Thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and after being freed from sin, you became slaves to righteousness- Romans 6:17-18 NASB

I have observed there are a whole slew of words that irritate the decency out of most people. Just having one of those words aimed our way is like the sound of nails on a chalkboard. It generates immediate discomfort and sometimes even provokes a visceral response.  

Those words are:

Submit   

Surrender

Concede

Capitulate

Acquiesce 

Comply 

Conform 

Oddly enough, all the icky words are simply synonyms for the ickiest word of them all: obey.  No one likes to obey other people.  Most don’t even want to obey God (Isaiah 24:20). I am convinced most people don’t reject God because they cannot find evidence for His existence. Most reject God (and use lack of evidence as their excuse) because deep down they simply don’t want to obey God (1st Samuel 15:23, Isaiah 59:12-14) Even most Christians have an aversion to the whole idea of NOT being in complete control of every situation. Choosing to obey anyone— including God means giving up a measure of control because obedience is ultimately acquiescing to the will and authority of another. I get why nobody likes it. I am not a fan of any of those words either. 

However, 

I have learned (mostly the hard way) that when Christians refuse to obey God in any area of their life there are always some super unpleasant unintended consequences (1st Peter 2:8, Hebrews 3:12-19). I have also learned (mostly the hard way) that all (yes all) of God’s commands are for our protection. When we refuse to obey God, we are willfully refusing God’s protection. The unintended consequences of disobedience include but are not limited to:

We feel the full weight of every mistake and misstep-  

Human beings are by nature, prone to all sorts of weird errors. Those mistakes can and often do lead to all sorts of individual, relational, professional and church-related disasters. One of the greatest benefits of obeying God is the extra measure of grace we are given when it comes to the missteps and blunders of life (Hebrews 4:16). God will not bless sin. As a result, when we walk in sin or refuse to repent of a known sin we miss out on the blessing of the Lord. Practically speaking, this means we get to feel the full impact of our own foolishness. Every. Single. Time. Conversely, obedience protects us from the full effects of what could have been a painful, life-altering blunder. 

The voice of the Lord becomes muffled- 

No one is born into this world wise, discerning, prudent or able to make good decisions and avoid the pitfalls of life. In order for use to do or become any of those things we must hear the voice of God speaking to us (John 10:27). God speaks to His people through a still small voice, the Bible, the circumstances of life and wise people (Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 2:1-8, 1st Kings 19:11-13, Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 13:20). Every time we willfully disobey the Lord we move a little further away from God and as a result it then becomes harder to hear Him speak (Hebrews 5:13). When that happens we automatically become less wise, less discerning, less prudent and less able to make good decisions and avoid the pitfalls of life. 

Our desires/appetites gradually change over time- 

When a Christian chooses to walk in step with the Holy Spirit they automatically develop a healthy appetite for spiritually wholesome people, activities and entertainment. Any desire they once had for activities, entertainment and the company of people that may have a negative impact on their moral decision making are naturally diminished. Conversely, the more disobedient a Christian becomes the less interested they are in wholesome people, activities and entertainment. Any Christian who routinely disobeys God in any area or refuses to repent of known sin will begin to crave things and the company of people that will dull their spiritual senses. Sadly, an increased appetite for sketchy people, activities and entertainment set the stage for more spiritual and moral disaster and all the consequences that go along with it (1st Corinthians 15:33). 

We run the risk of hardening our hearts-

Anytime a person deliberately disobeys God or ignores the Holy Spirit their heart becomes a bit harder. If the disobedience goes on long enough their heart becomes fully hardened (Jeremiah 17:9). The net result is the person no longer cares about God or what He has to say about anything. Some of the Bible’s fiercest warnings revolve around the dangers hardening one’s heart (Proverbs 28:15, Ephesians 4:18, Hebrews 3:7-12). It is critical we heed these warnings because Christians are not exempt from the consequences of ignoring them. Furthermore, depending on your theology a hardened heart means: a) you were never really a Christian to begin with (Matthew 7:21-23), b) you were saved and will receive zero rewards in heaven (1st Corinthians 3:12-15) or c) you lost your salvation (Hebrews 6:4-8).  Yikes, yikes and more yikes. 

Here’s the thing:

For decades now, Christian teachers have pushed grace-heavy theology.  I for one, love the doctrine of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 10:28, Romans 8:1-39, Titus 3:3-7). Grace is the best, most beautiful reality in all of creation. God’s grace forgives our sin and empowers us to live a godly life (Titus 2:11-12). However, much of the grace-heavy theology taught today simply ignores or glosses over some hard warnings sprinkled throughout the New Testament (Hebrews 6, Matthew 7:21-23, Colossians 1:23, Galatians 6:7-8, Romans 11:21-23, 2nd Peter 3:17). It is the height of foolishness to ignore that many warnings all with the same theme. 

All that being said.

The way to avoid heartache and spiritual trouble is to simply obey God and with that one little choice comes blessings, personal with God and others and a joy filled life.