God will bless you if you obey Him ?

[PrincessofGod18]

Hi all

I went to a church ( while I was on holiday) last week and one topic that was brought up was, If we obey God he will bless us ? To me that sounds like a parent saying I give you something if you obey me, but I also heard that he blesses people who are not ?

Kind of confused on this subject

 

[Soyeong]

Hi all

I went to a church ( while I was on holiday) last week and one topic that was brought up was, If we obey God he will bless us ? To me that sounds like a parent saying I give you something if you obey me, but I also heard that he blesses people who are not ?

Kind of confused on this subject

Hello, God wants to teach us how to rightly live, so His law was given as a gift for our good (Deuteronomy 6:24, 10:12-13). As such, blessings and curses are like saying that if we exercise and eat healthy, then we will find that it is for our own good, while if we do not, then we will find it to our detriment. God does not bless the unrighteousness.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Hi all

I went to a church ( while I was on holiday) last week and one topic that was brought up was, If we obey God he will bless us ? To me that sounds like a parent saying I give you something if you obey me, but I also heard that he blesses people who are not ?

Kind of confused on this subject

He rewards us by our character.

The Beatitudes​

5 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

He blesses the just and unjust.

Matthew 5:45 KJV
45. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

I have considered we should not assume we are on His good side just because we receive blessings. He blesses us all.

 

[NewLifeInChristJesus]

Hi all

I went to a church ( while I was on holiday) last week and one topic that was brought up was, If we obey God he will bless us ? To me that sounds like a parent saying I give you something if you obey me, but I also heard that he blesses people who are not ?

Kind of confused on this subject

Sounds like your spiritual senses are working. Continue to rest in His grace:

4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.​

​

5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:​

​

7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,​

And whose sins are covered;​

8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”​

​

The New King James Version (Ro 4:4–8). (1982). Thomas Nelson.​

 

[eleos1954]

Hi all

I went to a church ( while I was on holiday) last week and one topic that was brought up was, If we obey God he will bless us ? To me that sounds like a parent saying I give you something if you obey me, but I also heard that he blesses people who are not ?

Kind of confused on this subject

Blessings are not quid pro quo.

Blessing means the experiencing of divine kindness, mercy, or goodness. God wants to bless you. Paul says in Ephesians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

It's not about material things .... now we may have materials things and consider them a blessing but .... irregardless of those the real blessing is spiritual and is in Christ.

Blessing means the experiencing of divine kindness, mercy, or goodness. In other words, God wants to bless you. Paul says in Ephesians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

It's not about the material .... it's about the spiritual.

 

[BobRyan]

Hi all

I went to a church ( while I was on holiday) last week and one topic that was brought up was, If we obey God he will bless us ? To me that sounds like a parent saying I give you something if you obey me, but I also heard that he blesses people who are not ?

Kind of confused on this subject

When I am training my child or my pet - I often reward them for good behavior and find disincentives for bad behavior - because I love them and I want them to develop good safe behavior. No eating poison, no jumping off a cliff, no playing with razors etc. I want my children to grow up and be good citizens not criminals whose only goal is immediate satisfaction etc.

You say you are confused by the idea that God encourages good behavior and does not reward rebellion - but have you considered how confusing it would be if He did not do that??

 

[Divide]

Hi all

I went to a church ( while I was on holiday) last week and one topic that was brought up was, If we obey God he will bless us ? To me that sounds like a parent saying I give you something if you obey me, but I also heard that he blesses people who are not ?

Kind of confused on this subject

The short answer is yes. God does reward us for obedience both here in this life and in Heaven.

Now we know that God doesn't change, right? It says in the OT that God rewards obedience. It's in

Deuteronomy
28 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:

3 Your towns and your fields
will be blessed.
4 Your children and your crops
will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks
will be blessed.
5 Your fruit baskets and breadboards
will be blessed.
6 Wherever you go and whatever you do,
you will be blessed..../

Actually the entire chapter is on that subject. It also touches on sometimes we are cursed for disobedience also. It's a good study.

 

[Sabertooth]

He blesses the just and unjust.

Matthew 5:45 KJV
45. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

I have considered we should not assume we are on His good side just because we receive blessings. He blesses us all.

There are different levels of blessings.
Jesus said, in John 15:7,

If You Abide In Me, Sherman Andrus (1980)

 

[Divide]

, If we obey God he will bless us ?

There is a way that you can sort of test this to be truth or not. It's done through Tithing.

Malachai 3:10
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.../

I did test this for myself a few years back. I was self employed with wife & kids and work was slow. Many times during thin times I found myself reading the word and when I read this I knew I had to try it. It was awesome because being self employed means I collected the checks after I completed jobs. My bank was on the way home and so was my church. My church there had a lot of wodden lock boxes with locks and stuff to make donations in. They never once while I attended there asked the congregation for $. But these donation boxes were all over the church and one was right by the front door! So I used it and did it on my way home and didn't even tell my wife that I was testing tithing. Why argue about it?!

We can't afford to give that much! I can hear it now but had faith in God. And I tell you what...there is no way that I can truthfully say that tithing doesn't work. Because it does! I'm in my slow season for work and I get busy! Sometimes it would be a windfall of cash, other times it would be more service calls for me to go make money. I remember one time, I had done a job and cashed the check and stopped off and paid the tithes on it. ANd before I got out of the parking lot my phone rang with more work!

So it's not that we can't afford to tithe, but rather, we can't afford not to tithe.

After that, I learned that the bible continually tells us to care for the poor. Care for the widows, the poor, those in jail. It says it a lot. So I have taken to doing this also. There is not any shortage of homeless people on the street so I help them out as much as I can. Giving it to them on the street is easier than giving it to a church and makes it easier for them to get help. It's not buying blessings but it does help and to help these people out of a love for the Lord and therefore wanting to be obediant to him. What goes around comes around. I think Karma is real.

 

[tturt]

Yes through obedience as shown in Scriptures such as these:
"The one who habitually keeps His commandments [obeying His word and following His precepts, abides and] remains in Him, and He in him. By this we know and have the proof that He [really] abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us [as a gift]." (I John 3:24).

"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.' John 15:10

'I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. " I John 2:14

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matt 7:21

'Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." John 14:23