How I love God Pt 26: We must obey God
Acts 5:29-32 29Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Genesis 3:17 17To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
1 Samuel 15:24-25 24Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. 25Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD.”
Obedience to God sounds simple until obedience requires us to choose between what God says and what people want. It is easy to say that God should come first when His commands agree with our plans. The real test comes when obedience costs us something—our comfort, our reputation, our relationships, our ambitions, or even something we have wanted for a long time. The Bible does not present obedience as an optional part of Christian life. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15). Obedience is one of the ways our relationship with God becomes visible in everyday life.
Acts 6:29-32 gives us a direct example of this principle. Peter and the apostles had been ordered not to teach in the name of Jesus. Their response was clear: “We must obey God rather than human beings” (Acts 5:29). They understood that there are times when human authority and God's authority point in different directions. When that happens, God must have the final word. Genesis 3:17 and 1 Samuel 15:24-25 show the other side of the issue. Adam disobeyed God and experienced consequences. Saul admitted that he had disobeyed God's command because he was afraid of the people and listened to them. Later, Saul expressed regret, but regret alone did not restore what his disobedience had damaged.
We must choose between God and man
A child may know that his parents have told him not to do something, but his friends encourage him to do it anyway. An employee may know that a report is supposed to contain accurate information, but a supervisor pressures him to change the numbers. A Christian may know what Scripture teaches about forgiveness, honesty, sexual purity, generosity, or loving an enemy, while the people around him tell him that those things are unrealistic. So frequently, maybe every day, we have to decide whose voice carries the greatest authority.
Peter and the apostles faced that decision. The religious authorities had commanded them not to teach about Jesus. They were not confused about what they had been told. They simply recognized that the command of God was greater than the command of people. Their answer was not arrogant rebellion. It was faithfulness.
There is an important distinction here. Believers are normally called to respect legitimate human authority. Scripture tells believers to obey governing authorities, respect leaders, honor parents, and submit appropriately to those responsible for them (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 6:1-3; Hebrews 13:17). Obeying God does not mean becoming argumentative or refusing every instruction we dislike.
But human authority has limits. No person has the right to command us to sin against God. If someone tells us to lie, steal, participate in wrongdoing, deny Christ, or violate a clear command of Scripture, our responsibility remains to God. Sometimes the pressure is not direct. Nobody says, “Disobey God.” Instead, we hear things like, “Everybody does it.” “You don't have to take the Bible that seriously.” “God understands.” “You have to look out for yourself.” “What will people think?” Those statements can be powerful because we naturally want approval.
In 1 Samuel 15, God had given Saul a specific command. Saul did not completely follow it. When Samuel confronted him, Saul eventually admitted, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them” (1 Samuel 15:24). That sentence reveals something important. Saul knew what God had commanded, but the opinion of people became more important than obedience to God.
That can happen to any of us. A person may know that forgiveness is required, but refuse to forgive because friends say, “Don't let them off the hook.” Someone may know that honesty is right but lie because telling the truth could cost a job. Someone may know that a relationship is pulling them away from God but remain in it because they are afraid of being alone. Someone may know they should give something up but continue because they are afraid of what life will look like without it.
The practical question is therefore simple: When God's Word and human opinion disagree, which one will I trust? Our answer reveals what has authority over our lives.
God has given the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit has been given to God's people to help us live faithfully. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come to guide His followers (John 14:16-17, 26; John 16:13). Paul says that those who are led by the Spirit of God are God's children (Romans 8:14). So you see the Spirit works within believers, helping us understand God's truth, convicting us when we go wrong, strengthening us to resist sin, and producing Christlike character in our lives (Galatians 5:22-25). This matters because obedience is not merely about trying harder.
Imagine someone trying to drive a car with an empty gas tank. They may sit behind the wheel, turn the key, press the accelerator, and become increasingly frustrated. The problem is not necessarily that they lack determination. The problem is that they are trying to operate without the necessary power. Christian obedience is similar. We cannot successfully live the Christian life by relying only on human determination.
The Holy Spirit does not eliminate our responsibility. We still have to choose. We still have to say no to temptation and yes to God. But we are not doing it alone. When Peter and the apostles obeyed God despite opposition, they demonstrated this kind of dependence. Their courage did not come simply from personality. Earlier, many of these same disciples had been frightened and confused. Peter himself had denied Jesus. Something had changed. That something of course was that the Holy Spirit had come upon them in the Upper Room, and they were now willing to stand publicly for Christ.
The same Spirit helps ordinary believers today. Life is difficult enough, and I, for one, will accept any help I can get. Perhaps you are struggling with anger, or temptation to return to an old habit. Perhaps you have been hurt and cannot imagine forgiving someone. Even Paul had these kinds of struggles as he said in Romans 7:15: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Nonetheless, we are responsible for our actions. So what is a person to do? We can pray for help. We can ask God to search our hearts (Psalm 139:23-24). We can ask for wisdom (James 1:5). We can fill our minds with Scripture (Psalm 119:11). We can listen when the Spirit convicts us instead of pushing that conviction away. God does not ask us to obey Him through our own strength alone.
Choices bring consequences
A decision to ignore God may gradually make our hearts less sensitive to Him, but the consequences are not always immediate, and that can make disobedience especially deceptive. Spiritual choices work differently than touching a hot stove and resulting damage may develop slowly. Consider a small crack in a windshield. At first, it may look insignificant. The car still drives normally. But temperature changes and vibration can cause the crack to spread until the entire windshield needs to be replaced. Sin can work in much the same way.
A compromise that seems small today can become a pattern tomorrow. This does not mean that every hardship is a direct punishment for a particular sin. The Bible makes clear that suffering can occur for many reasons, and faithful people can experience great hardship. But Scripture consistently teaches that our choices matter. Paul wrote, “A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7). That principle applies positively as well as negatively.
When we choose obedience, we develop habits that strengthen our walk with God. When we choose honesty, trust grows. When we practice forgiveness, bitterness loses some of its control. When we consistently spend time with God, our relationship with Him becomes deeper. When we obey even in small things, we become more prepared to obey when larger tests come. The choices we make today are helping shape the person we will become tomorrow.
This is why obedience should not be treated as merely avoiding punishment. God is forming His people into people who resemble Christ (Romans 8:29). Obedience is part of that formation.
Regret doesn’t imply restoration
When Saul eventually admitted his sin, he said, “I have sinned” and asked Samuel to forgive him and return with him (1 Samuel 15:24-25). Even though he regrated his sin, the consequences of his disobedience remained. A person can regret getting caught without truly wanting to change. A person can regret the consequences without regretting the choice itself, or a person can be sorry that a relationship has been damaged without being willing to change the behavior that caused the damage. Biblical repentance goes deeper.
Repentance involves turning back toward God. It means acknowledging what we have done and allowing God to change the direction of our lives.
After David's sin with Bathsheba, he cried out to God, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). But even full repentance does not erase every earthly consequence. Sin can leave scars. Relationships can be damaged. Trust can take time to rebuild. Opportunities can be lost. Some consequences cannot simply be undone.
Yet God's grace remains available. This is important for anyone who has disobeyed God. If you have failed, do not conclude that there is no point in returning to Him. Scripture repeatedly shows us that God welcomes those who genuinely repent. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Forgiveness does not mean pretending nothing happened. Restoration may require humility, confession, changed behavior, restitution, patience, and accepting consequences, but failure does not have to become the end of your relationship with God.
The better response to disobedience is not to hide from God. It is to run toward Him.
What about me?
“We must obey God” is not simply a statement for dramatic moments like the apostles standing before religious authorities. It is a principle for ordinary Tuesday afternoons, difficult conversations, private decisions, financial choices, relationships, workplaces, families, and moments when nobody else knows what we are thinking. We will hear many voices throughout our lives. Some will encourage us toward God. Others will pull us away from Him.
We must learn to recognize God's voice through His Word and respond with obedience. Acts reminds us that when human demands conflict with God's commands, we must choose God. The Holy Spirit reminds us that God has not left us to obey through our own strength.
But Scripture also gives us hope. When we fail, God calls us to repentance. When we are weak, He gives us His Spirit. When we are confused, He gives us His Word. When we are tempted to follow people instead of God, He reminds us who ultimately has authority. Obedience is not about becoming perfect before God will love us. It is about responding to the God who has already loved us and has called us to follow Him.