The Paramount Importance Of Obedience | Front Royal Church of Christ

The central theme of the book of Hebrews is the superiority of the system of obedient faith in Christ over the Law of Moses.

The basic problem with the Law of Moses is that it was perverted by Israel and the Jews into becoming strictly a system of sacrifice for sin. Such was not what God wanted. In Exodus 24:7 after Israel had received the law of God it pledged its obedience. It did not keep that promise. Sacrifice became the order of the day and obedience was set aside.

This is why the writer of Hebrews penned by inspiration of God, “Sacrifice and offering you have not desired,” (Hebrews 10:5 NASB). Why? Because God wanted Israel’s obedience, but did not get it.

What was needed was the sacrifice of a man whose life showed the paramount importance of obedience. That man was Jesus Christ, God the son, who never committed a sin in his life. In fact, the Hebrew writer showed the central importance of obedience to Christ when he wrote, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered. And having been made perfect, he became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation,” (Hebrews 5:8-9 NASB).

Religious bodies that relegate obedience to God to the same trash heap as Judaism are not true to the book of God’s word nor are they true religion. Faith in the Bible is not just believing, it is belief conjoined to obedience.

As the Hebrew writer described in that great 11th chapter of Hebrews, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him,” (Hebrews 11:6 NASB). Then, the writer began describing what faith truly is. It is believing in God to the extent that obedience to God is paramount.