“Obedience” by John MacArthur

Written by Warren |Posted on August 5, 2008 | Comments

taken from the book “The Master’s Plan for the Church”
this article is a portion from Chapter 2
complete and unrevised from the original

Obedience stands above all other attitudes. An obedient person does whatever God says to do. He does not compromise. If God says something, that’s it—there is nothing to argue about. It’s important for us to have God’s Word in our hearts and minds so that we know how to be obedient. Obedience is the sine qua non of all right attitudes. It is the all-pervasive attitude that makes other spiritual virtues possible. Behavior without an attitude of obedience is meaningless; internal obedience is better than any external act of worship (1 Sam. 15:22). Furthermore, obedience leads to other right spiritual attitudes.

There are several other important reasons to live an obedient life: to glorify God, to receive blessings, to be a witness to unbelievers, and to be an example for other Christians. Being obedient also allows us to be filled with the Spirit. When we’re filled with the Spirit, we’re able to reach out to unbelievers and set an example for those who watch how we live.
Jesus says in Luke 6:46, “Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” If Jesus is Lord of your life, you should do what He asks you to do. Matthew 7:13–14 says that the path to salvation is narrow. That’s because it is confined by God’s will, law, and Word. We are to affirm Christ as Lord (Rom. 10:9–10) and submit to His lordship. That means living a life of obedience.
A man who listened to our radio program sent a letter and a tape to me, telling me about a matter that was on his heart. During the first ten minutes of the tape, he talked about how he appreciated our study of the Bible on our radio program. Then he said he had many sins in his life that God was working on, one of which he wanted to ask me about. He said that he had never had normal feelings toward women; in stead, he had a strong sexual attraction to large farm animals.
He went on to add, however, that he didn’t think his desire for animals constituted a problem because he didn’t feel guilty about it. He said that the Lord was refining him in other areas, not that one. A four-page letter was sent back to him explaining that his problem is a serious sin in the eyes of God. In fact, if he had lived in the Old Testament era, he would have been killed, for Leviticus 20:15 says, “If a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death.” The letter kindly expressed that God doesn’t select certain sins to work on and leave others alone. Every sin is an affront to His holy name. Several Scripture references were given in the letter to support what was said.
A while later, that man sent another tape to me. He said, “I don’t think anybody understands. Christians are so tangled up in the Bible that they don’t understand how God works and feels.”
That’s a revealing statement. Unfortunately, it reflects a widespread attitude. But it is disastrous theology. How are we going to know how God feels about something except by reading the Bible? That man didn’t want to listen to what God had to say about his problem because he didn’t want to be confronted with his own guilt. First John 2:5 says, “Whosoever keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; by this know we that we are in him” (emphasis added). A person who can tolerate that kind of abomination in his life and says he knows how God feels without reading the Bible has a problem. Sin causes a person to become self-justifying.
That’s an extreme illustration, but it points out the fact that God has called us to be obedient to His Word. We should know how He feels about things because He tells us in His Word. The goal of ministry should be to build an obedient people. That is what God intended to do in both the Old and New Testaments. When God speaks, we are to obey.
It is sad that when some people are confronted with divine truth that convicts them of something in their lives that isn’t right, they continue in their pattern of disobedience. For example: suppose you hear a sermon about forgiveness, and there is someone you know that you need to forgive. But you push that sermon out of your mind and continue to have a bitter, unforgiving spirit. That is disobedience. It is diametrically opposed to all that God wants to accomplish in your life.
Someone will say, “I go to church. Isn’t that enough?” First Samuel 15:22 says, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” Ritual will never replace obedience. In 1 Peter 1 the apostle says to “gird up the loins of your mind” (v. 13). In other words, make sure your priorities are right. Be “obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance” (v. 14). Don’t live the way you did before you became a Christian. You are to be an obedient child.
Jesus said, “Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luke 11:28). Paul, commending the Roman Christians, said, “Your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad” (Rom. 16:19). A pastor’s heart is made happy when the obedience of his people is manifest.
I once heard Howard Hendricks say that people who have been Christians for a long time and are more than fifty years old should be the most excited, committed, pure, servant-like people in a church. The very energy of a church ought to come from them. They should be on the forefront in evangelism and prayer. Why? Because they’ve lived with God the longest. They’ve applied the Word to their lives for so long that they’ve become more obedient and mature than those who have been Christians for only a few years.
It is wonderful that Grace Church has many young people. I like young people because they are energetic. But it’s sad if the energy of a church only comes from its young people. Often I hear young pastors say, “My church is good and is in a nice area, but it’s full of old people.”
If you’re a Christian but don’t apply God’s Word to your life, you’ll just become one of those inert older people. You’ll pass fifty years old, and you’ll want to retire spiritually. You’ll say, “I’ve been going to church for many years. I don’t want to get involved in evangelism; I’d rather leave that kind of thing for younger people.” Look at the Old Testament leaders of Israel: Many of them were older people! The early church found its energy in its mature saints. Today the church is deriving its energy from young people. We need the energy that young people have, but we also need the power that older believers have developed from long, obedient lives. An older believer should be ready to blast off into heaven from the energy he has built up! But because many believers don’t apply what they hear as they get older, their lives don’t change. They may know a lot of spiritual facts, but they have no power. I don’t want that to happen in my life. Perhaps the reason many people eventually stop serving Christ is that they allow themselves to hear the Bible without applying it.
We must be committed to obeying God’s Word. If the Spirit teaches you a truth, apply it. When you’re confronted with conviction, don’t say, “I wish So-and-so could have heard that sermon.” Apply the sermon to yourself. When you obey Christ, you grow in spiritual maturity and become more useful to God.
MacArthur, John, Jr., The Master’s Plan for the Church, (Chicago: Moody Press) 1998.