Everyone Obeys Counsel

Genesis 3:1-7
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, December 04, 2016
Copyright © 2016, P. G. Mathew
Language [Japanese]

We all obey counsel. The question is, whose counsel are we following? In Acts 27, we read about Paul’s voyage in a ship to Rome. He was going there to stand trial before Caesar. The ship carrying Paul arrived in Fair Havens, on the south shore of Crete. God’s counsel came to Paul and he announced it to all 275 people on the ship: “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also” (Acts 27:10). So Paul’s counsel was, “Do not sail; stay here.” But the others rejected God’s counsel. The pilot, the owner, the centurion, and the majority of people disobeyed, and they all sailed on. They lost the ship and cargo, and would have lost all the people, but God in mercy saved them.

Ruin comes to all who reject God’s sound counsel. God’s counsel comes to us from parents, pastors, and godly teachers. Those who hate God’s counsel will meet with ruin unless they repent and ask God to help them.

According to the Bible, there are no autonomous, free, independent people in the world. Either we as finite creatures will obey God’s counsel as revealed in the holy Bible, or we will obey the counsel of the devil, whose counsel is always the exact opposite of God’s. For example, in the garden of Eden, God said, “But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17). But the devil said, “You will not surely die,” (Gen. 3:4). Adam and Eve followed the counsel of the devil. They ate and died, and all their descendants are born sinners because of Adam and Eve’s disobeying God’s counsel and following the counsel of the devil instead.

I pray that we will tremble, fear, and do the will of God, so that we may be blessed. Every descendant of Adam is, by nature, a sinner. He is characterized by non posse non peccare, meaning that he can only sin. He will sin always unless God makes him a new creation through the miracle of new birth. But when a sinner is born again, he becomes able to obey God by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in him. His new state is posse non peccare, possible not to sin.

In this study, we want to examine seven things about counsel so that we can learn to reject the devil’s counsel, and seek and obey godly counsel, so that we may be blessed

1. The total moral inability of the children of Adam

First, we must recognize the total moral inability of the descendants of Adam. Paul teaches about total depravity, or total moral inability:

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom. 3:9–18)

And the wages of sin is eternal death. God/man Jesus alone is without sin. He alone lived by the counsel of his Father perfectly. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish it.” This perfect God/man died our death on the cross, as our God-appointed substitute, that every sinner who trusts in Jesus will be justified forever by the mercy of God.

Only such a person will delight in the counsel of God to obey God exactly, immediately, and joyfully. All others are bondslaves to the devil.

2. Bondslaves of Sin

Everyone who will not believe in Jesus Christ is a bondslave of sin. He can only sin. Paul writes, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” By nature, all people are dead toward God and good, but very active in the sewer of sin. Paul continues, “in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in [the children of disobedience]. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our [flesh] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath” (Eph. 2:1-3).

Of such unbelievers Jesus said, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). And John writes, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Paul says, “The god of this age [the devil] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4).

In John 10:10, Jesus said, “The thief,” meaning the devil, “comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” But then he gives the good news: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” He is speaking about eternal life. Only Christ can deliver us from the grip, government, and control of the devil. Only he can cause us to be born again, so that we may repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

Whose counsel are you obeying? Are you obeying God’s life-giving counsel, as found in the Bible? Or are you obeying the devil’s anti-biblical counsel, which promises us the pleasures of sin here and death eternal? If so, think about this: The devil himself and his demons are not free. They are all under God’s sovereign control. They are destined to go to hell together with all unrepentant sinners. Jesus himself spoke of this terrible truth, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. . . . Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matt. 25:41, 46).

That is our choice: serving God or serving the devil. There is no third way. There are no free, autonomous, independent people on God’s earth. A minority of people will serve God, obeying his holy counsel. But the vast majority will hear and do the counsel of their father, the devil. They are slaves to sin.

All people are born sons of disobedience. But God saves some. He gives them new birth through Jesus Christ, that they may become sons of obedience. And such people will hear and do God’s will. As their parents speak, as their pastors speak, as their godly teachers speak, they will obey their godly counsel because they have been born of God.

3. New Birth

The third point is our necessity for new birth. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it [to go to eternal destruction]. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt. 7:13–14). The vast majority will go on the broad way to eternal destruction. But a few, those who are born of God, will go through the narrow gate that leads to eternal life.

Paul wrote about our natural state: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:1–2). That is a synonym for children of the devil. But Peter writes, “As children of obedience, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance” (1 Pet. 1:14). Every unbeliever lives only to fulfill his lusts. But here Peter is speaking about those who have been born of God. They are called children of obedience.

The children of God are given new hearts through the miracle of the divine regeneration. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3, “You must be born again to see and enter into the kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God is eternal life; it is a life of great joy and happiness. Such people alone have new minds that can delight in the word of God, new wills that delight in God’s perfect will, and new affections that rejoice with God. They can do all these things by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them. Such people are holy people and live holy lives of repentance and faith. In other words, God’s people will live by the counsel of God given in his holy word.

Those who are reprobate will hate the Bible and God’s counsel as it comes through the word of God and God’s representatives. But the people of God, who are children of God by justification and adoption, will take great delight in hearing and doing God’s counsel.

4. They Delight in God’s Counsel

God’s people delight to do the will of God. The psalmist says, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:1–2). They love it. They cherish it. They hear it so that they can do it. The psalmist also says, “I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me” (Ps. 16:7). Even in the night, God instructs me. He also says, “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory” (Ps. 73:4). Isaiah declares about the Messiah, “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord ” (Isa. 11:2). The Spirit of counsel rested on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Isaiah also says, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). To the Laodicean church, who thought they were something when they were nothing, Jesus said, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see” (Rev. 3:18).

Every minister who is called to preach, teach, and counsel must be godly and learned in the Scriptures so that he can give godly counsel to God’s people, so that they may live godly and prosperous lives. Every minister should give godly, nouthetic counsel, which means putting into the minds of people the word of God and demanding that they obey the word of God. Such ministers must counsel without fear, without respect of persons, with authority.[1]

Paul writes about giving counsel: “We proclaim [Christ], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ” (Col. 1:28). Paul uses the Greek word noutheteô. The idea is to admonish, rebuke, correct, and warn. The responsibility of every minister is to present everyone mature and perfect in Christ.

Paul also says, “Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you” (1 Thess. 5:12), that is, to warn you, rebuke you, correct you, because they care for you. Paul uses the same word in Acts 20:31, “So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning [noutheteô] each one night and day with tears.” Notice his great concern for the soul of every person.

This warning, rebuking, and correcting is not only the work of the minister, but it is also the work of every believer in the family of God. Thus, every believer must know the Scripture and live according to the Scripture so that he can counsel his fellow believers who are members of God’s holy family. Paul says, “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct [noutheteô] one another” (Rom. 15:14). Notice, we have to be filled with goodness and complete in knowledge of the word of God. We must know and do the word. We must be godly and learned people. Those who merely come to church but do not practice God’s word are unfit to counsel anyone.

Paul also says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). We must fill our hearts with God’s word because out of the abundance of the heart, our mouths will speak. And we must teach and admonish each other because we care for our fellow members of God’s family. So not only ministers, but also every believer has the responsibility to counsel others in the church. And we must do so using the word of God. Paul writes, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17). We must counsel from God’s word: “Thus saith the Lord.”

The children of the devil, all unbelievers, are made spiritually blind by the god of this world so that they may not understand the gospel and believe in Jesus, the Savior of the world. They hate Jesus, they hate the Bible, and they hate the true Christians. They cover up their nakedness of real guilt with the fig leaves of false Christianity, psychology, philosophy, false science, false religions, atheism, wealth, beauty, brilliance, and immorality. They walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the way of sinners, and sit in the comfortable pews of the synagogues of mockers.

They corrupt and counsel double-minded Christians who do not know that bad company corrupts good morals. And if such people do not grow in grace and in the knowledge of God’s word, but delight to remain as spiritual infants, they too will soon hate Jesus, the Bible, and God’s holy people.

5. Examples of Wicked People

Let us consider several examples of wicked people who rejected the counsel of God.

Cain rejected God’s counsel to him. God himself came and counseled Cain. So we read, “Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you [to possess you, to control you], but you must master it’” (Gen. 4:6–7). But he rejected the Lord’s counsel, and the Lord rejected him. And he was led by the devil to destruction.
Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, rejected the good counsel of the elders and embraced the counsel of his wicked young friends. By so doing, he lost eighty-three percent of his kingdom (ten tribes).
Ahab rejected Micaiah’s holy counsel and embraced the lies of demons. He went to war and was killed. This happened in accordance to the Lord’s word that came through Micaiah (2 Chron. 18). Let me assure you, if you do not obey God’s counsel, you will obey the devil’s counsel. But it will result in your eternal destruction.
Joash rejected the counsel of Zechariah the prophet of God. In fact, Joash killed the prophet. Joash obeyed the counsel of the devil and soon he was killed (2 Chron. 24).
Jehoiakim was the son of the great king Josiah. But Jehoiakim was controlled by the devil. He rejected the word of God that came to him through Jeremiah. (PGM) He burned the written Scripture, cutting it piece by piece and putting it in the fire, as we read: “It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment, with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire” (Jer. 36:22–23). Jehoiakim was killed, and he is going to burn in the fire of hell and not die. We must never disrespect the true and living triune God who governs the universe he created. He is not like our earthly fathers, whom we may have disrespected. He is sovereign; all authority is given to him. He saves and he kills.

6. Disobedient Believers Who Rejected God’s Counsel

Let us also consider the following disobedient believers who rejected God’s counsel, to their detriment.

Asa (2 Chron. 14–16). In his early days, Asa relied on the Lord, and the Lord defeated the vast armies of his enemies. Later, when he became rich and famous, he did not trust the Lord, so he hired Ben-Hadad of Aram to fight his battle. The prophet Hanani rebuked King Asa for doing this: “At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: ‘Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war’” (2 Chron. 16:7–9). His success had made him arrogant. Yet Asa refused to repent and put God’s prophet in prison and brutally oppressed his people.

God afflicted Asa with a serious disease in his feet. But Asa still refused to repent and seek the Lord. Instead, Asa sought the physicians, but they could not heal him. Eventually, God killed him. Even today God disciplines his sinning people in the same manner. Paul writes, “That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment” (1 Cor. 11:30–31). Obedience brings blessing; disobedience brings curse. God has never abrogated this principle.

Jehoshaphat was a good king. But he became disobedient when he allied himself with the wicked family of Ahab and Jezebel, which worshiped Baals, not the Lord. He caused his son Jehoram to marry wicked Athaliah, the daughter of Jezebel. He was disobedient to the Lord’s counsel given by Micaiah. In disobedience, he went to war with Ahab and was almost killed. Later, the Lord punished Jehoshaphat by destroying his fleet of ships (2 Chron. 20:35–37). Not only will God touch our bodies, but he will also touch our finances, if necessary.
Uzziah was also a good king (2 Chron. 26:5, 16–21). Yet he became proud and disobedient, and rejected the counsel of God’s word. He wanted to function not only as a king but also as a priest, so he entered the temple to burn incense on the altar of incense. Eighty-one priests counseled him to leave the temple, but he refused. So God punished him with leprosy; then he left. Uzziah was never healed, and he died as a leper. As we said, God will discipline us with disease as well as with financial trouble when we refuse to pay heed to God’s counsel.

7. The Example of Jesus

Finally, let us consider the example of Jesus. He alone was perfect God/man; he alone was without sin. Concerning Jesus, his Father said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). When he was tempted by the devil, he obeyed the written word by saying, “Gegraptai,” “It is written.” He cited Old Testament scriptures and disobeyed Satan’s counsel.

To Jesus, God’s word was his only authority. He told his disciples, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). His strength, his delight, his pleasure, his happiness was to do the will of his Father. So the Father said about his Son, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matt. 17:5).

We must also listen to the preachers whom God calls and commissions to preach the gospel to us. Listen to them! Those who will not listen to such godly counsel are like empty bottles tightly corked and thrown into the river. No water, no godly counsel, can enter. Such people are graceless, arrogant, and proud.

Hear what Jesus said when he faced the cross: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Remember, his food was to do the will of God and finish it. And without his death on the cross, he could not finish the task. Thus, from the cross he cried out his last word: “Tetelestai,” “It is finished” (John 19:30). The work of redemption was finished. Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for many and he accomplished that task. That was his passion.

Let us be like Jesus, whose obedience accomplished our salvation. The Hebrews writer wrote, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb. 5:7-9).

Let us also be like Josiah, one of the most obedient kings in the history of Judah. He was the king of one book, the Bible. He worked out his salvation with fear and trembling. In his reign, the Bible that was lost was found. Josiah and the Lord’s remnant delighted in it and made a covenant to live in obedience to it. The discovery of the Bible brought about a revival under the leadership of King Josiah, who was responsible for covenant renewal of God’s people. So we read, “[Josiah] went up to the temple of the Lord with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord —to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book. Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers” (2 Chron. 34:30–32).

I pray that we will also desire to experience a true revival. May we delight in the law of the Lord so that we will do the holy will of God, for the glory of God and for our own covenant blessing. To that end, I invite you join with me in covenant renewal by praying the following:

Heavenly Father, we, the members of your holy church, renew our covenant today. We confess your Son, whom you have highly exalted, giving him a name that is above every name, giving him all authority in heaven and on earth. We confess him as our Lord, that we will obey him all of our lives and delight in his counsel as given to us in the word of God, that we may be like trees planted by streams of water, yielding their fruit without fail by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[1] I encourage you to read Competent to Counsel by Professor Jay Adams, which speaks about nouthetic counseling.