Obedience (Part 3) Fundamentals of the Faith Lesson # 12

So this will be What is it the third? third installment of lesson number 12 on the subject of obedience we left off in Section 6 so that would be areas of obedience

Number 6 does that sound right to you? Sound sounds right to me So we ended off last time talking about Authority we were talking about different types of Authority there is a civil authority of course

God is the authority. He's the greatest authority, but he's kind of delegated Other lords or other areas of authority.

There's a civil authority. There's authority in the home There's authority in the workplace.

There's authority in the church. We live in a very anti authority time don't we?

That's that's for sure But what does authority have to do with obedience when

I looked up the term obedience, this is what I found obedience is compliance with an order or a request or submission to another's authority so authority and obedience

Go really go hand in hand. So who do we want to obey?

We want to obey Christ But Christ Tells us to obey other authorities, doesn't he?

He tells us to submit to other authorities So when we rebel against other authorities and we might think we have a good reason to rebel against other authorities

We're actually rebelling Against Christ who told us to submit to these other authorities and we talked about how there can be abuses of power there can be people who

Well, there's unlawful authorities I suppose and abusive Authorities, but what was one thing we talked about?

We turned into a whole thing last time right the wives submit to your husband that kind of turned into a thing and We said well, you wouldn't obey though if the husband said don't go to I don't want you going to church anymore

You wouldn't obey that why because you want to obey Christ over The authority in the home or when the when the government shut down the churches for a year and a half or Actually, I heard the emergency orders were just lifted this past week the federal

Mandates or whatever the emergency or they were just lifted like a few days ago or last week and Yeah, the church would have been shut down for a long long time

But we said well normally we do submit to the governing governing authorities I do believe in that but we're not shutting down the church for a year or two or three

So there there are times where we do not Submit, but the principle there is we obey

God over Government we obey God over our employer. We obey

God over Even authorities within the church, right? There can be abusive authorities within within churches pastors can be

Abusive in their authority and when they teach things or demand things that are not in line with the scripture you have the right to disregard or even

Work to get that guy out of Position of authority so we kind of covered all of that.

So let's just go over section 6 quickly a What are all

Christians to be taught concerning Christ commands? Matthew 28 verse 20 to observe all he commanded us

Be read each verse below fill in who is to be obedient to whom and why?

Who children children are to obey? Parents why this is pleasing to the

Lord. That's Colossians 320 Ephesians 5 22 through 24 wives

Submit to their own husbands. Why because the husband husband is head of the wife as Christ is head of the church

Ephesians 6 5 through 8 slaves Obey your earthly masters or today the context we would be familiar with as you submit to What your supervisor tells you to do or what your boss tells you to do?

Why knowing that whatever good thing you do you will receive back from the

Lord? So that's Ephesians 6 Hebrews 13 17 Christians Submit to their leaders.

Why because they watch over your souls as someday And someday we'll give an account for them and then

Romans 13 verse 1 everyone's favorite verse Every person is to submit to whom?

The governing authorities why because God established governments and gave them authority

Well, except if you don't like them, then you can say, you know, not my president and I don't have to That happens with one side and then the other side gets elected and that people are saying it there and then

Of course if that happened you would have a total breakdown in society Here's here's what

Jesus didn't say He didn't say well, you know obey the governing authorities as long as they're

Very godly and righteous people. Well, he didn't say that did he because well never mind

But you get the point just just because you don't like something doesn't give you the right to just do

Do whatever you want and rebel against all the different authorities that God ordained and that's really the point

God ordained Human government God ordained these different authority now when they're telling you to do something that God forbids or when they

Demand that you do something or they forbid you from doing something that God commands then we get to Disobey because we obey

God first or any questions on on any of that Marcus I'm not familiar and I mean,

I know what I've heard, but I don't know enough personally, I mean I hear that the

Government in Hungary is very pro Christian and seeking to uphold

Christian Values, you know, I don't really know if that how accurate that is that that's all

I've heard But really Have there been godly

Governments throughout history, you know, it's a it's a scale. But yeah, I mean there have been some

I would say that America, although we were very, you know, we had flaws we had things that we failed in obviously, we all know about that, but I think the establishment of this country we

We based it on Christian principles but Yeah, as far as today, is there this shining example of a godly government?

I don't I don't know about that Anyone else before we move on? No, yeah,

I don't know I Don't really pay that much attention anymore

I I try to focus on I want to know what's going on in the world, but I don't want to be led

About by that stuff because that that's the danger that you you start to form your thinking based on what this guy says what this party says what this movement is and I Want to make sure that I I don't do that So if there's no other comments or questions on this section, we'll move on All right

See, what should a wife do if her husband is an unbeliever? I think this is where we ended first Peter chapter 3 verse 1 because back in Ephesians You get that statement wives submit to your own husband's.

Well, what if he's an unbeliever? And first Peter 3 1 says wives be submissive to your own husband's so that even if any of them are

Disobedient to the word they may be one without a word by the behavior of their wives so The response would be you live a godly life

You be a good testimony to the Christian faith and when the unbelieving spouse sees that That's gonna have an effect.

Hopefully Hopefully he will see that and be saved himself or it could work in reverse and In the sermon later on it's on Matthew chapter 5 or Jesus Telling his disciples.

He says you are the salt of the earth We're gonna stress the importance of having a good testimony

You know It's one thing to preach to somebody and to tell them what's right and what they should believe and what they should do and you know people aren't going to respond to that unless God is working in their heart, but instead of witnessing of Telling people which we should do that, too

But we should be a witness So our lives need to show. Hey, I really believe this because I'm living it out

Okay, yes I heard I can't remember where I've heard it But someone said preach the word always and if necessary use words

Yeah, yeah I've heard that too.

I don't know who came up with it. I think it's been St. Francis, okay.

Yeah Yeah, and there's a lot of truth to that Yep, because if you're saying something

Hey you need to believe in Jesus and you should obey the Bible and then like wait a minute last week you were doing this and Like they're not going to view your your words as having any credibility

Okay And that's the same way How we are to show our love for God?

Is through obeying? Right. Yeah, that's what we're talking about obedience.

I mean if you're not obeying You know It's like the parable that Jesus gave of the two sons and the father said go out and work in the vineyard and one said

Yeah, okay. I'll go work in the vineyard and then he didn't go And then there's the other son who said no

I will not go but then he thought better of it Afterwards and he went and Jesus said which one of these sons did the will of the father?

The one who said the right thing and then didn't do it or the one who initially said the wrong thing and then did do it

Who did the will of the father? Yeah, the one who obeyed so this is one problem

Potential problem within Bible believing churches Evangelical churches where we preach and stress so much faith alone, you know grace alone faith alone

Not by works that people get the idea. I don't need to do anything. I don't need to obey wrong

You're not listening, but that's that's a common thing Yes Be Doers of the word and not hearers only because if you are a hearer only and you do not do you are what?

deceiving yourself James says Okay, so D.

What if a servant or employee has an impossible? Employer does that sound familiar to anybody?

Probably at least one or two people What if a servant or employee has an impossible?

Employer, what should that servant or employee do? Well that gives them the right to slough off and not not get anything done.

Just take advantage of it, right? You're justified in doing that. Aren't you? No First Peter to you know in your mind you might be able to rationalize that and say but no first Peter 2 18 and 19 servants be submissive to your masters with all respect

Not only to those who are good and gentle but also to those who are unreasonable for this finds favor

For if the sake of the conscience towards God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly okay, so You're working ultimately you're working for who?

Yeah, you're working for your employer, but your work is unto the

Lord You know if things are that bad then just quit and find find a better job

Yeah, yeah it is and of course if you were a slave you did really didn't have that option so Okay, number seven our attitude toward obedience

We must remember that all our good works apart from faith are like a filthy garment

Isaiah 64 verse 6 obedience without genuine faith avails nothing our

Obedience must grow out of a heart of sincere faith toward God Okay, do you agree with that statement?

All right now It's often I've run into this through the years

I think I brought this up before that when people preach or emphasize obedience

See you have to obey what? But there are commandments or some people call them rules, but command right we are obeying commands

Instructions right Jesus tells us to do certain things The the New Testament tells us to do or not do certain things so when we're being obedient I Mean I like it or not you are being obedient to commandments or to rules

But when people preach that that invites the charge of what? People say well, that's isn't that Legalistic where you're just expecting people to obey rules well

Here's the thing people can obey rules and sort of do it begrudgingly

Right people can obey rules just to not get in trouble or just to look good

So it is possible to obey Commands or rules and not really do it out of a sense of love for God, right?

So maybe in that sense there could be a little that going on If you remove

God and love for God is the motivation if you remove that from the equation But if we're doing this if we're being obedient And it's being taught

That that's not that's not legalism as anyone ever heard that or run into that Because the thing you hear most in the past 40 years or so Evangelicals have emphasized this the most it's not about rules.

It's about Relationship it's not about rules. You just need a relationship with Jesus, right?

And you probably have a relationship with your spouse and how would it go if you cheated on your spouse and stole from your spouse and lied to your spouse and Yeah, that wouldn't go too.

Well, you probably wouldn't have a relationship after a little while so the idea that you can sort of divorce obedience from Relationship or obeying

God from the personal the two go together So I I've never really understood that that statement.

It's not about rules. It's about relationship now Actually, it's the two go hand in hand Where do you want to challenge that am

I wrong because that's what's been preached in evangelical churches now for a generation or two And I I think it's misguided at best

Yeah Right, right. Yeah Yeah Right Right.

Yeah. Yeah, and I don't know who came up with it, but I don't doubt that for a moment just like Paul preached faith

Not works. Well, he's not saying that. We'll just say you have faith and live. However, you want like that would be a

Misunderstanding or a distortion That's what we do in our mind We sort of all the information kind of goes through a filter and we hear what we want to hear sometimes, right?

Okay Our attitude this is number seven our attitude toward obedience

We must remember that all our good works apart from faith are like a filthy garment

What was the basis of all Abraham's obedience Hebrews 11 verse 8, what was the basis

Yeah, Abraham obeyed was called the friend of God and he was doing it because he had faith so faith and works

You know saved by faith not works, but faith true saving faith Results in works because Abraham had faith.

He did what God told him to do B read the parable of the two sons that this is what

I referenced a moment ago. I think Matthew 21 28 through 32 which son had the better attitude and why?

the one who obeyed right and Then see using

Peter as our example How should we respond when God's Word seems contrary to our own judgment?

Does that ever happen Say well, I know the Bible says this but in my mind,

I think it should be like this the Bible tells me to do this, but I Want to do that or I think it would work out better if I did that Does that ever happen anyone want to share time or that's happened and you've done what you thought was better And then it totally blew up in your face

Nobody wants to share that That's probably gonna happen Yeah Yeah So using

Peter as the example How should we respond when God's Word seems contrary to our own judgment?

We should Do what God? says See, this is why having a

Bible we are so fortunate Where everyone in the 21st century we can all own a

Bible we can all read a Bible You know, there are times where Christians were well They when the average person was illiterate way back when or when

Bibles were not accessible We have we have it so good that we have the scripture we can read it and we don't have to wonder we can see

What God actually? said so Jen Right Yeah, I think of all the things that God told

Moses to do and it's like this makes no sense at all Let's fashion a serpent made out of brass and put it on a pole and have people look at it.

What? It doesn't but do what God says

God knows better walk by faith why can't understand it Doesn't make sense to me.

So Walk by faith. Yes well

God's Word tells us what is his best what he wants his best for us and probably one of the biggest

Made was thinking well, I know it's not God's best, but maybe it's his second best

Best is the only thing that we should be striving for Yeah Yeah, and we might have time.

It looks like we might have time to get into lesson 13 about knowing God's will and guidance

So that we're kind of headed in that direction, but let's just finish This section up read

Ephesians 6 6. How should we view ourselves in? Relation to Christ Well, what's the answer so if you read that I guess it would depend on your translation

It's gonna probably use one of two words and they begin with s Okay, so slave or some translations.

I'm assuming would say servant, but we are his Bond servant.

Okay, that would be the third word begins with the B same idea How should we view ourselves in relation to Christ so I don't view myself as a slave

I view myself as a son. I view myself as a child of God well, okay, but still the the father gets to tell the children what to do and And it's it's not that type of relationship really because that's the other side where do you get into those?

Misunderstandings, it's not that God is a hard task master Who's just telling you what to do and you just need to do it or else that's not the way

God is a loving Compassionate Heavenly Father so there's that part and he is

Long suffering and patient and he wants the best for us and he's done more for us than we'll ever do for him

But at the same time we still have to look at it as yes Yes, Lord, whatever you say.

Yes, that's that's how we should look at it. We are his servants Marcus Sees what their their master or their

Lord wants and just does it Ephesians it says trying to learn what is pleasing to him and earlier on Supposed to be submissive to who and it said why one of them was because it pleases the

Lord Yeah, butler or a waiter or a waitress a

Really good waitress. They keep looking at your your coffee cup your your water glass they keep

Trying to time things so that it's you know And and that's what a really good service and that's what that's what we should be doing

Trying to figure out What would please the Lord because imagine that us just creatures?

Like ants or worms or whatever. We have the ability to affect Almighty God the creator of the universe's emotions amazes me

In what way do we affect his and give me an example? So we can please

God you're saying that's one thing we can do we can please God. Yeah. Yeah, good Even though things aren't looking right we can just climb the verse all and we know that all things work together for good

This doesn't seem very good to me But they were they

I See another hand Towards us

He told his disciples After he'd risen from the dead he said

I want you to go to this mountain and I'll meet you there But what did they do

Peter said I'm going fishing and so When they were out all night fishing and didn't catch anything

You know Jesus I'm sure cooking breakfast He said hey boys you catch anything

And they said no And they said well cast it down on the other side and when they

Got this massive haul of fish John said it's the Lord And when they got to shore like pastor said he didn't he wasn't there with a whip he was there with breakfast

And he was there to serve them as his unbelieving disciples his

Yeah, disobedient disciples. He served him breakfast. Yeah so that's how

He loves us and even when we're wrong. It's not that we want to stay in the wrong

We want to hurry up and get back To him get back to that relationship

Right good good So what should our attitude in doing the will of God be or what should it?

What should be our attitude? when we do the will of God we are to do it from The heart

Do you ever feel like you're just kind of You're not feeling it

Some days, and you're just doing it because I know I just need to do it. I'm just not feeling it from the heart

Well, you know you can look at any of this and say well at times. I've been disobedient of course.

That's true with everybody or You know when I was a kid I didn't always obey my parents or as a wife

I don't have that submissive attitude that I should towards my husband or a husband isn't Loving his wife the way he should or at work.

You're not really submitting to your body You don't have that right attitude at work, and you say well. I'm just you know I'm I'm failing here.

I failed there I don't have the right attitude all the time. You know that's that's probably true across the board

You know again. It's a scale some a little bit some more than others You see why

I haven't done the right thing or I could do better Right well, that's why we have a class like that That's why we go through the scripture as a reminder to do better.

You know we're all at a different level of obedience You know let's assuming everyone is is saved in the room some are obeying this much some are obeying

This much some are here in the Christian faith some are here But this is why we need to go over this and get the

The sound teaching from the word that we want to grow we want to do better We want to love

God more we want to obey him more and the more we obey and love him That's where the the blessings really come in Mary And Yeah Yeah, and I wouldn't make too big a thing of how you feel at any given moment

You know sometimes you're tired, and you don't you don't feel there's been those days You really haven't felt like coming to church.

Let's face it as the pastor. I had one day like that. I remember I'm serious.

I did have that one time But You know we do it anyways because I I believe in God.

I love God. I want to do the right thing So doing it from the heart isn't is

I don't think it's really just how you feel at any given moment It's how you think about it Why am I doing it because there are some people that do it and they know they're doing it for the wrong reasons

I don't really care. I'm doing it for this purpose, and they have some ulterior motive

So long as you know why you're doing it, and you're doing it for the right reason Don't don't make too big a thing of how you feel feelings kind of come and go and they're

All over the place sometimes yes Right Yeah Yep Right right

I don't really see feelings being emphasized in Scripture that Jesus tells us

You know it's really all about your feelings, and how I don't I don't know where's that but times where I felt the lowest

I think about in my life at times where I've been at the lowest point. That's where God has worked the most

And it maybe it takes a while to see it afterwards, but and and Yeah Marcus He is faithful every time every time and you you know

I don't know how many times he has to show himself faithful that so we finally can believe he doesn't change He's always gonna be faithful if we confess our sins.

He is faithful He will do it every time he will we don't deserve it.

We never deserve that, but he will do it every time yeah Abraham when he was told to sacrifice

Isaac Probably wasn't really feeling it. You know when I went up on the mountain I don't know. It's just a guess

Linda Yeah you want to expand that I feel like that's a really important point

Right yeah, and I know I don't Some people I think and I maybe

I've I don't look at it this way necessarily But people go to church for the feeling they want to have a religious experience that's why when you go into some churches, they have like the the real soft music playing or That really

I'm not Dismissing that because we are creatures who have emotions, and we we should engage with God with our emotions

But it's really not about I just didn't get that feeling today The feelings are important, they're there, but they shouldn't be like the thing

Larry With the feelings the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked yeah

Yep I Remember I went into a Catholic Church once I have attended one

Catholic service in my life And you know that they probably had the best singing that I've ever heard in a church

I mean just the choir. I don't know how big it was but just professional like amaze amazing singing like they might have they might have put in a

CD or something and played it sounded so good And they had all the incense and you know

I'm not that I'm necessarily into all this But the the gold and just it's the building is just immaculate

Right and You know that all can give people a feeling or religious feel statues, and I know it's like okay

That's a graven image And I don't think it's right that people should bow and pray to it, but those types of things are what give people that feeling or other people might be

Other things you know the rock the rock and roll with the smoke machine and some churches will give people a feeling

But it's not really yeah, I think I've made my point on the feeling thing so Another hand or are we moving on?

Okay, let's move on Luke 17 verse 10 so you too When you do all the things which are commanded you say we are unworthy slaves

We have done only that which we ought to have done Okay, so what do you make of this?

So you too when you do all the things which you are commanded you say we are unworthy slaves

We have done only that which we ought to have done Well, let's turn there.

Let's turn to Luke 17 What is

The book getting at here Luke chapter 17 verse 10

Luke 17 10 All right, so this is

Earnest service is our duty I'll pick up in verse 7 and which of you having a servant

Plowing or tending sheep will say to him when he has come in from the field come at once and sit down to eat

But he will not rather say to him prepare Something for my supper and gird yourself and serve me till I've eaten and drunk and afterward you will eat and drink

Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not so likewise you when you have done all those things which you are commanded say we are

Unprofitable servants we have done. What was our duty to do?

What's the point Jesus is making here? No one wants to answer

Dad Yeah, so I don't think you can stand before God and say

Lord look at what all the things I've done I go to church every week. I read my Bible every day.

I pray, you know, I'm nice to people I don't lie. I've never killed anybody

Lord. Look at me. Look at me. You should give me all these rewards Look at what a fantastic Christian.

I'm what are you gonna give me all these extra rewards for? Well, it's like well, that's that's like the basics.

This is what you should have been doing all along now God does give rewards But I think the point is like these this is just basic level obedience

What people have in their mind of what it means to be a super Christian. That's just like entry -level stuff

That's just basic. This is just what you're expected to do Like you don't when you okay put it this way when you go into work

And you just put in your eight hours and you're doing all the stuff that you're supposed to do You don't expect your boss to throw a party at the end of the day for you

So he's not Well, why because this is this is this is your job

It's our job to obey now God will reward us and He is pleased but you get the point.

I think I think that's what's being said here. So we get into the Application Romans 12 verse 1.

What does it mean to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice? Acceptable to God, what does that mean?

And of course Paul says this is your what? It's your reasonable service to give your life to God is your reasonable service