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What motivates our obedience to Christ?

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If we are going to get anything right, let us make sure it is the gospel! Paul echoes this mantra throughout his letter to the Galatians. Martin Luther echoed the same sentiments when he championed the doctrine of justification by faith during the first years of the Protestant Reformation. When we meditate upon these wonderful truths of the gospel, our hearts should overflow with joyful praise. Too often, we err on the side of making the gospel more about us, and our work, than it is about Christ and his work.

Paul exhorted the church in Galatia:

“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
(Galatians 3:1-3)

Let us remember what motivates our obedience to Christ—the gospel. The gospel is always worth learning, always worth relearning, always worth remembering, and always worth repeating to others. Consider these words from Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington:

Paul repeatedly declares that the cross is his sole source of glory. He states, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). And so it is clear that Paul personally and profoundly identifies with Christ’s crucifixion. Furthermore, he reveals that a response of gratitude for Christ’s love, as demonstrated at the cross, is the compelling motive for a justified sinner’s subsequent obedience:

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
(2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

These words do not mean that the believer suddenly ceases sinning the moment his legal union to Christ by faith takes place. No justified sinner has ever immediately become experientially sin-free. The cross is not a mere first step toward spiritual development; it is the all-encompassing foundation for Christian growth. The cross does not mystically infuse spiritual life or experiential sinlessness. Instead, it first provides forgiveness of past, present, and future sins, and then it becomes a means of the deliverance by which we are freed from bondage to sin. As Paul affirms, “[Christ] gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age” (Gal. 1:4a).

By tying the transformation of the believer to the cross, Paul makes his point abundantly clear: everything we need for life and eternity is provided by virtue of Christ’s great atonement.

(from The Great Exchange, by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington, 2007 Crossway Books. The Great Exchange is currently a featured resource at the BLB Bookstore.)

Comments

    • Understanding the gospel is to understand grace, living in graciousness to your fellow man in view of Gods mercy. Not being a fanatical pragmatic activist.

  2. “everything we need for life and eternity is provided by virtue of Christ’s great atonement.” …Tell it again!

    GALATIANS 2:20
    I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

    Romans 4:25
    Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

    Romans 6:10-11
    For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

    :o)

  3. I think that the reason most people including so called Christians are not motivated to obedience to Christ is that the actual gospel of the bible the true gospel of the true risen messaiah Christ Jesus who is the propitiation for our sinfulness and utter offence to God, is rarely presented in its fullness. As long as people are unaware, indifferent, and in denial of their condition of depravity, they will continue in a lukewarm path very much like the church of Laodicea.

  4. The real difference between a “faith Christian” and a “religious Christian” is based on their foundation.
    The “religious Christian” is a follower, based on his knowledge of the laws and head-knowledge of the scripture.
    The “faith Christian” is a follower, based on his knowledge of the laws with the head-knowledge of the scripture, led by the Holy Spirit and an unfathomable love for Yeshua the Messiah.

  5. Shall we say the gospel has come too cheap? Shall we say that God is not too active in persuading us to obey Him? In all, one thing is certain: God has not changed. But one thing I think is wrong with us Christians today, is that we have given room for too many distractions. We apparently have considered the gospel of the kingdom an outdated idea. We have replaced the gospel with motivational speech in most cases. We have bent over repeatedly to please our audience’s itching ears. Unless we return to our first love however, we remain endangered.

  6. Because of his great love for us, he willingly laid down his life. He died to himself so He could die for us. Just think. What if Christ decided to be selfish? There would be no savior, no hope, no life. In knowing that, it brings me to my knees in repentance and desire to love him and my neighbor more!

  7. To provoke thought and in hopes of coming to a better understanding of truth I present the following bit of scripture. Luke 9 v2 “He sent them to preach the kingdom of God” v6 they went out “preaching the gospel”, the kingdom of God and the gospel go hand in hand here. Following his command to preach the gospel Christ in v21 says “tell this to no one” concerning v22 “The Son of Man must suffer…be killed, and be raised…”concerning His crucifixion. Later in v44 Christ again mentions His coming death and in v45 “they did not understand”. Later in Luke 18:33 again He mentions His death, and again in v34 “they understood none of these things…” concerning His death, which is “the cross” or atonement. The article above presents “the cross” as the gospel, but it shown in Luke that the gospel can be preached without understanding the atonement! Comments?

    • Great question Jason.

      Yes, it has provoked thought. As I understand it, the disciples were being obedient to Christ in preaching the “good news” although they didn’t have complete understanding of what all of that meant.

      They didn’t really understand until Christ was glorified after the Resurrection and when after they received the Holy Spirit (Jn. 20:22)

      At first his disciples didn’t understand these things. However, when Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and that people had done these things to him. (Jn. 12:26)

      But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (Jn. 14:26)

      Blessings to you

      • I will suggest that the gospel is not “the cross”. While the atonement makes the gospel possible, it’s focus is on The Kingdom of God. Christ being the means and the king over the kingdom is a essential piece of gospel, but as seen in the preaching efforts Acts 1:3 Acts 8:12 Acts 19:8, Acts 20:25, Acts 28:23, Acts 28:31, the Kingdom is what is being preached. This is the Kingdom which will fill the whole earth, as described in Daniel and throughout scripture, Gal 3:8, Num 14:21, Rev 11:15, Luke 11:2, Psalm 37:9, Psalm 37:22, Isa 45:18, Isa 2. The good news is that as corrupt and as far gone as this world seems now, our Father is going restore it to peace and perfection through the Lord Jesus at His return Acts 3:21.

  8. In Deuteronomy 21:18, the word ‘son’ used in this passage, at what age is this referring to? I was told as young as 5, but reading the context the child would have to be older. About what age?

  9. Deuteronomy 21:20 says that the son is glutton and a drunkard, so at least late teens, I would think older though. The word son “ben” does not have any connotation of youthfulness, simply meaning an offspring or descendent.