Faith alone brings us into God’s family, but following Him requires effort. In this episode, Whit George and Blake Zimmerman unpack what true obedience looks like and why legalism and lawlessness both miss the point.
Ancient literature has a potency that modern ears often overlook. It doesn’t just tell stories—it provokes, confronts, and calls for transformation. The same is true of the Bible. It isn’t meant merely to inform but to awaken, to stir us toward a different way of living.
At the heart of Scripture is this call: faith and works must go together. Your actions are the truest test of what you actually believe. A faith without works is hollow; a profession without obedience is empty.
In today’s culture, being “too Christian” is often frowned upon. Many are fine with faith as long as it stays moderate, polite, or private.
But the truer you live into your faith, the more “radical” you become—not because you’re extreme for the sake of it, but because you begin to look more and more like Jesus.
To be a radical Christian is simply to live as Jesus lived:
Obeying His commands
Trusting God
Serving instead of grasping for power
Loving without condition
The world doesn’t need more nominal Christians. It needs disciples who embody the life of Christ.
Faith in Jesus alone is enough for entrance into God’s family. But that’s not all that’s required for the total life. Real discipleship requires effort—yet it is never about earning. As Dallas Willard put it, “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning.”
Two ditches threaten us:
Legalism: making rules and effort the means of salvation
Antinomianism: discarding God’s law altogether in the name of grace
But grace is not merely a bandage for sin. Grace is fuel in the tank for righteous living. We need it every moment of every day.
Fear and pride can sometimes produce “good” behavior, but they also drive us into sin. The deeper, truer motivation must be who God is.
Daily, pause to remember His character
Ask Him to unite your divided heart
Pray: “Lord, I want Your righteousness more than I want ______.”
If you long for God’s nature, you must spend time with His Word.
Meditate on His law until you begin to delight in it. Let it expose hidden sin, correct gray areas, and shape your imagination of what’s truly good.
Living faith is not proven in one grand moment but in countless small steps:
Choosing honesty over convenience
Cutting off hidden sins
Offering forgiveness where resentment feels easier
Saying, “Lord, what do You want from me today?”
These little obediences often stretch us beyond our comfort zone. But they also root us, like a tree planted by streams of water, steady through every season.
You would be blown away at where God might lead if you simply did whatever He told you. A faith that acts—daily, humbly, intentionally—becomes the most radical witness of all.
So take the next step. Sit with the law. Correct the sin. Trust God’s grace. And let your faith show up in the way you live.
Check out the weekend message: Obedience Over Elaborate Affection
In this episode they recommend the book A Guide to Prayer for All God’s People
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