How to Obey God

Co-authored by Olivia Woodford

Last Updated: April 30, 2024 Approved

This article tries to address the issue of how to obey God. It focuses on why people don't obey God, why you should, why you can't and what will help you to do so.

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Understand that everybody in this world has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Roman 3:23). No one is righteous before God (Romans 3:10-18) and even our "righteous deeds" are like filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore, at this point, all hopes of YOU obeying God should now be crushed.
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You are now crushed under God's law and see it's impossible to obey and so it's safe to continue. The question you will be wise to ask is why can't anyone obey God fully? The reason is Genesis 3. Read the whole thing. Then read Romans 5:12-21. Basically, our first parents, Adam and Eve rebelled against God and all creation was cursed as a result, and also as a consequence, we inherited a sinful nature which hates God, hates His commandments and weirdly tries to impress God by scantily obeying His commands.

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Now that you know why you can't, the next thing that will help on this quest is to know why you should. God is going to punish ALL sinners, which includes you and me. However, the definition of sinner is one who doesn't obey God's commandments. You know you should because God will punish sinners.
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Having established the above, God knows the above and when our first parents rebelled, He promised that there was a person to come in future to destroy the Serpent (read Genesis 3!) This person is Jesus Christ, who is God (Isaiah 9:6-7). He is our Savior! He died for all sins, all the SINS of every single human who has ever lived and is living and will live! 1 John 2:1-2 And He did this willingly because God loves us (John 10:17-18 and Romans 5: 6-11)
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You should know God loves you and is your Savior. Being just, all sin has to be punished and punishment taken by the sinner or Jesus Christ who willingly chose to atone for ALL sins. Therefore, you receive this gift by believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior and submitting to Him as your Lord. This is a gift from God and even believing is a gift from God. All who believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sin will be saved (John 3:16) but all who disbelieve are condemned already (John 3:36)
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Finally, repent of your sins and if God wills, if you believe, He would have changed your heart and you will "bear good fruit" naturally. In the past, it was easier to do sinful things, conversely, when God changes your heart , it comes naturally to do good things.

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I have a lying problem. If I pray and confess my sins every night, will I go to hell?

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In addition to confessing and praying for forgiveness, the best thing you can do is pray for the strength and wisdom to overcome your lying problem.

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What does it mean to read His word?

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Read the Bible. If you do not have one, they're pretty much everywhere so you should be able to locate one fairly easily.

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What is the meaning of obeying God?

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It means listening and following Him even when it's hard.

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Tips

God already loves you and you don't need to "earn" his favour!

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Confessing your sins daily, repenting against yourself and knowing God loves you and has forgiven your sins daily. Read 1 John and Romans.

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Visiting a Bible believing, a Jesus and Gospel filled church, a truth loving church and person loving is a great way to learn more about God and meet to people to encourage you.

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Warnings

Don't keep track of your good deeds as if you're earning brownie points with God

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If you sin, RUN to Christ. Don't go feeling sorry for yourself. Don't waste time! Remind yourself that Jesus died for your sins. Read Romans 5 and 1 John 1.

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Stay away from churches that always emphasize on things you should be doing more than what God has done for you

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