Obedience

Basic obedience is at the heartbeat of basic Christianity.

Matthew 7:21 (Skinner paraphrase: “Not everyone that calls Jesus Lord really means it. Only those who do what Jesus says really mean it.”)

Did you know that spiritually, as a Christian, you are created to obey? Spiritually, you are built to obey–not command. Humanly, how are you built? To command. It is not your first nature to obey everyone. It is not your nature to do everything people tell you to do. Human nature is rather to take command or do things your way. For the Christian, spiritually, you are built in such a way that you want to obey and not command. Now if a Christian says, “that is not the way I function,”  we know where to find the problem. The problem is lack of obedience.

If you’re tired of obeying, you will not want to read this. Or if you have it all together on how to obey the Lord, you won’t need this. But if you’re like me, you’ll need more and more studies on obedience.

It is never impossible to obey what God asks you to do. Everything He asks you to do, He also gives you the ability to do.

Oswald Chambers said, “There are some questions God cannot answer until you have been brought by obedience to be able to stand the answer. Be prepared to suspend your judgment until you have heard God’s answer for yourself.”

Talking about what God has done for us through providing Jesus Christ His Son is a great thing to discuss, isn’t it? But, people can talk about those things for weeks and yet never obey the One being discussed. Obedience shows what is in your heart. Professing with your mouth does not necessarily mean that you believe He is Lord.

Obedience has to go beyond knowledge…beyond belief.

The demons believe there is a God, but they will not be in heaven—

You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble! (James 2:19)

What you do reveals what you believe. So if you do nothing, it reveals you do not believe much. Let’s discover 3 simple truths.

1. First Of All, Basic Obedience Is Simple

Basic obedience is simple, but not necessarily easy. Christians sometimes wonder why God does not give them an answer concerning everything they pray about. Why does God help certain people during a crisis time and not others? One of the main reasons why is very convicting.

Suppose you are trying to make a decision about buying a house. What is God’s will concerning that situation? What are you going to do about it? You pray about it and yet you cannot close the deal on the house. So, you seek advice and ask, “Will you help me find my problem?” Asking a few questions may reveal that some things do not match up. A person may say, “Why can’t I get my prayer answered about buying this house?”

I ask, “Are you faithful in your giving to Christ?”

“No,” they say.

People may say they want their marriage to be put back together. But, when you simply ask that person, “Are you obeying the Lord by spending time with Him every day in His Word?” Many times their answer is, “No.”

Is it any wonder our prayers are not answered?

It is the simple basics of obedience that are often ignored. God is not looking for great obedience before He develops a relationship with you, He desires you to obey in the little things first. Disobedience keeps Christians from advancing any further in their faith. It is so simple, yet it seems as though it takes a thousand people and a thousand sermons to point out the problem. Basic obedience is simple. Obedience is simply following the commands of Christ.

People ask, “Why can’t I have greater peace in my life?” Ask them if they confessed their sins today and asked God to fill them with His Spirit. Many times the answer is, “No.” Is it any wonder that many of our prayers are not answered? Some of the basic, simple things of the Christian life are being ignored. Many Christians wish they could learn how to pray better or be a better witness. Yet, you wonder why they are not. The answer is simple. Obedience. The only thing that keeps you from becoming what Christ wants you to be–is disobedience. That’s all. It is so simple.

There are some things that God tells us to do that takes no special discernment or feeling in order to do it. Yet, people are simply trying to find out if they have the right command or if they do not have the right command. Is this what I ought to do in this situation, or should I do this? Would Christ want me to accept this job or teach this Bible class? By the time many finish asking the questions, there is no time left to do what needs to be done!

When you do not know what to do, keep doing the things you do know to do. The simple basics of staying in the Word, praying, sharing your faith, and fellowshipping with other Christians are what you should keep doing.

If you do not obey, it is simply because you have enough of an independent spirit that causes you to disobey.

2. Obedience Frees Your Spirit

Not only should obedience be simple, basic obedience frees your spirit.

“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16) 

Everyone is going to obey something and disobey something else. When a person asks you to do something or tells you to do something, what is your response? Yes or no. You are either going to obey or disobey. The same thing happens in our spiritual life. If you choose to obey sin, it will lead to death. If you choose to obey the Lord, the result is righteousness.

When you obey, the Spirit frees your spirit to be what you should be in Christ.

But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. (Rom. 6:17)

Doesn’t it sound better to be a slave to righteousness than a slave to sin? You have been set free in your spirit. Jesus came to give you a full abundant, free, meaningful life. This comes as a result of being “freed” up.

Some people think they are going to learn to obey just a few of Christ’s commands at a time. They really believe it is acceptable to ignore those things they know they should do until they accomplish one or two commands. They believe that when they learn one thing well, then, they will work on the other ones. An example would be learning to pray. A person may think they can work on prayer until they get it right and then when proficient–they will begin reading their Bible. It doesn’t work that way. The commands are all inclusive. Many people just work on one area of their life at a time and they never get the fulfillment of living a trusting, faithful, complete life in Christ. If you have to stop and think which command you will obey, and which one you will not obey, you are choosing to disobey from the very beginning.

People feel guilty when they do not read their Bible. Do you know why? It is disobedience. It tightens your spirit, it doesn’t free it. When you get into God’s Word, it frees your spirit. All the commands of Christ are there not to hurt, but to help. They are not burdensome. His yoke is easy. When you act on His commands, it frees up life, it doesn’t make you tight. One writer said this, “We have to stop hesitating and take the first step. The first step is to stop hesitating.” We think on what to do so much that we never do anything about it. If you want to free up your spirit, stop hesitating.

3. Third, Basic Obedience Is A Relationship. 

“And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”” (Exodus 5:2)

Pharoah did not know the Lord. If you do not know the Lord, you will not obey the Lord. If you know the Lord in a personal relationship, you will obey. Your natural tendency will not allow you to obey people you do not know.

Suppose a stranger knocks on your door. When you open the door he tells you to get out of your house and in the yard right now. Do you obey them? No. You don’t know the stranger.

If a dad says, son, get out in the front yard, hopefully there is an obedience that will follow. The son knows what he should do and he knows his father, so he carries out the instruction. Pharoah did not know the Lord, and therefore, he said, why should I obey Him? I don’t have a relationship with Him.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)

Does that sound like a relationship? If you obey Jesus, it shows your love for Him. So here Jesus is showing there is a direct relationship between obedience and a person. Jesus replied,

“He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” (John 14:24)

Christ is saying to us that if we don’t obey Him, then we are not His. Think about this relationship. My dad is my father. We have a father-son relationship. If I don’t obey him, am I no longer his son? Well, I certainly am not a son of obedience. My father doesn’t disown me, but the relationship is strained. The more you disobey Christ in the basics, the less you know Him. The less you know Him, the less you grow in Christ.

If a new Christian does not follow through in believer’s baptism, they already have missed the first step of obedience. Disobedience in this first step will not allow any deeper insight into their relationship with the Father whom they are supposed to be obeying.

Many Christians are like statues. People admire them. They walk around them and look at them. They observe them. They think how nice the statue looks. The statue is not doing anything. I believe there are many Christians just standing around looking good, but they don’t do anything! If that statue came to life and did something, it would scare everyone to death. There are hundreds…thousands on church roles who are like statues. They come to church every week, they dress nice, they drive a decent vehicle, have a good job. They are admired. But if they ever really did something in God’s work, it would scare everyone to death because they are not used to them doing anything. They are not in the obedience mode at all. They are in a statue mode. If we are going to get to obedience beyond belief, we have got to get out of our statue mode and get busy doing something.

You need never try to explain the things of God until you have obeyed Him. I cannot explain to you things about God until I have personally obeyed Him. If you want to get to know who God is, you do that by obeying Him. The only part about God that you don’t understand is the part that you don’t obey. When you chose deliberately to obey Christ, He will bring all His resources together to assist you in what you thought you could not obey. Some people say. “I can’t obey the Lord in my giving. I just can’t see how I can make it on 90 percent of my income.” So many people miss out on the grace of God because they don’t obey Him in the basics.

Obedience And Morality

…and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled (2 Corinthians 10:6 NKJV).

Many people wonder how they stop disobeying God? Let me share a secret with you–do not try to stop disobeying–rather, work on obeying!

Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so (Judges 2:17, NKJV).

Disobedience to God’s law brings corruption into our lives. Who is right and who is wrong about the issue of abortion? Why is that question up for discussion anyway? Because morality is up for discussion in our country. It is a question of who is right and who is wrong? Only as we obey the Lord do we perceive things correctly, both morally and spiritually. Right feelings are produced by obedience.

Obedience to the Lord is not for the purpose of trying to feel good about certain things. As you obey the Lord in what is right, the feelings of your emotions will confirm it as a Christian.

Morality is a task master. Morality produces tension in our lives. Yet, human beings can choose to live a good moral life. Have you ever met people who did not profess Jesus Christ to be their Savior and yet you could say about them that they live a good clean moral life? That is the work of human willpower, not an act of the Spirit of God. But, God doesn’t want you to try to choose the best way to live–He wants you to get into His Word and discover how to obey Him. When you obey the Word of God, this obedience will produce morality.

Many people are trying to make the Christian life difficult by setting their own standards. They believe that if they keep their standards every day, they will feel good about their Christianity. Attempting to overcome wrong actions, consists of constantly dealing with negative situations. Putting pressure on yourself is not what will make you feel good as a Christian. Obedience makes you feel right because you are right! Obedience brings simplicity to life. How do you accomplish this? Simply read God’s Word and follow the directions. Relief from the tension of morality being your task master comes from simple obedience.

Our free will to choose wrong is what makes obedience have value. If it weren’t for sin, obedience would have no value. The very fact that sin is present in this world and affects our lives is what makes obedience have value. When we choose to obey God, it shows our love for Him. Want to know what’s right for your life? Start obeying the basics of God’s Word and everything else will fall into place.

Life in Christ is full, abundant, and meaningful. Trying to live a good clean, moral life is a task master. Learning to live an obedient life through a relationship with Jesus Christ is a pleasure. Moral insight is gained only by obedience. One writer said this, one step in obedience is worth ten years of study. That is so true. Disobedience keeps you from knowing the next thing about God.

Obedience opens up God’s truth in you and shows you every facet in which to obey. If you want a cure for a moral problem, then obedience is the answer.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36, NKJV)

God made Jesus, Lord and Christ. There is no question about whether He is Lord. There is only a question about whether you obey Him as Lord. Your obedience does not make Him Lord. Your obedience shows that He is the Lord of your life. Luke 9:23 states that we must deny self. Therefore, as a Christian, our only right is the right to give up our rights. It is difficult to obey and remain selfish. Some Christians are careful to take everything God has to offer without ever giving anything back. That is not obedience. That is not giving up your rights. One thing that helps me to know my heart, is to state back to myself what I am thinking. State it out loud. This allows us to realize whether we practically are what we idealistically think we ought to be.

Obedience produces right thinking. People wonder, why can’t I think right things and do right things all the time? It’s because your relationship with Christ is not yet what it needs to be. If you say that you will spend time in Bible study, and prayer, and by doing this produce a life that is pleasing to God, you have begun with a wrong premise–it’s all I centered. I’m going to start reading my Bible. I’m going to start praying so that I can produce a good relationship between me and Jesus Christ. The test of all morality and obedience is this–does this produce a likeness to Christ? It is not how well your morals work in the best situation, it is how well your morals work in the worst situation. The miracle of Jesus Christ is that he can take the meanest, vilest, nastiest person in the whole world and make them clean, sweet, and pure. Someone once said, “It is not what a person does that is of final importance but it is what he is in what he does that is important.”

The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. (Isaiah 32:17 NKJV)

God is not looking for people who make commitments that can be achieved in their own strength. Instead of saying, “I commit…” God would rather hear you say, “I surrender.” God can then do anything He wants through a surrendered life. The test of all morality and obedience is “Does this produce a likeness to Christ?”

I heard someone say once that, “The test of moral living is not how well your morals work in the best situation, but how they work in the worst situation.” Are you trying to live a good life so you can be a Christian or are you living a good moral life because you are a Christian?

February 3-4, 2012
Focus: Biblical Counselor Training
Sponsoring Groups: Cornerstone Baptist Church, The Woodlands, Texas
8200 Northway Drive
The Woodlands, Texas  77382

and KLS/LifeChange Ministries

Contact: Dr. Kerry L. Skinner, Teaching Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, The Woodlands, Texas

Conference times: Friday 6:30-9 p.m.
Saturday 8:30 a.m. to noon
Cost: $25.00 per person

This conference is designed to give the participant an introduction to Biblical Counseling. An overview of the teachings contained in two books, “The Heart of the Problem” and “The Word for the Wise” will be the focus.

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Question: Brian Edmond asks: What do you do when a spouse comes for counseling but the other spouse refuses to come?

Question: Terry Rossello asks: Should a Christian mother lead family devotions if the Christian
father does not ever do it, year after year after year? Is she
undermining his position as spiritual leader?

Monday October 10, 2011 – Tuesday October 11, 2011

4605 West Ely Road

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Description:

1st Annual Laity Care Retreat

* registration required

• Focus 1: Monday Oct. 10 – Intro to Biblical Counselor Training  & Tuesday Oct. 11 – Advanced Training
• Focus 2: Monday Oct. 10 – LCC Fellowship/ Advanced Training  & Tuesday Oct. 11 – Advanced Training
• Dr. Skinner will also be preaching during the Sunday & Wednesday Services Oct. 9th & 12th

Both groups will be meeting together on Tuesday October 11th

Speakers: Dr. Kerry L. Skinner, Brian Edmond, and Joe Horner
Location: Calvary Baptist Church, Hannibal, Missouri
Pastor: Jeff Anderson

Contact: Jeff Anderson, janderson@cbchannibal.com or Brian Edmond, brian@kerryskinner.com

Register

Friday September 16, 2011 – Saturday September 17, 2011

400 S. Sunshine St

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Description:

This conference is designed to give the participant an introduction to Biblical Counseling. An overview of the teachings contained in two books, “The Heart of the Problem” and “The Word for the Wise” will be the focus.

Where? First Baptist Church Branson
Who is the Conference for? Any Christian who wants to sharpen their skills in helping themselves and others deal with the issues of life from a biblical perspective.

September 16-17, 2011
Focus: Biblical Counselor Training
Sponsoring Groups: Tri-County Baptist Association (Branson Area), Chaplains for Christian Resort Ministries, First Baptist Church Branson
Location: First Baptist Church, Branson, Missouri
400 S. Sunshine St
Branson, MO. 65616

Contact: Jim Wells, Director of Missions for Tri-County, 417.725.8825
Amy Boff, Executive Administrative Assistant, First Baptist Church Branson, aboff@fbcbranson.com
Senior Chaplain Dennis Maloney, General Director, CRM International, dennisandsally1@juno.com or 918-285-0410

Conference times: Friday 7-9 p.m.
Saturday 8:30 a.m. to noon
Cost: $25.00 per person

Register

Question: Andy Cherry asks: I have a person I am counseling who is dealing with anger, but sees anger as an emotion that can either be destructive or constructive. How would you respond to this idea, and what approach would you take in counseling this person?

Reply: Great question! In fact the most common issues that come up in counseling are anger and deception.  All of us deal with anger in some form.  The idea of categorizing anger as an emotion and that we are not in control of our own minds came from Sigmund Freud and is a prevailing thought in our culture.  Because of this, many believe that anger is not bad. They just have to manage it.  The problem with this is that the bible never speaks of man’s anger in a positive way.  The bible speaks of anger 368 times.  Of those it only speaks of man’s anger 48 times.  Whenever the bible speaks of a man becoming angry, it is always in a negative context.  The bible also doesn’t distinguish between constructive and destructive anger.  It just says that we need to get rid of it.  In Ephesians 4:31 it says that we need to put off anger in all forms.  There are many verses that condemn man’s anger in the Word of God.  Ecclesiastes 7:9 says that anger resides in the bosom of a fool. James 1:20 says that man’s anger doesn’t make anything right.   It is also listed as a work of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-20.  In counseling, most people who deal with the life-dominating sin of anger spend most of their time trying to justify their anger.  This is a natural reaction that dates back thousands of years.  In the book of Jonah, God asked Jonah twice if he was justified in being angry. (Jonah 4) Jonah had malice in his heart toward the Ninevites (evil people) and the fact that God spared their lives.  This really comes to the core of the problem of anger.  Can man ever be angry without having malice in his heart at the same time?  Only God can do that.  Anger only grows more destructive as it grows in the heart of man.  It causes people to go temporarily insane as it did Jonah when he said that he had good reason to be angry, even to the point of death.

In counseling a person with anger, you need to get away from having a theoretical conversation about weather a person can have good anger and get to the point of whether their anger is good. Some questions to ask are, “Do you want more or less anger in your life? Would your relationship with your wife or child be better or worse if you didn’t have anger?”  Or, “Would you rather be mad or glad?”  You see, we all know the answers to these questions including the person you are trying to help.   It is natural for people to try to justify their sin, so we need to get past the debate and help them be delivered from their sin moving them from walking in the flesh to walking in the Spirit.  Jesus did not come to help us manage our sin.  He came to set us free from it.

Joe Horner

“As a pastor I have long had the conviction that the church IS THE PLACE for counseling; but we have allowed the secular world to take away that role from us and have even convinced ourselves that we are not qualified to counsel! In reality it is the exact opposite! God’s people using GOD’S WORD are the ONLY truly qualified counselors! We must be confident in the ability of the Spirit of God to transform people’s lives (cure their problems) by the Word of God.”

“The things I have learned from you have totally revolutionized the way I deal with people who come into my office. Just simply using The Heart of the Problem, I have seen God do amazing things in the lives of people. It isn’t long and they are amazed at what God is doing in their life. It really is that simple.