Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Why Obedience Matters | Torah | Deuteronomy 4-5

Episode Date: September 22, 2022

Does your everyday life as a Christian look different than someone’s who is not a Christian? Why should you obey God? If Christians are saved by grace, do works matter at all? In today’s episode, Patrick uses Deuteronomy 4-5 to explain the importance of obedience to God. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Deuteronomy 4-5

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Patrick Miller. There was a foreign exchange student from India staying with a family in England. He intentionally chose to stay with a Christian family because he himself wasn't a Christian. He read the sermon on the Mount and he found Jesus really interesting, so he thought this might be a good chance to learn more. The family he stayed with was, in fact, in a lot of ways, very devout. They went to church every Sunday.

They prayed before every meal. He joined them for worship. Members of the family read the Bible and prayed every morning. So right now you're probably thinking, this was a transformative experience, right? Wrong. You see, the family wasn't just committed to going to church. They were committed to constantly fighting and bickering.

The husband was often unkind to his wife. He would upbraid her if the house wasn't clean when he got home. If she didn't have a meal ready for him on the table, he took it as a constant offense. The wife, for her part, was highly critical of everybody around. her. She never showed patience with her kids. Instead, she laid into them for every small infraction. And the kids, well, they weren't much better either. They said unkind things about their classmates and disrespected their parents with regularity. What about family meals? Well, they usually

ended up as gossip sessions. They talked about neighbors and coworkers and friends with delighted judgment. They loved it when a friend failed and they self-righteously pointed out their flaws. They rarely left the confines of their comfortable existence. They didn't care for the poor. they didn't volunteer their time. They didn't show concern for much of anything or anyone outside of their own house. But at least they still said prayers before dinner, read their Bibles, and went to worship every Sunday. By the end of his time with the family, that young student from India, he had read more of Jesus, and he'd found Jesus even more fascinating.

But when he saw the everyday lives of Christians, he drew an easy conclusion. Jesus was a great teacher, but he couldn't be God. Because if Jesus was God, surely his followers would live. noble lives, surely his followers would look a little bit different than the people around them. But what he saw was the opposite. The student's name was Mahatma Gandhi. He later said, I like your Christ, but not your Christianity. Imagine if Gandhi had seen something different.

Perhaps he would have become a Christian. Perhaps his nonviolent protests would have led others to Christ as well. But that family failed him. I wonder what Jesus thinks about all this. You see, obedience to Jesus isn't just a way that we express our love to him. Obedience isn't just a way that we express our allegiance to him. obedience is how we prove the reality of God to a watching world. In Deuteronomy 4 to 5, Moses calls Israel to obedience. And as you know, this is no small task.

Israel's track record is not great. In chapter 5, he reminds the new generation of Israelites about God's laws, including the Ten Commandments. But before that, he tells them why. why is it so important that they walk in obedience? It's not so that they can earn God's love in favor. He'd already rescued them from Jesus. He'd already put his love upon them. No, Moses gives them a different reason why their obedience matters. He says, other nations are watching.

And your conduct will either prove or disprove the reality of Yahweh to those peoples. Moses speaks to the people in Deuteronomy chapter 4 verses 5 to 8. See, I've taught you my statutes and rules as Yahweh, my God, commanding. me that you should do them in the land that you are entering to keep possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding and the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all of these statutes, will say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as Yahweh our God is to us

whenever we call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I have set before you today. How would the people of other nations come to know that Yahweh is the one true God? Moses tells us through the obedience of Israel. An obedient life is a life of wisdom and understanding. An obedient life is a life of holiness, righteousness, and justice. And Moses says that if Israel is characterized by obedience, they'll look radically different

than the world around them, so different that the people of other nations would begin to talk about it. They draw a single conclusion from the goodness of the goodness of. Israel, their God isn't like other gods. Their God is the living God. Their God is wise, true, good, and just. Does your life cause other people to comment? In a good way, I mean. Does your life inspire others to talk about Jesus in a good way? Or do you live in the same way as every other person in your office? You gossip about the boss and coworkers. You cut corners on projects. You complain and grumble about tasks that you don't like? Is your life the same as every other student at school?

You make fun of friends when they're absent. You worry more about your reputation and popularity than the needs of others. You go to the same parties and do all the same things. Is your life the same as as other parents? You complain about your spouse. You lose your temper with your kids. You act as though their existence. Your children is a form of oppression taking you away from all the things you want. I'm not trying to lay it on thick because the truth is that in many ways my own life doesn't look different from my non-Christian neighbors. When I see that lack of congruity, I'm encouraged that God's love is never contingent on my obedience. Jesus died to forgive my sins and his righteousness is my own. And yet, with the gift of His Holy Spirit, he calls me and empowers me to live a different

kind of life. We are not humans in the image of Adam. We are humans in the image of Christ. We are called to walk in sacrificial love, gentleness, poverty of spirit, righteousness, kindness, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, and self-control. And while there's many reasons why, this is certainly a very important one. Jesus wants the world to know him. Jesus wants us to be like lights in the darkness, drawing our friends and coworkers and family to him. So today, I want you to confess the ways your life persuades people that Jesus isn't real. I want you to seek his forgiveness and know that you have it. And then I want you to pray, Jesus, make me a light. Transform my life. Let my words and deeds be a proclamation of your wisdom, your goodness, and your truth.

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