Missing the point, that’s what it is. There are many very religious people around, they usually identify themselves. But in their religious profession, something is obviously missing to the onlooker and that something is obedience.
In 1 Samuel 15:22, the prophet was talking to a king who was very religious, but disobedient to God. “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice.”
Attendance at public ritual and religious ceremony is good if it is based on a lifestyle of obedience. Participating in community religious programming certainly can be helpful, if it is backed up by obedience to the word of God.
But you can’t divorce the two: if you do, one negates the other. For instance, in 2 John, verse 6, the Bible says, “and this is love; that we walk in obedience to his commands.” All religions tend to talk about love and it can be made to sound very spiritual, but if love for God isn’t validated by obedience to God it is worthless.
This is very important in dealing with new converts to Christianity. Jesus said a part of the disciplining process was to teach them to obey everything he commanded. (Matthew 28:20) He would be there watching them and available to help them obey.
God’s commands are not irksome or burdensome (1 John 5:3) so the desire to obey should flow naturally from the Christian’s life.
The church and the faith have gotten a bad name in many areas because obedience has been put in a secondary place. Jesus once asked, “Why do you call me Lord if you are not going to do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)
Faithful obedience to the commands of god proves our faith and assures our Father that he can use our lives and he can trust us to obey.
“We sing about trusting and obeying, now we need to remember that song
when we are outside the Worship Center. Strengthen us! Amen”
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