True obedience

Is obedience merely doing what God says or is there something more to it?

True obedience is as much about intent as it is about action. It isn't about action only, but why we act.

Many are not self aware enough to know the "why" of their actions. But there are several ways to tell. 

Is our "obedience" for our gain and not the gain of others? We may need to probe a bit to know.

If we do not pursue God's commandments out of love for him, and a desire to honor him, it is not true obedience but merely performance to impress others. It is seeking to gain the approval of God and man by our good deeds. 

Doing things to impress others is not true obedience, i.e. it is not actions that comes out of love for another i.e. for another's gain or benefit - but action for my gain. 

This is action to get something for myself, not action to give something of myself.

For example, the Bible says the plowing of the wicked is sin. But how can plowing ever be wrong? It is a wholesome and honorable activity, right?

If we believe we reap the benefits of plowing solely because of our efforts and do not recognize God enabled us to plow - i.e He gave us our mind, body, the tools, and skills to plow - we do not understand or acknowledge that God is the provider and giver of all these things - our time, strength, health, and every resource needed to perform a task, etc. As a result, our plowing honors us, only takes care of us  and brings praise to us, not God who enabled us to plow. If He didn't give us minds, hands, breath and life itself we would not and could not plow. 

In this scenario, our benefit is the reason we take action - i.e. our "why" - for plowing,  not God's honor or acting out of love for Him. 

Therefore, it is an act of arrogance, i.e. rebellious independence from and distrust in God. It is an attempt to gain for ourselves what only can be legitimately and truly found because of God and His generous provisions needed to perform a task. 

This may seem harsh at first since we may not be thinking of God at all. But that is exactly the problem. We do not recognize that all we are and have, our very breath, is a gift from God. 

We assume conduct is

good merely by the external action. However God looks at our heart and the intent behind our actions i.e. is it for self care and bringing praise to me or to honor God (bring attention to God not us) out of love for Him because He honored us by sending Christ to restore us to a right relationship with Him.

For a further discussion of what a good deed is click here.

Good deeds?

What are good deeds?

Do all "good" deeds come from the same place; a place of love? Can the exact same deed come from a place of wholeness by one person and a place of need by another? And if it comes out of ²need is it truly a loving deed?

Truly good deeds that come from a heart of love have ¹no strings attached. The doer of such deeds is only interested in the deeds being gratefully received.

But this is not because the doer needs it to be gratefully received for themself. But because it confirms the deed helped the recipient as intended to i.e. to show love.

Such deeds are not designed to manipulate others to meet their own need for love.

Deeds done out of a need for love are actually done under the guise of giving. Such deeds do not come out of love but out of a need for love and affirmation gained through their good deeds. This is giving of a sort but only superficially i.e. on the outside.

Truly good deeds are intended to give love and also enjoy receiving it as well. It is who were designed to be as bearers of God's image. But receiving isn't the motive for this kind of action. Love is i.e. giving not receiving.

Deeds done to fill a need in us is giving to get love. This comes out of a need for love, not from a place of love. It comes from emptiness (lack of love) not fullness. Therefore it is not truly giving, but ²taking.

This need only exists because of our disconnection from our Designer and Creator who is the source of life, love, and all things. We can not be truly loving if we are not plugged in to the Source of love.

If we accept God's love extended to us through Christ we shift from being takers of love to givers but not until then.

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

- John 15:4-5

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Footnotes:

¹good deeds are not enough. But deeds done out of love. This is why love is not easily offended. It comes out of fullness not need...

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things...

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." - 1 Cor 13:1-7, 13 

²this is not to say such deeds are never helpful, but in time we may find they have clear strings attached which may cause us to have to detach from those who "love" in this way.

The claims of Christ and His return!!

Christ did everything necessary to completely ¹unwind and reverse all that is wrong in the world. 

Yet the world remains a mess.

Why?  

Because the reversal Christ gained is not automatic or 100% complete yet and humanity at large does not take advantage of it to experience what is offered.

 

Why don't people take advantage? 

Because they (you) either don't understand what He offered, believe it is true, or think it is necessary. 

However, the mess the world is in clearly indicates how necessary this reversal (renewal) is. 

Yet we refuse to acknowledge and receive what Christ has done and offers. We are too distrusting, arrogant, and self-absorbed. To use a Biblical description... we prefer being "our own god." We believe we can be our own savior, deliverer, and provider. 

Christ's claims

This reversal is not only necessary but also very real, if only because Christ said it was. But he didn't just say it, He did all that was necessary to reverse our mess and resolve our problem individually first, but also collectively. 

It was because he made these ²claims, he was put to death.

The irony is Christ making the claims He made resulted in the very solution needed to fix things i.e. he had to die so we could be free from death. 

This is the great paradox of Christ's message i.e. life comes through death. A paradox the nation of Israel missed and one we also miss today. People look for deliverance from difficult circumstances first when our need for spiritual deliverance is our greatest need.

One of many of his ²claims and predictions was he would be put to death but would also ³raise himself from death on the 3rd day. Which ⁴he did. 

No one had ever done this before or since, much less claimed they would. His coming back to life was ³unique only to Him. 

His resurrection also confirmed and verified everything else he said about Himself was true. God would not support or acknowledge a fraud or liar much less bring Him back from the dead!

His resurrection is why His claims should be heeded above anyone and everyone else's. 

What were Christ's other key claims? 

He made several, including: 

• Being the Son of God: 

Christ claimed to be the divine and eternal Son of God, equal in power and nature to God the Father (John 1:1-3,14,18, John 10:30, Philippians 2:6). 

• Being the Messiah: 

He claimed to be Israel's long-awaited Messiah or the Christ - the anointed one - i.e. sent by His Father to save humanity from ultimate death and destruction...spiritually first but literally in the future (John 4:25-26, Matthew 16:16-17). 

• Being the resurrection and the life: 

He claimed that He has the power to conquer death (which He did first by His own resurrection) and grant eternal life (resurrection from death) to anyone who believes in Him (John 11:25-26, Romans 6:9). 

• Being the only way to God: 

Christ claimed that He is the exclusive way to God, His Father, and that no one can approach God properly except through Him (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). 

Why? Because He alone did what was necessary to restore us back to good standing with our Creator. Our seeking to be our own god cuts us off from experiencing all He is and offers as well as all we were designed to be. Something God warned about at the very outset of our existence. Christ did what was required to reverse all of this - our rebellion and all the fallout that has since followed.

• Being the true vine: 

Christ claimed to be the source of spiritual life and nourishment for believers, comparing Himself to the vine and believers to the branches (John 15:1-5). 

These claims, along with His teachings and miracles, formed the basis of His followers' belief in Him as the divine Savior and the only way back to God. 

Christ claims to be alive today and also claims he will return to literally rule the world with truth, love, justice, and abundance. 

Because he is alive and said he will return, it is wise to ⁵study all he did and all he claimed to be. If what he said is true, our (your) present and eternal state and happiness depend on it. Something worth exploring, wouldn't you agree?

For a further discussion on why Christ must be the only way to God click here and here

For a discussion on Christ's central message click here 

What is the "good news?" Click here.

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¹So when will he fulfill the complete restoration he promised? 

For now, he reverses the legal consequences i.e. there is no longer any judgment or condemnation for anyone who believes His claims and accepts his offer of forgiveness and restoration to His Father. 

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." - 2 Cor 8:9

What is fully extended to those who believe His claims is perfect acceptance by Him and His Father and their infinite love that can never be taken away. 

And ultimately he will eliminate the practical and physical consequences of the mess the world is in as well. These promises will be fulfilled when Christ returns to establish heaven on earth under his literal, physical reign. 

There will be no more pain or tears or death in the new life He will set up on earth. There will only be perfect flourishing, abundance, and the perpetual progression of joy, adventure, and creativity to His honor and glory. 

We will enter into a never-ending, increasing state of bliss and fruitfulness without barriers or limits, for we will be fully engaged and partake in Him, who is the source of life, love, and all things. 

²And what were the primary claims that resulted in His death? He was God who took on human form to live among us. He was the promised and long-awaited Messiah; the Christ; the only Anointed of God.  

Religion and "good" deeds do not and can not restore us to the Father. Only He could and does if we believe him and the claims he made about himself. He invites us to come and believe. 

³No other religion or religious founder made this claim, much less fulfilled it. NO ONE! 

⁴You may find the movie "A Case for Christ" helpful regarding this. It is a true story about an atheist named Lee Strobel who set out to debunk Christianity and Christ's claims.

⁵This blog may also help.