What Are You Waiting for to Obey God?

By Michael Scheele and Christine Temko-Scheele
Faith in a Noisy World

Have you surrendered your life to Christ, or only the parts you are comfortable giving Him?

We can call ourselves Christians, attend church, and know what the Bible says, but do we hold back on full surrender, continuing to reserve the final say over our own lives? We welcome God's comfort but resist His correction. We want His guidance, provided it leads where we already wanted to go.

To be clear, our salvation is by grace alone, through faith. It is a gift that cannot be earned through works or deeds. Ephesians 2:8–9 makes that clear. But that is no excuse for what we call “cheap grace,” treating God's forgiveness as permission to continue living on our own terms. Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.

Romans 5:8 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” We did not make ourselves worthy of His sacrifice, and our obedience cannot repay it. But knowing what He has done for us, how can we treat His claim on our lives casually?

True faith changes you, and surrender is evidence of that change. Ephesians 2:10 describes believers as created in Christ Jesus unto good works. We do not obey to earn salvation. We obey in response to His grace, with gratitude and dependence on Him.

This article asks us to examine whether we are answering Christ's call, and what we need to do when His Word exposes our resistance.

Christine and I are asking these questions of ourselves, too. We are writing as people who need correction, forgiveness, and the strength to obey.

When being right exposes something wrong

A recent encounter brought this home to me. A price rang up incorrectly at the store. When I questioned it, the cashier dismissively told me I was wrong. I became angry and demanded a price check. In how I spoke to him, I was the opposite of long-suffering.

As I drove home and had time to reflect, the anger gave way to embarrassment. I felt humbled and far from the man I want to be.

The price needed checking. His response was frustrating. Neither fact excused my conduct. I could be right about the price and still wrong in how I treated the person in front of me.

Galatians 5:22–23 includes long-suffering and temperance among the fruit of the Spirit. Those qualities matter when we are contradicted or treated dismissively. Another person's attitude does not release us from obedience to God.

This was not how I usually respond, but it did happen, and it exposed a gap between what I believe and how I acted under pressure. I needed to face that honestly rather than make excuses for my behavior.

Where does that gap appear in your life?

Jesus made the call clear

In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Denying ourselves means our desires no longer have the final say. When what we want conflicts with what Christ commands, we yield to Him.

Taking up our cross means accepting the cost of following Him. The cross was an instrument of execution. Christ's words carry a seriousness far beyond putting up with an inconvenience. Following Him requires a willingness to give up our claim to rule our own lives, even when obedience costs us comfort, approval, opportunity, or the future we had planned.

In John 12:26, He said, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.”

We cannot separate serving Christ from following Him. Admiring His teaching, speaking about Him, and agreeing with His commands must lead us to live under His authority.

Romans 12:1 calls us to present our bodies “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” That surrender reaches into our words, money, relationships, ambitions, private habits, and responses when we do not get our way. Our whole lives belong before Him.

Are we following Christ, or expecting Him to fit into the life we have already chosen?

Take the narrow way seriously

Jesus gives a sobering warning in Matthew 7:13–14:

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

These words should interrupt our complacency. Being comfortable, being part of a crowd, or having a Christian identity does not settle whether we are following Him.

A few verses later, in Matthew 7:21, Jesus warns that saying “Lord, Lord” is not itself assurance of entering the kingdom of heaven. His warning calls us to examine the substance of our profession.

We should not use these passages to declare someone else's spiritual condition after seeing one failure. We should let them search our own hearts. Church attendance and biblical knowledge must never become excuses to avoid that examination.

James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Knowing the right answer can make us feel further along than we actually are. Are we willing to obey the Word we say we believe?

Are we fighting our sin or protecting it?

We will still struggle. We will still need forgiveness. But there is a serious difference between confessing sin and defending our right to keep it.

Resistance often sounds like this:

“I will apologize when they admit their part.”

“I will address that habit when life settles down.”

“I will follow God, as long as it does not interfere with my plans.”

We may never say those words aloud. Our choices can say them for us.

When Scripture has made our responsibility clear, we do not need another sign before telling the truth, confessing wrongdoing, or turning away from known sin. Some decisions require discernment. Clear commands require obedience.

A surrendered heart receives correction and turns toward God for help. A resistant heart keeps looking for an exception.

That is why embarrassment alone is not enough. I can feel ashamed of how I spoke to the cashier and still avoid the response God requires. Conviction needs to lead to confession, repentance, and a willingness to make things right where I can.

Ask yourself honestly: Am I fighting this sin, or protecting it?

Do not rush past the answer

Bring your life before God with the prayer of Psalm 139:23–24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Then be willing to receive the answer.

Have I surrendered my life to Christ? What am I still withholding from Him?

Perhaps it is an apology you keep postponing, a sinful habit you keep excusing, or a plan you have placed above His commands. Perhaps you have become comfortable speaking about faith while keeping Christ at a distance from your decisions.

Name it honestly. Consider what obedience would actually require. Confess the wrong, ask for His help, and take the step you already know you need to take. Where change requires continued effort and support, begin that process today.

If this examination reveals that you have claimed a Christian identity without turning to Christ in repentance and faith, do not settle for improving a few habits. Come to Him. Salvation is His gift, and His call is to follow Him.

Christine and I need to examine our own lives, too. We want to receive correction with humble hearts and carry what we believe into how we live.

Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

Do not settle for feeling challenged. Bring your life honestly before God and respond to Him.

Where do we need to begin living that out today?