There is no doubt that obedience to God's law brings
blessings, and disobedience has its consequences as well.
The word
favor, in most of the Scriptures where it is used with reference to God's favor, is equated with God's
grace, not with the ordinary blessings that follow upon sincere obedience.
Let's define a new word:
Superstition (noun): Any act not commanded in God's written word which is designed to obtain His favor. The operative phrase is "not commanded in God's word." We tend to invent all sorts of way to please Him, and we tend to put our faith in these superstitions rather than in the fact that it is Christ's favor alone, imputed to us, which pleases God and brings forth the
fruit of obedience resulting in greater blessing. There are the more obvious "Christian" superstitions like making the sign of the cross, for example. But we Protestants are just as guilty of inventing and applying "Christian" superstitions. Examples:
"I hope you don't expect God to bless you today since you skipped your morning devotional time in His word!" Another example is the "
altar call." It's quite easy to confuse God's favor (grace, unmerited, not ever earned nor deserved) with His blessings which
result from His favor being applied in our everyday lives.
Obedience is the result (the "fruit") of God's grace, not a cause ("a seed") for Him to be gracious!I love it simply the way the Apostle John put it: "We love Him because He
first loved us (1st John 4:19)."
