"Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered, and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." (Heb. 5:8-9.)

Saul was commanded to utterly destroy the Amalekites, but he disobeyed the will of God. Samuel, the prophet of God, reproved him by saying: "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king." (1 Sam. 15:22-23.)

Jeremiah commanded Israel to put away their sacrifices and obey the voice of the Lord. "For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices, but this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice and I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you that it may be well with you." (Jer. 7:22-23.)

"Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance." (1 Peter 1:13-14.) There is nothing more unseemly in a home than for children to be disobedient to their parents. Children are commanded by the Lord to obey their parents. (Eph. 6:1.) The only thing that is worse is for adults who know better to be disobedient to God. We are disobedient when God has given us a commandment, yet we disregard it. Are we obedient children of God?

"And the Lord said to Cain, Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lies at the door." (Gen. 4:7.)

"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29.)

The truth is that we are obedient to someone or something. "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin ye became the servants of righteousness." (Rom. 6:16-18.)

"And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day." (Deut. 6:24.)

Obedience, faith and love. There exists in Scripture a direct connection between obedience and faith. In fact, Paul uses the expression "the obedience of faith" at the beginning and ending of Romans. (Rom. 1:5, 16:26.) In this letter, Paul declares that justification comes by faith in God and not by human works of merit or law keeping. Yet, in this very letter, Paul speaks of the obedience of faith. Therefore, we should not think that a message on being obedient to God is somehow legalistic or work oriented. It is faith oriented; that is, it is based upon faith.

We should also note the connection between obedience and love. Most often we think of obedience and authority. Jesus said that he had all authority in heaven and earth, Go ye therefore and teach all nations. (Matt. 28:18-19.) Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth, but there is more to biblical obedience than just obeying someone in authority. It is possible to perform the required act, but not be obedient from the heart. With that understanding, it is impossible to force someone to obey you. They can always resist in the heart. Jesus said, "If you love, keep my command-ments." (John 14:15.) Being obedient is not a simple matter. It encompasses faith and the heart. It is something learned and willingly given to the Lord.

Many who are disobedient to God do not appear to be outwardly. A disregard for God’s will begins in the heart. Rebellion in a child does not manifest itself first outwardly but inwardly. Acts of rebellion come from a heart that has already departed from a desire to be submissive. Those who are rebellious against God’s will may not appear to be. There are many devices of the disobedient to cover their callous heart.

To offer sacrifices. Did you notice that Saul thought by sacrificing some of the healthy animals to God that this would please God and excuse his bold disobedience? Jeremiah also told Israel that God did not command them to offer sacrifices, but to obey him. (1 Sam. 15 & Jer. 7.) David added, "For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psalm 51:16-17.) Remember that it is always easier to offer sacrifices than it is to be obedient.

This is an interesting substitution for obedience. Burnt offerings and sacrifices were done for sin offerings. These were offered to God because the worshipper had been disobedient. Saul, the king of Israel, knew therefore that his actions were against the will of God. So, he offered some sacrifices for what he did. This is a common way for rebellious man to seek to avoid being obedient. It is similar to the sell of indulgences in the Middle Ages. "Originally an indulgence was the remission of a part or all of the works of satisfaction demanded by the priest in the sacrament of penance. . . . At a later stage, it was regarded as a release from the guilt of sin as well as from its penalty." (History of the Christian Church, Vol. VI, Philip Schaff, 756-767.) One could pay to relief the suffering of family members in purgatory. Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome was financed largely by the sell of indulgences. This wicked practice was one of the reasons for the Protestant Reformation Movement. The Catholic Church protested that there was no intention to offer forgiveness without a change of heart, but still the strong connection existed between the money given and forgiveness.

We should remember that there is no substitution for obedience. When we sin, there is ample mercy and forgiveness. But we should not think that temporary punishment, self-inflicted pain, contributions, or regular confessions of sins are acceptable in the place of obedience. Jesus has already suffered for sins once and for all time. Our faith and devotion should be expressed to him.

Reinterpret the Bible. Have you noticed that no matter what people do they seek to justify it from the Scriptures? That is, they maintain that their disobedience is not really wrong after all. Isaiah indicated that people would do that. He wrote,

"Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine and men of strength to mingle strong drink; which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!" (Isa. 5:20-23.)

Some re-interpret the Bible concerning women being public teachers of God’s Word. Paul wrote, "Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law." (1 Cor. 14:34.) "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." (1 Tim. 2:12.) Yet, there are many women who preach. They are not under obedience, as Paul wrote. They seek to cover their disobedience by saying that this is not really God’s will. It was just a cultural obligation that was not binding for all ages. Former President Jimmy Carter once said in an interview that he had a disagreement with Paul over this matter. But President Carter does not have a problem with Paul, he has a problem with the Lord. Notice that Paul also wrote, "If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord." (1 Cor. 14:37.) Three passages after Paul wrote that women should keep silence in the churches, he wrote that these words were the commandment of the Lord.

Others who are disobedient seek to re-interpret the Bible concerning homosexuality. Instead of admitting that the Bible condemns it, they seek to find ways to justify the misbehavior. Paul condemned the Gentile world by saying,

"For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections; for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet." (Rom. 1:26-27.)

Nothing could be clearer than the words of the Law of Moses. "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is an abomination." (Lev. 18:22.)

Even with such plain language, there are churches who allow homosexual priests to minister to others. They claim that homosexuality is really not rebellion, but it is caused by genetic structure. God made some people that way, they claim. If so, we have a contradiction before us. If the Bible condemns it and it does, then how could God who gave us the Bible condemn something that he caused by creating some people that way?? Some would denounce the Bible in order to solve that contradiction. Others would argue that we just misunderstand the Bible; it does not really condemn such behavior. This is a favorite way of justifying rebellion and disobedience against God---the Bible does not really condemn it.

I find it amazing that from the Holy Book, we can justify almost any unholy, ungodly, immoral, ugly deed that sinful men do. It is difficult to find a sinful deed not defended by someone using the Scriptures. Peter wrote about those who "wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction." (2 Peter 3:16.) Jude likewise wrote about ungodly men who were "turning the grace of God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." (Jude 4.) Many good things can and should be said about the grace of God, but we must understand that God’s grace does not allow blatant disobedience. We must not turn it into a license to sin. Paul asked, Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. (Rom. 6:1-2.)

Mix with the God’s people. Disobedient people seem to feel more comfortable by being near those who are obedient and faithful. When Israel left Egypt, a group of people went up with them who did not honor the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are called the "mixed multitude." (Ex. 12:38.) Likewise, some called a mixed multitude left Babylon with the Jews. (Neh. 13:3.) Those disobedient rebels caused Israel continuous trouble.

Like Israel of old, the disobedient can always be found among God’s people. The numbers swell when trouble arises; they leave when the danger subsides. It happened during the World Wars, depressions, Y2K scare, and terrorists attacks. The faithful and obedient remain through it all, during the times of concern as well the times of prosperity.

Jude wrote about "certain men who crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation." (Jude 4.) He said that they were "spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding them-selves without fear." (Jude 12.) False teachers, referred to often in the New Testament, were teachers who disguised their real motives and purposes. They were insincere people who had no intentions of obeying God. These false teachers had various motives, but primarily they desire to use the people of God for their own purposes.

Limit their obedience. One of the devices of the rebellious is to limit how far they will go in obeying the voice of God. One Christian shocked me by admitting her limits. She said that she could not sing the song, Here Am I Send Me. She said that she did not want to sing a lie; therefore, she would just not sing those words because she did not mean them. Her honesty is commendable. But her words made me wonder if we all do not do something like that. Lord, I will do these things, but that is it. I will go no farther. I have always pondered the words about Jesus learning obedience by the things which he suffered. (Heb. 5:8.) Jesus was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Phil. 2:8.) That means that Jesus did not place limits on what he was willing to do for the Father. He was willing to even die the cruel death on our behalf. Are you fully submissive to the will of God?