Over the past couple of Sundays, our messages have emphasized the need for obedience and faithfulness to God. The Bible teaches that God keeps his covenant with us. Nehemiah said in prayer to God:

"O, Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keeps covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments. (Neh. 1:5.) Daniel also so prayed. (Daniel 9:4.)

In the great mercy of God, he allows man to enter into covenant with him. God makes the terms of the covenant. Those terms are merciful and generous. God pays the debt and makes the blood sacrifice in cutting the covenant with man. Our role is submission, obedience, and faithfulness to God. It is not based upon a law system, but rather upon a father and son/daughter relationship. Often the Bible says, "I will be your father and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Almighty." (2 Cor. 6:18, Exodus 4:22.) God wants to be our Father, spiritually. He wants us to be his children. This relationship is based upon love, respect, forgiveness, and mercy. But it is also based upon obedience and submission to God. He is not a man, as our physical fathers of the flesh. He does not commit sin. In this relationship, we are dependent upon the Father. Our dependence is total, not partial. He maintains, he blesses, and he provides our every need. (Phil. 4:19.)

Earlier we described four devices of a disobedient person. Those who are disobedient: 1) often offer sacrifices in the place of obedience, 2) they seek to re-interpret Scripture to justify their behavior, 3) they mix with God’s people, and 4) they limit the scope of their obedience.

God’s obedient children are not like that. We all know the attitudes and actions that the disobedient possess. We know the stubbornness and determination of one who does not want to comply with God’s will. I want to describe today the attributes and attitudes of one who is submissive.

The most comprehensive and precise statement describing the one doing God’s will in full obedience is this one. It is found, not surprisingly, in the context of giving.

"But this I say, He which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity. For God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Cor. 9:6-7.)

There are several interesting things said about giving. First, there is the amount. Paul used the analogy of sowing and reaping a harvest. If a farmer sows seed sparingly, he will reap sparingly. No one can doubt that truth. If one sows bountifully, he will also reap bountifully. Jesus said, "Give and it shall be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over shall men give unto your bosom." (Luke 6:38.) Notice that neither Paul nor Jesus gives a percentage or an exact amount to give. Secondly, there is the acceptable attitude in giving. It is with purpose, not grudgingly, not because you have to, and cheerfully. Man often is concerned about the amount. How much should I give? God is always more interested in the heart and attitude. If the heart is right, the amount will be acceptable. If the heart is not right with God, no amount is acceptable to God. God wants your heart, not your coins!

These words about giving so accurately describe the attributes and attitude of an obedient person in every aspect of his life. As in giving, how much should I obey the Father? Jesus answered that question this way: "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him two." (Matt. 5:41.) This was said to those who were being compelled to work for the Roman government. Jesus said, Be willing to do more than what is expected of you. This is a good principle in obedience. Do not only what is required of you, but be willing to go two miles and do even more. That will be the right amount. If I do not want to go the second mile, then I really did not want to go the first one.

An elderly woman in her eighties obeyed the Gospel in the Cayman Islands. She slowly walked out into the beautiful waters of the Caribbean off Seven-Mile Beach. The waves caused her to stumble. I tried to hold onto her, so that she would not fall. After we made it back to the beach, I apologized to her for the difficulty she had experienced. So looked at me and said, Don’t apologize for that. Being immersed in water is easy. I would be willing to be baptized in fire if the Lord required it! She was willing not only to do what the Lord required, but even more than that. She was right in that what God requires of us is not grievous. (1 John 5:3.) Have you ever noticed that in the New Testament that most often we are not told how much or how often? How often should we assemble? How much should I give? How many should I teach? How often should I pray? How many benevolent deeds must I do? Those who want to make a law out of the New Covenant just cannot handle this! They do not know what to do. They do not understand the nature of the New Covenant and what God is looking for in us.

God wants first of all for us to obey from the heart. (Rom. 6:17.) Peter told Simon the sorcerer, "Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God." (Acts 8:21.) Our obedience should be willingly, cheerfully, and readily offered.

Jesus said, "But what think ye? A certain man had two sons. He came to the first and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not, but afterward he repented and went. He came to the second and said likewise. He answered and said, I go, sir, and went not. Whether of the two did the will of his father? They said unto him, The first. Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you." (Matt. 21:28-31.)

One trait of the obedient is that when they realize that they are doing something against the will of the Father, they feel godly sorrow and repent.

The first son first said that he would not go, but later repented and went. Many say that they will go, but do not. Neither do they repent, because they are offering partial obedience. They say yes, but do not do his will.

Paul described the heart and attitude of one who has done wrong.

"Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that you sorrowed to repentance. For you were made sorry after a godly manner, that you might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world works death." (2 Cor. 7:9-10.)

The heart of an obedient person is such that he grieves at the knowledge that he has done something contrary to the will of the Father. Paul names two very different kinds of sorrow---one experienced by one who wants to please God and another experienced by those whose goal is worldliness and pleasure. You can know if you are an obedient person who wants to please God. The true measure is how do you feel when you know you have lived contrary to God’s will for you. Do you experience godly sorrow? Do you hurt within? Does this sorrow lead you to repentance? If the first son, in Jesus’ parable, did not repent, his sorrow was not godly or genuine. Peter and Judas dishonored Jesus when he was arrested. Peter repented; Judas’ sorrow was not godly sorrow. He was grieved that things did not work out the way he wanted. His sorrow worked death; Peter’s sorrow work repentance.

The heart and conscience of an obedient person will nudge him back into the right way. He will not reluctantly come back, but humbly return to do the Father’s will. Jesus said, "He that sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him."" (John 8:29.) An obedient child wants to please his father. It shows the right kind of heart.

"He is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men but of God." (Rom. 2:29.)

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter kills but the spirit gives life." (2 Cor. 3:6.)

"But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter." (Rom. 7:6.)

The last two references (Rom. 7 & 2 Cor. 3) clearly use "letter" to refer to the Law of Moses and "spirit" to refer to the new covenant. The letter of the Law kills; it cannot give life like the spirit. The Bible distinguishes between a system of law and a system of the spirit. What belongs to a law system is a law, the flesh, sin and death. But the spirit of man, the Spirit of God, Gospel, the righteousness of Jesus and life all describe the nature of the new covenant.

But even within Law and Gospel, there can be an abuse of God’s will. The Jews sought to follow the letter of the Law and misunderstood the intention or spirit of God’s will. Note these examples: circumcision as stated in Romans 2:28-29, and the Sabbath as in Mark 2:27. Jesus rebuked this attitude when the Pharisees complained about Jesus associating with sinners. He said, "Go learn what this means---I will have mercy and not sacrifice." (Matt. 9:13, Hosea 6:6.) Those trying to follow only the Law do so because they want to do the minimum required. Their hearts are not right in regard to obedience to God. They do not want to do any more than the letter of the Law. If it is ten percent in giving, then I will give that and no more. These people are totally confused when you tell them that God did not set any specific amount. They do not know what to do. They want a law. Some fail because they think that the Bible requires them to assemble at least once per week. If that is the requirement, then I will do no more!

Many have never grasped the difference between law and gospel. (John 1:17.) The reason is that some do not want Gospel; they think that Law is better. Gospel is different. It relates to the Spirit of God and the spirit of man. Man responds to God in a different way under Gospel than under Law. Under Gospel, the believer knows what the will of the Father is and he wants to please his Father. Did you notice that Paul included in his description of "the letter" included "whose praise is of men and not of God." Following the letter often is just to gain the praise of men. You have the appearance of doing good and right, but your heart is not right. You are not doing these things to please God, because you love God. You are doing them to gain the favor of those who are watching.

In growing up a child learns two important concepts. The first is the rules of his parents. Then he learns the heart and mind of his parents. A child is maturing when he responds to his parents out of love and understanding, when he understands not just the rules but the meaning of the rules. His heart is changing when he wants to do the will of his parents, out of love and submission. His heart is rebellious when he knows the rules and does not care about pleasing his parents.

But the biblical description of obedience goes even further than attitude and spirit.

The biblical description of obedience and submission goes further than rules, even further than obeying out of a good attitude. It also includes being led by the Spirit of God. Note these passages:

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." (Gal. 5:16.) "But if you are led of the Spirit, you are not under the law." (Gal. 5:18.) "For by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope." (Gal. 5:5, NIV.) "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. These are contrary one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would." (Gal. 5:17.)

The effort of the Jewish Christians to circumcise Gentile believers stood in stark contrast to the Gospel and Paul’s effort to teach them about the Spirit in their lives. The Judaizers simply did not understand the foolishness of what they were doing. Paul addressed them as "foolish Galatians." (3:1.) "This only would I learn of you, Received you the Spirit by the works of the Law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh?" (3:2-3.)

"You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men. Forasmuch as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." (2 Cor. 3:3.)

"Except a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, You must be born again." (John 3:5-7.)

"What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God’s." (1 Cor. 6:19-20.)

The fullest extent of obedience under Christ is seen in the work of the Spirit in our lives. We (our spirits) are born again by the Spirit of God. Our bodies become the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are led from the heart, where the will of God has been written on our hearts by the Spirit. Our hearts have been willingly given over to God and are not like the hard tables of stone on which the law was written. We are not only obedient to rules, but the Spirit of God changes us into the image of God.

"Now the Lord is that Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:17-18.)