Teaching Note 13

Faith Insight 13: Partial Obedience Reveals Divided Trust

“Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

— 1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV)

In our last Faith Insight, the priests at the Jordan showed us that obedience sometimes comes before understanding. They trusted God enough to step forward.  But Scripture also gives us examples of another kind of response—one that can look like obedience while quietly preserving our own control.  King Saul provides a sobering example. God gave Saul instructions concerning the Amalekites. Saul carried out much of what he had been told to do. But not all of it. He spared King Agag and kept the best of the livestock. When the prophet Samuel confronted him, Saul initially insisted:  “I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”— 1 Samuel 15:13 (ESV)

But he had not. He had obeyed selectively.  Even more revealing was Saul's attempt to give his disobedience a religious explanation. He explained that the animals had been preserved for sacrifice to the LORD.  Samuel answered with words that have echoed through the centuries: “To obey is better than sacrifice.”  Saul's problem was not that he had done nothing God commanded. His problem was that he had __________the right to __________ which parts of God's command he would __________.

That is a danger for us as well. Can we choose which of God’s commands we will obey?  __________ obedience can be especially deceptive because it allows us to point toward the things we are doing right while __________ the area we do not want to surrender.

We may be generous but unwilling to __________.

We may attend __________ faithfully but speak harshly at home.

We may defend biblical truth, yet refuse to __________ that truth to ourselves.

We may ask God to __________ our lives, yet quietly __________ one area from His authority.

The problem is deeper than rule-breaking. It concerns __________.  When we knowingly substitute our judgment for God's instruction, we are saying—whether we intend to or not:  “I trust God's wisdom this far, but no farther.”

That is why living faith involves __________.

Saul teaches us that __________activity can sometimes conceal __________. Sacrifice sounded spiritual. But God wanted __________.  

The question, therefore, is not simply: “Am I doing some things God wants?”

 A more searching question is:  “Is there an area in which I know what God has said, but I am trying to negotiate the terms?”  Living faith does not ask God merely to bless the parts of life we have decided to give Him. It increasingly learns to say: “Your __________ is better than mine. Teach me to __________ You here too.”

 A SIMPLE PRAYER

Father, search my heart and show me where I resist Your direction while trying to preserve the appearance of obedience. Keep me from using religious words to defend what I do not want to surrender. Teach me to trust Your wisdom more than my own and to respond to You with an undivided heart. In Jesus' name, amen.