Now that’s the standard. As a child, I remember well all the times I heard that phrase. My mother’s family was a family of large steel contractors who built commercial brick and metal buildings. There are very few churches and schools in my hometown that don’t have the “Adams” or “Pro Builders” plaque somewhere on the grounds. The standard of workmanship, technique, work ethic, and tool quality was always reinforced to me in my youth. One particular example was the popular brand of plumbing fixtures named “American Standard.” By name, that particular sink or toilet was the standard in America. It was considered the best, whether it was beside the point, they claimed they were, so the professionals that trusted in that claim made them a household name. The standard is that which everything else is to be measured and compared. It is the best experience, ideal, example, or quality of something.
Obedience has always been a part of my life. As a child, I was taught that obedience was connected directly to love and fear. If one has a love for an authority, they will desire obedience and ‘pleasing’ that individual. On the other hand, if one has fear of that authority, they will obey out of a desire to avoid the consequences. So, my question for today is, “What is the standard for obedience when it relates to obeying God?”
First, let me make clear that the STANDARD is absolute perfection without which one will never see the Lord apart from His wrath. So, we have the open statement that Jesus the Christ is the standard of obedience in His humanity because only He is perfect. To fail in following the command of God in any way, no matter how small, makes one guilty of violating the glory and holiness of God. Therefore, one must recognize that there is NO SUCH thing as obedience to God in a manner that satisfies God’s demands and, therefore, there is no obedience from any human (apart from Christ) that makes Him pleased with them.
Now, to the point. Apart from the perfection of Jesus Christ, who is the next best thing? That is my question to people constantly when they come for counsel from feeling the pressure of pleasing God while time and time again are unable to obey fully. For example, many come to me desiring for their internal thoughts and emotions to be more Christ-like, while others are just unable to obey the simple aspects of the Christian faith like being in a local assembly of believers under the direction of the Lord’s word through elders. Others are unable to forgive, and others are just so caught up in trying to please God that they have created their own set of laws and live by them very well. As I ask them to show me the standard, each of them is quick to answer Jesus. To which I reply, “Why do you try to be God?”
This, of course, startles them. But in reality, this is exactly what we are trying to do when in any part we think we can come close to the glory of God in perfection. Now, some people have been quick to then accuse me of being an antinomian, which in itself proves they are not in the love of God nor do they understand the gospel of grace. And in essence, they hate the rebuke that all of their “holiness” or “obedience” is worthless. It saddens me to see people stuck in this type of thinking, but if they are not regenerated, there is little to be done to help them see. Thankfully, God teaches that He will open the eyes of His people in His timing through the hearing of His word. So, I rest in the assurance that the Lord will do what He wishes with His people, and I am only a voice for Him. Sola Deo Gloria!
So, back to the standard. Let’s review a few of the immovable saints of old and see how they compare and see if we actually desire to be like them:
- Adam & Eve. Well, we know they were righteous and perfect without sin and depravity, and they couldn’t last a day in the garden with Satan. So, we’ll leave them right there. They didn’t have a good standard of obedience to God.
- Cain. What? Why him? He didn’t have obedience to God…. yes, he did. He offered the first fruits of his labors with all the trimmings. The only difference is he thought of his offering as sufficient because it obeyed the rules given by God when he actually hated God, evidenced by his continued measurement of his righteousness by his own standard; the law! He obeyed better than almost everyone I know in life over four decades already, so there’s that.
- Noah. Well, he wasn’t the patriarch of obedience as most consider him. After all, while he had faith in God, his justification was not granted him by his works as God produced the works unto His own glory in Noah. And then there’s the drunkenness…. “That’s only one thing,” people argue. Well, how many of you would look down on your deacon or pastor if it were known they were getting drunk? I rest my case. Noah is not a standard of obedience to God at all.
- Abraham. Really? Where did he ever obey God? For thirteen years after God saved him and gave him the promise, he walked in obscurity, lying and making excuses for his own benefit. But all the while, he never trusted in himself but always believed God would be his hope, even when he didn’t live as though he believed it. Abraham never really showed himself the standard of obedience.
- Moses. Nope. He started out as a murderer in the plan of God and didn’t want to “go.” But God worked in him all that was necessary for God’s redemptive shadow of true salvation; the Gospel of Grace.
- David. Please. Obedience to God was not on his radar most of the time, yet, he was a “man after my own heart…” – God.
- Oh, let’s talk about Elizabeth and Zachariah. What about John the Baptist? What about the disciples?
- Peter. Nope. Peter’s obedience to God was wishy-washy. Hardly ever not fueled by a fleshly zeal.
- PAUL! He’s the one! No, he isn’t. Paul was a murderer, a lost and hopeless cause, yet he obeyed the law perfectly, even in his murderous heart he was justified by the law he understood! Paul is not the standard and never will be.
Let’s not work to be like the Apostles; as a matter of fact, let us not work at all to be like anyone, even Christ! That may rock many of you, but in reality, that is the truth of the Scripture. While we may emulate and copy from time to time the nature, heart, and mind of Jesus, we will never be like Him until He takes us unto Himself. Being obedient to God is not about perfection, though that is required of us, it is about faith.
Our striving and living here is to be in a manner worthy of the calling (effectual call of regeneration) that we have been given, of course, but it is not a call that leads us to continued slavery in sin, especially the sin of self-assurance, works-fruitfulness, and most of all, legalistic and judgmental worthlessness. When we fall prey to this way of living, we no longer live by faith, and then we begin to measure other people by our standards and not the standards of God and His merciful grace. Obedience to God is required of every man, and obedience to God is impossible for every man.
We become jaded and find fault with others, thinking we are doing better than them in their walk with Christ. We find ourselves measuring spiritual leaders with a stricter judgment than prescribed in Scripture, and in practice, we blindly become God in our own minds. I personally believe those who live in this manner, by the evidence that they refuse to hear of the grace of God coupled with their hatred of the brethren, are most likely unregenerate. Let’s be certain that we are not counted in that number. Rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Let the word of God dwell in you richly so that you may fulfill the perfect work of God by believing only in the name of Jesus Christ!
In closing, we need to realize that obedience is not fully obedience. It is never satisfactory, and it is never to be measured by the standards of culture and personal righteousness. If anyone wants a measure of life without discipline, let it be seen that we believe in the finished work of Christ, that is, the gospel of God, who saves His own people from His holy wrath. Let us remember that we are given the Spirit and thus the mind of Christ, and we will love the brethren through teaching and encouragement toward love and good deeds for the benefit of the body of Christ. So often, people disfellowship over their version of the law, and when doing so, we must be patient, loving, kind, and gentle while holding fast to the finished work of Jesus as our assurance, hope, and life. Let the Lord’s discipline work in His people; we are not God. Those who do not see were never His, and to that, we pray God will grant them repentance and life so that He would be glorified in our unity, love, worship, and hope! Amen.