by Clint Byars
Do you want to obey God?
Do you think you're doing a good job of obeying him?
If you think you're not doing a good job of obeying God, how do you define obedience?
I would guess that all Christ followers want to obey God but often times we feel like we fall short. This is true for various reasons but one overwhelming reason we feel we're not obeying God is due to a wrong understanding of obedience.
Look at the Hebrew and Greek definitions of obey:
shama - Hebrew - to hear, to listen, to obey
hypakouō - Greek - to listen, to harken, to submit to
peithō - Greek - to be persuaded, to trust, to have confidence, believe, to listen, to suffer one's self to be persuaded
The focus is listening and being persuaded. To obey God is to be persuaded of and confidently act on what he has said.
Yes, obedience does have an element of submission but it starts in the heart, where we truly believe. If you have put your trust in Christ as your righteousness then you have obeyed God at the deepest level of obedience. From there, we are to remain confident in his finished work to the point that we are continually submitted to the transformative power of his spirit, which is the very essence of GRACE.
If you want to be obedient to your Heavenly Father, first and foremost do whatever it takes to be fully confident of what Jesus has done for you. In every situation you face in life, persuade yourself of the victory that Jesus has already won and shares with you.
Peithō also happens to be the root word of faith (pistis). Faith is not a commodity that you need to figure out how to get more of to be more spiritual. Faith is something that grows as you are persuaded of what God has done through Jesus and promised in his Word. Jesus says that all things are possible to the one who believes. The more confident you are in him, the more you believe and the more anything becomes possible for you.
Are you actively persuading yourself of your victory in Jesus?
Are you intentionally placing confidence in God's promises?
What does it take for your heart to be grounded in his truth?
Take 3 minutes and watch this encouraging video. Share it with your friends when you're done. Below it is a free full length audio teaching on this topic for those who like more detail.
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