SCRIPTURE: “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. (Romans 12:1, NLT)
QUOTE: “If worship does not propel us into greater obedience, it has not been worship. To stand before the Holy One of eternity is to change.” -Richard J. Foster
NOTE:
While the Bible places a strong emphasis on obedience, it’s critical to remember that believers are not justified (made righteous) by obedience. Salvation is a free gift of God, and we can do nothing to merit it. True Christian obedience flows from a heart of gratitude for the grace we have received from the Lord: Our text makes it clear that God demands “ALL nor SOME.” In contrast opposite to absolute compliance is partial obedience. First, let us consider what is partial obedience. Partial obedience is both changing the content of the instructions and also being inconsistent in the loyalty. The teachings in the Bible imply that persistent partial obedience does no good. It is a waste of time. God cannot be flattered or impressed with our tokenism, because He knows not only our attitude behind the actions but also knows our heart and mind. God cannot be impressed by the big sacrifice in the form of great charity work or monetary donations. Let us recall the story of Saul and Samuel.
ILLUSTRATION:
“Christ says “Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked – the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.”
REFLECTION:
Are you changing the content in His instructions?
TWO YEAR BIBLE READING: Eccl 11:9 – 12: 8, Psalm 140