A Matter of Consistency

At the Sunday night service, the subject of consistency came up.  We were discussing 1 John 3, and the practice of righteousness.  As a musician, I have learned the distinct and certain value of consistency in practicing.  But consistency does not mean repetition without focus.  Instead, consistency that serves the purpose of growth is focus, intent on repetition for the purpose of improvement.  In relation to the practice of righteousness, we must say that consistency serves the purpose of increasing in dependence upon the Word of God and reliance upon His grace to sustain us from moment to moment.  Let us then strive to become consistent in obedience to the Lord.

Isaiah 48:17–God Teaches and Leads

Isaiah 48:17–"Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: 'I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.'"

This verse comes at the beginning of a passage of judgement in which God judges the people of Israel for their apathetic indifference and for their utter disregard for His commandments and blessings.

Taken out of context, this verse can seem like a fine assertion, like: 'now remember, I am your God and I'm the One who is suppose to teach you the way you should go. So listen up.'  But it is void of those lovey-dovey connotations.  God is telling Israel–and us–that He is the Lord and deserving of our obedience and our praise.  Additionally, He is asserting within that statement a warning that those who would disregard this message will not go unpunished for their unbelief.

We would do well, then, to always keep proper perspective in focus as to who we are and who He is.  In this way, we will go a long way to ensuring a solid footing with each step as we will be stepping in faith that He is leading us in the way we should go.

Thoughts on Obedience

Obedience, the conscription of duty and compliance to the prescriptions of another.  It forms the very bedrock of the Christian life.  The tragedy, though, is when obedience is valued for obedience's sake.  This is to say that obedience is useless apart from the reverent ascension to authority that confers and informs any sense of obedience.  In other words, one cannot be obedient apart from the One being honored by the other's obedience: e.g. God.

Because of all this, when we speak of Christian obedience we are, by nature, speaking most-directly about Christ Himself, who He is and why He is worthy of our obedient devotion.  This is what we mean when we talk about obedience: it's not about us; it's about Him!

Giving Yourself Fully to Christ

To give yourself fully to Christ.  This is the task for the Christian.  We hear it from teachers, we read it in the Scripture, and we say it to each other, but what does this mean? And while we throw this phrase around with a sort of recklessness, it is but an indistinct clang of a cymbal if we do not stop to answer the basic questions: what does this mean and how do I do it?

What does this mean?
To give yourself fully to Christ is a daily moment-by-moment submission of will, talent, ambition, goal, resource, relationship, and everything else imaginable to God.  A complete surrender.  The funny thing is that there is really no such thing as a half-way surrender.  If you don't give it all, you haven't really given any of it.  But the thing about it is, there are stages to this submission.  I mean to say that what you have offered as a sacrifice of submission today is predicated upon what you have been blessed to submit yesterday; it may not happen all at once.  Fortunately, God works like that!

How do I do it?
This one is simple: practice, practice, practice.  But what do I practice, you might ask.  For fear of writing too much I will say this.  We are called to practice godliness.  Quite literally, this means that we will imitate Christ.  From a practical standpoint, this means that we will love God with every pore of our beings, that we will make prayer and Bible study a vital part fo our daily lives, and we will love people fiercely.  But again, God has given us a Helper in the Holy Spirit, who guides us and strengthens us for this task of daily devotion.

Hopefully, now when you hear/read someone say that we ought to give ourselves fully to Christ, you would be better equipped to raise your hand in exuberance and cry out: "Amen!"

Obedience and blessing

We are blessed because of obedience, but our blessing is not on the basis of our obedience.  Obedience is a blessing in itself, meaning that obedience is a blessing on its own.    Remember God, by way of His covenants, demands obedience from His people.  Thus, obedience to God is not a burden, as it were, but is a reminder of who God is and what He has for us.  This is, to be sure, a beautiful thing, love in its finest.

On the other hand, our blessing is solely based on the graciousness of God Himself.  He in His infinite wisdom and mercy has seen fit to bestow His great riches upon us not because of anything we have done or because of anything in us, but only because of the goodness of God.  Remembering this truth will go along way in keeping our hearts fixed on God and not on His blessings.

Obedience, then, is not meritorious.  Obedience does not merit, as it were, any blessing.  Instead, obedience is a response to the covenant faithfulness of God Himself.  Our response to God's covenant faithfulness, which has been made full in Christ Jesus, is not meritorious unto salvation but is merely the most natural response to the profound grace and utter goodness of God.  Amen, then for obedience!