Obedience is the Key
John 7: 17- "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority."
Jesus was teaching in the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles and some people marveled at His teaching and were wondering if he really had the authority to say what he was teaching. His response was that if anyone was willing to actually do God's will, they would have the insight into the teaching itself. I have found that that principle is true today as well.
I think that one thing that has happened in my life, which has been a pleasant surprise since I began to focus on becoming an Obedience Based Disciple, is that I have come to actually Understand parts of Scripture that I previously did not, or perhaps have gained a deeper understanding of some parts that I may have only had an inkling of earlier. Especially the 3 Column Bible study method has impacted not only my actions (the ultimate goal) but also my understanding.
I have been a student of the Word of God for about 40 years (I started reading the Bible when I was 8 years old, and yesterday was my 48th birthday!). I have a B.A. in Bible and Theology from Lee University and a M.A. in Practical Theology from Oral Roberts University. I was in full time pastoral ministry for 25 years, 14 of those as a Senior Pastor, before launching out into full time service with WME in 2009.
My special gifting (at least I thought it was) was teaching and preaching the Word, and I really thought that I had some skill at hermenuetics. Biblical interpretation was my bread and butter.
Then just 4 years ago, I really began to see the difference between obedience based discipleship and knowledge based discipleship. To hear, understand, and obey the Word gradually became the focus of my Bible study, and not primarily to read, understand and proclaim it. Don't get me wrong, I believed in obedience and tried to practice it, but as OBD gradually replaced KBD in my life I began to see the real difference.
And the most delightful surprise has been....a sense that I am now understanding things in the Word that previously were murky to me. I am now in an ongoing 3 column study of 1st Corinthians, and as I am relating in terms of obedience to the text, not to mention seeing the instructions in the direct light of a cpm project in Honduras, I am understanding things like never before in the text. Just today as I 3 columned I Corinthians 11: 23-26, it seemed that I got a greater understanding of what the Lord's Supper had meant to those Corinthians in the 50s AD....and what it can mean to me, and hopefully soon to new believers in villages in Honduras.
And if I understand Jesus in the text at the beginning of the blog, the key is not that we perfectly perform. This is not some works based perversion of God's grace. Jesus said that our understanding is enhanced by being willing to do His will. It works kind of like this I think: I choose, set my will to obey His word > I come to understand His Word more accurately > I actually obey and implement His Word in my life.
Think how this would revolutionize many believers' lives. Think of the impact on Christian marriages, families, businesses, ministries, churches. Think of the impact of these believers in our world and culture. I am suggesting that a greater impact on our pagan American and western culture would be made by believers obeying the scriptures than by preaching at the culture.
At any rate, I am suggesting that Obedience Based Discipleship to the Bible, the Word of God, is not just a critical element of all Church Planting Movements. It may very well be the key to understanding the very meaning of much of the Word, and its living out may be the key of reaching our culture at home.
Jesus was teaching in the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles and some people marveled at His teaching and were wondering if he really had the authority to say what he was teaching. His response was that if anyone was willing to actually do God's will, they would have the insight into the teaching itself. I have found that that principle is true today as well.
I think that one thing that has happened in my life, which has been a pleasant surprise since I began to focus on becoming an Obedience Based Disciple, is that I have come to actually Understand parts of Scripture that I previously did not, or perhaps have gained a deeper understanding of some parts that I may have only had an inkling of earlier. Especially the 3 Column Bible study method has impacted not only my actions (the ultimate goal) but also my understanding.
I have been a student of the Word of God for about 40 years (I started reading the Bible when I was 8 years old, and yesterday was my 48th birthday!). I have a B.A. in Bible and Theology from Lee University and a M.A. in Practical Theology from Oral Roberts University. I was in full time pastoral ministry for 25 years, 14 of those as a Senior Pastor, before launching out into full time service with WME in 2009.
My special gifting (at least I thought it was) was teaching and preaching the Word, and I really thought that I had some skill at hermenuetics. Biblical interpretation was my bread and butter.
Then just 4 years ago, I really began to see the difference between obedience based discipleship and knowledge based discipleship. To hear, understand, and obey the Word gradually became the focus of my Bible study, and not primarily to read, understand and proclaim it. Don't get me wrong, I believed in obedience and tried to practice it, but as OBD gradually replaced KBD in my life I began to see the real difference.
And the most delightful surprise has been....a sense that I am now understanding things in the Word that previously were murky to me. I am now in an ongoing 3 column study of 1st Corinthians, and as I am relating in terms of obedience to the text, not to mention seeing the instructions in the direct light of a cpm project in Honduras, I am understanding things like never before in the text. Just today as I 3 columned I Corinthians 11: 23-26, it seemed that I got a greater understanding of what the Lord's Supper had meant to those Corinthians in the 50s AD....and what it can mean to me, and hopefully soon to new believers in villages in Honduras.
And if I understand Jesus in the text at the beginning of the blog, the key is not that we perfectly perform. This is not some works based perversion of God's grace. Jesus said that our understanding is enhanced by being willing to do His will. It works kind of like this I think: I choose, set my will to obey His word > I come to understand His Word more accurately > I actually obey and implement His Word in my life.
Think how this would revolutionize many believers' lives. Think of the impact on Christian marriages, families, businesses, ministries, churches. Think of the impact of these believers in our world and culture. I am suggesting that a greater impact on our pagan American and western culture would be made by believers obeying the scriptures than by preaching at the culture.
At any rate, I am suggesting that Obedience Based Discipleship to the Bible, the Word of God, is not just a critical element of all Church Planting Movements. It may very well be the key to understanding the very meaning of much of the Word, and its living out may be the key of reaching our culture at home.
Comments
Having said that, thanks again for your blog. You have encouraged me to continue along this path of obedience. The challenge now is that I am tempted to keep reading your blog... but for now at least I am going to log off :)