Throughout the Bible we see that the true believers, the true Christians, are the ones who obey

One of my favorite concepts for producing editorial lessons is the use of a word or a phrase from the Bible and then draw a lesson from them.  Today, it’s a word - “obey.”  I think you’ll find this word not only interesting, but very meaningful as it relates to God and us.

First off, when we’re using this concept, it’s important that we know the actual meaning of the word as it’s used.  The dictionary defines “obey” as to mean “to comply” or “to follow a command.”  Roget’s Thesaurus shows us that it’s interchangeable with “to heed, to keep” or “to comply with.”  When we consult a concordance we find that in Hebrew it means “to pay heed” and in Greek, “to submit, as to authority” or “to conform to the rules.”

Throughout the Bible we see that the true believers, the true Christians, are the ones who play by the rules.  And, they recognize who makes the rules of salvation.  We’re going to look at a few illustrations that I think will make our point.  Our first illustration is one that many people have a great interest in and it provides us with an easily grasped understanding of our study word “obey” - sports.

Which sport?  Well, really any of them.  Whatever your preference it doesn’t matter because the principle remains the same.  Why do I say that?  Because all of the participants have rules to follow.  Here’s some examples of various sports and rules infractions.

In baseball, a balk by the pitcher results in a penalty.  If you like football, offsides will result in being penalized.  In tennis, a let, or a foot foul, results in a penalty.  Or, like many of us who like golf understand that if you hit your ball out of bounds there is a penalty to pay for doing so.  By now, I’m sure that you get the idea.

All of them have rules to abide by AND all of them have judges of those rules.  There’s umpires, referees or arbiters of some sort.  Why?  To see that the rules are followed and that they are applied equally to all.  Here’s another question: Why is that?  Because we don’t like to see someone getting away with breaking the rules.  Of getting some sort of preferential treatment.  And I can personally attest to that.

As a police officer, I was tasked with enforcing traffic laws.  In many of my traffic stops for violations of traffic laws the driver was upset because they were caught and others didn’t get caught.  But, other drivers wanted the guy who ran the red light in front of him to be caught and cited, but wanted me to give them a pass.  One of the things all police officers come to know is, that many people want the rules applied to everyone but themselves.

Let’s go to the world of religion for our next illustration.  There are people who believe that a “loving God” won’t condemn a “good” person to hell.  Of course, in their definition, a “good” person is like being a good citizen.  Of not being a “bad” person, a criminal.

Also, many of the religious world believe the false doctrine of “once saved, always saved.”  In light of our topic word, think about it for a moment.  It’s like they’re saying “I once obeyed the rules so, if I break them now, I’m exempt from any penalty.”  Pretty easy to see the falseness of that belief, isn’t it?

Then, you hear others say that God is a “just” God and He won’t punish “good” people.  In my view, they’re misunderstanding the meaning of the world “just.”  They seem to think that it means “lenient.”  In the Bible, when it refers to the word “just” as applied to God and Christ, it means “righteous” or “equitable.”  It does not mean a form of leniency.  Or any form of Gospel rule exemption or preferential treatment.

The bottom line of our thoughts today is: God wrote the rule book - The Bible.  As such, God is the arbiter (the Judge) of the rules.  He is the umpire, the referee, or any other title that applies to those enforcing the rules.  And, he applies the rules equally to all.  There is absolutely nothing in His Word that says certain people have an exemption from the Gospel - the rules for salvation.

Plus, He is the ONLY arbiter.  There’s not going to be any “replay cameras” or any “appeals court” to hear your excuses.  The prophet Isaiah says: “.....There is no God else beside me, a just God and a savior, there is none beside me.”  (Isa. 45:21)

One final thought and then we’ll close.  Man has no authority to pick and choose which rules he wants to obey.  They apply equally to all and will be applied equally to all by the righteous Judge.  One short illustration: Many years ago I was a young employee of a large company.  I didn’t like doing one of the tasks assigned to me and was pretty lax in performing it. 

The boss called me into his office and advised me of my violation of “his” rules.  To the best of my remembrance, here’s what he told me.  He said: “I’m the boss.”  He then pointed toward his office wall and said, “Those are my rules on the wall.  When you’re the boss, you can put your rules up.  Until then, you’ll abide by mine.”  Trust me, I got the message and did what I was supposed to do whether I liked it or not.

In other words, since I didn’t make the rules, I had no authority to choose which ones I wanted to abide by if I wanted to keep getting a paycheck.  Spiritually, the same thing applies to all men equally.  We don’t make the rules and if we want to be rewarded with eternal salvation, we have to abide by the ones God has “put on the wall.”  The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 2:9 that we’re to be “obedient” in “all things.”

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Covey

Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Revelation 18 describes the fall of Babylon. Who is this Babylon? Obviously, it’s not the Babylon we read in the book of Daniel. Many think it is Rome. But since when did Rome become unfaithful to God? She has never been a faithful city. Read Revelation 17:5: “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Read the book of Hosea. God’s faithful city, which is Jerusalem, had committed harlotry.

Babylon is Jerusalem! And the context shows that Jerusalem is referred to in this prophecy.
Verse 2: “Babylon the great is fallen.” The Roman Empire did not fall until 400 years later. The war was in Palestine. The fall of Jerusalem is in Christ’s prophecy (Matthew 24). Jerusalem fell in AD70.
Verse 3: “Her fornication.” Rome never committed spiritual fornication. But Jerusalem did.
Verse 4: “…come out of her, my people.” Rome was never God’s people. The Jews were told to flee Jerusalem: “Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains” (Matthew 24:16).
Verse 8: “…she shall be utterly burned with fire.” The only city that was burned to the ground was Jerusalem.
Verse 19: “… and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.” Christ said Jerusalem shed the blood from righteous Abel to Zechariah and it shall be required from that generation (Matthew 23:35, 36).
Verse 21: “Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.” Christ said of Jerusalem: “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2).
Verse 24: “…in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints.” Jesus said of the Jews: “Ye are the children of them which killed the prophets” (Matthew 23:31).

Note verse 4: “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
                                                       
Come out of her, my people – The reasons for this, as immediately stated, are two:
(1)  That they might not participate in her sins; and (2) That they might not be involved in the ruin that would come upon her. It is a warning for us today too. We are commanded to come out from those who work unrighteousness (2 Corinthians 6:17).

Ye be not partakers of her sins - When we have fellowship with liberal and false teachers, we become partakers of their sins. John also wrote concerning fellowshipping those who are false teachers: “For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2 John 1:11).

That ye receive not of her plagues – Those who preach a different gospel will be condemned in the Day of Judgment (Galatians 1:6-9). Those who follow them will follow them in the destruction.

Time and time again, we have been commanded not to have fellowship with false teachers. We are even told to reprove them (Ephesians 5:11). To reprove is to expose and then to correct. The apostle John writes to admonish these saints to be careful of the association and fellowship given to those who are unwilling to abide in the doctrine of Christ. He further instructs them that if any come to them and refuse to follow the doctrine of Christ, they are not to be received nor welcomed with greetings normally extended to one another (2 John 1:9-11).

Brethren, there is a price to pay for staying with liberal brethren who teach falsely. Are you willing to pay the price? Is it worth? You have been warned: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Revelation chapter 19 and 20 bring the climax of the Book of Revelation: Victory in Jesus. We see a multitude in heaven praising God for judging the great Harlot and avenging the blood of the martyrs (v.1-5). We also see the marriage supper of the Lamb (v.6-10).

In the midst of the celebration, John sees a white horse with Jesus riding out on it. He is called Faithful and True (v.11), the Word of God (v.13), and “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (v.16). And the armies of heaven, all arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed Him on white horses (v.14). John sees the final judgment of God on the beast and those that worship his image; they were cast into the lake of fire (v.18-21).

We are introduced to the fourth beatitude in the book of Revelations in verse 9: “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

It is always exciting to receive a wedding invitation. It is even more exciting if the wedding is your own. To some of your guests, the day may be of relatively minor importance. But for the bride and groom, it is a unique and special day in their lives for it marks the consummation of their love.

We have come toward the end of the violence, cries, bloodshed, darkness, death, and judgment that have characterised the book of Revelations. Now, we are seeing light and rejoicing: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready” (v.7).

His wife hath made herself ready - I observe that in any wedding, the bride is the one busiest with the preparations. While the groom can sleep until the sun shines in his room, the bride is up at three in the morning getting her hair done, her makeup done, and her gown ready. The groom just needs to brush his teeth, comb his hair, put on his suit and pants, and he is ready to go, all within fifteen minutes. And, when he reaches the wedding venue, there his bride is, standing there beautiful, and ready to walk down the aisle with him. I doubt if there is a bride who is not ready by then.

The church is the Bride of Christ. The wedding day has arrived. Is the Bride ready? Am I ready? Are you ready? God never said the journey to the altar would be easy, but He did promise it would be worth it: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).

The apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:2: “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” The word “espoused” means “to give one in marriage.” Christians are given in marriage to Christ at their conversion. The wedding is held in heaven. Paul is seen here anxious that all who are espoused to Christ should be presented pure at the wedding. We recall that Joseph intended to call off the marriage when he learned that Mary was pregnant (Matthew 1:18, 19). That’s because he suspected his wife-to-be of unfaithfulness.  Likewise, anytime we give our hearts to something other than God, we are committing “spiritual adultery” during the period of our engagement. How then can we be a chaste virgin at the wedding?

John sees the saved with Jesus in “white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean” (v.14). White and clean linen on the Bride signifies her purity. Paul wrote: “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesian 5:27). We must keep ourselves pure for the wedding.

Is your garment white, clean, and spotless when Christ comes for His Bride?