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Ask Pastor John

Which Comes First, Obedience or Joy?

Ask Pastor John

Desiring God

John Piper, Unknown, 163859, Pastor, Ask, Theology, Desiring God, Religion & Spirituality/christianity, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Questions

4.83.8K Ratings

🗓️ 7 August 2014

⏱️ 6 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Does our joy in God drive our obedience to his will, or does obeying God produce our joy?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

A podcast listener named Morgan and Simey Valley, California, writes and asks this, Pastor

0:08.6

John, I often hear pastors say that the most important part of the Christian life is

0:12.2

obedience to God's word, not happiness.

0:15.2

It seems to me that you place a greater emphasis on being satisfied in God.

0:20.1

When it comes to obedience to God and being satisfied in God, which comes first, the chicken

0:24.9

or the egg?

0:26.3

There are three answers to this question.

0:30.1

And I love this question.

0:32.1

I can talk about it all day.

0:35.0

Here's my first answer.

0:36.8

As long as you think of obedience to God and satisfaction in God as chicken and egg,

0:44.2

you won't be able to answer the question in a biblical way.

0:49.4

And in God does not relate to obedience to God as chicken and egg, satisfaction in God

0:56.5

relates to obedience to God as chicken to foul.

1:02.2

Obedience is the general term foul.

1:09.1

Obedience is the general term foul, right?

1:11.8

And satisfaction in God is the specific kind of foul, namely chicken.

1:17.6

So this is the main problem in pastors or anyone else says, Obedience to God is the

1:22.6

most important thing in life, not happiness in God.

1:26.0

I select saying birds are the most important thing in life, not robins.

1:31.7

Or fruit is the most important thing, not apples or bombers are the most important thing,

1:38.4

airplanes in the war, not B-52s.

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