Nike used to use the slogan, “Just do it.” It was a call for people to exercise, practice, and perform whether you wanted to do it or not. The commercials would show athletes working hard at practice and eventually having success during competition. The idea was that “just doing” the hard work beforehand would lead to the positive results on the field. From a different perspective, they were asking a question. Was all the hard work in practice worth it? Their answer was a definite yes.
Like an athlete, every Christian has to prepare themselves for the daily battle of obedience to God despite the desire to “slacken the pace” or sleep a little longer. We are called to push on despite the opposition of the world, the flesh, and the devil and perhaps even from well-meaning Christians. Instead of being afraid of the opposition, we should push ourselves to do all that God has commanded. As we do, there will be negative and positive results. But like a hard-working athlete, we need to push past the negative and seek the faithfully serve the Lord leaving the outcome to Him.
- What have Christians been commanded to do?
We should whole heartedly love God (Matt. 22:37).
When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus immediately pointed to the command to love the Lord whole heartedly. This makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it? When we love God with our whole being, we will value Him above all else and will be more likely to obey the rest of His commands.
We should study the Bible (2 Tim. 2:15).
Before sending Joshua into battle, God told him to meditate on the Bible. This was the most important part of his preparation for doing God’s will. The same idea was passed on to Timothy by Paul. He was to carefully study the Bible so as to know the truth and to be approved to God. This study would keep him from unprofitable conversations.
We should grow in godly character (2 Pet. 1:5-11).
While the Spirit develops godly character (Gal. 5:22-23), Christians must also add that character to their lives. Peter tells us to be diligent in adding virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. As these are added to your faith, you will be kept from stumbling and will have the future in mind.
We should separate ourselves to God (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).
From the beginning, God has always wanted His people to be separated to Himself. The Israelites were to love and obey Him and be His special people. In the New Testament, we are called to be holy as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:16). Paul continues that thought by calling us to see the need to be separated from unbelievers, lawlessness, darkness, the devil, and idols. Choosing to do so will lead us to holy living and the fear of God.
We should proclaim God’s truth (2 Tim. 4:2).
While evangelism and discipleship are commanded (Matt. 28:18-20), we must remember that we should proclaim all of God’s truth. Remember Paul’s example of preaching the whole counsel of God? (Acts 20:27) Proclaiming all of God’s truth is something that should be done when it is popular or not. God’s truth is designed to be presented with patience and firmness so that people will know God’s truth and be affected by it.
This list of five New Testament truths is not meant to be exhaustive. There are also commands that affect the family, work relationships, prayer, and speech. But these five commands should be considered essential to the daily life of obedience for every Christian. Each of us needs to do these things and as we do, there will be certain results. - What are the results of obedience?
We will care more about God than others.
The first result will be a change of our focus. Instead of craving the approval of people, we will focus on what God wants. Do you remember Daniel’s response when the king passed a law that nobody could pray to anyone but him for 30 days? What was Daniel’s response? He kept loving the Lord and obeying His commands.
While it is good to understand how your decisions will affect others, our primary focus must be on the Lord. When we focus on what others will think, we will be tempted to make decisions based on how they respond instead of what God desires. Remember… “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Loving God above all else will keep us headed in the right direction.
We will know God’s will.
Personal Bible study is something that will change your life. As your love for God grows, so will your love for what He has inspired—the Bible. As you read the Bible on a daily basis, you will learn more about Him and also what He desires for us. Thankfully, God is not an evil task master who only has His best interest in mind. Think back to the garden of Eden. His command was meant to benefit Adam and Eve.
Make Bible study an important part of your day. Starting your day with the Bible is a good start. But don’t let is stop there. Think about what you have read. Talk about it with others. Let God’s truth permeate your life and inform the decisions you make. This will eventually lead to a knowledge of God’s will that will help you to make wise decisions.
We will become more like Christ.
Becoming a Christian is not like arriving at a destination. Instead, it is the beginning of a journey. As you grow in your knowledge and obedience, God’s desire is that you be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus (Rom. 8:29). Since this is His design, doesn’t it make sense that we should cooperate with His plan? Allow God to change your life and actively seek to add godly character to your life.
Note that doing so will involve some difficult changes. As you seek to become more like Jesus, you will start to stand out as different to the world. They will not understand your desire to be pure and will think that you are weird. That’s okay. Your goal is not to be pleasing to the world but to the Lord. Be faithful even when others do not understand.
We will become closer to God.
Biblical separation involves personal separation from sin, ecclesiastical separation from wrong doctrine and practice, and separation from disobedient Christians. Each of these involves a certain amount of difficulty. Separating from worldliness will not be understood by some. Separation from bad religious connections seems to be isolationism. Separation from disobedient brothers seems to be unkind. While we should be concerned about other people, the primary goal is not pleasing them; it is pleasing the Lord. And if our separation leads to losing friends and offending people, we must remember that God has promised to be a Father to us. Let that be comfort us when opposition comes.
We will stand for the truth.
When we have been loving the Lord, studying the Bible, and proclaiming His truth, we will get to the point where we stand for God’s truth against any opposition. Diligent study of God’s word leads to a better grasp of what God wants and why He wants it. Knowing the truth ought to give us a strong foundation for standing for the truth.
Over the years, there have been people who have stopped standing for the truths of the Bible. They have slowly allowed for misrepresentations of Bible truths and the resultant disobedience to it. As we have learned in the Epistle to Titus, proper doctrine is always followed by a proper application in living. So, we must, as God told Joshua, be careful to observe all that God has commanded. And we must continue to stand for God’s truth no matter the opposition.
Conclusion
When an athlete first begins practice, there is a lot of struggle. Getting up early to run or exercise is not something we naturally want to do. Going to the gym after work takes time out of our schedule. There are things that are set aside for the purpose of becoming a better athlete or for becoming more healthy. But all of these struggles are worth it when the results are finally accomplished.
As you consider your own Christian life, are you willing to put up with the difficulties that you will face? As we have seen, our love for God is the beginning of the process. But it doesn’t end there. Our love for God should motivate us to obey Him and to put up with the opposition as we seek to be obedient to Him. In the moment, it may not always be pleasant. But as we look at the big picture, we will see God’s hand in our lives and can look forward to the future when we will understand that it was all worth the effort.