Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. (1 John 3:21-22)
Herbert Lockyer once said, “Faith and obedience are the two legs a Christian walks with.” That’s a rather good summary of how to enjoy our relationship with God. For if we want to see His promises become reality, then the Bible tells us that, not only will we have faith in God, but we will obey Him, too.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that God is like a parent trying to bribe or encourage His children. “If you’re good, I’ll give you a bike for Christmas” (though some Christians live as though they think that’s how God operates). Rather, this is God saying, “If you have grasped Who has made these promises to you, then you will want to live rightly before Me and you will end up getting the reward that inevitably comes to those who do so.”
Now, while the Bible is clear that obedience cannot save us (only Christ’s death on the cross can do that), it does link obedience to God with coming into the enjoyment of His promises. God says things like, “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land” (Isaiah 1:19) and “Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you” (Jeremiah 7:23). Obedience and disobedience are what contrast the saved and the unsaved. Christians are “obedient children” (1 Peter 1:14), while the unsaved are “disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2). So, let’s be what we were designed to be! If there are areas of life where we are holding out against God, if God is telling us to do something or not to do something and we are ignoring Him, then it shouldn’t surprise us if God’s promise to us isn’t happening yet. We can’t expect to be disobedient and still receive the promise (though in His amazing grace, God still sometimes blesses us despite our disobedience!).
Seek to walk on the two legs of faith and obedience today. As you do so, you are lining yourself up with the God of the promises.
All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 28:2)
© Copyright 2017 Martin Manser and Mike Beaumont
