God wants Obedience – Not Victory!

Continuing my lesson from the book The Pursuit of Holiness:

The last section emphasized the work of the spirit. This one looks at our responsibility.

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 not to “stop trying and start trusting”; we are commanded to assume our responsibility for a holy walk.

Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

Let us throw off sin. Let us run with perseverance.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

2 Peter 3:14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

We do this by relying on the spirit. By being obedient to His nudges to scripture. The author says that 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.” (that’s from 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.