STEP SIX – Exercise #3: Obey
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To know Christ
Jesus said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15). To be a disciple does not mean to only gain knowledge about God and the Bible. A disciple is also someone that obey Christ’s commandments.
1 John 2:3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
This word “know” is not about knowing facts or information. It means to have a personal, experiential knowledge of something through close interaction. When Jesus said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8: 32), He was referring to knowing Him in a deep, personal relationship.
This knowledge comes through personal knowledge that is the basis of discipleship, and it involves reading the Bible, memorizing Scripture and praying. But it also involves walking in communion with the Father through living, loving and spending time with God. To know Him is a process of practicing the principles of the Bible in the walk of everyday life. To know Him is the foundation for obedience.
How do we know that we know Him according to 1 John 2:3?
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The secret of obeying Him is loving Him (John 15:9-10), and the secret of loving Him is knowing Him (John 15:15).
Christ’s commands
In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said that we must make disciples and teach them to obey all that He commanded. He not only wants us to learn, but He also wants us to obey. Many Christians are educated beyond their obedience. They don’t need another Bible study. They need to start practicing what they already know.
Mark Twain said it best, “It’s not the things in the Bible that I don’t understand that bother me. It’s the things in the Bible that I do understand that bother me.”
Christ has made His will known to us in the Scriptures, and when we obey the Word of God, we obey Christ.
We do not obey Christ in order to be saved, but rather we obey Him because we are saved. Obedience is not the means of salvation, but the fruit of salvation. Obedience will not give us new life, but it will be the evidence of new life that He has given to us by His grace.
In our actions we show whether we really trust Christ. He died for us, and in response, we live for him and serve him (2 Corinthians 5:15). We offer ourselves to God, to be used in righteousness (Romans 6:12-13).
Why should we obey God? ________________________________________________________
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In faith, we believe that God’s commands are for our own good. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows what is good for us. Obedience expresses faith in His wisdom and love.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
What does this scripture mean to you? ________________________________________________
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Most of all, it is our love for God that causes us to want to obey Him. He has done so much for us, that we cannot help but be thankful and want to please him. “If you love me,” Jesus says, “you will obey what I command” (John 14:15).
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.
As we are transformed into the image of Christ, we will follow His example of obedience to the will of the Father. Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane the following prayer the night before He was crucified: “Not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Although He knew what He would had to endure, His Father’s will was the most important thing to Him.
Read Luke 6:46-49.
What is the difference between the person that obeys Jesus and the person that does not?
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To obey is not an option.