THE GOSPEL THAT CALLS FOR OBEDIENCE

There is a tendency among men to admire the gospel without submitting to it, to speak well of Christ while holding back from full surrender. But the Word of God does not present the gospel as a thing to be merely considered. It is a message to be obeyed.

The apostle speaks plainly that the Lord will return in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9). This is not the language of suggestion. It is the language of divine authority. The gospel is not only heard. It is obeyed.

And yet, obedience is not a cold transaction. It is the movement of a heart awakened by grace. When the soul sees Christ as He is, bearing sin, extending mercy, calling sinners to Himself, something begins to break within. The will, once stubborn, begins to bow. The heart, once distant, begins to draw near.

Jesus said that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom, but the one who does the will of His Father (Matthew 7:21). Here the line is drawn clearly. Words are not enough. Emotion is not enough. There must be a yielding of the life to the authority of Christ.

So the question is not whether a man has heard the gospel, but whether he has obeyed it. Has he come to Christ on the terms Christ has given? Has he laid down his own way to walk in the way of the Lord?

For Christ does not call us to admire Him from a distance. He calls us to follow Him, to die with Him, and to rise into a new life where He is all.

BDD