Obeying from the heart is…
Prophesied in the New Covenant
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer. 31:33,34).
Fulfilled in Jesus Christ
“Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come–
In the volume of the book it is written of Me–
To do Your will, O God'” (Heb. 10:7).
“Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work'” (John 4:34).
The believer’s new spiritual DNA
“And having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Rom. 8:18).
Contrasted in this anecdote
Some of the programming instilled in me by the enemy before my salvation makes it distasteful for me to take orders from anybody. I do take them, but I still can’t say I enjoy it.
The order I distinctly remember disliking the most came at about 3 a.m. on an icy winter morning at Fort Dix, N. J. I had completed infantry basic training, and I was awaiting orders to join the American occupation forces in Germany. It also happened to be Christmas morning–my first away from home. The order was for me to report immediately to the mess hall for KP (kitchen police duty). I protested drowsily, because I hadn’t seen my name on the KP list. But the barracks sergeant shined his flashlight on the list, barked, “You Cox, Private Jimmie R.?” “Yeah,” I admitted sheepishly. “Then you got KP … swing your feet down here on the planks, private.”
What a way to start Christmas morning!
But being a slave of righteousness is not a bitter chore. Far from it. It means you find yourself obeying God’s will without having to bite the bullet. It’s what you want to do, because He has written His law into your heart.[1]
“Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord–
Your salvation according to Your word.
And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love.
My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments,
Which I love,
And I will meditate on Your statutes” (Psalm 119:41,45,47,48).
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
[1] From the devotional book by Jim Cox, Face to Face: A Daily Reflection of Your Life in Christ. It is available as a Kindle ebook at Amazon.com here. See also the devotional book by Peggy Cox, God Doesn’t Really Live in Colorado: One Woman’s Conversations with the Father at Amazon.com
Scripture quotations, title and outline added – JBW. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version (Copyright by Thomas Nelson).