Obedience & Responbility

I've been spending lots of time in Matthew this week. Maybe it's the translation of Bible I brought, or maybe it's what I'm supposed to be learning right now....but I've gleaned a big nugget word from my study this week: obey.

Not my favorite word. First of all, I'm not the most obedient by nature. I'm the one who got burned in chemistry lab...just checking. To tell the truth, one of my favorite tenets of the Christian gospel is the GRACE part. "For it is by grace you have been saved, not of works, so that none can boast." That's good news indeed! I don't have much good to boast about! I would be terrible at being legalistic. Just simply not qualified.

But the "obey" part....how did I miss its prominence in Matthew? First, John the Baptist says in chapter 3, "Change your hearts and lives because the Kingdom of God is near." As in, imperative. Do it. Get serious about it. It's within your power.

Then, here are some quotes from Jesus. In verse 15 of chapter 3: "We should do all things that are God's will."
"Change your hearts and lives because the kingdom of heaven is near." (4:17)
"....In the same way, you should be a light for other people. LIVE so that they will see the good things you do, and will praise your father in heaven." (another imperative. 5:16)
"Whoever refuses to obey any command and teaches other people not to obey that command will be the least important in the kingdom of heaven." (5:19)
"If you are no more obedient than the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (5:20)

Then, pretty much the rest of the Sermon on the Mount continues to teach about putting feet to your faith. Obeying what you know to be right. Living to encourage others and bring glory to God.
I think too often, I want to let the Holy Spirit intercede for me...and kind of let me off the hook. Saved by grace, you know.

But for what? Why even claim salvation if we're just gonna sit there all helpless and stuck in the miry pit of our own making? Saltless. Lightless. And lukewarm.
I guess I'm thinking there are too many others out there, stuck in their own pits...and maybe putting feet to what we know to be Good, with the empowerment of the One who is within us, with the knowledge that we're not alone in the struggle, one day at a time, is the beginning to climbing out.
I don't know. Just some quiet time reflections. It seems that there's plenty of responsibility on US, in conjunction with the work of the Holy Spirit. Is that right?