Christian obedience has three primary aspects. The first is refraining from disobedience; the second is walking in the light; and the third is an active, positive obedience.
Refraining from Disobedience
Disobedience is doing, thinking, or saying what we are told not to do or think or say. It is also not doing, not thinking, or not saying what we are commanded to do and think and say.
"Jesus replied: ‘"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment'” (Matthew 22:37-38).
It is easier to measure disobedience by what we do than by what we do not do. However, this does not mean that our neglect is not sin. Not loving the Lord in this way is a violation of the first and greatest commandment.
The first way to refrain from disobedience is to know the commandments. Ignorance is no excuse. God gave us instructions in the Bible, and it is our responsibility to be familiar with them. Here is what Leviticus has to say about unintentional sin:
"If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, he is guilty" (Leviticus 4:27).
"If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible" (Leviticus 5:17).
The second means of refraining from disobedience is to know God’s character. If you know Him, you will be able to recognize anything that does not have His characteristics and know that it is from the Enemy.
"He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44b).
Both the liar and the truth-teller say, “I am telling the truth.” You need to know the truth-teller well enough to recognize the liars by their character. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, both Lucy and Edmund had visited the parallel world of Narnia. When Lucy told her siblings Peter and Susan about the wonders in Narnia, she expected Edmund to back her up. Instead, Edmund said that Lucy was playing make-believe. Both children said they were telling the truth. What Lucy said sounded unbelievable, and Edmund’s lie made sense. Peter and Susan went to see Professor Kirk for advice. After hearing their story, the Professor replied, “Does your experience lead you to regard your brother or your sister as the more reliable? I mean, which is more truthful?” Peter said, “Up till now, I’d have said Lucy every time.” Then the professor asked Susan the same question. “Well, in general, I’d say the same as Peter.” The Professor replied, “You know she doesn’t tell lies, and it is obvious that she is not mad. For the moment then, and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth.” Do you know God’s character as Peter and Susan knew Lucy’s?
The third way to refrain from sin is to avoid temptation. You cannot blame all your temptations on the enemy: "But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed" (James 1:14).
How do you avoid temptation? First, choose not to feed your evil desires. Second, ask God to keep the evil one from tempting you. God will answer the prayer He taught us to pray: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:13).
The fourth means of refraining from sin is to not be overly confident.
"So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12a).
Sin is like falling off a cliff. Christians do not want to fall, but they do want to admire the view. So they get as close to the edge as they can, thinking they will not fall because they don’t intend to. Do not be overconfident or careless, and do not admire the view. Stay away from the edge!
Sometimes we need to get close to the edge to help someone who has fallen or who is about to fall. The New Testament has two strong texts to guide us in doing this:
"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted" (Galatians 6:1).
"Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear - hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh" (Jude 22-23).
Only spiritual people should do the restoring, and they need to watch out, not to keep from sinning, but to keep from even being tempted. You must abhor sin if you are going to be in the rescuing business.
Having a good, stout fence at the edge of a cliff is much more valuable than keeping an ambulance parked in the valley below. Fences are made of the Word, prayer, and fellowship with other Christians. If you are going to be a rescuer, having a group of Christians praying for you is like a safety line around your waist. Do not be overconfident!
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
God is faithful to us during temptation. This does not mean He will physically or spiritually pull us out of it. It means that He limits temptations by their nature (“common to man”), by their strength (“not beyond what you can bear”), and by providing a way out. It still requires a decision on your part.
The fifth and sixth means of keeping from sin go together. They are: make a stand against the devil, and run away from him:
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).
"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness" (1 Timothy 6:11).
"Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22).
Either the devil flees or you flee. One of you must run. Resisting is by far the best way. Make the devil do the running. That is the way Jesus handled temptation. The devil attacked, and Jesus counter-attacked with the Word of God.
There are prerequisites for resistance:
"But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:6-7).
Before you can resist the devil, you must submit to God in humility, whereby you receive grace for resistance. Ephesians gives two more conditions:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes" (Ephesians 6:10-11).
Standing against the devil is only effective when we have God’s armor and God’s power. It was the same for Jesus: "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil" (Matthew 4:1).
If you cannot meet these conditions, then you need to run. In fact, there are certain temptations you must always flee from, such as the desire to get rich, the love of money, and eagerness for money.
"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness" (1 Timothy 6:11).
Flee the one and pursue the other.
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