262. The Lord looks at the heart: To obey is better than sacrifice.
29 March 2022
“The Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 15
22 But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
The Lord Rejects Saul as King
1 Samuel 15
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel:
11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
18 “And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’
19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”
20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king.
21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
From christianity website/wiki/bible/what-does-samuel-mean-when-he-says-obedience-is-better-than-sacrifice.html
Charles Spurgeon wrote in 1866, “It is no new thing for Christians to know their duty, to have their conscience enlightened about it, and yet to neglect it.”
What are those duties we might neglect? Certainly, we need to obey whatever God has told us in His Word that we ought to obey. “Is there one passage of Scripture which you dare not look in the face, because you are living in neglect of it?” Spurgeon asked. “Then let Samuel’s voice come to you, and set you seeking for more grace; for ‘to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.’”
Seeds of rebellion against God’s Word and will are in every heart, and we must root them out (Rom. 3, Rom. 8). God gives us many explicit commands. Our sacrifice of time, talents, and treasure will not substitute for obedience. Oswald Chambers said, “The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you work up occasions to sacrifice yourself.”
Del Fehsenfeld Jr., founder of Life Action Ministries, said, “Partial obedience, delayed obedience, and surface obedience to impress others are not acceptable to God. He is looking for men and women who will respond with instant, complete, wholehearted, and joyous obedience each time He speaks.”
What Does Obedience Look Like for the Unbeliever?
There is at least one command given to unbelievers in this dispensation—“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” … “This is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son, Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:31; 1 John 3:23). “To trust in Jesus… is God’s first and great commandment of salvation,” Spurgeon said.
How might Samuel’s statement apply to the unbeliever? Most people, instead of trusting Jesus for salvation, try to bring a sacrifice. “They suppose,” Spurgeon said, “that their own way of salvation is much better than any that the Almighty can have devised, and therefore they offer their fat of rams. This takes different forms, but it is always the same principle.” We are not saved by our works, no matter how sacrificial they are (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Mankind’s attempts to impress God with financial gifts, church attendance, humanitarian service, etc.—to try to earn salvation—are actually acts of disobedience. Spurgeon wrote, “All that you can do in the way of outward religion is nothing but the sacrifice of the fat of rams. Men are always setting up these ways of salvation of their own, and they will run anywhere sooner than come to Christ and do as God tells them.” God plainly commands sinners to repent and trust in Christ alone. Not to obey by trusting in Him is to perish."
The words of Apostle Paul.
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,
he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,
so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-6
Psalm 37 CEV
4 Do what the LORD wants, and he will give you your heart's desire.
""Surely then you will count my steps
but not keep track of my sin.
My offenses will be sealed up in a bag;
you will cover over my sin" (Job 14:16-17). Lord, how great is Your mercy; I praise You, in Jesus' name. Amen.
2 April 2018"
May you be blessed with God's Word.
Maraming salamat.
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