NOTES ON RADICAL OBEDIENCE IN THE LAST DAYS: AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY’S FORGOTTEN GOSPEL (WITH VIDEO)

1. THEOLOGY

SCRIPTURE. “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; Your reward [FOR OBEDIENCE] shall be very great … If you [really] love Me, you will KEEP AND OBEY My commandments.’” – GENESIS 15:1; JOHN 14:15, AMP;

KEY TERM: “KEEP AND OBEY.” ‘Téreó’ [τηρήσετε]: “To [carefully] watch over; to guard (from loss or injury); observe attentively.” NOTE: “Strong’s Greek 5083 appears seventy-one times, weaving together TWO MAIN SPHERES: (1) ‘Active Loyalty’—Believers ‘keep’ what God has revealed; (2) ‘Protective Custody’—God or human authorities ‘keep’ persons or things under guard. ‘The Contexts range from Intimate Discipleship in the Gospels and Epistles to Cosmic Judgment scenes in Revelation, showing a seamless Biblical Theology of Covenant Faithfulness and Divine Preservation.’”

QUOTATION. “‘To have Faith in Christ means, of course, trying to DO all that He says.’ There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus, if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to OBEY Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to [get] saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.” ―  C.S. LEWIS, Mere Christianity, 1952; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘After these things’ — ‘1st, After that act of generous charity which Abram had DONE, in Rescuing his neighbours, God made him this gracious visit. 2d, After that victory which he had obtained over four kings: Lest Abram should be too much elevated with that, God comes to tell him he had BETTER THINGS in store for him.’ 

‘The Word of the Lord came unto Abram’ — That is, God manifested himself to Abram; ‘in a vision’ —Which supposes that Abram was awake, and had some sensible token of the presence of the Divine Glory saying, ‘Fear not, Abram’ —Abram might fear lest the four kings he had routed should rally and fall upon him. No, saith God, ‘fear not:’Fear not their revenge, nor thy neighbours’ envy; I will take care of thee. ‘I am thy shield’ — Or, emphatically, ‘I am a shield to thee,’ present with thee, actually defending thee. The consideration of this, that God Himself is a Shield to His people, to secure them from all destructive evils, a Shield ‘ready to them,’ and a Shield ‘round about them,’ should silence all perplexing fears. 

‘And thy exceeding GREAT REWARD.’ — Not only ‘thy Rewarder,’ but thy ‘Reward!’ ‘God Himself is the Felicity of holy souls; He is the Portion of their inheritance, and their Cup.’” – JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 2^nd Ed., 9 vols., 1811-1818; edited

1. TEACHING

PERSONAL NOTE. You have listened to me opine numerous times that the American Evangelical Churches in America began eliminating the TEACHING OF OBEDIENCE to God in the past few generations. Today I want to take that idea fully home by introducing you to My Family just a bit.

• SUZETTE. My wife of 45 years of Filippino-Portuguese, descent, age 70 (Sunday August 16, 2026). She is  3^rd grade Title I elementary school teacher who has been nominated for the National Award for Outstanding Teacher of the Year; holds an M.A. degree in Education.

• CHRISTINA. Age 37 years old. She earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology now working on her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree while working at an ER center at one of our larger hospitals. She has battled Crohn’s Disease since she was 11 years old, suffered through six surgeries and is still on the courageous hunt for her life calling as a medical professional.

• CHRISTOPHER. My son is now 34 years old, holds a Ph.D. in Literature specializing in Asian Studies He did a year at Wadham College, Oxford University, was a Fullbright Scholar, was a doctoral fellow at Columbia, who just began his career position as Assistant Professor at Swarthmore College. He is also an accomplished martial arts expert, having trophied 29 times at competitive tournaments.

• CLIFF KELLY. I hold Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Communication from California State University, Long Beach and a Doctorate in Philosophy and Social Theory from Bowling Green University (OH). My specialization is in Political Communication and Theology and I’ll be 82 years old this September. I have published over 420 online Commentaries and two books dealing with the Lord’s Opening of The Sixth Seal in the Book of Revelation (Ch.6:12-17).

My reason for profiling members of Kelly House: I am teaching and preaching today primarily to us, and then to the rest of you sinners out there who need some Divine Finish Work to prepare us for our Last Mission and Christ’s Return.

FIVE LEVELS OF OBEDIENCE. I found a very practically wise little essay that laid out a way to measure where we are on our journey with Christ that helps us to Identify Christian Commitment in simple terms.

It is written by JUSTIN GRAVITT, administrator for the Navigators and writer. His piece is titled, appropriately: “Five Levels of Obedience Tool” (Discipleship, Aug. 30, 2022; edited).

LEVEL 1: INCONSISTENT OBEDIENCE – ‘I’ll do what I want.’ “Infant Disciples make up most of those at this stage. Sometimes they are aware of what God desires, but don’t yet care enough to put what God’s desires above their own. They obey at times, but it’s more coincidence rather than commitment. When it’s convenient, they do what He wants, otherwise they ignore it. In most cases, Spiritual Infants react more than reflect and have ample opportunity to learn about the power and effects of sin.”

LEVEL 2: CONDITIONAL OBEDIENCE – ‘If God gives me what I want then I’ll give Him what He wants.’ “Disciples at this level relate to God as their Servant. They sit in the place of power and control in the relationship. They obey if God behaves and leave if He doesn’t. Ironically, most disciples initially approach God for relationship on this level. Our first ‘want’ is typically forgiveness of sin or another desperate place as we approach Him. In this way, even our initial surrender is sin-stained. Disciples at this stage don’t understand the Nature of God nor the type of relationship God desires.”

LEVEL 3: PROVISIONAL OBEDIENCE– ‘I’ll give God what He wants as long as He meets my needs.’ – “There are two main differences between Level 2 and Level 3. To start, at this stage the disciple obeys first and allows God to respond. Second, the disciple only demands their needs be met, instead of needs and wants. Progress has been made in understanding God’s Nature and what He desires, but there’s still a long way to go.”

LEVEL 4: FUTURE HAPPINESS OBEDIENCE – ‘I’ll give God what He wants, believing—in faith—that at some point, I’ll get what I need and want.’ “Disciples at this level have taken a huge step forward. Many Mature Christians live at this level and believe that it’s the highest level of Obedience. They have learned that God is God they are not. It is theirs to obey, now, not later. They can take their needs and wants to God and believe—in Faith—that He will provide. His provision may not come until they get to Heaven, but it is His to decide. Still, there is an element of Obedience in exchange for delayed gratification here. There’s still more room to grow in Obedience.”

LEVEL 5: UNCONDITIONAL OBEDIENCE – I’’ll Give God What He wants.’ “Disciples at this level have surrendered their wants and their needs to God. They have internalized the truth of Jeremiah 10:23, ‘I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.’ They have rightly taken the Inferior Position in the relationship and act out of a place of loving trust. ‘THIS is the Level of Obedience that we should all be seeking.’”

CODICIL. “A couple final points, First, we don’t live on just one level. Disciples move back and forth from one level to another depending on the issue or the day. That’s normal. Second, it’s important to remember that: ‘Doing the Right Thing is always better than doing the Wrong Thing So, OBEDIENCE is always better than DISOBEDIENCE —regardless of the motivation.’ As we grow to maturity, the nature of our Obedience changes. It grows from intermittent and partial to consistent and holistic.”

Now we turn to the very real and very outrageous, audacious Obedience of the ONE MAN who, second only to Jesus Himself, dramatically illustrates Level 5 Obedience.

1. THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM

“Some time after these things GOD TESTED ABRAHAM. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ ‘Here I am!’ Abraham replied,God said, ‘Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah! OFFER HIM UP there as a burnt offeringon one of the mountains which I will indicate toyou.’

Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out for the place God had spoken to him about. On the third day Abraham caught sight ofthe place in the distance. So he said to his servants, ‘You two stayhere with the donkey whilethe boy and I go up there. We will worship and then return to you.’

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, and the two of them walked on together.Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘My father?’ ‘What is it, my son?’ he replied. ‘Here is the fire and the wood,’ Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ ‘God will providefor himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,’ Abraham replied.

The two of them continued on together.

When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughterhis son.But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Here I am!’ he answered.’ ‘Do not harm the boy!’ the Angel said. ‘Do not do anything to him, for now I knowthat you fear God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from Me.’

Abraham looked up and sawbehind him a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place, ‘The Lord provides.’  It is said to this day, ‘In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.’” – GENESIS 22:1-14, NET

Each time I read that Narrative, I shudder, beloved, and think out loud: “Dearest Lord! KILL MY ONLY SON? Selah.

RADICAL ALLEGIANCE! ‘The Faith of Abraham in the Last Days represents a Radical, Pilgrim-style Trust in God’s Promises.’ This study is a careful elaboration of the vital necessity of a True Christian practicing OBEDIENCE UNTO DEATH at the End of History as we are getting to know it.

“When He (the Lamb) broke open THE FIFTH SEAL, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained [out of loyalty to Christ] … And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death.” – REVELATION 6:9, 12:11, AMP

Since I was not able to find even one Commentary on this subject, I once again turned to an AI Overview to cobble together several essays into a unified statement that must be made (ret. Aug. 14, 2026; edited).

Thus it is, beloved (and shall soon be all the more), the following CALL OF CHRIST to the Church.  Just as Abraham Left Urand lived in tents looking toward a City with Eternal Foundations, believers today are called to Detach from Worldly Security,’ and learn to rely completely on God’s Word and Spirit through Uncertainty, and Trust in Ultimate Resurrection and Future Fulfillment.

• LEAVING THE FAMILIAR. Obeying God’s call to move forward without needing a full map or immediate sight of the destination. DK: As with Abraham who obeyed God’s Command, to GO “to a land [or job or assignment or duty or relationship] that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).

• TENT & ALTAR. Living as a Transient Pilgrim in the World while prioritizing active worship and consecration to God above material accumulation. DK: This essentially turns The American Gospel on its head, in return to the Original Gospel taught by Christ: “If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments” (John 14:15).

• DEFYING UNCERTAINTY. Trusting a God who brings Life to dead things and fulfills Promises that defy human and scientific limits. DK: Fully grasping who we are in Jesus Christ in all circumstances, however severe. And that He gives us unlimited access to His Exousia (ἐξουσία): “Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you” (Luke 10:19).

• PROVEN OBEDIENCE. Demonstrating Living Faith through Radical Surrender, Integrity, and consistent Action when tested. DK: In a Church and State largely prioritizing material wealth and earthly power, this: “Better is the poor man who walks in his integrity than he who willfully goes in double and wrong ways, though he is rich” (Proverbs 28:6).

A REMNANT. In my ten years of exhaustive research on the American, primarily White Evangelical, Pentecostal and Charismatic Church, I am more convinced than ever that a SMALL MINORITY will, as they say it, ‘Make the cut.’

• THE PRINCIPLE. The Remnant refers to a Theological Concept holding that during times of widespread Apostasy, Failure, or Judgment, God preserves a Faithful Few—a “Remnant”—to maintain His Truth, fulfill His Purpose, and carry forward His Covenant Promises toward Ultimate Restoration.

• THE GOSPEL.  “Enter through the NARROW GATE [‘stenos’ (στενῆς),’strait, confined, restricted’]. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

So, beloved: What next?

1. LAST THOUGHTS

My Close today will be brief. The First Statement is from a relatively unknown Bible teacher and writer whose prose I immediately loved. Her name is MICHELLE MORIN in her Blog titled, “What Do Christians Mean by Choosing the Narrow Way?” (June 23, 2024; edited).

THE WALK. “The sum total of our choices leads us to who we are becoming. The Narrow Path may not accommodate everything I’d like to bring along, meaning that I leave a few things behind, submit to a waiting process, or experience loss on some level. ‘DIETRICH BONHOEFFER describes Christ’s invitation to travel as a calling to “Come and die.” JEN WILKIN challenges her readers that the TWO “I’s” believers need to gouge out in [2027] are ‘Individualism and Instant gratification.’”

Walking the Narrow Road is a CHOICE to Embrace the Heart Obedience Jesus laid out in His Teaching, to bring Old Testament Words into our [2027] life and declare, ‘Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path’ [Psalm 119:105].

THE COMMAND. “Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

But his delight and desire are in the LAW OF THE LORD, and on His Law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night. And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]

Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].” – PSALM 1:1-5, AMPC

Do These Things, Christian! As the great evangelist Oswald Chambers wrote of it so eloquently, ‘Your very Utmost for His very Highest,’ and nothing less! And surely shall your Life blaze brighter than a thousand suns, though the Earth enter its Deepest Darkness in all of human history.

MEDIA

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/o2rIQk4vNeA