How to attain obedience as a Christian.

How to attain obedience as a Christian. Jesus left us with what is fondly referred to as the great commission at His ascension. In it He stated “..and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you“. In an ideal world choosing to follow Christ should automatically mean that one is willing and able to obey Christ in everything. However, obedience is not a by product of salvation. Obedience comes down to choice, you are going to have to make a choice. Because as a believer your attitude has to change. Whereas before you did as you pleased and set the standard for your behaviour. Now you now have to lay down your will and submit to the authority of someone else.

Submit to God and be at peace with him, in this way prosperity will come to you

Christians are to live a life of obedience, it is a lifestyle choice. Obedience can be an attitude, a habit or a discipline. I believe to be an effective Christian one should have all three. The Bible says that out of the heart flow the issues of life, so obedience starts with having the right attitude. Such as choosing to obey everything Jesus commanded. Nurturing an attitude of obedience will require you to cultivate a habit of obedience. What does a habit of obedience look like? Only hearing the word on Sundays will not cultivate a habit of obedience. Solely depending on what your Christian parents, family or friends say is not good enough either. Read the bible often. Reading the bible establishes you in the word.

You also learn what is expected of you by reading the bible. And this enables you make changes in your life that reflect your choices. Inequitably once you have the right attitude and have cultivated a habit of obedience, discipline is achievable. To achieve discipline one must make a decision. In this case the decision to always obey no matter the personal cost. My advice to attain obedience as a Christian is start with the simple decision to stick to the habit you are building. One requires self control in order to be self-disciplined and luckily one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is self control.