Post by Cindy on Nov 7, 2015 10:00:26 GMT -5
“and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:20)
You cannot be a disciple apart from a life of obedience and a desire to follow Christ as Lord. One of the most important ways we obey is by teaching others to obey His commands. Regarding the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I said to you” (John 14:26). Through the Word of God, the Spirit has made that teaching available to every believer. And every believer is to submit himself to it in obedience. Only a true convert will obey Christ. Only as you “present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom. 6:13) do you exhibit obedient faith. MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace
FAITH AND OBEDIENCE INSEPARABLE (excerpts)
Jesus’ Great Commission to the disciples indicates just how foundational the matter of obedience is for believers.
Any mature believers, will teach new Christians to obey God’s commands in His Word & to submit to Him. The Great Commission delineates the 2 great essentials of the sanctification process, or the believer’s life in Christ—faith & obedience. Obedience is so foundational that if it's not present in the life of one who claims to be a Christian, that person’s faith ought to be questioned. This truth is emphasized more than once by the apostle John: “Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed in Him, ‘If you abide in [obey] My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine’” (John 8:31); “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love” (15:10). He reiterates the principle even more plainly in his first epistle: “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3–4).
All who profess faith in Jesus Christ must also demonstrate that faith by obeying God’s Word. Otherwise, their profession of saving faith is suspect. The obedience of a true believer will be unequivocal, uncompromising, not grudging, and from the heart. Obedience is therefore an integral part of one’s salvation.
In fact, the apostle Peter describes salvation as an act of obedience: “… you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren … for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Pet. 1:22–23). “The truth” is the Gospel, which in essence is a command to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15). In the New Testament, the gospel message was always preached as a command (e.g., Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 6:12; Luke 5:32; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 26:20). Because it is a command, it calls for obedience, and all who are genuinely born again have new spiritual life because they heard the truth contained in Scripture, believed it, and obeyed it.
However, the moment of salvation involves more than an isolated act of obedience. When anyone places his trust in Christ’s atoning work and receives His forgiveness of sins, he also acknowledges that the Savior is Lord and Master over his life. That means each believer has committed himself to a life of ongoing obedience, although initially he did not fully grasp all the implications of that commitment. MacArthur, J. The pillars of Christian character: The basic essentials of a living faith
When someone is saved, he receives a submissive spirit that manifests itself by a willingness to make a public confession and obey whatever else Christ commands. Are you, then, a disciple? MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace
You cannot be a disciple apart from a life of obedience and a desire to follow Christ as Lord. One of the most important ways we obey is by teaching others to obey His commands. Regarding the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I said to you” (John 14:26). Through the Word of God, the Spirit has made that teaching available to every believer. And every believer is to submit himself to it in obedience. Only a true convert will obey Christ. Only as you “present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom. 6:13) do you exhibit obedient faith. MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace
FAITH AND OBEDIENCE INSEPARABLE (excerpts)
Jesus’ Great Commission to the disciples indicates just how foundational the matter of obedience is for believers.
Any mature believers, will teach new Christians to obey God’s commands in His Word & to submit to Him. The Great Commission delineates the 2 great essentials of the sanctification process, or the believer’s life in Christ—faith & obedience. Obedience is so foundational that if it's not present in the life of one who claims to be a Christian, that person’s faith ought to be questioned. This truth is emphasized more than once by the apostle John: “Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed in Him, ‘If you abide in [obey] My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine’” (John 8:31); “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love” (15:10). He reiterates the principle even more plainly in his first epistle: “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3–4).
All who profess faith in Jesus Christ must also demonstrate that faith by obeying God’s Word. Otherwise, their profession of saving faith is suspect. The obedience of a true believer will be unequivocal, uncompromising, not grudging, and from the heart. Obedience is therefore an integral part of one’s salvation.
In fact, the apostle Peter describes salvation as an act of obedience: “… you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren … for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Pet. 1:22–23). “The truth” is the Gospel, which in essence is a command to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15). In the New Testament, the gospel message was always preached as a command (e.g., Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 6:12; Luke 5:32; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 26:20). Because it is a command, it calls for obedience, and all who are genuinely born again have new spiritual life because they heard the truth contained in Scripture, believed it, and obeyed it.
However, the moment of salvation involves more than an isolated act of obedience. When anyone places his trust in Christ’s atoning work and receives His forgiveness of sins, he also acknowledges that the Savior is Lord and Master over his life. That means each believer has committed himself to a life of ongoing obedience, although initially he did not fully grasp all the implications of that commitment. MacArthur, J. The pillars of Christian character: The basic essentials of a living faith
When someone is saved, he receives a submissive spirit that manifests itself by a willingness to make a public confession and obey whatever else Christ commands. Are you, then, a disciple? MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace
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