Practical I
There is nothing so humble, nothing so steady, as obedience.
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In all cases, and under all circumstances, gifts or no gifts, obedience is the path of the Christian—the path of duty and blessing.
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Obedience is the only rightful state of the creature, or God would cease to be supreme—would cease to be God.
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The only rightful position of the creature is obedience; upon this hangs all the order of creation—on this hang sin and righteousness. (1 John 3:4.) The definition of sin is lawlessness, doing one’s own will. “He that doeth the will of God, abideth forever.” (1 John 2:17.)
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This was the critical point of the first Adam’s standing and blessing: “Thou shalt not eat.” (Gen. 2:17.) He did eat and was ruined.
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Precisely the opposite was found in the blessed and perfect Saviour— “I delight to do thy will, O my God.” (Psa. 40:8.) “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me.” (John 4:34.)
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Obedience was the principle on which He acted in temptation. “It is written” (Matt. 4:4) was His reply.
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The object of obedience may be in question, but self-will is always wrong!
Obedience can be swerved from in no instance without breaking through the first and only principle of accepted relationship to God; it is the only exercise, save praise, of life to God.
Self-will is never right. Obedience to man is often wrong—disobedience to God.
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The gift of knowledge is founded on the spirit of obedience; for what does it avail to confer gift on the disobedient, unless God should provide for His own dishonor?
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The man is become as one of us, to know good and evil. But oh! what a store of accompanying evils and ruin come in upon the act of disobedience founded on this devil-used truth.
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Of the principles of it (obedience) we have an illustrious instance in Samson and his history. (Judg. 16:17.) There might have seemed little connection between long or uncut hair and all-overcoming strength: but God was in it; and an obeyed, honored God is a God of strength to us.
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The order of God to Christians is, not obedience upon blessing, but blessing on obedience: not to wait for blessing in order to obey, but to act on the command, and the blessing follows. And this is faith. There would be no faith if the blessing came first.
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On the whole, the scripture is plain, as the principle is uniform—that obedience is the way of blessing; and that we are not to wait for power to obey a command but to obey it that we may find power. (Matt. 12:3.) The Lord did not restore the hand that he might stretch it out and show it, but ordered the man to stretch it out that it might be restored. And this is true in all possible cases.
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The operation of the Spirit is to make us obey. There is no owning the Spirit but in obedience: and all our efforts are so far profitable as they are within obedience. God’s prescribed order; and all that without is the energy of our own will, and is evil.
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To lean upon tradition is to prove that we have not His commandments.
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