Lady Lesson #4: The General Principle of Obedience
Let me come now to THE essential attitude in every bible believing Christian's life: Obedience. God requires obedience as THE sign of love his people can give him. And since it is God as the one and only all-powerful, all-knowing Creator and Lord who sets the rules, it is up to Him to decide what attitude or action on the part of His people will show Him their love. Keeping His commandments, abiding by His Law-Word is what God chose to be the fundamental essence and prerequisite of worship.
I searched the ESV translation of the bible and found 65 verses which contain the words "keep" and "commandments", including partial matches, 23 of them in the book of Deuteronomy alone, and another 10 in the writings of John (his gospel, letters and revelation). Let me give you only a few examples:
"So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the LORD." (Lev 22:31)
"Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!" (Deu 5:29)
"The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (Ecc 12:13)
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (Joh 14:15)
"Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (1Jn 2:4)
"Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus." (Rev 14:12)
Keeping His commandments features rather prominently in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testament, in fact, there is only obedience, or disobedience to God's Law Word. Man is either a covenant breaker or a covenant keeper, and this truth is so simple a child can follow it. But nowadays many adults need something more because, to them, it can't be quite that simple anymore since obedience does not sound very mystical or spiritual at all. And yet, obedience is the beginning of faith. Scripture says
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom / knowledge" (Psa 111:10, Pro 1:7, Pro 9:10),
and if you are not obedient, you do not Fear the Lord, and if you do not fear the Lord, you are not even at the beginning of wisdom yet, and anything after that is built on the wrong foundation.
Now, how does this essential attitude feature into becoming and being a lady ?
One thing to remember, always, is that anything, be it obedience or any other attitude, needs to be practiced in the small things as well as in the big things. If we break but one of God's commandments, we are guilty of breaking them all, says James:
"For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it." (Jas 2:10)
So you cannot be obedient to God and at the same time disrespect and disobey your parents or grandparents, for example. If you obey your parents, you are not only keeping God's commandment to heed to your parents' advice and instructions, but you are also practicing how to be obedient to all other statutes, testimonies and precepts God laid out for us in Scripture.
God in His mercy gave us His Law Word, so that we may know how to love Him, and so that it may be well with us, even if we may not see the immediate benefit of one law or the other. Your parents are doing the same thing for you, dear young lady. Even if you cannot see the immediate benefit of what your parents ask you to do or not to do, you can trust that they have your best development in mind so that you may be protected and at the same time educate yourself in the best possible way.
Obedience is crucial, both for your immediate benefit in your endeavor to become a lady, and for all your life as it shows that you love God, and you can count on the LORD to keep His promise that all will be well with you and your children after you.
Let this be enough for today - the next lesson will deal with the practical side to obedience.
Introduction to the Lady Lesson section
Lady Lesson #1: A Lady's Do's and Don't's
Lady Lesson #2: The Most Important Thing
Lady Lesson #5: The Practical Side to Obedience
Lady Lesson #6: A Woman's Calling
Lady Lesson #7: What Is Wrong With School ?
Lady Lesson #8: The Principle of Purity
