Psalm 119:2-4~Running Full Speed After Obedience

Christians know that God's Word is to be the center of their lives. We know that obedience is part of the call to follow Christ. We are not his disciples if we are not obeying his Word. But obedience is often stale for us. It is like a plate of vegetables we do not like. We know we are supposed to eat it, but we are not excited about it. What is striking about the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119, is not that all one-hundred and seventy-six verses are about Scripture. The most striking thing is how much David loves Scripture. David loves God's Word, delights in God's Word, rejoices in God's Word more than heaps of gold, and longs for God's Word. For David knowledge of and obedience to God's Word is the greatest pursuit. 

The first few verses, Psalm 119:1-4, are not a call to reluctant obedience or a casual part-time pursuit of the Word. But it is a call to have our entire lives, thoughts, emotions, interpretation of events, fears, and desires shaped by the judgments, statutes, precepts, commandments, and laws found in the Word. 

First, we are told to seek God with our whole heart (vs. 2).  There is parallelism between the two lines in verse 2.  Parallelism is where two lines of Hebrew poetry compare, expand, or contrast with each other. Here parallelism is used to compare two ideas and show that they are similar, if not exactly the same. 

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies

who seek him with their whole heart

"Those who keep his testimonies” and “who seek Him with the whole heart” are the same people. These two lines are saying the same basic message. We cannot seek God with our whole heart if we are not keeping His testimonies.  The one who keeps His testimonies is the one who is seeking him with their whole heart. Obedience to God and loving him with our whole heart are synonyms.  

Later in verse 4 the psalmist says that God has commanded us to “keep Your precepts diligently.” The word “diligently” means to keep with abundance or with much force. The word is used in Genesis 1:31 where God says all that he made was very good. It is used in Genesis 15:1 where God is Abram’s exceedingly great reward. In II Samuel 2:17 it is translated by the ESV as “fierce” in describing a battle.  One might paraphrase Psalm 119:4 as "You have commanded us to try with all our might and with full intensity to keep your commandments." 

These two verses tell us that knowing God's Word is not sufficient. Even trying at times, occasionally to obey is not enough. Ours should not be the obedience of a casual religious observer or Sunday only believer nor an obedience that reluctantly listens and after much persuasion obeys nor the obedience of a dog being drug on a leash or a child whipped into submission. We are to obey with our whole heart.  We are to search the horizon for ways to obey. Obedience is a treasure. Obedience is glory. We are to run after it full speed. 

We sell ourselves short in our sanctification. Maybe we do not want to look like legalists.  Maybe we don't think we can see victory over the sins which besiege us. Maybe we just love our sin too much.Whatever the reason, it is wrong. God has not called us to sluggishly obey his commands when we feel like. But rather he has called us to obey all his commands with a heart fully devoted to him. This was David's desire in Psalm 119 and should be the desire of all who follow after the One who is greater than David. 

Do Not Confuse Morality with Righteousness

I John is heavy on obedience. Frequently John tells us that if we claim to know God and believe in Christ then we must obey God's commandments (I John 2:4, 3:22, 5:3).  When we read these verses we often think of being moral. We think of not getting drunk, refusing cuss, not fornicating or being generally a nice person.

But John has a different idea in mind. For him righteousness, obeying the commandments of God, means conformity to Jesus Christ. We see this specifically in two places, but it is woven throughout the epistle. In I John 2:6 John says that anyone who says he abides in God must walk as he walked. Anyone who claims to be a Christian must walk as Jesus walked. In John 3:7 he says that he who practices righteousness is righteous just as he is righteous. Righteousness is defined by Jesus.  This is important for us because there are many good people in the world. There are Muslims, Mormons, and atheists who all live clean, moral lives. They are faithful to their wives. They do good in the community. They are hard workers. So if we define "righteousness" as good clean living then there are a lot of pagans who fit.  The Bible however defines righteousness as Jesus. There will be some overlap of course. There are many things good people will do or not do that correspond with righteous living.  But there is a world of difference between being moral and being righteous.

A Righteous Man Worships God

Perhaps most important is that righteousness is about worshiping God. Being righteous means we obey the first four commandments.  We have no other gods, except Yahweh. We do not worship idols. We do not take his name in vain. We rest so that we might worship him. It is impossible to be righteous without worshiping God. Perhaps this is why I John ends the way it does (I John 5:21).

A Righteous Man Believes in Jesus Christ

In I John 3:23 John commands us to believe on the name of Jesus Christ. A man can be good in some sense without trusting in Jesus, but he cannot be righteous. He cannot be obedient to God if he does not believe in Jesus Christ. Belief in Jesus Christ is the foundation of a righteous life. Without faith in Christ a man is not righteous. By the way, this also means that a righteous man calls upon others to believe in Christ.

A Righteous Man Confesses His Sins

John begins his letter, which is so heavy on obeying, with a reminder that we are sinners and we need to confess our sins (I John 1:8-2:3). Confession of sin is essential to righteous living. A righteous man wants to be more like Christ. When he isn't he repents of his sins and flees to the Advocate (I John 2:1). Here again is a great dividing line between good, moral living and being righteous. Moral men do not confess their sins. They may admit they made mistakes and did something wrong, but they do not confess that they have sinned. Righteous men do.

A Righteous Man is Concerned about His Heart, Not Just His Actions

Morality is concerned primarily about outward behavior. Now, we must be careful here, a righteous man will be concerned about outward behavior. Learning to be more like Christ and confessing our sins when we aren't will result in concrete action. We cannot just be righteous in our hearts. This is clear throughout the whole Bible. Even if we only look at Ephesians 4:25-5:7 we see that we shouldn't lie, steal, fornicate, sin in our anger, etc. Anyone who defines righteousness as primarily internal is going against God's Word. But when we define righteousness as primarily external then we sin the other direction. We are equating morality with righteousness. A righteous man knows that failing to love is like murder (I John 3:14-15). Murder is murder, but so is hate, which is internal. A righteous man knows that lust is adultery (Matthew 5:28). Adultery is adultery, but so is lust. A righteous man knows that coveting is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5). Idolatry is idolatry, but so is coveting. The righteous man understands that who he is on the inside matters as much as what he does on the outside.  A moral man does not understand this.

Taking all of these together we  can see that righteousness, as defined by the Bible, cannot be equated with good, clean living or being moral. There will be some overlap between the two, especially in certain outward actions. But righteousness is vertical.  It requires worship and belief in  God and His Son Jesus Christ. Righteousness is conformity to Christ. It requires confession when conformity is lacking. Righteousness is internal. It requires an inner spiritual life that focuses on movement of the heart and mind toward God, as well as what we do with our hands, feet, eyes, and mouth.

Morality is not righteousness. When John tells us that we need to obey the commandments of God we need to see a picture of Jesus, not a picture of a good, upstanding, moral citizen.

Love and Obedience in John's Writings

The relationship between love and obedience has a checkered history in the life of God’s people. On one side are those curmudgeons who furrow their brow and yell "Obedience." On the other side are those soft men who whimper, "All we need is love." In between are most Christians who spend their days bouncing between love and obedience. In this post I want to show how John weaves together these two ideas,which we so often pit against one another. At the end I will draw some conclusions from these texts.

I focus on where John uses the word “command/commandments,” which is ἐντολή in the Greek.

We don't begin with our obedience, but with the obedience of our Lord. Jesus obeyed the commands of the Father because he loved the Father.  In John 10:17-18 Jesus says that he lays down his life according to the Father’s command (charge in the ESV). Because he lays down his life the Father loves him.  In John 12:44-50 Jesus says he speaks whatever the Father commands him to speak. He also says that the Father’s command is “everlasting life.” Finally in John 15:10, Jesus says that he has kept the commandments of the Father and therefore he abides in the Father’s love.

There is much more that could be said. But here we see the link between the love of the Father and the Son and the obedience of the Son to the Father. In the relationship between God the Father and God the Son there is both love and obedience. There is a love between Father and Son that fuels obedience and an obedience from Son to Father which fuels love.  Therefore we should not be surprised that John emphasizes these same ideas in our relationship to the Father and Son and in our relationships with each other.

Jesus tells us that if we love him we will keep his commandments. If we love Jesus and show that love by keeping his commandments we will also be loved by the Father (John 14:15, 21).  He goes on to say in John 15:9-10 that if we keep his (Jesus’) commandments we will abide in his love, just as He abides in the love of the Father. (See also I John 3:24).  If we keep the commandments of God we abide in the Father.  I John 2:3-4 adds another layer by equating knowing God with keeping his commandments.  We see here that loving God and Jesus means keeping the commands that they have given to us. By keeping his commands we abide in them and in their love. By keeping his commands we know that we know God. Three of John’s favorite words, loving, abiding, and knowing, are linked here with keeping the commandments of God.

Her are some other verses which show the interplay between love and obedience in John's writings.

Several verses tell us exactly what it means to obey the commands of God. 

1. Love one another (John 13:34, 15:12, I John 3:23, I John 4:21, II John 5).

2. Love God (I John 4:21).

3. Believe on the name of Jesus Christ (I John 5:23).

4. Walk in the truth (II John 1:4, implied).

We can also see that love is consistently defined as keeping the commandments.

1. How do we know we love the children of God? We love God and keep his commandments (I John 5:2)

2. The love of God is that we keep his commandments (I John 5:3)

3. Love is walking according to His commandments. (II John 1:6)

Here are a few other verses that expand on the nature of the commandments we have been given. 

1. Just like Jesus we have received commands from the Father. This is everywhere implied, but explicitly stated in I John 3:23, 4:21 and II John 1:4.

2. The commands of God are not burdensome (I John 5:3).

3. The commandments of God are linked to what pleases him (I John 3:22).

The upshot of all this is that loving the Father, the Son, and our neighbor is linked with obedience to the commands of both of the Father and Son.  Love and obedience are virtual synonyms in John’s world. Paul says something similar in Galatians 5:14 where he says the law is fulfilled by loving our neighbor.

Here are some points to draw from these texts.

First, love for and obedience to Jesus go together. In the life of Jesus love for the Father led to the obedience of the Son. So as imitators of Christ our love leads to obedience as well.  I would add here that there is a fake obedience, which does not flow from love. There is also a fake love, which never leads to obedience. Hopefully, I will expand on this in the future. 

Second, the love God has for us implants in us a love for Jesus, which ultimately leads to a desire for and growth in obedience to God’s commands. My point here is that God's love for us precedes our love for God (I John 4:7-10). Our obedience is a gift of love given by God. We do not earn God's love in any ultimate sense by obeying Him. We love because we are born of God. We obey because we are born of God. We do not obey to be born of God. 

Third, obedience to God includes believing in him, loving one another, and walking in the truth. Obedience includes doctrine, relationships, and ethics. 

Fourth, we cannot love our neighbor without first loving God. We cannot claim to love God without also loving one another. Jesus' love for God led to his sacrificial love for us. In the same way, our love for Jesus leads us to sacrificial love for one another. If there is no love for our brothers then there is no love for God. If there is no love for our brothers there is no obedience to God.

Finally, love begins in the heart and mind, but does not remain there. Love for God and neighbor will lead to a life that shaped more and more in concrete, practical ways by the Word of God. 

Obedience is the Door to Joy

Reformation begins with a Spirit-given desire to submit fully and completely to the Scriptures. It does not matter whether this reformation begins in the home or the church or in the community. Sitting humbly under the Word is an essential ingredient.

In my home one of the ways I have worked towards reformation is by getting my children to obey me. This is not easy in our culture where both authority and submission are despised. By getting my children to obey, I am learning to obey. But as with any good thing there are dangers. One of the great dangers of teaching my children to obey is to view their obedience as the goal instead of the means to a greater goal. The Westminster Shorter Catechism very succinctly names the goal we should have in life:

Question: What is the chief end of man?

Answer: The chief  end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. 

In a delightful phrase that I, unfortunately, just found, The Belgic Confession says that God is the "overflowing fountain of all good." (Article I) The goal is enjoying God, not obeying him. Now, you cannot have joy without obedience. But it is possible to have a type of obedience that does not lead to joy. It is possible to teach our children to obey without ever leading them through the door to joy.

Do we teach them to obey so they might enjoy the goodness of God? Do we view obedience as a door to a mansion where all the rooms are filled with the wonders of God or do we view it as the last stop on the train? Is teaching our children to obey a way setting them free or a way controlling them? Let me use the dinner table and bedtime as examples of what I mean.

At our table we have rules. These are not written in the Bible, but they are "house rules" that my wife and I have set up for our table. If I was going to use a Bible verse to justify these rules it would be Ephesians 4:32, "Be kind to one another." Manners at the table are a way of being kind. Some of these rules are: wait until mom and sisters are seated before the men sit, chew quietly, do not interrupt, do not eat with your fingers (with exceptions for pizza, fried chicken, and PB&J), etc. The point of having and enforcing these rules is not just to keep our children under control. These rules make our table a place of joy. (Needless to say it does not always work out this way.) We sing at the table. We tell jokes and puns. We tell stories. We listen to stories, even from the littlest ones. We ask questions. We discuss world events and events in our homes. We learn what our children are thinking and what they care about. None of this is possible without obedience. But obedience is not the goal. The goal is joy around the table.

Bedtime is the same way. I do not make my children obey at bedtime so I can simply say, "Bedtime" and they all snap to it. I teach  my children to obey at bedtime so we can pray together, talk a bit, maybe sing. In other words I teach them to obey so we can end the day enjoying God and each other.

The goal in all of life is to find great joy in God, his people, and his world. Obedience is a door to this goal, but it is not the goal itself. To stop and sit in the door of a great house would be an insult to the master of the house.

Here are three questions to consider:

First, are you teaching your children to obey? Do you know that by allowing them to disobey you are keeping them from enjoying God and this world? Disobedience brings bondage.

Second, you parents who are trying to get your children to obey are you leading your children to joy through obedience or are you sitting in the door examining the hinges? Is your house filled with joyless obedience? If you have obedient children, but no joy then neither you nor your children are being obedient, no matter how well they listen.

Third, parents how do you view your own obedience? Do you view obedience as a means to enjoying God? Or do you view obedience as the end, the goal itself?