What Does It Mean to Obey God?

What Does It Mean to Obey God?                                                   March 1, 2026

Obedience is a real teaching of Scripture.  That may seem a bit obvious, if not trite, but we do live in a world that often finds the concepts of obedience and submission too authoritative, perhaps even oppressive.  Among those who claim to follow Christ, there are discussions about the extent of the necessity of obedience.  Must one obey to be saved? Or does obedience come after  the salvation?  Does obedience constitute meritorious works?  When we say, then, that we must “obey God” or “obey the Gospel,” what are we saying?

Let’s establish that obedience is, in fact, a vital teaching of Scripture.  There are many passages to which we may appeal, but consider these:

• “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (Jesus, John 3:36).
• “And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him” (Peter, Acts 5:32).
• “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed” (Romans 6:17).
• “And to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus…” (II Thessalonians 1:7-8).
• “And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9).
• “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance…” (I Peter 1:14).

Obedience is not just a passing thought or suggestion in Scripture, but an all-encompassing concept that puts faith and allegiance on full display.  Indeed, faith and obedience are integrally tied together.  For example, the Hebrew writer points out about the first generation of Israel coming out of Egypt: “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?  So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:18-19).  Notice the parallel between “disobedient” and “unbelief.”  In other words, as James said, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).  Disobedience manifests unbelief.

When Israel was told to love God with the heart ,soul, and might, this was said in a context in which they were to obey God’s commandments (Deuteronomy 6:1-9).  If they did not obey, they could not love God.  This shows us that loving God and obedience are tied together as is faith with obedience.  Jesus said it succinctly: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments (John 14:15).

To obey the Lord, then, is to act in faith to demonstrate love for the Lord.  It is not to accept mentally what God has done for us in Christ, it is to actively demonstrate our allegiance to all that the Lord desires for and from us.  Obedience is not merely an outward act that conforms to a command as if this id to be done coldly or without feeling.  Rather, obedience is a bending of the heart, a surrender of the will, to the mind of God.  The obedient heart becomes oriented towards doing the will of God to glorify Him.  As Paul said, we are obedient from the heart (Romans 6:17).  Obeying the Lord means our hearts are all in on what God wills from us.  This is more than just an initial obedience in baptism (though this is vital); it is a commitment we make that will impact the rest of our lives into eternity.  This is not done to earn salvation, but is a recognition of and appreciation for God’s grace (Titus 2:11-14).

If I regularly ran red lights because I didn’t want to stop, then I am a lawbreaker at heart.  If I stopped at a red light because I saw a police car watching when I otherwise would have run it, then I still haven’t really obeyed as much as I have acted out of convenience for myself to avoid an unpleasant result.  While that act technically submits to the authorities, it is not from a loving a pure heart.  True obedience would be stopping at the red light even when no one is watching because your heart won’t bid you to run it.

While we would not want the unpleasant outcome of disobeying God, the truly motivated heart of obedience acts out of love and a desire to please Him.  We are not just going through outward motions corresponding to an authoritative statement; we are bending our hearts and minds toward God by drawing nearer to Him through Jesus.  We love because He first loved us, and we obey because we love God.  True obedience is a privilege for which we are grateful, not a drudgery we barely tolerate.

John put it this way: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome” (I John 5:3).                                                                                             By Doy Moyer