Levels of Obedience

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence … “  (Php 2:12, NIV)

Obedience is a heart issue. When I was a child, I obeyed my earthly father out of fear and concern of what would happen to me if I didn’t. As I got older, I realized obedience was for my own good. As I continued to mature, obeying was more a matter of not wanting to disappoint my parents. This is still not the level of obedience God has called us to.

God calls us to a higher level of obedience, a mature obedience. When I first came to Christ, I obeyed out of fear and concern of what would happen to me if I didn’t. As I got older, I realized obedience was for my own good. As I continued to mature, obeying was more a matter of not wanting to disappoint God. Eventually I came to a place where because of my love for God, I didn’t want to do anything to offend Him or hinder my relationship with Him. 

When I was a child and my father was around I would be obedient to his requirements.  f he went somewhere, maybe I would be obedient and maybe I wouldn’t. In our verse today, Paul is calling the believers to a higher level of obedience. He says “as you have been obedient in my presence, now be obedient in my absence.”

“Respond in my absence, just as you would if I was there among you.” The obedience Paul is talking about is the kind that is a “working out” of what God has “put in”. There are things that accompany salvation, and these things are to be evidenced in our lives. Not because Paul is there, or a preacher, or Sunday school teacher, or school teacher, or a policeman, or fireman, or Mom, or Dad, but because there has been a change wrought in our heart and we want to do what is right. And we want to do it not because of fear of punishment, but because of love, appreciation, and awe.

You see, God is doing something inside of us. He is giving us the desire to act in accordance with His Word. And as if that wasn’t enough, He is also giving us the ability to do the things He wants us to!  Php 2:12-13 from the NIV Bible says:

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.