Obedience is the disciple’s pathway to Freedom. On the resurrection side of the cross, obedience is not a pathway to righteousness (we are declared righteous in Christ) but the pathway of freedom to love and know Christ (John 14:21).
We have previously discussed two traits of a disciple: Comprehensive Alignment and Sacrificial Allegiance. Another indicator Jesus gave of His apprentices is found in John 8:31-32.
“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32 NASB).
I call this trait “Faithful Obedience”. In this blog we will explore its meaning and the promised results.
“Continue (abide) in My Word” implies alignment to the will of God or in other words, obedience. However, the term obedience carries some negative connotations for us today so we need to relook at what it means.
Webster: Obedience is not synonymous with servility but being merely a proper submission to authority. That which duty requires implies dignity of conduct rather than servility. Obedience may be voluntary or involuntary.
Biblical obedience is more than adhering to a list of rules or commands. It is alignment to the revealed will of God in all of its various forms including commands, desires, values, promises, and purposes.
The people Jesus was speaking to in John 8 were apparently receptive and friendly. They probably considered themselves to be His disciples. However, Jesus challenged them with the verb “continue”. It can also be translated as abide, dwell, endure, or remain. Three implications of the verb “continue” can help clarify this trait of apprenticeship.
A disciple is one whose response to the Word is:
1. Personal (first-hand, individual)
There is an interesting set of instructions that Moses gives Israel as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. In a prophetic anticipation of Israel being led by a king, Moses gives three things every king should not do and one thing he must do. He should not multiply horses, wives or personal wealth (Deut. 17:16-17), but he must:
“…write for himself a (personal) copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes” (Deut. 16:18-19).
Sadly, Israel’s kings did what they should not do and did not do what they should have done. Perhaps this is one reason for the rocky road Israel traveled throughout her history as a nation. Imagine what would have happened if every king had copied the sacred Scripture by hand as he interacted with the Levitical priests and read it every day of his life. The promised result would have been kings who feared God and were obedient to His Word.
When my father died, I kept his Bible which was worn, marked up, and stained. Although I couldn’t read all his faded notations, they represented how very personal the Word was to him. For my dad Scripture was not a textbook but a personal letter from God that required reading and rereading and most importantly, was valued as the source for life-change.
The Psalmist tells us to “Hide” God’s Word in our hearts. Hiding involves more than just rote memory. It involves making it personal, internal, part of our lives.
2. Intentional (active, planned, purposeful)
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11 NIV).
Disciples intentionally plan to abide in His Word. They do not leave it to chance or just when they feel like it. Early in my discipleship journey I learned five methods to intentionally abide in the Word. They are to hear it, read it, study it, memorize it, and meditate on it. Those methods are just as critical for me today as they were then.
Each of these five methods connect us to Scripture in a different way. We need to have a plan to use all five. It is not surprising that the hardest ones seem to be the most effective for life change.
3. Consistent (faithful, continuous, and persistent)
I am reminded of the statement: “Successful people do consistently what ordinary people do occasionally”.
Consistency brings payoff in the development of spiritual habits. When a practice becomes a habit, we move from a focus on mechanics to the intended results. It is the same whether the habit is going to the gym or memorizing Scripture.
A great picture of consistency is seen in the way God provided manna for the Israelites in the desert. God provided this miraculous provision of nutrition, but the people had to gather it each day and only enough for the day. Some tried to store it for future use, but it didn’t work. Although God provided enough for each day, they had to personally, intentionally, and consistently go and get it.
A disciple does not rely on yesterday’s manna. He knows he needs a fresh word from God. The habit of a daily appointment with God (AWG) in His Word, is one of the essential practices of men and women of God down through history. Early in my own spiritual journey consistency in His Word came as a result of reading a small booklet called “7 Minutes with God”. The message was “it is better to spend a little bit of time (7 minutes) every day than a lot occasionally.” Start with seven and when it becomes a habit, it is easy to expand to ten.
In our John 8:31-32 passage, Jesus highlighted three specific results of continuing in His Word: Proof of discipleship, knowledge of truth, and freedom.
“You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
Jesus goes on to explain that He is not referring to freedom from physical slavery or ignorance, but freedom from the slavery of sin, Satan’s lies, and the painful deception of self-rule.
We are embarrassingly vulnerable to the world’s deceptions unless we continue in the truth of God’s Word. We are, like the kings of Israel, easily led astray. The life of a disciple is marked by the spiritual freedom that comes through alignment to the truth of Scripture.
Trait: Faithful Obedience
A disciple is one who consistently makes the Scripture the final authority for all of life, seeking to know, understand, and align his/her life to it.
Questions for reflection:
- Which of the 5 methods of Scripture intake to you need to develop at this point in your spiritual journey?
- Are there places in Scripture where you do not feel “at home”? Identify a place and develop a plan to explore it more.
I have my mom’s Bible. It, too, is also marked up with notes and underlining. I have two that are the same and a new one headed in that direction. But it’s the act go writing those truths in you heart that makes a difference. Memorization has always made sense to me. I still remember my first memorized verse. Isaiah 53:6. The church Awana programs are the key to that memorization piece today. Also it is harder as you get older.