How does one "not obey the Son?"

Believers, consider John 3:36- "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

See the AMPC version: "He who believes and trusts in the Son and accepts Him [as Savior] has eternal life [that is, already possesses it]; but he who does not believe the Son and chooses to reject Him, [disobeying Him and denying Him as Savior] will not see [eternal] life, but [instead] the wrath of God hangs over him continually."

But how does one "disobey" Christ the Son? According to God's Word, it is definitely not by committing acts of sin or breaking the law as we constantly hear. John 1:17 tells us:

"For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

Jesus did not come to repeat Moses' act of giving the law for people to keep in order to be godly. Grace and Truth came through Him. Beloved of God, Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him: 

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of Titus 2 tells us the purpose of the coming of Grace: 

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Disobeying Christ is not committing sins. Those very sins that man struggles with and which false preachers misinterpret as "disobeying Christ," Christ came to save us from them all. Matthew 1:21 says of Him:

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Christ is "Grace" is undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. But what about "Truth"? Truth is also a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Hear this from Christ Himself in John 14:6- 

"Jesus explained, “I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life. No one comes next to the Father except through  union with Me.  To know Me is to know My Father too."

Christ Himself is Grace and Truth. His "job description" is salvation from slavery to the law aka trying to keep the law in order to be godly- an effort in futility according to Romans 3:19-20-

"Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are."

The law was not given for us to keep. The law (human effort at being sinless or good like God - a picture of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) was given to reveal man's utter nakedness/lack of righteousness or good. 

Beloved, let's not be found among churchgoing hypocrites who act like they are the only ones that loathe sin and that "other people" just want to continue to wallow in their sins. To think that "other people" enjoy their sins and don't want to give them up is akin to thinking that Peter enjoyed denying Jesus and could not wait for another opportunity to deny Jesus. Or that Judas was somewhere enjoying his betrayal money…until people saw him hanging. What do we think is the major cause of depression and suicide even among unbelievers? It is guilt for sins/imperfection, failure of the arm of flesh/human effort to make things right, fear, anxiety, hopelessness and sorrow in the heart for sins aka not measuring up to particular standards - no different from what happened to Judas who was full of remorse and blamed himself for his sin. 

Satan knows that his promotion of that "at least try" false doctrine of dependence on human effort/willpower for the attainment of good/godliness is how to put man in that "Judas mode" of depression and suicide. All of mankind have sinned. Many are like Peter- beginning with good intentions, never thinking that they could do what they did and afterwards, feeling great remorse. Others are like Judas whom Satan entered. See Luke 22-

“3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.”

When the scales of Satan's grip falls from the eyes of many, they realise their sin and are remorseful. The worst thing that one can do at this time is to plod on in human effort at doing what the law commands in a bid to make things right as Judas did. Death (preceded by its symptoms of earthly ills such as anxiety, stress, depression, stupid mistakes, lack, sickness, etc) is the result of such dependence on human effort for the attainment of godliness. This is why many churchgoers keep on hopping from one holy ghost deliverance "power must change hands" convention to another, constantly looking over their shoulder in fear for Satan's attack and looking for salvation through arm of flesh-driven obedience, 70 days fasts, sowing seed and other "trade by barter" activities from the same God of whom it is written in Romans 8:32-

"He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

No matter how it got to go astray, what the lost sheep who are living under accusation, captivity to and the guilt of sins need is not more of the letter (law) that kills but super(hyper)-abounding Grace: Jesus Christ the Truth and the Good Shepherd who saves from sins. Romans 5:6 tells us what He came to do and who He came to save, even salvation from sins:

"For when the time was right, the Anointed One came and died to demonstrate His love for sinners who were entirely helpless, weak, and powerless to save themselves.”

Notice that Christ came to save those who are "entirely helpless, weak, and powerless to save themselves." Entirely helpless - like the gold ring (beautiful woman) in a pig's snout (held captive by sins.) In reality, this is the default mode of everyone descended from Adam. Those who can keep the law, fast and sow seed to get Him to save them cannot enjoy His Grace which is unmerited favour. In reality, of ourselves, there is no good in anyone of us. The arm of flesh (human effort at getting right with God) will fail. We see by Grace that of ourselves, our will-power to live right is utterly useless and that there is no good whatsoever in man of himself as was Paul's experience in Romans 7:18-

“For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."

God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience/being good like God) that will fail says:

"No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can keep the law and resist temptation to commit sin by my will-power. Faith without works is dead so I must and I can do works to prove that I have faith. Since I can do it, others must too. They are just lazy and love to sin.”

But like Peter who boasted in his uprightness before his eyes were opened to his “pig snout" situation by his copious denial of Christ after Satan sifted him like wheat, many are yet to realise man's default sinful nature and his utter helplessness against sin; many think that some sins are beneath them because God has kept them from experiencing the vagaries of Time and Chance as well as Satan's sifting. Paul addressed this truth in Romans 1 where a group who “suppress the truth” of righteousness by faith (verses 16-19) devolved into sin after “God lifted off His restraining hand…” —

“24 This is why God lifted off His restraining hand and let them have full expression of their sinful and shameful desires…”

If God lifted off His restraining hand that restrains us from devolving into committing heinous sins and let us rely on our human effort and will-power (arm of flesh) at keeping the law in order to be saved, godly or for whatever reason, like Peter right before he thrice denied Christ, we would all devolve into sin and see how utterly lacking in good we are of ourselves. 

Recall John 3:36 says: "...but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

 

Notice the verse says "obey the Son" (aka Grace and Truth-Christ Himself) and not "obey the law?"

Anyone who thinks that he can obey even a smidgen of the law by his own strength rejects Christ and is already under the wrath of God according to the word of Christ in John 3:

"He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation–he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.]"

Only through the blood of Jesus are we redeemed from imprisonment from the pig's snout (sin), made righteous in God's sight and get to escape the wrath of God:

“And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." Romans 5:6.

Now consider John 3:36- "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

See the NASB: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

"Believe" and "obey" mean the same thing here. To obey Christ is to "believe" in the Goodness of God which is demonstrated in His sacrificing of His own beloved Son to save us from slavery to the law as well as sin and death. It is does not mean striving to obey the Ten Commandments (Law) in order to be godly. In Christ, we are not under Law but under Grace who "gave His life to free us from every kind of sin...." (Titus 2:14.)

So next time we read the verse, let's remember the famous word that Christ gave earlier on in the same chapter: John 3:16-17-

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

Christ the Word did not come to demand obedience or condemn us for our inability to obey the law. He came to save us because of our inability to obey the law. He came that our disobedience might be utterly forgiven and to make us right with God as it is written of Him in Romans 5:19-

"By one man's  disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous."

When your believing is right, right living will follow.