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Obedience Is Not Optional

15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? ROMANS 7:15, 18-19, 21-24 NLT

If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning. ROMANS 14:23 NLT

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. PSALM 66:18 NIV

For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. EZRA 7:10 ESV

RESOLUTION #2: OBEDIENCE IS NOT OPTIONAL

HOW CAN I GROW IN TRUSTING AND OBEYING GOD?

OBEY QUICKLY

I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands. PSALMS 119:60 NLT

That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, 8 don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. HEBREWS 3:7-8 NLT

OBEY FULLY

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. JAMES 4:17 ESV

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. JAMES 2:10 ESV

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! ROMANS 7:25 NIV

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. ROMANS 8:1-2 NLT

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. HEBREWS 4:16 NLT

OBEY BY ASKING FOR GOD’S POWER

Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. PHILIPPIANS 2:12-13 NLT

And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. EZEKIEL 36:27 ESV

[Now may God] 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. HEBREWS 13:20-21 NIV

My Notes

Discussion Questions

Choose a couple questions from each section to discuss and reflect on the sermon as a group:

  1. START HERE: What’s something you know is good [e.g. exercise, eating well, getting enough sleep, staying connected with people] but you still put off? What gets in the way?
  2. START HERE: When you hear the word “obedience,” what comes to mind? What about obedience to God feels different from being disciplined or following rules?
  3. KEEP GOING: Read Ezra 7:10 ESV and Psalm 119:60 NLT. What do these passages say about the connection between knowing God’s Word and obeying it? What helps you move from knowing the truth to taking real action?
  4. KEEP GOING: Read Romans 7:15, 18-19, 21-25 NLT. What do you notice about Paul’s struggle between wanting to do what is right and doing it? How do you relate?
  5. KEEP GOING: When you know God is asking you to do something, which of these keeps you from obeying quickly and fully: fear, comfort, distraction, wanting control, uncertainty, or something else? Why is that?
  6. KEEP GOING: Read Philippians 2:12-13 NLT and Hebrews 4:16 NLT. What would you need to believe about God to rely on His strength rather than struggle to obey on your own? How does remembering God’s grace for you change your approach to obedience?
  7. LIVE IT OUT: Identify one area you sense God inviting you to obey this week. What does doing that quickly and fully look like? Who will you invite to help you resolve to do it?