Faith Is Often Spelled…OBEY.
Faith. It is how we please God. Hebrews 11:6 tells us plainly that without it, “it is impossible.” Back around 2005 this verse corrected a religious stronghold for me. For some years I thought of faith as a formula, and a misinterpretation of James 2:26 had me trying to work for faith. It was if spiritually I was holding a sign, “Will Work for Faith.” At this point in my life, I needed healing, finances, and direction for my life. And like many others have done, I began to think that this faith stuff doesn’t work.
Thankfully, I never spoke this thought but instead asked the Lord with a simple prayer of, “I’m here, I’m sorry, Help me.” And He did! Over the next several Sundays my Pastor began a series on faith. As I listened to him teach line upon line from the Word, I felt the chains of religiosity coming off. At the end of one service, a brother came to me and gave me a tape, saying that he believed the Lord wanted me to hear it. It was a teaching by Pastor Clinton Utterbach. In it he made this statement, “Sometimes faith is spelled B E L I E V E, T R U S T, and O B E Y.”
Within a few weeks I was healed of a debilitating neck injury, the provision of God began to increase, and I began to walk out plan God had for my life. Since then whenever I read about faith in God’s Word, those three words are always present. We cannot ignore the principle that faith works by love (Gal. 5:6) and without following actions there is no demonstration of a changed life lived by faith. (James 2:26) In this article I want to focus on one of these words. Yet I do not want to leave the impression that they in any way are exclusive of each other. It is this word Obey.
Obedience is a subject that is rejected by many in the world today. Since the rebellion of the sixties, it has increased in its unpopularity among our society. Just look at what is taking place in our nation, and you will see rebellion everywhere. Some people do not want to be obedient to anyone or anything. They have the attitude that they should be able to do what they want, when they want to, and how they want to. So much so that this attitude has crept into the Church. In America’s churches anything can be talked about, but do not mention the adherence to rules, principles, or a set of laws.
This is an unacceptable heart attitude in the Church today. Whether in the Old Covenant, or in the New Covenant, obedience is a big deal with God. He is the final authority and will not negotiate or compromise. We cannot live our lives any way we want to, then come to God seeking His blessing.
1 Samuel 15:22 NKJV “to obey is better than sacrifice.”
Luke 6:46 NKJV “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you?”
So how are faith and obedience connected? To start with one cannot be born again withoutobedience. 2 Thessalonians 1:8 tells us about those that do not “obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Paul’s epistle to the Romans, he introduces himself as one that “has received grace and an Apostleship to promote obedience to the faith.” (Romans 1:6) Later he says that those that who were once slaves to sin, “obeyed from their hearts” and became slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:16-18) It is interesting that the Greek word used for obeyed, is “hupakouo” which carries the idea of hearing (how faith comes Rom. 10:17) and responding (speaking and actions Mark 11:23, 2 Cor. 4:13, Gen. 22:2,3, James 2:21,22) then obeying.
“Without obedience it is questionable if there is belief.”
Pastor Dan Bult
Take healing for example. There are several places in God’s Word that He tells us that it is will for all His children to be healthy. (3 John 1:2) And that sickness and disease came to us when Adam disobeyed God. But Jesus freed us from that curse when He hung on the cross. (Gal. 3:13) He took sickness and disease away. (Isa. 53:4-5, Matt. 8:17, 1 Peter 2:24) Looking at all the instances in which God has healed people, many were preceded by an act of obedience. One of my favorite examples in the Old Covenant was with Naaman. (2 Kings 5)
Naaman was the commander of the army of king Aram. He was a mighty warrior but suffered from leprosy. Naaman’s wife had young Israeli servant girl that had been taken captive and given to her. After hearing this young girl tell of a prophet in Samaria that he would heal him, he did what she said. You can read the whole account yourself, but I want to bring out that after hearing, he believed that it could be as she proclaimed, so he acted, he obeyed.
Then in the accounts of Jesus healing people in the gospels, many times He told them to do something.
Matt. 9:6 “Get up, pick up your bed, and go home.”
Mark 3:5 “Stretch out your hand.”
Luke 17:14 “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”
John 9:7 “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.”
God is the perfect Father! And just as a natural father finds pleasure in his children being obedient, Our Father delights in, and is glorified when His children are obedient to His Word. He even set an example for us by binding Himself to His Word.
Psalm 138:2b NKJV
…For you have magnified Your Word above all Your name.”
When I read the Word of God, I become responsible for it. If I do not obey His command, I can confidently expect to be corrected. But if I obey, I will be blessed. (James 1:25) For me, this makes me fully persuaded that God, being supreme in authority and unchanging in nature, is the only sure foundation for my believing, trusting, and obedience. I can have peace in the storm, confidence in His care for me, and unconditionally obey Him.