I certainly feel that intentional obedience brings me closer to the Lord than blind obedience.
Yes, there are different levels of obedience, just like there are different levels of faith.
We are taught that faith starts with desire which blossoms into hope and belief, and if we nurture it, then that seed can gradually grow into a strong testimony of conviction.
There's many different reasons for obedience, and they can be put on a scale of motivation:
¹• obedience done out of fear of punishment
²• learned obedience formed out of habit taught by parents or society
³• transactional obedience for the blessings, benefits, and rewards
⁴• obedience performed as a responsibility of duty, obligation, and faith
⁵• faithful obedience as an expression of love and gratitude
The last motivation, obedience done to show our love for the Lord, is the most desirable reason we should be obedient. However this reason requires an understanding of the gospel, knowledge and trust in the true character of God, and a strong testimony. It's an obedience that we all strive for by nurturing our faith in Christ and his Atonement, because it's the type of lasting obedience that will truly shape our nature.
Imagine living as a celestial being and being forced to live in obedience for an eternity because you're NOT doing it out of natural love. That's not heaven. That's torture. We are here on earth to use the Atonement of Christ to literally change our nature from the natural man to heavenly.
Now, just because the last motivator is the goal, doesn't mean that the other motivators are worthless. Obedience is obedience. As the first law of heaven, God will not withhold his love and blessings for his children, who are obedient regardless of their motivations. The other motivators are stepping stones. We are not meant to linger on them because they are not meant to last. They're there to help propel us forward while we continually work on our testimonies. They give us supplemental reasons to follow the commandments and give God opportunities to shower us with blessings from obedience when we aren't ready for the lasting true motivator yet.
What is "blind" or "unquestioning" obedience? If you give a child a command, do you want them to fully understand all your motives before they obey? Does it mean the obedience is conditional upon how the commanded understands the command?
When Thomas doubted the Lord and then saw Him, Christ taught "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." When asked by an angel why he made offerings, Adam said "I know not, save the Lord commanded it." Belief and obedience take a similar shape here. Many seek signs in order to believe, wanting first the witness prior to the expression of faith. But that is contrary to the nature of faith itself, which is a choice, and one based on hope, not sight.
Similarly, obedience, in a way, has to be a little blind. If we wait to obey until we first understand the entire commandment, having an inmate personal agreement and desire to follow it, our obedience then turns toward the self. And obedience to the self and obedience to God are very different things.
Just like we receive "no witness until after the trial of our faith," obedience, which is an act of faith, cannot be born from understanding alone. It is often through obedience that the understanding of the commandment is delivered. Obedience is a very important law and as such is one that, as a concept, is often ridiculed by the world. When the world calls us sheep, they mean it as an insult. When the Lord calls us His sheep, it is an expression of love.
If the Lord God gave me a commandment, I hope I would have the faith to follow it as blindly or unquestioningly as I needed to to see it done.
Atonement of Christ Jesus for all
The atonement of Christ refers to His sacrificial death and resurrection, which reconciles humanity with God by paying the penalty for sin. This act allows for forgiveness and the promise of eternal life for those who believe in Him.
Understanding the Atonement of Christ
Definition and Purpose
The Atonement of Christ refers to the sacrificial act of Jesus, where He suffered for the sins of humanity. This act is essential for reconciling people with God, allowing for forgiveness and eternal life. The Atonement addresses both the effects of the Fall of Adam and personal sins of individuals who repent.
Key Aspects of the Atonement
Aspect ~ Description
• Universal Redemption ~ All people will be resurrected due to Christ's Atonement, regardless of their actions.
• Personal Accountability ~ Individuals are responsible for their own sins but can be forgiven through repentance.
• Christ's Sinlessness ~ Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, making Him the only one capable of atoning for the sins of others.
• Suffering and Sacrifice ~ The Atonement occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane and culminated on the cross at Calvary.
Theological Significance
The Atonement is central to Christian theology. It emphasizes God's justice and love, as Jesus willingly took on the punishment ( death) for humanity's sins. This act satisfies divine justice, allowing believers to be forgiven and restored to a living relationship with God.
Conclusion
The Atonement of Christ is a foundational doctrine in Christianity, representing the means by which humanity can achieve redemption and eternal life through faith in Jesus. It highlights the importance of repentance and the grace offered through Christ's sacrifice.
ATONEMENT “at-one-ment”
A number of important words are used in the Bible that speak of the way sinners are made right with God. Salvation, justification, forgiveness, and adoption are several words used quite often, and most people probably have an adequate understanding of them because they are used in non-theological settings as well. Atonement is also an important word, but many people probably have little understanding of what it means since it is almost exclusively theological. A popular definition is that atonement is “at-one-ment”; in other words, it is the way that we are made one with God when we used to be alienated from Him by our sins. At the heart of the matter, that is correct. Atonement was, at one time, not a theological term but simply a common term that meant “reconciliation” and could be used of the transaction between any two parties. Over time, it took on a more exclusively theological meaning.
The word translated “atone” literally meant “to cover,” but in the Old Testament, it appears to have taken on the theological meaning of “to take away.” Even today, we can use the word cover to mean “take away”: if a person says, “Let me give you $20 to cover the bill,” this does not mean that debt will be merely covered or hidden or “swept under the rug” but that it will be paid and the obligation removed.
The word atonement is used over 100 times in the Old Testament, primarily in the Pentateuch, and it is usually in the context of a sacrifice, either a blood sacrifice or the payment of a certain amount of money. The idea is that a person or thing is unclean due to sin or some other defilement. Then, with a payment or sacrifice, atonement is made for that person or thing, and it is now holy or acceptable.
Under the law, atonement could be used to cleanse objects. For instance, one must make atonement for a house that has been cleared of mold (Leviticus 14:53).
More often, the idea of atonement concerns cleansing a person who has sinned or become defiled in some way: for a woman after childbirth (Leviticus 12:8), a leper who had been healed (Leviticus 14:18–19), or a Nazirite who had broken his vows, even accidentally (Numbers 6:11). The most common uses of atonement have to do with sacrifices for an individual sinner (Numbers 5:7–9), a group such as the Levites before they perform temple services (Numbers 8:12), and even the nation as a whole. Leviticus 16 explains the Day of Atonement when the sins of the whole nation are dealt with by a sacrifice.
The word atonement only appears in the New Testament once, in the KJV translation of Romans 5:11; however, the concept is found throughout. In 1 Corinthians 15:3, Paul says that a central truth of the gospel is that Christ died “for our sins.” Likewise, Galatians 1:4 says that Christ gave Himself “for our sins.” Before the death of Christ, our sins separated us from God. After His death for our sins, we can be reconciled to God. Just as on the Day of Atonement the sins of the nation were transferred to the sacrifice (Leviticus 16), our sins were transferred to Christ, and He “bore our sins in his body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24).
Because of the sacrifice of Christ, we can be saved, justified, forgiven, and adopted into God’s family. No single word can adequately summarize all the blessings we have in Christ. Even though atonement is not used in the New Testament, it is clear that atonement in the Old Testament is the background for the sacrifice of Christ for sinners.
Romans 5:11 ~ “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”
The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the most important event in history. Through His Atonement, Jesus Christ offers resurrection to all and eternal life to those who obey His gospel.
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What does the Bible mean when it talks about the flesh?
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TL;DR:
The flesh can sometimes just mean our bodies, but it also means living for self and for what is contrary to God. In the Bible, we are called to live by the Spirit, not by the flesh.
what does the bible say?
In both the Old and New Testaments, "flesh" often represents the inclination of living for self instead of in obedience to God's will. In Genesis, humanity's corruption led to divine judgment, highlighting the inherent sinful nature of fleshly desires. Prophetic passages like Isaiah 40:5 contrast human frailty and God's eternal glory, urging us to rely on God’s strength over worldly pursuits. In the New Testament, Paul elaborates on this theme, describing the flesh as opposed to the Spirit—a state where selfish desires conflict with spiritual obedience. His writings in Romans and Galatians emphasize the struggle of living according to the flesh versus surrendering to God's guidance through the Holy Spirit, ultimately pointing believers towards finding freedom and fulfillment in Christ's redemptive power.
from the old testament
Sometimes flesh just refers to our bodies. In Genesis 2:24, flesh emphasizes the intimate union between husband and wife, where they become one.
Genesis 6:12–13 uses flesh in referring to the corruption of humanity that led God to bring a flood to cleanse the earth of all flesh, due to widespread violence and wickedness.
Isaiah 40:5 is a prophetic verse declaring that all humanity ("all flesh") will witness the glory of the Lord when it is revealed.
In Jeremiah 17:5–6, Jeremiah pronounces a curse on those who trust in human strength ("makes flesh his strength") rather than relying on God. It contrasts the consequences of trusting in human power versus trusting in the Lord.
from the new testament
From a biblical perspective, the flesh is "that which is contrary to the spirit" (see Galatians 5:17). The flesh and the Spirit are two opposing forces that exist within a believer. The Spirit is just that—the Holy Spirit. The flesh is the part of a believer that disagrees with the Spirit. The makeup of a believer is different from that of an unbeliever, in that an unbeliever does not have the Spirit of God indwelling them. In the case of an unbeliever, the flesh is in agreement with the spirit of that unbeliever.
Paul says "our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin" (Romans 6:6). What Paul is describing when he says "the body of sin" is the flesh.
When a believer's old self, sometimes called the "old man," is crucified—by this Paul means brought to faith in Christ, in His redemptive work on the cross—the Spirit indwells the believer, and a "new man" is created. A "new self" with a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17). This new nature, or new man, is now in conflict with the flesh, because the new man is on the side of the Spirit.
Paul famously describes this conflict in Romans, chapter 7, saying "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out" (Romans 7:15–18). Later, he says "I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:22–25). Again he mentions here the "body of death" by which he means the flesh.
One of the most difficult habits of the flesh to break is one that Paul addresses repeatedly in his letters: the tendency of the flesh to attempt to gain heaven by law. In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he reminds them that "a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ" and again that we have been "crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:16, 20). He says, "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose" (Galatians 2:21) This is confusing because of the many laws and rules that the Bible presents. From the law of Moses to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we see the standard of perfection that God requires. The flesh responds by saying "I can do that" and attempting to obey, despite the obvious fact that none of us can achieve perfection. But the flesh is deceptive. Of the Pharisees, Jesus said "in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7). Why did the Pharisees invent new laws? Didn't they have enough to contend with following the Mosaic law? They had too much to contend with, and they knew it! So, they created alternate laws that they were able to follow. This is the work of the flesh.
implications for today
We need to take John's advice and come into the light, admitting sin, holding fast to God's forgiveness and Christ's substitutionary righteousness, so that we can be freed to live according to the Spirit (1 John 1:7–9). When the Spirit is in the lead, the flesh takes a backseat and we have peace (Romans 8:5–6). But none of that can be accomplished unless we first admit that we cannot obey God's ways in our own strength. We uphold His Word, and His law, as perfect, and a representation of God's nature. We strive to walk in His footsteps because when we do, we have peace (Romans 6:6). But, we still must accept two things: obedience to law will not get us into heaven, and disobedience to law will not exclude us from heaven. Salvation is only possible by God's grace through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:1–10). There are sins that will destroy your relationships with others, and sins that will destroy your body. There are sins that will wreak havoc on your career and land you in jail. And, once you are in Christ, there are sins that will rob you of sleep, of peace, of joy. But when you are in Christ there is no sin that you can commit that will make God let go of you (Romans 8:1–4). "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38).
In the Bible, "flesh" refers to both our physical bodies and our sinful inclinations that oppose God's will.
The New Testament portrays "flesh" as the internal struggle between selfish desires and obedience to God.
Through faith in Christ, believers experience a transformative process where their old sinful nature ("the flesh") is crucified, and they are renewed spiritually to align with the Holy Spirit, thereby walking by the Spirit and not the flesh.
How do you discern between living according to the Spirit versus yielding to fleshly desires in your daily life?
In what areas of your life do you struggle most with the tension between following God's will and gratifying your own fleshly desires?
Reflect on Romans 7:15–25. How does Paul's description of the inner conflict between the flesh and the Spirit resonate with your own experiences?
Why is living in the flesh such a danger?
How can we practically distinguish between actions driven by the flesh and those led by the Spirit in our decisions and interactions?
Considering Galatians 5:16–26, what are some strategies or practices that can help believers overcome the works of the flesh and cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in their lives?
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