I'm in a hurry. I'm impatient. I must have been "born that way" because I've always been this way as far back as I can remember. Mom was always hurried. To raise seven children a good mother had to scurry all day! Perhaps I'm hurried because Mom was so hurried.
When I'm shopping with my wife, I am always way ahead of her and seem to walk backward ten minutes for every minute I move forward. Even in retirement I ask myself "What's the hurry?" My answer "I must have been born in a rush!"
Impatience and haste carry over into my driving. At last count I've had forty-some speeding tickets. Most of the time I wasn't even in a hurry, I was just impatient! When driving at excessive speeds I have at many times, not only endangered me, but also my family and even strangers in other cars. Those hurt in my haste were victims. Haste is not a victimless behavior.
There are laws against speeding and reckless driving. Speeding is reckless in that others are endangered! If I drive safely by obeying posted speed limits I am obedient to the law and empathetic to others. Posted speed limits have built-n safety values such that most people, if obeying all speed limits, and by defensive driving are striving for "perfection". Even by striving, being humans, people fail and accidents occur. God made perfect systems for us to inhabit, but the woes of life diminish the effectiveness of the system! By law even violations of speed limits on accident are still violations!
One day I decided that I had broken the law too many times. My insurance was getting high, no canceled, and I was suffering the consequences of my disobedience. Most of my speeding was on purpose and even when I wasn't hurrying, I exceeded the speed limit in my passivity. Speeding had become normative behavior for me. My lifestyle was one of disobedience. I had an accident one day where I jeopardized the life and safety of my only daughter. I had a "peak experience". I recognized it was time for that change I had thought about earlier. (I had several "warnings" from God and my attention was finally caught.).
I pledged to myself that I would change; not because I enjoyed driving slowly, but because I was tired of the consequences! I disappointed those in authority and my rebellion hurt no one, but me!
There are two ways to change: 1) Do it on my own the way I see it, or 2) Ask for divine assistance in making changes. If any person opts for the first choice failure is eminent because humans are frail, selfish and prone to disobedience. If one opts for choice two, success is assured! Now, let's look at "success". To be successful one doesn't need to be perfect, but by endeavoring to be obedient in all things, failure is still likely, but the frequency less often. Although, we still fail, we please those in authority because we are using self-control.
Many just say to themselves "Why should I change? I like things just the way they are!" People with selfish attitudes are candidates for failure. Since they seek only self-desires, and selfishness is at odds with authority, they are in disobedience and are doomed to many failures. Since there have been no attempt to please authority, perfection can never be approached, let alone attained!
Enough of the lesson on driving! Let's apply this to "righteousness". Being righteous is doing what is in God's will with God as our model. Paul tells the Roman church of this transformation:
Romans 12:2 "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
"Transformation by the renewing of your mind" is "change". As a new person in Christ you should have had that "peak experience", recognizing that your new goal in life is obedience!
Matthew 19:7b "...if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."
John 14:21 "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."
It is clear that those who love God keep his commandments. This is not optional! It's a display of love and respect for God who made a way for you to be saved! Keeping the commandments is obedience. It's living a righteous life. It's sanctification.
Some with Calvinistic beliefs, even single-point Calvinists, don't see the necessity in following what was once The Law because Jesus came and now we're under a covenant of grace. Thus we are, but grace is not a ticket for disobedience and salvation is more than a moment of faith. Salvation is a walk in faith!
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God..."
Ephesians tells us how any can be saved. It's by grace, we can't save ourselves and salvation is a gift of God. Calvinists minimize "through faith". Faith to them is merely a decision made at the time of repentance. It's mere belief. However, faith is endurng, continuous steadfast belief in Jesus Christ. It's not feeling bad for a church service and then walking in darkness. Christians walking in faith are required to be obedient, not because obedience saves them, but to please the One who died for them!
I hope that I have established satisfactorily that "obedience" is a good thing! It's not an endeavor to save yourself by "good works". It's evidence of Christ living in you. We are admonished to be "perfect" in scripture:
Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
We are to be "perfect". What's the standard of perfection? By being as God is! We are to be God-like and do his will. He is our role model and that is to be desired! Will we ever achieve perfection? Just as obedience to safe driving laws, we fail because we're imperfect by nature, as Christians we will fail to be in perfect obedience. Shall we give up and not even try? Not any more than we should quit trying to drive safely! We suffer the consequences of our disobedience and we disrespect authority by not heeding to those in charge. In the case of "perfection" that authority is God himself!
2 Corinthians 7:1 "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
From Paul's second letter to the church at Corinth we see that WE "us" are to "to cleanse ourselves"! This is more than ceremonially cleaning up our outward flesh, but expunging the "filthiness of the flesh and spirit". We are to meld our physical body to be in harmony with the spirit of God now residing in us! Sin and God cannot inhabit the same temple which we become after salvation. We are to be holy (without sin) because we fear God! Fearing God is reverence for who he is, not because we're afraid he'll give us our just deserves; which is eternal punishment!
2 Corinthians 13:8 "For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9 For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection."
Paul's wish for us that we be in perfect obedience to the will of God! That's what God wants and expects from us. In civil law we have police, courts, jail and driving school. Although the law pretty much states that in order to avoid penalties we are to drive perfectly, they know that some will make little attempt at obedience and that others will strive daily to obey all the laws, but because we're human, we too can fail. Likewise, God has "just laws". If he knows that we're striving for obedience his mercy to us is that he will overlook our imperfection, making us perfect is his gift of grace. However, to obtain Christian perfection, we must realize that we'll never attain it, and the forgiveness of us missing the mark is by the grace of God. He makes us perfect in our self-control because he's omnipotent and can do so!
No, salvation is more than accepting God's grace. It's thanking God! We thank God by living a righteous life, endeavoring to be perfect although we'll never achieve that standard. By failing to obey even the easiest standards of God, where are our standards for things of the heart? If we can't even quit using bad language, where can our love of man be? Where is our love of God? If we quit cursing and talking filth, that doesn't save us, but it does show that we're truly redeemed!
I've appeared in court before. I've had the judge say, in essence, "Yes, Larry, you are guilty of speeding. I know that you were tired and absent minded. I see that you have made a change in your past driving habits. I will suspend your fine, but take this as a lesson. You must always stay alert and obey the law. It's for your own good and obedience to the law is not an option!".
That's the way God is! The judge knew the standard of law is "perfection", but he knew my limitations because I'm not a perfect person. He accepted my striving as reverence for the desires of the law and redeemed me by being graceful! That's just like God!
Please, don't sin just because as a Christian there is liberty do do so! God's desire is perfection. You won't achieve it, but he loves you for the attempt at self-control!
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