deut.28:15-67; Jer.9:13-16; 12:17; 32:23; Eph.5:6.)

13. Obedience is
building on a sure foundation:

Mat.7:24,25            Whosoever
heareth these sayings of Mine, & doeth them ...wise man, which built
his house upon a rock

1Cor.3:11-14          [Jesus
is the foundation; build with gold of obedience not with wood, hay &
stubble of disobedience]

1Cor.15:58              Be
steadfast, unmoveable...in the work of the Lord