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Day 13: Sin, Love and Obedience (Bonus Lesson 2)

Sin in its simplest form is disobedience. The first action of man labeled sin was that he did something contrary to God's command. From this we can deduce that the opposite of sin is not moral excellence, the opposite of sin is obedience. Obedience to God's command. Our focus as believers must go beyond moral excellence to a life of obedience to God.


There are 3 types of obedience Mike Bickle mentioned in His study guide for the Song of Songs:

        1. Fear-based obedience:

This is obedience motivated by the fear of negative circumstances or consequences. It is usually short-lived. Fear cannot help you overcome sin or truly please God because fear is not of God. Fear is the devil's strategy to keep men bound. Both believers and unbelievers alike.

        2. Duty-based obedience:

It is obedience as recognition of our responsibility to God. It's simply doing the needful or expected. Obeying when we don't feel God's presence or feel like it. Every believer must have a sense of duty to God. It will keep you disciplined but this shouldn't be the primary reason for your obedience. When duty alone is the motivation to obey, it eventually leads to the fear of not being good enough.

        3. Love-based obedience:

This is obedience motivated by love. Jesus our Beloved King did not die in a sense of duty to God but as a show of sacrificial love. He said that as the Father loves us, He loves us, and so does He. When Jesus told His disciples in John 14:15:

    "If you [really] love me you will keep and obey my commandments." (AMP)

Jesus was not only saying that obedience is proof of our love for Him, but He was also saying the strength and ability to obey come from loving Him.

Of all the three types of obedience, love is the strongest, most consistent, and most reliable of all. The temptation to experience the pleasure of sin is usually more powerful than fear of punishment. Where there is fear of punishment, sin thrives. Our hearts must be satisfied in God's love for us, else, we will continue by default to seek false satisfaction from the pleasures of sin. According to 1 John 4:18, only God's perfect love can cast out fear.

When the woman broke her alabaster box and anointed Jesus' feet, some grumbled because it was a waste to them. Jesus however had this to say about her act in Luke 7:47:

    "...to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."

The Orthodox Jewish Bible puts it in a better way:

    "...he who is accepting forgiveness only a little, has love only a little"

Jesus was saying it's not about how much God forgives, it's about how much forgiveness we receive. Many drown in guilt and condemnation because they haven't truly received forgiveness, or received it in the same measure God gave it. God's love covers a multitude of sins. If we will receive it in reverence and surrender to Him, that love will empower us to live a life of obedience.

If you truly have a revelation of what Christ did on the cross, it will awaken love for Him in your heart. When you challenge sin and negative habits from this standpoint, they will indeed have no hold over you.

PRAY WITH ME:
I declare today that I am not bound by fear. I receive a revelation of God's perfect love from this moment and fear flees from my heart in Jesus' name. Amen.

REFLECT AND ACT:
  • What motivates you to live in obedience to God, is it fear, duty, or love?
  • Meditate on Romans 8:15 as you go about your day:
   "And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!”

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