by Dennis Stackhouse<\/p>\n
On one occasion King Saul had been given a direct command from God to utterly destroy Amalek, including men and women, children and infants, as well as all the livestock (I Samuel 15:3).\u00a0 However, Saul and the people spared Agag, the king of Amalek, along with the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good (I Samuel 15:9).\u00a0 In other words, Saul did not do as he was told, he disobeyed.\u00a0 Because of his disobedience, the prophet Samuel confronted him and said in I Samuel 15:22: “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?\u00a0 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.”<\/em>\u00a0 These were very sobering words for King Saul, and they should be for every one of us as well.<\/p>\n As we consider obedience toward God for just a moment, it should be recognized that a great deal of time could be spent exploring the subject.\u00a0 However, let’s limit our thoughts to a few of the passages found in the New Testament.\u00a0 In John 3:36 we read this:\u00a0“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”<\/em>\u00a0 Simply believing in Jesus is not enough; we must express obedience as well.\u00a0 If we do not obey, if we do not put our beliefs into action, God’s wrath is all we have to look forward to.\u00a0 The Jewish council brought Peter and the apostles before them after they had been arrested for teaching in the name of Jesus.\u00a0 Even though they had been warned on more than one occasion not to do so, notice their answer in Acts 5:29: “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.'”<\/em>\u00a0 Peter and the apostles responded simply and were precisely right; obeying God is more important than obeying men.<\/p>\n As the apostle Paul was discussing the end times when all people will be judged, he clearly identifies those who are disobedient in II Thessalonians 1:8-9:\u00a0“Dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.\u00a0 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”<\/em>\u00a0 Do we think our disobedience is a small thing?\u00a0 Not so according to this verse; it carries eternal consequences.\u00a0 For those who fail to obey the gospel, there will be eternal destruction awaiting them.\u00a0 In reference to Jesus, the Hebrews writer said “And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation<\/em>” (Hebrews 5:9).\u00a0 Notice that Jesus is the source of eternal salvation for all those who\u00a0“obey<\/strong>\u00a0Him.”<\/em>\u00a0 This clearly tells us that disobedience is a dead-end road.<\/p>\n King Saul was rejected from being king over Israel because of his disobedience (I Samuel 15:26).\u00a0 In the case of those today who disobey God, the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels, will be their final abode (Matthew 25:41).\u00a0 The words of I Samuel 15:22 are just as critical in our day as they were in King Saul’s day:\u00a0“Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?\u00a0 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Dennis Stackhouse On one occasion King Saul had been given a direct command from God to utterly destroy Amalek, including men and women, children and infants, as well as all the livestock (I Samuel 15:3).\u00a0 However, Saul and the people spared Agag, the king of Amalek, along with the best of the sheep, the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-47349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-obedience"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43828,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/both-david-and-saul-sinned-and-admitted-they-sinned-so-why-was-the-kingdom-taken-from-saul-but-not-david\/","url_meta":{"origin":47349,"position":0},"title":"Both David and Saul sinned and admitted they sinned, so why was the kingdom taken from Saul but not David?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, Good day to you. I hope you are well. My question is about two men from the holy Scriptures: King Saul and King David. When Saul sinned against God, God took the kingdom away from him, but when David sinned, God did not take away the kingdom from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58256,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/some-thoughts-to-consider-with-our-mothers-in-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":47349,"position":1},"title":"Some Thoughts to Consider with Our Mothers in Mind","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Abraham Smith \"For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears\" (Hebrews 12:17). This verse holds many valuable applications for the one who would accept them. From the preceding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/MotherAndChild-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":60846,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-constitutes-obedience-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":47349,"position":2},"title":"What Constitutes Obedience? (Thetford)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Richard Thetford A passage of Scripture comes to mind when I hear the word \"obedience\" and that is from I Samuel 15:22 which says: \"And Samuel said, \"Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33901,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/king-saul-an-i-problem\/","url_meta":{"origin":47349,"position":3},"title":"King Saul – An “I” Problem","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ross Ward Text: I Samuel 9-15 Looks to himself - at Gilgal I Samuel 13:5-14 - Saul offers sacrifice Samuel delayed Philistines prepared to attack Saul's soldiers ran scared King Saul's 'I' problem I saw, I said to myself, I have not, I forced myself I Samuel 12:24-25 -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9909,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-was-saul-hiding-among-the-baggage\/","url_meta":{"origin":47349,"position":4},"title":"Why was Saul hiding among the baggage?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 26, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In I Samuel 10:22 it says that Saul was hidden with the equipment. What do you think this indicates? Was he afraid and in hiding? Or maybe he was humble and not wanting to appear as too eager? Also in I Samuel 10:27, do you think the gifts were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16312,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-keep-going-over-our-boundaries-how-do-we-prevent-pre-marital-sex-in-college\/","url_meta":{"origin":47349,"position":5},"title":"We keep going over our boundaries. How do we prevent pre-marital sex in college?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a university student. I have a problem regarding sex before marriage. I want to have a healthy relationship with God and also have God be happy with my healthy relationship with my girlfriend. We try not to have sex even though we have done it. 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