Delighting In God’s Word (Part 17): Wondrous Obedience

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Psalm 119:129

Your decrees are wondrous;
therefore I obey them.

(CSB)

Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches that our salvation is a result of the grace of God and not in accordance to our works.  On the other hand, James 2:26 tells us that faith without works is dead.  These two passages of scripture appear to contradict each other and possibly what has led to the two extremes of theological thought in Christianity, legalism, and liberalism. 

On the legalistic side, the belief is that we must obey God’s Word totally to achieve salvation, in other words I obey, therefore I have salvation.  While this aligns with most other religions, we must wonder that if this line of thinking were in alignment with God’s will, why did Jesus need to come and die on the cross since the law already existed and all we must do is obey.  Those adopting this belief align with the interpretation of James 2:26 as faith coming alive through good works. 

Liberal Christianity, however, holds close to the teaching of Ephesians 2:8-9 believing salvation is a product of God’s grace.  However, they liberally interpret Ephesians 2:8-9 to mean there is no longer any need to live in obedience to the laws of the Old Testament for God’s grace covers all sins.  A balance between these two extremes of theological thought comes through a greater understanding of the truths of the Gospel. 

For example James 2:23, in reference to Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.  This clarification by James indicates that the work he refers to in James 2:26 is the work of believing God which aligns with John 3:16.  Any belief that Paul’s reference to salvation by grace means no further need for obedience is proven false by his teaching in Romans 6:15.  The balance between James 2:26 and Ephesians 2:8-9 lies in one believing God and finding salvation and then living in obedience out of love and thanksgiving for what God has done.  The Gospel is about liberation from slavery to sin and service to God through obedience to His Word (Romans 6:16).

Psalm 119:129-136 begins with the psalmist expressing a sense of wonder leading to a desire to live obediently to God’s Word (Psalm 119:129).  The psalmist then goes on to express,

1)      Understanding through revelation (Psalm 119:130) – Even though we have salvation through the grace of God, we continue to live in a world dominated by evil and sin which leads to temptation and confusion.  The solution to any confusion and power to resist temptation (Matthew 4:1-11) lies in gaining understand through experiencing the revelation of God in his Word through regular study (2 Timothy 2:15). 

2)      Fervent longing to know more (Psalm 119:131) – Psalm 42:1 compares a thirst to know more of God’s truth to a deer panting for water.  The Judean dessert of Israel is extremely dry with the largest body of water being the undrinkable Dead Sea.  Deer, any animal, or person living in the area might experience times of extreme thirst desperately seeking lifegiving water.  We should seek the life giving spiritual water of God’s Word with this same fervency. 

3)      Plea for God’s grace (Psalm 119:132) – Seeing his personal failures at living in complete obedience to the Word of God, the psalmist understands his need for God’s grace.  This provides another illustration of living dependent on the grace of God while living with a fervent desire to obey God’s Word by doing the good works it instructs us to do.

4)      Plea for freedom from sins domination and redemption (Psalm 119:133-134) – Prior to receiving Jesus as our savior, we lived lives in slavery to sin with its penalty of death or eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23).  We have an advantage over the psalmist in that Jesus has already come and paid the death penalty for our sins while the psalmist was looking forward in faith with a plea for salvation.  This is similar to our present day desire and the faithful anticipation of Christians today for the second coming of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). 

5)      Plea for God’s favor (Psalm 119:135) – God’s grace is often defined as His unmerited favor.  Our sins mean we do not deserve God’s salvation but receive it out of God’s love for us.  Once again, we see the psalmist pleading for God’s favor in light of his own personal failures.

6)      Sorrow over disobedience to God’s Word (Psalm 119:136) – Upon receiving salvation through acceptance of Jesus as our savior, we should seek to live lives of obedience to God out of thankfulness and love for what God did for us by sending His only Son, Jesus, to die for our sins.  Once we experience this great love and grace from God, disobedience to God’s Word should result in great sorrow. 

The Gospel message brings into balance the legalistic and liberal theological thoughts.  In the Gospel we encounter a loving graceful God that sent His only Son, not to condemn humanity but to save them (John 3:16-17).  However, as we study Scripture and encounter the extent of God’s love for us, we develop a desire to live lives of obedience.  The Gospel makes it possible for us to enjoy the wonderous obedience of a live of dependence on the grace of God.