Deuteronomy 30:19-20 Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh that you would choose life so that you and your descendants may live. You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life.
There are many people in the church who do not understand the Christian faith and what their responsibilities are. To every promise, there is a duty to be performed.
This is where a lot of people make mistakes and whenever they are believing God for something and there are no results, they give up on God. The question is: Are you in church for what God can give you or for what He can make you into? The reason why God did everything within His power to make sure that His original intent for man and the image we had from the beginning is restored, was so that we could be transformed to serve His purposes on earth and through that draw others to Him.
If you are not seeking to do His will, why the request for things? We are to seek Him first, then the other things will follow.
In the opening scripture, we see that there are three major steps to living a victorious Christian life.
1. Loving God
2. Obeying God
3. Committing to God
These steps are in chronological order because without the first, you can’t move to the second and without the second, you can’t move to the third.
Love is necessary for obedience. The truth is that without love you can’t truly be obedient. Obedience is not doing what someone asks you to do but understanding what someone asks you to do. When you understand what a person asks you to do, you do it without reservations. You can actually obey someone without loving them but it’s impossible to love God and not obey Him. The exercise of our confession of faith and commitment to love is an indication of our obedience to God.
Love for God must come first, then obedience will naturally follow. Love is a booster of obedience. In John 14:15, we see that a sign of love is obedience when Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments”. And in John 15:10, the Bible says, “When you obey my commands, you remain in my love.”
To appreciate the love for God better, we need to behold God’s love, understand, commit to, be controlled by, and testify of God’s love.
When you love God, you would do the things he expects of you. Obedience is a nature to the disciple. In Romans 5:19, we see that because of one man’s obedience many became sinners and through one man’s obedience, many will be made righteous.
This shows that our obedience or disobedience affects others. Obedience is only confirmed when it is done willingly, without reservation, and from the heart. It must not be obedience in part but complete obedience. You can obey God easily when you understand His statutes.
The application of God’s Word is linked to obedience.
The final step is a commitment to God. In life, you can’t commit to someone you don’t trust and that is why it is necessary to do business with people whose faithfulness you can be confident about. Without faith in God, you can’t commit to Him.
There would be doubt anytime you want to do something. The reason why a lot of people do not engage God in their decisions is that they lack faith in Him so they can’t completely commit to Him. When you establish a relationship with God, trust in Him is built and your commitment to Him sets in when you love Him.
In conclusion, our utmost desire must be to love God and His precepts, then our love for Him will drive us to obey Him and eventually commit to Him. A committed Christian is one who plays his role and allows God to play His part. He/She doesn’t just sit and expect God to do all the work. Our faith must be put into action.
The Word In Clarity 