Abide and Obey Message #3

OBEDIENCE – THE PROOF OF ABIDING IN CHRIST

Scripture References: 1 John 2:3-6

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a
liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the
love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He
who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. 1
John 2:3-6, NKJV

Introduction

Many in our generation have the Christian label, Christian lingo, Christian
logo, and Christian friends but not Christ. Anyone can claim to be a
believer of the Lord Jesus Christ, but does that mean they are real?
Christianity is not something we inherit, profess, or claim. Instead,
Christianity is something we practice. Confession and claim that you are a
Christian will only matter when coupled with obedience.

A woman told me a relative of hers had died. I asked if he was a

Christian. She said, "Oh, yes, he made a profession of faith and was
baptized at age seven. He never went back to church or read the Bible in
the seventy years after that, but I'm sure he was a Christian." Such a
claim is astonishing in light of what John wrote in these verses.

Obedience is a central theme throughout Scripture. From the creation

story to the end of Revelation, it's challenging to turn a page that doesn't
deal directly or indirectly with God's call for obedience. Remember, Jesus
not only said, "Believe me," he also said, "Follow me." God places a high
premium on our obedience.

However, obeying God's commands is often ignored, dismissed, or

glossed over in our time. Why? Because obedience slaps us in the face. It
confronts our sin. It challenges our lives. It runs contrary to our unwritten
mantra: Who are you to tell me what to do?

Yet God commands us to obey, not because he is on a power trip, but

instead because he wants what's best for us. God's commands are not
killing our fun but increasing our enjoyment. Disobey those commands,
and quickly you will see how much sadness you can experience. God's
commands are not to box us in but for our protection. Again, disobey
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those commands, and quickly you will see how much trouble you will be
in.

Four realities for obeying his commands are revealed in these

verses.

1. Obedience Proves Our Salvation

John begins by saying that "we know that we have come to know him" (1
John 2:3 NIV). John is saying that not only can we know God, but that we
can know that we know God. In other words, we often know in our head,
accepting facts about God and recognizing that we acted on such facts.
But sometimes our heart doubts. John is saying that we can know in our
hearts, too. And, one of those evidence or signs of knowing that we know
God is that we obey his commandments.

Let me be very clear, John is not answering the question, "How does one
become a Christian?" He is not saying that if you want to be saved or
receive God's grace or know God, then you have to obey. He is saying,
"Here's how you know that you know God: it's manifested in the way you
live. It's manifested in your obedience." In other words, we know that we
know God because we keep his commandments.

John is not teaching that salvation is conditional on obedience. John is

teaching that salvation is evidenced by obedience. And, in turn, that
obedience contributes to our assurance of salvation. Obedience is a sign
that we know God, recognizing that God expects his people to live a
certain way - His way.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Hosea complained that the people of
Israel did not know God. "There is no faithfulness, no love, no
acknowledgment of God in the land" (Hosea 4:1 NIV). How did he know
this? He immediately confirmed this by saying, "There is only cursing,
lying and murder, stealing and adultery" (Hosea 4:2 NIV). What had the
people done? Each of those actions was a violation of the Ten
Commandments. Proof of our knowledge of God involves knowing his
character and requirements and living in obedience to those
requirements.

How do we know that we know God? The test is whether we keep his
commandments. Do you obey God's Word? Is the Bible your final rule for
faith and practice? Be careful how you answer, for many people place a
greater emphasis on traditions than on the teachings of the Bible. In
addition, in our Christian culture today, we have assigned the obligations

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of Christianity (like make disciples, go into all the world, give ten percent
of our money) to a few while keeping the privileges of Christianity (like
experiencing God's comfort, receiving God's forgiveness, knowing God's
guidance) for us all. Still, others think that keeping a few commandments
is enough. Remember, partial obedience is another name for
disobedience.

The Nobel Prize-nominated Christian, Henry Shafer, a famous chemist

who teaches at the University of Georgia, tells how he came to reject
Christianity. He had been raised in a nominally Christian home, attending
a mainline Presbyterian church, and one day amid a discussion in the
kitchen, he made a point to his father about an ethical question by
saying, "Look, Dad, the Bible says such and such." And his dad responded
by saying, "I know what the Bible says. It's wrong."  Henry Shafer said
that he decided that Christianity must be bunk because his dad claimed to
be a Christian and yet rejected the teachings of the Bible. In God's mercy,
God did a work of grace in Henry Shafer's heart and brought him to
saving faith in Christ later on. And then, he realized that it wasn't that
Christianity was bunk. It was that his father's profession of faith was
bunk. You see, if you believe the Living God, you will believe his word;
you will trust his word; you will acknowledge it as your final rule of faith
and practice. You'll not just do it in the abstract; you'll do it where it
hurts; you'll do it even when it's hard to obey.  

2. Obedience Transforms Our Lives

By way of contrast, in verse four, John restated verse three with a

warning: " He who says, “The man who says, I know him, but does not do
what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4 NIV).
His point is: If you claim to know God, but your life is not changed by
knowing him, that is a sure sign that you don't know God. He is not
saying that the truth is in one's head and has not made it to their hearts,
like we try to do, letting people off the hook. He is saying that the person
who does not keep God's commands does not have the truth at all. Why?
Because the truth of God turns our lives upside down. It changes us. It
transforms us. Once you have the truth, it fills you with a fire in your belly
and a love for the living God; it changes everything. God's truth always
leads to love; it always leads to obedience; it always leads to a
transformed life. So, when that transformed life is not present, you can
be certain that the person has never had the truth; they have never
known God.

This reality is throughout Scripture, just said in a variety of ways. In

Romans 5, Paul says, "Grace always reigns in righteousness." In

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Ephesians 2, Paul says, "Salvation always leads to obedience." In Romans

8, Paul says, "Justification is always accompanied by sanctification."
James 2, James says, "Faith always shows itself in works." In 1 John 2,
John says the same thing: Truth always expresses itself in
transformation.

3. Obedience Springs From Our Love

John continued, "But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made
complete in him" (1 John 2:5 NIV). In this verse, John broadens the
scope from "obey his commands" to "obeys his word." But it is the second
half of the verse that arrests my attention, "God's love is truly made
complete in him." John seems to be saying that our love for God is a
reflection of God's love for us and a response to it so that our keeping of
God's word could be a sign that God's love had done its entire work in us,
made complete means that the believer's love is real and mature.

Here John addresses motive. In essence, he is communicating that we

know that we know God when we love to do what he commands.

Three motives for obedience exist: We can obey because we have to; we
can obey because we need to; or we can obey because we want to. A
slave obeys because he must. If he doesn't obey, he will be punished. An
employee obeys because he needs to. He may not enjoy his work, but he
enjoys getting his paycheck. He needs to obey because he has a family to
feed and clothe. But a believer obeys God's word because he wants to -
for the relationship between him and God is one of love. Jesus said, "If
you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15 NIV).

I read of a housekeeper that went to work for a bachelor. Each day when
the man would leave for work, he would leave a list of projects for the
housekeeper to complete. In time, the two fell in love and became
married. Upon arriving at work, following their wedding, his buddies
asked if he had left her the list. He said, "No." "Well," they said, "she will
watch television all day and do nothing." The newlywed replied, "No. She
will do all those tasks and more, not because she has to but because she
wants to. She will do it for love."

True love for God is expressed in moral obedience. We keep the

commandments because of our love for God. When we comprehend what
Jesus did for us by sacrificing himself on the cross, our response is to love
him and obey him. Love delights in doing God's will because it
understands the cost and sacrifice of that love. Jesus loved to do God's
will, did he not? And, if we are like Jesus, then we will love to do God's

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will as well. If we love God, we will keep his commands, and that
obedience will, in turn, evidence our true love for God.

4. Obedience Characterizes Our Walk

In 1 John 2:1, John called, "Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” Then, John
wrote, "This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him
must walk as Jesus did" (1 John 2:5-6 NIV). John employs another
expression of being a Christian: in him. The phrase is synonymous with
"live [literally, abide] in him." It implies a living relationship of the
deepest and closest sorts with God through Jesus Christ. This relationship
issues forth, not in passivity and indifference and inattention to duty, but
in activity and commitment and love for God's will, imitating Christ's way
of living.

In other words, if someone said to the apostle John, "I know Christ." John
would reply, "Good. But, if you're in him, abiding in Christ, then you are
walking like Christ, living like Christ." And how did Christ live? He lived in
obedience to the Father.  

Here's the question for you: Would people know that you are a believer
by how you live? Do you walk as Jesus walked?

You have heard the quip: "Actions speak louder than words." That's
precisely what John is saying. Do our actions show that we are living in
Christ? When I was a teenager, a question circulated: If you were
arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict
you?
Great saints of old evidenced their faith by their lives. Robert Chapman, a
brother, set before himself this great aim. He said: "Seeing so many
preach Christ, and so few live Christ, I will aim to live Christ." John Nelson
Darby said of Robert Chapman: "He lives what I teach." William Arnott
was a great preacher of the past. A friend of his said: "His preaching was
good, his writing was better, but his life was best of all." One who only
spent a night in the presence of the great Murray M'Cheyne said: "Oh,
that is the most Jesus-like man I ever saw!"

What will people say of you when you're dead and gone? What will they
say of me?
R.W. DeHann wrote of a missionary who was speaking for the first time to
a group of villagers shortly after arriving on the field. He was trying to
present the gospel to them. He began by describing Jesus, referring to
him as a compassionate and kind, loving, caring man who went about
doing good works towards all men. When he was speaking, he noticed

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that his lesson brought smiles of familiarity to the faces of his audience,
and some of them nodded their heads to one another in agreement. He
was somewhat puzzled, and he interrupted his message to ask: "Do you
know who I'm talking about?" One of the villagers quickly responded:
"Yes, we do. You're talking about a man who used to come here." Eagerly
they talked about a missionary doctor who came to their remote village to
minister to their physical needs, and his life was so like Christ in caring for
those people that they saw Jesus in him. He walked like Jesus walked.

Are you living in Christ? If you're resting in Jesus Christ, if you've found
him to be the source of every spiritual blessing, you're trusting in him for
salvation; you're fellowshipping with him in grace; then your whole life
will have been changed.  You see, everyone who is united with Christ
expresses that union with Christ by living like Christ, by walking as he
walked.  

David Platt's book, Radical, challenges the modern caricature of

Christianity and calls for a return to biblical Christianity. In the opening
chapter, he begins by writing:

"I was confronted with a startling reality: Jesus reject the things that my
church culture said were most important. So, what was I to do? I found
myself faced with two big questions. The first was simple: Was I going to
believe Jesus? Was I going to embrace Jesus even though he said radical
things that drove the crowds away? The second question was more
challenging. Was I going to obey Jesus? My biggest fear, even now, is
that I will hear Jesus' words and walk away, content to settle for less than
radical obedience to him."

Then, Platt concludes the chapter by writing:

"First, from the outset, you need to commit to believing whatever Jesus
says. As a Christian, it would be a grave mistake to come to Jesus and
say, 'Let me hear what you have to say, and then I'll decide whether or
not I like it.' If you approach Jesus this way, you will never truly hear
what he has to say. You have to say yes to the words of Jesus before you
even hear them. Then second, you need to commit to obeying what you
have heard. The gospel does not prompt you to mere reflection; the
gospel requires a response. In the process of hearing Jesus, you are
compelled to take an honest look at your life, your family, and your
church and not just ask, 'What is he saying?' but also ask, 'What shall I
do?'"

Conclusion

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After all that is said and done, the proof that you’re a true follower or
disciple of Jesus is your obedience to His commands. We need to hear
sermons like this often so that we will constantly be reminded that
Christianity hasn’t changed. It is still the same – you are indeed a
Christian when you obey his commands. If you are a true believer of
Christ – your obedience will say so.

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