From the desk of Pastor Ben
The Disciple’s Loyal Obedience

Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”     (Matthew 16:24)

Only after a person denies himself and takes up his cross, Jesus said, is he prepared to “follow Me.” True discipleship is submission to the lordship of Christ. The apostle John wrote, “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

Paul calls salvation the “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5; 16:26). Peter describes God’s sovereign saving work in a life as “the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood” (1 Peter 1:2). Obviously, obedience is an integral feature in salvation and is as characteristic of a believer as is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and the sacrificial saving work of the Son. The Holy Spirit is given only to those who obey God (Acts 5:32), and since every believer has the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9), every believer is also characterized by obedience to God as a pattern of life.

As Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him” (John 12:26).

Ask Yourself:
Why would someone try to separate personal holiness from personal faith, insisting that an individual’s consistency (or inconsistency) in godliness cannot be used as a gauge of their Christian testimony? What else can it say when a person rebels against His lordship?