Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

Consider this: God wants Obedience - Not Sacrifice; not Victory! Romans 8:13, "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." We are to do something. We are to put to death the misdeeds of the body. We are commanded to assume our responsibility for a holy walk. See Colossians 3:5; Hebrews 12:1; 2 Peter 3:14.

How do we do this? We do this by relying on the spirit. By being obedient to His nudges to scripture. Christians are never defeated by sin. They are just disobedient. We are responsible for our thoughts, attitudes and actions. When giving instruction for future kings of Israel, God said that a copy of His law was, (Deuteronomy 17:19) to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees. The king was to read God's law "all the days of His life." Jesus said, "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me." (John 14:21)

Obedience is the pathway to holiness. But we have to have his commands. We have to read the Bible enough to know them well so they can be a dominant influence in our thoughts, our attitudes and our actions. Every believer must choose whether he will live by the principle of obedience or whether he will follow his own preferences. When a person commits to doing the Lord's will, then every situation and decision is sifted through the standard of "God said it, so I'm going to do it--and that's the end of it."

The believer may complain, weep, or argue, but, in the end, he/she will be obedient, no matter what. This is precisely because believers' lives are about fulfilling God's purpose. Many people miss His awesome plan for them because they choose to follow their own preferences. Obedience is sometimes hard, but the struggle and sacrifice are worth it. There is joy and peace for the believer who pleases the Lord and lives by His principles. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 119:11, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

1 Corinthians 6:12 "I have the right to do anything," you say--but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"-- but I will not be mastered by anything. Do the things you insist on doing bring you under their power? You can apply this to drinking, smoking, drugs, too much shopping. Sometimes it's not the activity itself, but that we make it all important - our idol.

1 Corinthians 8:13 "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall." Have your actions been hurting others? Do they glorify God? Have you truly hidden God's word in your heart so that you do not