Recognizing the many influences that shape how we read and obey the Bible can make us more aware of our limitations, lead us to interpret with greater care and skill, foster a humble posture of ongoing dialogue, and help preserve our unity.
I know I have blindspots; the trouble is I can’t see where they are. My desire is not to be right, but to pursue truth and so I am open to correction. All readers are invited to respond and challenge what I have written. I will be grateful for your insights and for continuing the conversation.
NOTE: Chatgpt was used for editing, but not generative purposes
Part 2: True Obedience: Embracing the Heart of God
As an evangelical Christian committed to the authority of Scripture, I hold an egalitarian[1] view of male-female relationships in the church and family. A complementarian friend once asked me: “How can you believe that a woman can serve as a pastor or leader in the church when the Bible clearly commands that a woman is not to teach or have authority over a man (1 Tim 2:12)?” In his reading, it seems obvious that God’s created order excludes women from leadership or decision making over men.
The challenge is to demonstrate that I am legitimately and faithfully submitting to God’s will—something both I and my friend are committed to—while ensuring that I am not being swayed by cultural narratives that distort God’s design for his church. This concern is legitimate, since the values of any time and culture inevitably shape our perspectives and decision-making (for both my views and the views of my friend).
The Path of “Why?”
The path to answering my friend’s question is neither to reject this command of the apostle Paul nor to accept it in the rigid manner my friend insists is the only faithful option. Rather, the call is to ask “Why?” This is not the rebellious question of disobedience—“Why should I obey?”—nor a skeptical question shaped by worldly values—“Why should this command overrule our superior understanding?” It is, instead, the sincere question of a child seeking to fulfill the Father’s will: “Why was this command given?”
True obedience follows a path of discerning the gospel meaning and purpose behind any and every command in order to live it out contextually and faithfully. In so doing, we aim to embody light and life, so that God’s will, character, and purposes are demonstrated in our lives.
The Complexity of Obedience
While my friend’s question could be examined on exegetical grounds, I believe it is more important to challenge the hermeneutical assumption behind it, namely, that understanding and application are straightforward. I suggest that moving from a command in Scripture to obedient action requires a reliable and consistent hermeneutical process in order to answer the question, “What does it mean to fulfill this Scripture in my life as a sincere follower of Jesus?”
At first glance, obedience may seem straightforward: “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” God commands and we obey. While such trust is admirable—and genuine faith does require obedience—I believe this formula oversimplifies what it means to be faithful children of God in at least three ways:
- It overlooks the essential step of interpretation that lies between “God said it” and “I believe it.” We must ask to whom God was speaking, why the command was given, and what response was intended—contextual questions necessary for understanding what we claim to believe. Because our reason is limited and fallible, humility and faith are required so we do not assume too quickly that we have understood.
- It fails to account for the cultural distance between the original setting and our own. Meaning is embedded in culture, and without sensitivity to the differences, misunderstanding and misapplication are inevitable. Because culture shapes all communication and perception, our understanding is always perspectival rather than absolute.
- It emphasizes conformity to a specific command without discerning its purpose in light of the deeper realities of God’s will, character, and mission. Grounding obedience in theology (faith) is powerful because it keeps the divine Author central and aligns us with our created purpose—to know God. Yet theology remains a human construct, shaped by our interpretation and cultural context.
These three dimensions of what obedience requires are what I hope to draw out through this hermeneutic in order to provide a consistent and transformative way of conforming our lives to the gospel.
Embracing the Heart of God
Scripture calls us not to live merely as rule-followers—an inadequate approach that overlooks the interpretive lenses we inevitably bring—but to use Scripture to discern the heart, character, and mission of the One who gives the commands. Following Jesus means moving beyond conformity to rules in order to embrace a relational, Spirit-led participation in God’s purposes. It is not enough to know the content of God’s commands and then conform our lives to those commands. That approach will likely lead to misapplication, and even to a prideful spirit that criticizes those who interpret the commands differently. True obedience is rooted in theology: embracing and embodying the heart of God. Such an approach fosters humility and grace as we recognize that fellow believers may obey differently, yet with the same desire to please God.
This hermeneutic is based on the claim that reading Scripture begins by asking, “Why does God command this?” Our aim is to know the heart of God—his purposes and intentions behind the command. We are building a theology that moves us beyond the status of servants toward being children of God (Rom 8:14–17; Gal 4:4–7) and friends of Jesus (Jn 15:14–15). We share his heart, are guided by his Spirit, and live under the new covenant in which God has written his law on our hearts (Heb 8:10).
Obedience, then, is not a matter of choosing between compliance and rebellion; it is about cultivating a relationship with God that goes beyond mere conformity to commands. We long not simply to do what he says, but to be like him. This practice of asking “why” allows us to draw appropriate boundaries for life because we prioritize understanding God’s desires and, like the apostles, we work out fresh expressions of God’s purposes in our own contexts.
In the next article, we will explore the limits of culture and language that make it necessary for us to ask “why?”.
Footnotes:
[1] The complementarian position maintains that the distinct roles of men and women as established in creation point to a universal pattern of male headship, particularly significant for church leadership and family decision making. By contrast, the egalitarian position affirms the complementary nature of male and female and their roles but denies that these distinctions necessitate male authority or primacy in decision making in the church or family.
