Partial Obedience is Disobedience

Scripture Reference:  “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: (Genesis 12:1-4a)

We all know the story well.  Then Abram, later changed to Abraham, was instructed by God to go forth into a land…. God would bless him…and Abram went!  What a mighty story of faith and obedience, right?  After all Abraham became the father of many and his seed is now like trying to number the stars or the grains of sand.  He enjoyed a blessed life and is listed in the Hall of Fame of Faith!

I don’t doubt for one minute that Abraham was a blessed man.  He let his nephew Lot chose the land which he would go into, when their camps broke out in strife.  He was able to go and rescue Lot when Lot was carried away captive.  He was able to plead for Sodom and Gomorrah when it was about to be destroyed, which helped Lot to escape with his life.  Yes indeed Abraham was blessed!

However is that all the Spirit is trying to teach us here?  Look closely.  A number of the “troubles” Abraham had, involved Lot.  You see Abraham did what God said, but he, you and I are missed something.  Did you see it in verse between verses one and four?  God told Him to “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred…” God did not say “take Lot with you”.  He told Abram to leave him.

You see even though Abram did as the LORD said and showed great faith going to a land he was going to be shown, He failed in the fact of getting away from his kindred.  And subsequently his nephew Lot, was the source of many of his troubles.

Partial obedience, is disobedience.  Disobedience to God is a sin.  Sin, according to God, must be punished.  Yes you may be blessed, but could you be even more blessed with your full obedience?