"GIVE ME THE BIBLE"
Why I Obey The Bible
INTRODUCTION
- In this series ("Give Me The Bible"), thus far we have explored...
- The Problem Of Biblical Illiteracy
- Why I Read The Bible
- Why I Believe The Bible
- Why I Love The Bible
- But it does us no good to...
- Read the Bible
- Believe the Bible
- Love the Bible
-- If we are unwilling to obey the Bible!
[To drive this point home, let's first take a close look at...]
- THE NECESSITY OF OBEDIENCE
- AS TAUGHT BY JESUS...
- Necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven - Mt 7:21-23; Lk 6:46
- It is not enough to believe in Jesus as Lord
- Not even to do many things in His name
- We must do the will of His Father in heaven
- We must do what Jesus says!
- Necessary to qualify as good soil - Lk 8:15
- It is not enough to hear (read) the Word of God
- Not even to initially do what the Word says
- We must receive the Word with good and noble hearts
- We must bear fruit with patience!
- Necessary to be faithful disciples of Christ - Mt 28:18-20
- It is not enough to simply believe in Jesus
- Not even to be baptized into the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit
- We must be disciples of Christ (i.e., adherents)
- We must observe (do) what He says!
- AS TAUGHT BY HIS APOSTLES...
- Necessary in order to be saved - He 5:9
- Jesus is the author (source) of eternal salvation
- But for those who obey Him!
- Necessary to avoid God's wrath - Ro 2:4-11
- The goodness of God is designed to lead one to repent
- The righteous judgment of God is coming, a day of wrath!
- Eternal life is for "those who keep on doing good" (NLT)
- Indignation and wrath is for those who do not obey the
truth!
- Necessary to avoid eternal destruction - 1Pe 4:17; 2Th 1:7-9
- What will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel?
- Vengeance in the form of everlasting destruction!
[Of course, we must understand that obedience does not earn or merit
salvation (cf. Ep 2:8-9; Tit 3:4-7; Lk 17:10), but obedience is
necessary nonetheless. Especially so when one considers...]
- THE BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE
- AS TAUGHT BY JESUS...
- Enables one to withstand the storms of life - Mt 7:24-27
- It is not enough to hear the sayings of Jesus
- We must both hear and keep His says
- Only then will we be blessed to stand strong against the
storms of life!
- Qualifies one to be in the family of God - Lk 8:21
- It is not enough to simply listen to the Word of God
- We must both hear and do it
- Only then will we blessed to be a member of the family of
God!
- The key to blessedness (joy) - Jn 13:17
- It is not enough to know what Jesus teaches
- We must do what He teaches
- The blessedness (joy) of following Jesus is in the doing!
- AS TAUGHT BY HIS APOSTLES...
- Delivers from the bondage of sin - Ro 6:16-18
- We are slaves to that which we obey
- When one obeys from the heart the doctrine of God, they are
set free from sin!
- Purifies one's soul - 1Pe 1:22-23
- Obeying the truth purifies our souls
- It leads to being born again by the Word of God
- Saves and blesses one's soul - Jm 1:21-25
- The Word has the potential to save our souls
- But we must doers, not hearers only
- Again, the blessedness (joy) is in the doing!
CONCLUSION
- Why do I obey the Bible? Because obedience is necessary...
- If we truly love Jesus - Jn 14:15
- If we want Jesus and His Father to abide in us - Jn 14:21-24;
15:10
- If we want to truly know the Lord and experience the love of God
- 1Jn 2:3-5
- Again, such obedience is not an effort to earn or merit salvation...
- Salvation is by grace through faith, not of works - Ep 2:8-9
- But grace does not preclude obedience done in faith - He 5:9
- We obey the Word of God, not to earn salvation, but to receive
salvation!
As Jesus stated on one occasion: "Blessed rather are those who hear the
word of God and keep it!" (Lk 11:28). Are you keeping (obeying) the
Word of God in order to be blessed...?