WHO OBEYS

DISCIPLE - banned from this planet

Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. - John‬ ‭15‬:‭14‬

There is a lot to learn about mainstream evangelicalism from contemporary Christian music!

I remember hearing a song by a Christian band a year ago and the chorus of the song simply repeated over and over, "We are free to fail"
- Josh McClellan

Our problem here in the church in America is not that we aren't willing to acknowledge our failure.

In some ways, we have even exalted and glorified failure in this culture.

We speak of our sinful imperfections. We speak of our disappointments. We speak of not living up to the expectations that we should. We speak of failure. These ideas we are not afraid of. We admit them readily. We even find some degree of comfort in them.

Our problem is we are actually unwilling to call all of this "failure" what it truly is. The Bible presents us with a picture of two kinds of people. Obedient and disobedient. In reality, all of our imperfection is rebellious disobedience. This of course sounds far more offensive. It has no positive ring to it. Why do I have to go and make everything sound so negative? . . . the goal is actually to sound more biblical.

The reason we find disobedience so repulsive a thought is because of what it implies. Disobedience implies having been given commands. And we definitely don't like that in this culture. How dare anyone give commands or orders. We prefer a God who gives us some goals and some encouragement, but no commands.

Disobedience also implies accountability. We are responsible to someone for our actions. We definitely don't like that either in this culture. How dare anyone tell us what we should or shouldn't do.

Disobedience implies authority. It assumes that someone has the right and power to command us. At the risk of becoming monotonous, this idea simply won't do in our culture either. We exalt personal autonomy and freedom. Not submission or surrender. There are few things more revolting in this culture than the notion of authority, at least any external authority.

Finally, disobedience implies consequence. When we disobey, we receive a consequence, or punishment (or discipline for that matter). In a culture of victims, this simply isn't fair either. There is always someone else to blame for things. I shouldn't be held responsible, so I shouldn't have to face a consequence.

. . . few of us go through our days with even the slightest inclination that the way in which we are living out our lives is simply a question of whether we are living obediently or disobediently toward God and the commands He has given us to live by. We're certainly willing to admit to falling short and failing. Yet few of us wish to call it what it truly is: disobedience.

We would do well to maintain a biblical view of human sinfulness, even the sin that occurs after our conversion. And if we claim ignorance, when God's Word is readily available to us, we really only prove that our rebellion is of the lazy variety. Let us call our "failures" or "shortcomings" what they are. And let it challenge us to pursue obedience more passionately than we might otherwise.

TO THINK / TALK / WRITE LIKE THIS ONE MUST EXPECT TO BE ISOLATED, SHUNNED, SCORNED . . . banned from the planet !

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