Obedience

OBEDIENCE

1. Jesus requires obedience.

2. Keeping the commandments of Jesus brings joy; you will remain in His love (John 15:10-17).

3. Stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to life; the broad path leads to death.

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).

4. Not all who say, "Lord, Lord," will enter God's kingdom.

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

5. God rewards obedience.

"He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command is rewarded" (Proverbs 13:13).

6. To obey is better than sacrifice.

"But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king" (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

7. Listen to God's Word and do what it says.

He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it" (Luke 11:28).

8. If you truly know and love the Lord, you will want to keep His commands.

"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did" (1 John 2:3-6).
"This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:2-4).
"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love" (2 John 6).

9. God teaches you the way to go, what is best for you, the way to peace.

"This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be cut off nor destroyed from before me" (Isaiah 48:17-19).