Selie Visa
James 4:17 “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.”
The knowledge about God’s will is not enough. Knowing the necessity of obedience is not enough. These things are not the same as being obedient. Knowing what should be done obligates a person to do it. To believe in something is to act like it is so. Hence, the advantage of believing God’s word and specifically, God's will is that we obey it because it is true, good, precious, and real. Obedience is for our good. James calls it the “good” which means beautiful, excellent, noble, or right. Jesus is a King. Jesus dictates and commands. But they are meant to make us well and happy. Every command is meant for our good.They are loving guidelines of an infallibly infinite and wise heavenly Father for the good of those He loves.
Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”
Abraham is mentioned ten times in Hebrews. Abraham accepted God's promises and acted on them even though there was nothing to indicate that they would be fulfilled. This faith is seen in his acceptance of the promise of a child when Sarah was old and even more in his readiness to sacrifice that child-- the one through whom the promise was to be fulfilled.
Romans 1:5 “Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.”
The desired response to the gospel message is "obedience that comes from faith". Paul's readers were not called, as he was, to apostleship; they were called "to belong to Jesus Christ" and to be "saints", the common term designating believers. The scriptures teach us that we are saved for obedience. There are two beautiful truths balanced so wonderfully in Scripture. We are not saved by obedience. Salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ. But, we are saved for obedience.
John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
Obedience to God is the proof of our love for Him. True knowledge of God does not end with speculative ideas but with obedience to the moral law and with the presence of God's love in the believer. The test of love is obedience to God's commands, and the test of obedience is whether one "walks in love." Love of God must result in obedience or it is not true love. Jesus' own love for you and me was manifested by his obedience even to death.
