Works vs Obedience

Often, we quote “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26) and yet we are also taught that works is not the way to the kingdom; works are of the law and of the old covenant but we are under grace and the new covenant through Jesus Christ. Does this mean that we are to do nothing and just have faith and believe in God? Absolutely not! One thing we know to be true is that Jesus is the way to the Father and is the reason we are reconciled to Him. Jesus has a relationship with God and through Jesus, we have kinship and are able to also call out “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15) as He did on the cross, so through Him we too have the opportunity of relationship with the Father. No longer do we have to follow vain rules where our hearts are far from God because that’s what He wants from us all along, our hearts, mind, and soul (Jeremiah 29:13; Mark 12:30).This is certainly a narrow road because we acknowledge that we are not our own but were bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) so we live to honor God by becoming more like His son (so that He can look past our sin and only see Jesus) through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

As I read through the Old Testament, I realize that a primary reason the Israelites couldn’t get it right was because of their lack of conviction through the Holy Spirit. Their only means of communication with God were through prophets, priests, kings and judges, who let’s face it were at the end of the day just as flawed as the people they were meant to lead were. They had to rely on acts and works for their repentance because their relationship with God was solely based on whether they had a prophet, priest, king or judge to advocate for them. No direct relationship with God was seen as possible and without the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, there wasn’t any means for them to experience internally and personally the woes of offending God leading to righteous correction. Their standing with God was always misaligned because when you have been taught for generations that works lead to repentance, then how would one know that a repentant heart was God’s desire, not vain “repentant acts”. Now, we have Jesus who serves as that “middle man” and Advocate and the Holy Spirit to correct us and lead us to alignment with His will. But there are still some “works” that are at play under the grace covenant.

Obedience to God are the personalized works that stems from having a relationship with God. As a child to its parent or guardian, as we are to God. Children do not simply have rules to follow because rules vary from household to household, but they are expected to be obedient to their parents and guardian and based on their relationship, determines their ability to hear and obey. Jesus said that the world will know His followers based on their ability to hear His voice and obey His command (John 14:15; John 10:27-28).  In order to hear and recognize His voice, we have to establish a relationship with Him and grow familiar with His voice and how He speaks to us; to be able to discern His voice from ours and from the enemy (and honestly, sometimes it is lot trickier than one may think, our own voices can be very convincing). Once we have grown familiar with His voice and have willed our daily lives and future over to His plans for us, then He will give us commands to follow. These commands differ from works because they do not lead to salvation or assured repentance, but with the leadings of the Holy Spirit, are we able to be convicted when we do slip up and through the blood of Jesus, God extends to us grace and mercy and a heart of repentance. Recently, God has shared a nugget with me: “Your responsibility is to obey, Mine is to transform your heart.” It is quite amazing how when we obey His commands, naturally our hearts are transformed and our minds are renewed (Romans 12:2).

Therefore, I no longer interpret it literally as “faith without works is dead” but rather “faith without obedience is dead”. One leads to enslavement to vain works, the other encourages and promotes a relationship with the Father. If you do not have a relationship with God, I strongly encourage you to seek Him and grow familiar with His voice. If you do not know what His voice sounds like, I encourage you to find somewhere quiet, read His word and pray for His voice to come to you-ask Him a question, open your heart, and receive Him. This takes time but the more you do it, the more you will be able to identify the voice of the Father. He is a God of faithful consistency, and as His children we are to practice this as well. Some tips to recognizing His voice: never is it loud (1 Kings 19:12-13), it is never discouraging and filled with shame and condemnation (Romans 8:1), and it will never conflict with His nature (Numbers 23:19;2 Timothy 2:13). As you grow familiar with His voice, you will also grow familiar with His nature. This does not mean He won’t call you out of comfort (I mean how often in scripture do we find God instructing his people to do something beyond their comfort level? Even Jesus asked to “remove this cup”.) But through His grace, we have the fruits of His Holy Spirit that provides us with all we need to endure those uncomfortable commands and His voice to lead us personally along the way. He will never forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6-8; Joshua 1:5; Matthew 28:20) while we are obeying His commands, but always provide us a way to endure (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Remain Encouraged everyone! The Father is knocking at the door of your heart (Revelation 3:20), let Him in and allow yourself to be wooed and romanced by His voice (Hosea 2:14).