Jehovah's Witnesses Straight Talk - Forum/Blog

Obeying The Commandment's

What if you were told you could not obey the commandment's of God, would you think the person is a liar, promoting lawlessness? When the fleshly legal mind hears this comment as just stated, it panic's into a state of hate and fear for the person making such an outrageous statement, branding them a lawless apostate from the truth of God's word the bible, but are they, or rather is it the legal minded Christian's themselves mislead into self-rightness?

Can any person not, not be a sinner, is the real question? No! A Christian's wouldn't state that, what we would say is; “We are sinners, and we are blasphemous, if we taught otherwise".

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

But can a person be a sinner, and not break all of God's commandments?

The Race For Eternal Life

After Adam and Eve sinned they could not obey the commandments of God perfectly, they were flawed as sinners forever. Will, you might say there really is no need in discussing this subject because it is basic bible teaching, and proof is that we are all sinners is the fact we died like Adam and Eve. So even if Adam and Eve tried to repent, after the fact, and keep the commandments, any of them including love, they could not and still died. They now needed a redeemer!

Romans 5:12 Therefore, as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned.

Hence, every human being born since Adam and Eve are dying as proof they can not keep God's commandments. If a person could keep the commandments of God perfectly they would be living without death, for that is the reward of keeping God's commandments perfecly without sin, is it not?

Here than is the truth, can we keep God's commandments, if we can, we qualify for life eternal, and God will reward us with eternal life, because of our own merit. This is a basic teaching from the start of God's word to its ends - standing as the truth of God's word. But this truth has been convoluted, by human self-righteousness, which steals the price that Christ Jesus paid for us with works of law, and/or self merit which is self-righteousness - instead of Christ saving blood, which blood justify us from our sins in breaking the commandments of God all of them including the new covenant the law of love, because we cannot stop sinning.

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

In other words, set before all of us is a race into eternal life that none of qualify for too run in, because we are sinners, hence, we cannot run because we break the rules of the game long before we start the race, for we our sinners. So what can we bring to this race? Nothing! Actually we are as good as dead as a contestant in this race. So all that we can bring is our breaking more laws by running illegally in a race we are not qualify too run in, in the first place. Thus, we have been disqualified in running from the gate!

The Delirium of Self-righteousness

The fleshly mind is delirious by its own good efforts in obeying the commandments of God, it cannot accept that it is disqualified at the gate of commandments for being a convicted sinner, this concept bring rage into the fleshly mind heart - in self-righteousness through earning merit by self efforts of its own sinful will.

The truth is a person cannot stand before God in their own self-righteousness it was Christ Jesus alone that did and could and run the race for us, and only Christ Jesus received the reward of eternal life based upon his own perfect earned merit before God, but does this make God evil towards us?

Heb. 5:7 He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear, 5:8 though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered. 5:9 Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author of eternal salvation.

Hebrews 7:26 For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.

Many think God evil by saying we don't quailfy by keeping the commandments, that is, we must do more then accepting the gift of kindness by God's love towards us as undeserved. But what is the gift, and can it be earned after we received it by obeying the commandment's of God than?

Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

Earning Merit After Recieving the Free Gift of God's Love

Here again is another thought that outrageous the fleshly mind, which is, believing it is not works of law, but showing appreciation for the gift of undeserved kindness, which means keeping the commandments of God. However, remembering the fleshly mind “must” earn merit that is its nature, for without earning merit, it lives in fear of punishment, why? Because it cannot, not believe God is wicked, demanding perfection from sinners by obedience.

The fleshly mind rejects this of course, which is, it truthfully believes God is wicked, and lives in fear of not earning enough merit to please God. Hence, this is the fleshly minds own conviction of itself trying to ready itself of sin by enough good works, and/or self-merited. Subsequently, because it cannot read itself of sin in thinks God as a wicked God of judgment and hate, not undeserved kindness.

Romans 8:8 Those who are in the flesh can't please God.

The fleshly mind cannot conceive God as love, who gives freely to all those asking Him. The fleshly mind must attach conditions to God's love, because it lives in fear of not being worthy enough of God's love by obeying commandments, which of course it could never keep in the first place. So it preaches out of fear using noble words from the bible, but the motivating truth is fear of judgment, not being able to rest in faith in God's love.

The fleshly mind says it accepts the free gift of God's undeserved kindness, but its heart, and fleshly mind does not put faith in it, and/or trust in it. So it has never accept the truth of God's grace, or unmerited kindness, it only deceives itself into thinks it has. However,the proof it has not, is saying that it can/must obey the commandments of God, instead of faith in Christ Jesus.

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.

The judgment is proof of a lack of faith in God's love, which is founded in ones own heart, but with ones own mouth it is preaches the lie of love out of fear of judgment in its own heart. The fleshly mind must preach it cannot stop preaching because of fears of judgment. Preaching is its merit to condone fear of punishment, but this message is not the “Good News”! It is rather the old news of sin and death through condemnation of our sinful flesh, and not freely forgiven by God.

James 1:26 If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn't bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man's religion is worthless.

The fleshly mind will fiercely deny this as truth, but it is its truth, nevertheless. However, if the person actually loved truth they would confess their lack of faith as never being good enough on their best day, knowing we all fall far short of God's glory, even after we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.

One can either keep the commandments or they cannot, but they cannot do both at the same time, and claim to be in the truth! So the truth for all Christian's is found at the local grave yard. But the fleshly mind is blinded to this truth, which is, our real condition of sin by God's own standards, not meeting the commantments for everlasting life.

John 7:18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

The gift undeserved kindness is free, or it has condition set upon it, which is it? The fleshly mind says it is free, but than attaches conditions of obeying the commandment's too God's free gift of unmerited kindness. Is God a liar, or is it the fleshly mind thats the liar? The fleshly mind is a lie, and it cannot tell the truth, or know the mind of Christ Jesus, it is not light, but darkness, founded upon its own self-righteousness.

John 5:44 How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don't seek the glory that comes from the only God?

The Gift of Obedience

Has any man on earth earned through their obedience to God commandments including love the gift of life, by their obedience? There is no human obedient enough, accept the Christ to do keep God's commandments, and gain eternal life by his own good works, does that make God a liar in telling us too obey his commandments, no! What it simply does, it makes it impossible for us too obey the commandments without God's help, and our putting faith in God's help, Jesus Christ.

John 8:54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God.

Romans 8:8 Those who are in the flesh can't please God.

Here than is the truth of keeping God's commandment's, we can't without God undeserved kindness given us as a free gift of His love. We cannot stand by saying we are perfectly obedient to God's commandment's. We can rather say the miserable man I am in not obeying the commandments, and humbly accept the kindness of God's love towards us in Jesus Christ.

Rom.7:22 For I delight in God's law after the inward man,
7:23 but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. 7:24 What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God's law, but with the flesh, the sin's law.

We are not righteous by obeying the commandments what does this mean?

What is Righteous to God?

Are we righteous before God, that is, in our own goodness efforts in wanting to obey the commandments of God, no! It does not depend upon our good motives too pay the price for our sins, nor does it come through our trying to obey the commandments of God that bring us eternal life, and a redemtion from our sins.

We cannot stand in sin, and call it good, that is, good enough to earn us eternal life, we cannot stand before God, and say; “look Lord what I have done for you by trying to be obedient to your commandments, my desires are better than others. now give me what I have earned in obeying everlasting life!"

Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but Yahweh weighs the motives.

Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, "I have made my heart pure. I am clean and without sin?"

God does not condone sin, he instead justifies it by a payment for its, by innocent precious blood. Has your desires to obey made your blood pure/holy without sin, before our Lord and Savior, no! but rather it is Christ Jesus blood that makes you not a sinner before God for breaking his commandments convicting us as confirmed sinner judged by God's commandments.

Hebrews 13:12 Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside of the gate.

So which is it? Can you have a little leaven of sin, and not ferment the whole lump unleavened bread of Christ by obeying the commandment as a sinner? Can you be good enough without Christ Jesus precious holy blood shed for you by God's undeserved kindness, or is by your own earning merit in obeying God's commandments that earns you life, removing your sins as unleavend bread like Christ, but you cannot have it both ways?

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

Fleshly Mouth Preaching Holiness!

How does the fleshly mind bring holiness to it filthy flesh, which cannot stop sinning? By preaching too others? Yes, the fleshly mouth thinks is can take something unclean, and make it holy by words of its fleshly mouth. If it speaks words from the bible, it earns enough merit before God to make itself holy, worthy, of unmerited kindness of God.

This is very convoluted thinking of the fleshly mind, confusion, although, vehemently denying by its thinking, it is, nevertheless, true. The leavened fleshly mind does believed it can earned a free gift, and preaches it to everyone to maintain cleanses before God. But it cannot put faith in Christ Jesus good works as good enough to redeem us, it instead mixes self good work, into Christ good works, to maintain a lie of holiness from self-merit, comforting the mind of the fleshly from its judgment state of mind.

Ephesians 2:9 not of works, that no one would boast.

1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out the old yeast, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place.

Preach, and preach some more, from the bible, and its laws that condemn the flesh entirly as having no faith, cleaness by preaching seems to make the mind of the flesh believe it has faith, but it is deceived by its own fleshly mouth. the fleshly mouth is connected to the fleshly mind, which heart lacks of faith in God's love?

What is the truth of preaching cleaness by declaring God's word to others? It is a lack of love, it is instead fear driven by judgment, which is why the fleshly mind must preach out of fear. The flesh mind believes it stand before God in its own merit. It cannot believe otherwise, so it twist everything in the God's word the bible into self-merited through legalism, creating a ladder of earned merit to gain eternal life with the Father.

Corinthians 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump?

Romans 3:20 Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

The word freedom to the fleshly mind does not mean free; The words,God's is love, is not what the flesh mind thinks of when saying - God is love, the word undeserved is not really undeserved, but instead conditions are attached too it. Hence, it must be earned by obeying commandments. In fact, the fleshly see it as an apostasy not too earn, undeserved kindness. The fleshly mind must save its own life, by proving its self, by self worth, in works of law, it builds massive institutions of laws calling them righteous, and holy, enslaving millions lives into a fleshly mind, through its teachings, one can prove they are righteous by keeping commandments by self-merit or good works.

The fleshly mind does not seek truth, it seek proving itself right by merit in obeying commandments, at all cost to the truth.

Standing In Christ Jesus Righteousness

Does any Christian's stand in their own righteousness? Can any Christian's; say I come to you YHWH by my own righteousness because I have obeyed your commandment's perfectly. Only a fool having worldly fleshly wisdom would say such a blasphemous thing to our Father after giving us the precious gift of kindness, in Christ Jesus.

Romans 4:4 Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as debt.

Why would some one invalidate the precious blood of Christ Jesus if it were not for personal goodness, and selfish pride lusting for their own prideful thinking? This one false teaching has polluted the whole truth of God word, replacing God's glory by man's glory by self-merit, earned salvation, instead of Christ salvation!

Christ Jesus is our righteousness, it is not our personal righteous by our merit. Christ earned us the gift of life by his own merit in obeying God every commandment perfectly without sin. Christ did not need innocent blood to atone for his misstates/sins. Because of this we might gain life, God did not say earn life, but He did says here is the free gift of life if you believe in the Son of God, which is proof of my love towards you.

Knowledge That Puffs Up

The fleshly mind believe as will that knowledge make it holy before God, but what knowledge really does for the fleshly mind is makes it deny the truth of God's unmerited kindness in Jesus Christ, which, truth point out that we need salvation and we can only have salvation by God gift freely given too us.

Knowledge to the fleshly mind is one more "work of law" or work of the fleshly mind to gain more merit making it self-righteousness before others having the same fleshly minded. The fleshly mind is not seeking truth, but knowledge to prove its self-merit,

Knowledge does not justify anyone from sin, it is rather the precious blood of Christ Jesus that does. Knowledge does not stand before God and say; "I have great knowledge of your word, so own me everlasting life!". Knowledge puffs up into self-righteousness, but it is gain because of fear of judgment. Those worshiping knowledge are in fear of judgment, and think they can save themselves by knowledge, but this is a lie, having nothing to do with truth.

1Cor.13:1 If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don't have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
13:2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don't have love, I am nothing. 13:3 If I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don't have love, it profits me nothing. 13:4 Love is patient and is kind; love doesn't envy. Love doesn't brag, is not proud,

Knowledge is evil if it says it can obey God's commandments without the precious blood of Christ Jesus through by its own self-merit. Knowledge without God's love in Christ Jesus is death, and it is corruption found in the self-righteous a fool that says he can save himself, by good works in keeping the commandments of God, like Jesus Christ did in paying for our souls.

Evil Promotes More Evil

Mankind can obey God's commandment's, but one way, and that is to accept the gift of righteousness from a person that actual earned everlasting life for us in obeying God's commandment's without sin, perfectly. There is no other way! Don't be deceived, by a fleshly legal mind that cannot stop sinning. Who teaches you can earning perfectly life by obeying God's commandments.

We stand in Christ righteousness, as its a free gift, we cannot keep the commandment's good enough to get this free gift. What we can do is accept Christ Jesus whom kept God's commandments for us, and paid the high price from death for our breaking God's commandments. We can never earn what is impossible as a sinner to earn, that is, life by God's, through obedience too commandments. We cannot say, after the fact of being a sinner, I have no sin by my own obedience to your righeous commandments God, or that after being saved we have earned the free gift of God's unmerited kindness. We cannot say; “I am at death door, the gate at the race for eternal life, and I will out run Christ in obedience to you commandments, but I will accept Christ just in case I am not good enough!" No either Christ ran the race for us being qualified as not being a sinner or he did not, one cannot have it both ways, which is, earning life after accepting life in Christ Jesus, freely!

No! we must received Christ Jesus righteousness as the tree of life, we do not promote evil again by our fleshly mind set upon merit, lying saying; "now I can keep God's commandments by my personal efforts".

Evil promotes more evil as do laws of our fleshly mind create more sin misleading us through laws used too punish sinners, these laws do not promote sinlessness, but rather created more of the same, laws of sin into yeast.

We do not earn merit after the fact, Christ Jesus earned our merited everlastingly, or he has not? We can rest in his merit that his righteousness gaining life for us as sinners, but we cannot start over earning merit by self-good efforts. Christ Jesus is the head of his righteous body, and we are its members under Christ headship being given the body righteousnes or not? What it is not is our own earned righteousness by keeping the commandments of God, righteousness was earned for us by Christ Jesus faithfulness in keeping all the commandment, including love, this is what the body of Christ has, the rest are gifts given to each member, not earned gift of self-righteousness. We must stay in Christ righteousness, which is his body, where life is found; we do not earned life, by our good works, but are given life freely by God's own goodness towards us His his creation.

Christ Jesus Jesus righteous life is imperishable, and cannot be changed or earned by our obeying some rule of law. It must be accept in faith, which is enough, God has his finish His works for us in Christ Jesus life, not ours. We must stop working in proving our own goodness by obeying some commandments that defeated us in death, condemning us as unworthy of life, and rest in the Lord – God great sabbath day of faith for us.

We must stop lying in our fleshly mind glorifying our goodness/good efforts as earned by obedience to Christ Jesus through commandments that we cannot keep, which laws are outside of the life of Christ Jesus, instead we must start acting in faith, so we don' t develop a wicked heart full of evil lacking faith in Christ Jesus earned merit for us. Yes! Evil, we are evil without the life of Christ Jesus, and we will stay evil if we lie to others about being good enough by self-works of our flesh claiming we are pleasing God by obeying commandments that we could never keep in the first place - without God unmerited kindness too us.

All we are doing is promoting evil for the free gift of God's love by giving laws of obedience to those we preach too through judgment of fear and darkness out of our own wicked hearts. We stand condemn, and are a liar, not having the love of God in our hearts. We than presume upon our personal goodness - drying up the waters of truth, and Spirit for others by bring them into self-righteousness, creating judgment and a lack of peace through wicked reasoning.

We make them twice as much a sinner by not giving them the truth of Christ Jesus. We direct them into works of law behind the word undeserved kindness, polluting it to save face, and glorify our own good efforts instead of coming too Christ Jesus, through the word of God.

We make them into yeast, into a body of laws corrupted by Adam and Eve sin, having no sacrifice for sins left. Creating in them a fleshly mind that cannot know God accept through works of laws, we teaches them they must put a way the filth of their flesh by personal good efforts, or be condemned by God of judgment, while we ourselves exist in our own sins from lack of faith by denying Christ Jesus earned merited for us.

So it is no more than the dead burying the dead, condemning corruption with corruption, adding condemnation of sins laws to fleshly teachings. Life comes too us by one life, Christ Jesus life, who is now God's one source of life, we cannot be grafted into a righteous of tree, (Christ Jesus), by self-righteousness, we cannot do enough obeying of commandments to be grafted into the tree of life. Christ Jesus is the tree of life for us, it is by his merit, and not ours own, it is by our faith in this tree we have life, and we become a part of it.

Can you obey the commandments and have life, no! You can accept that Christ Jesus obeyed the commandments for you, and bought your life, and you can speak this truth so others may have that same life in the free gift of God's unmerited kindness. Anything teaching than this is a lie, and it will be proven in death by those promoting such lies of the Devil.

If you want to obey the commandment to love one another, as Christ loved us, speak truth each one with his neighbor. Teach them to put faith in Christ Jesus, allowing that unshakable faith in what he alone paid for us has done for you, by standing in his righteousness not accounting your sin against you as declare righeous by his precious life you have obey the commandment of by faith.

Yes true obedience is faith, faith in the works of Christ Jesus given too us as undeserved kindness. This truth is true obedience by faith, it is not that you can keep the commandment that has been decided by God sending his Son to die for you, you now stand on Christ, his righteousness, we can now obey the commandment of love because God has removed our deserved judgment.

Helpful Research Below

OBEDIENCE

I. Representative Biblical references to "obedience"

A. Old Testament - Heb. word shama - "to hear, listen, obey"
Exod. 19:5 - "if you obey My voice ..., you shall be My possession"
Exod. 24:7 - "All that the Lord has spoken we will do; we will be obedient"
Deut. 6:4 - "Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one"
Deut. 11:13 - "if you listen obediently to My commandments"
I Sam. 15:22 - "to obey is better than sacrifice"
Ps. 81:11 - "My people did not listen to My voice; Israel did not obey Me"
B. New Testament
1. Greek word hupakouo - "to listen under, to obey;" opposite is parakouo - "to listen around, beside, disobedience" (cf. Rom. 5:19)
Rom. 1:5 - "obedience of faith among the Gentiles"
Rom. 16:26 - "obedience of faith"
II Cor. 10:5 -"taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ"
II Thess. 1:8 - "those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus"
Heb. 5:9 - "He became to all who obey Him the source of salvation"
I Pet. 1:2 - "that you may obey Jesus Christ"
I Pet. 1:14 - "As obedient children...be holy"
I Pet. 1:22 - "you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls"
2. Greek words peitho and peitharcheo - "to persuade, convince;" opposite is apeitheo - "unconvinced, disobedient" (cf. Eph. 2:2; 5:6)
Acts 5:29 - "we must obey God rather than men"
Acts 5:32 - "the Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him"
Rom. 2:8 - "do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness"
Gal. 5:7 - "who hindered you from obeying the truth?"

II. Defining "obedience"

A. Base words
1. English word "obedience"
a. Etymology - Latin oboedire - ob = towards; oedire = "to hear"
b. Meaning: "to hear or listen towards"
c. Popular English usage: "to follow, heed, comply with commands or injunctions within a sphere of jurisdiction."
2. Hebrew word shama - "to hear, listen; obey"
3. Greek word hupakouo - "to listen under; obey"
4. Old English word herknen ("hearken"); both hear and obey
B. Change in context of meaning
1. Relational context
a. All of the base words have a personal/relational context
b. Obedience pertains to listening to (and responding to) God, Moses, prophets, Jesus, Paul, parents, etc.
2. Legal context
a. Nowhere in the New Testament are the words for "obedience" or "disobedience" used in direct connection with the Law or any corpus of behavioral rules and regulations.(cf. Isa. 42:24)
b. Yet, "obedience" developed a Law-based interpretation
(1) rule-keeping
(2) commandment compliance
(3) performance according to precepts
(4) "works"

III. Historical perspectives

A. Greek perspective
1. Primary emphasis on seeing spiritual things rather than hearing (see mysteries, visions)
2. Hear or obey yourself; your reason, thoughts, feelings
B. Hebrew perspective
1. Emphasis on hearing God rather than seeing God
2. Developed into
a. Historical remembrance of having heard God
b. Futuristic expectation of seeing God (Isa. 60:4,5)
3. Prophetic rebuke for failure to hear, listen, or obey
4. Rabbinical emphasis on legalistic hearing/obeying the Law
C. Christian perspective
1. Radically new meaning of "obedience" in new covenant
2. Relational context of obedience becomes ontological
3. The Word to be heard/obeyed is a Person (Jn. 1:1,14)
4. Receptivity of Christ is the "obedience of faith" (Rom. 1:5; 16:26)
5. Indwelling presence of Spirit of Christ is...
a. "law written in our hearts" - Heb. 8:10; 10:16; Jere. 31:33
b. basis of revelation - Phil. 3:15
c. dynamic for expressing what God wants to do in us
6. The Christian individual is still responsible...
a. to listen in order to discern what Christ wants to do
b. to be convinced and persuaded that what he has heard from Christ is what God wants to be and do

IV. The historical obedience of Jesus Christ

Heb. 5:8 - "He learned obedience from the things which He suffered"
Phil. 2:8 - "He humbled Himself becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross"
Rom. 5:19 - "through the obedience of the One, the many will be made righteous"
A. Jesus' obedience was not...
1. legalistic compliance with Law; keeping the rules
2. precise performance of a programmed plan; doing the dictates
B. Jesus lived by the obedience of faith
1. listened to God through trials, hardships, suffering
2. continued to listen to God unto death on a cross
3. such listening to God unto death allowed Him to take our death and invest His life in us

V. Obedience in the Christian life.

A. Listening
1. We "listen under" the direction of God's Spirit
2. "My sheep hear My voice" - Jn. 10:27
3. We are persuaded/convinced we have heard what He wants to do
B. Receptivity
1. "Obedience of faith" - Rom. 1:5; 16:26
2. Our receptivity of His activity
3. He is the dynamic of His own demands
C. Spontaneity
1. Not proceduralized external actions of obedience
2. Branch obeys the Vine (Jn. 15:1-11). To abide is to obey.
D. Liberty
1. Christians are free to obey. Not slaves to sin.
2. We are most free when we obey. Free to be man as God intended.

See also: nu-truth.com