What motivates you?
I’ve got one sister. Growing up in our house, when my dad said, “Jump,” we said, “How high!” Anybody else grow up like that? My dad wasn’t a drill Sargent, he loved us and still loves us incredibly well. But we had deep respect for him and me and my sister both learned at an early age that when he told us to do something, we better do it!
At an early age, the motivation behind our obedience was a little bit of fear. I have a great mom and dad. The absolute best. And they have always loved us extremely well and pointed us to Jesus in every way. But when we were little, they were not afraid to use a little fear in order to motivate me and my sister to obedience.
We don’t talk much about obedience anymore. That’s not a word you hear much in our culture.
FEAR + REWARD
I heard a story about this kid who played baseball and his coach was old school. His philosophy was, if your 10 minutes early your 5 minutes late. And if you were late to practice for any reason, you had to run laps around the field. This kid was always on time, as in… he was always at least 15 minutes early to every practice.
Except, there was one day he was late. It wasn’t his fault. He was dressed and ready. He had his baseball gear all packed up. He was in the car waiting. But his dad was running late. There was nothing the kid could have done. He did everything within his power to get to practice on time. But he was late. And sure enough, because he was late to practice, the coach made him run laps. His dad was the coach!
From an early age we learn that there are negative consequences when we don’t do what we should do or what we’re supposed to do. FEAR is a powerful motivator.
We also learn that sometimes, if we do a good job, if we get all As on our report card, we get ice cream! We get a REWARD!
FEAR and REWARD are both powerful motivators.
For some people, church is all about rule keeping. Do this and don’t do that. Maybe they grew up in a church that was all about rule keeping.
And, can we be honest, for some, they decided that if that’s what church is all about, if church is all about checking all the boxes then I’m checking out. If that’s what God is like, if He’s high in the sky waiting to catch me when I do something wrong, I’m out.
That legalistic mindset left out the grace of God.
The problem is that nobody is perfect. Everybody struggles.
So what do we do?
The Way to Live
This is where to story gets interesting. Because there is a law. There is a WAY to live that pleases God.
Sometimes we try to explain that away and we talk a lot about grace, and we should talk about God’s grace. But, God does have a way for us to live.
And by the way, it’s for our good! But the MOTIVATION behind the way we live is greater than FEAR and better than any REWARD.
In one of His greatest teachings Jesus ever gave, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about HOW we are to LIVE in His Kingdom. And what MOTIVATES the WAY we LIVE in His Kingdom.
in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus talks directly about the LAW of GOD and HOW we are to LIVE. What Jesus is saying here is really important and I don’t want you to miss it.
Jesus says…
Matthew 5:17–20
17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.
Why did Jesus come? Why did God give the law of Moses?
Jesus says… don’t misunderstand me, I did NOT come to do away with the Law of Moses or the writings of the prophets.
Every word God gave Israel at Mount Sinai when Moses received the Law, the word of God for the people of God, was good and is good and was all a part of God’s overarching master plan.
Master Plan
A few years after Alisha and I got married, we decided to buy a house. They were building a new neighborhood in an area we loved and these homes were in our price range and so we decided to do something we had never done before, build a house! And you know how this works when you build a house. Before you put up the walls you have to pour the foundation. Before you install the kitchen cabinets you have to put up the sheetrock. Before you can tile bathroom you have let your wife change her mind 25 times about which tile she likes the best. 🙂
In other words, there’s a process. This has to happen before that happens. It’s all a part of the master plan. The contractor knows what has to happen when. If things happen out of order, the house is going to be a mess. But when the right things happen at the right time in the right way, the result is something beautiful.
The Ten Commandments were and are a part of God’s overarching plan for His people. The Law of Moses didn’t fail, it served it’s purpose well teaching God’s people how to live as the people of God in such a way that they would be a light to all the nations, pointing everyone, everywhere, to the one true God. The law was good. The law is good.
Just like the writings of the prophets were/are good. The prophets called the people who broke God’s law, who sinned, who lived in disobedience, to return to God, and to return to living obediently to God’s law. The prophets also spoke of Someone who would one day come to rescue, save, and deliver God’s people.
Jesus said, I didn’t come to do away with all that, No! I came to accomplish their purpose. I’m the One the prophets spoke of and I came to show you and teach you how to live.
Jesus fulfills the ceremonial and civil aspects of the Law, and He calls us to fully live out the moral heart of the Law—love, holiness, righteousness.
Then Jesus said…
18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Right here, Jesus calls these disciples to obedience. To “obey God’s laws.”
The Call to Obedience
Why? Because: We are to be known not just for what we believe but how we live in light of what we believe.
Right before all this, remember, Jesus calls these disciples to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In that way, He taught them to:
“…let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” – Matthew 5.16
Obedience matters. How we live the life we live matters. Why? Because… when we follow the way of God our good deeds shine out for all the world to see. Because our obedience honors God. Because there is a RIGHT WAY to live.
When God gave Israel the Law, Moses told the people of Israel…
Deuteronomy 28:9–10
9 “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do. 10 Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you.
God’s LAW has always been God’s WAY of setting His people apart so they can shine and point people toward Him! God’s law was never intended to be a trap to catch people doing wrong things, but as a light pointing people toward how to live the good life!
God is the Master Builder, the Architect, He knows what you need to do, to not do, and how to help you build a good life that is full of love, hope, joy, peace, and every good thing.
But it’s not just about knowing what to do, it’s about living it out in a certain way. Listen to what Jesus says next…
20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!
What was wrong with the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees? What did they lack?
They had the law. They knew the law backwards and forwards. They could quote you chapter and verse for anything you wanted.
The Greatest Motivator
If you fast forward to Matthew 22, you get a glimpse at what they lacked that Jesus wanted for His disciples.
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
What did the Pharisees and teachers of the religious law lack? One word: Love.
What’s the motivator that’s more powerful than fear and greater than any reward? Love.
How do we live a life of righteousness that truly pleases God? Love.
Our righteousness is rooted in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We are called to follow Him faithfully in every way.
What law do you have to obey if you want to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven? It’s the law of love.
The Yard Work
When my son was around 12-13 years old, I had already taught him how to cut the grass and truthfully, I loved having his help with the yard work.
At the time, we had a pretty big yard and it just went faster if he was running the mower and I could run the weed eater and then the blower. We made a great team. But every Saturday it was a chore getting him to come outside and help me.
At one point, I sat him down and I just told him, “Hey bud. Every Saturday we do the yard work. It’s what we do. I don’t want to have to ask you to come help me every Saturday. You know we’re going to be doing the yard work. You know I need your help. I don’t want to have to drag you out of bed every weekend. And I don’t want you to help me because if you don’t, you’re going to get in trouble.
I want you to help me because you love me, and I love you. And this is what we do. We help each other because we love each other. Think of all the things I do for you, with you, I do all those things because I love you. In the same way, I want you to get to the point where you’re helping out around here because you love me.”
It was a great talk. I was really proud of myself. I thought we had a real breakthrough, a real father-son moment we would never forget.
The next weekend came and I was excited because I knew I didn’t have to go get Will out of bed. Out of his incredible love for me, he was going to meet me in the yard ready to work. Yea, that didn’t happen. 🙂
He’s 19 now. I’ll let you know when he starts voluntarily coming outside to help me with the yard work! lol!
My parenting moment may have failed, but I think my instincts were right. I think this is what God wants from us. Does God want obedience? Yes!
Is our obedience about what God wants FROM us or about what God wants FOR us? No doubt about it, it’s about what God wants for us. He knows exactly what we need if we want to live the abundant life.
What God Wants FOR Us
Does God want us to obey God’s commands out of fear, for a reward, or because of love? It’s love.
Jesus was calling His disciples then like He is calling you today to be known for how you live in light of what you believe.
He’s calling you to obedience!
If you are NOT living your life in obedience to the teachings of Jesus, I want to call you to turn to God, to return to God, to repent of your sin. When you do, you can experience the grace and forgiveness of God! His grace is sufficient for you! No matter what you’ve done or how far you’ve gone, the GRACE of GOD is sufficient for you. Come Home to God!
But you cannot earn your salvation. Salvation is a gift of God. We are saved by grace through faith. Because of that, we live our lives with gratitude. We respond in faithful obedience.
You can be motivated by fear, or reward, or… you can let the love of God compel you to live your life in such a way that others see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.
Let the love of God compel you to live your life in faithful obedience.
Be known not just for what you believe but how you live in light of what you believe.
Let’s live obedient lives fueled by love and share that love with others so that people will see our good deeds and glorify our Father in Heaven.
Jesus lived a perfectly obedient life and always looked for ways to love people. Today, could I ask you to look for people around you who need someone to see them and someone to love them. When you do, they may wonder what you believe. Over time, they’ll come to know what you believe, AND WHO you believe in, because of the way you live.
Living Like Jesus
What do we do, how do we live in light of this teaching from Jesus?
Jesus was obedient to God. He was obedient to the point of death on a cross.
His obedience pointed everyone everywhere to the great love of God. His obedience was and is the Light of the World.
Sometimes, becoming obedient means dying to ourselves. But in the Kingdom of Heaven, death always leads to resurrection and new life.
We are called to a new way of living, a new way of dying, a new way of obedience. A way that shines bright and points others to our great God and King!
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