“And Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.’” (1 Samuel 15.22).¹

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God gave clear instructions for Saul to devote to destruction all the Amalekites for their opposition to His people (1 Sam. 15.2-3). Unfortunately, Saul did not obey God’s word (8-9). The prophet Samuel asked, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” (14) “Saul said, “‘They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction’” (15).

The problem is God did not say “spare some sheep and oxen to sacrifice to me.” Instead, He commanded them to devote to destruction all that had life; to completely eradicate the Amalekites from the face of this earth for punishment of their sins (18)*. Therefore, God punished Saul that day by ultimately taking away his kingdom (26, 28).

While God enjoys fragrant offerings and sacrifices to Him, He does not tolerate disobedience to His word. One cannot choose to disobey part of a command to try and please Him with part of another command. In other words, the end does not justify the means or “to obey is better than sacrifice.”

If you’re interested in learning more about fully obeying God, then e-mail Bryan Garlock or text 903.308.4905.

*For additional study of why a loving God would devote whole nations to destruction under the Old Testament please click here.

“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2.21, ESV).¹

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¹Before Jesus left this earth, He told the apostles that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations…” (Luke 24.47, NKJV).

Therefore, on the day of Pentecost Peter told everyone that they needed to prepare for the coming judgment by “calling on the name of the Lord”. There is a misunderstanding in the religious world about this statement. What exactly did he mean?

After preaching the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Peter told the convicted murderers (Acts 2.36-37), “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…” (Acts 2.38, ESV). Obviously, Peter did not preach anything different in verse 38 than he did in verse 21. Both require the same authority, the name of Jesus Christ, and both end with the same result, salvation.

When the Jews asked what they must do (Acts 2.37), Peter explained by inspiration exactly what he meant. Therefore, it must be understood that to “call on the name of the Lord” to be saved is explained by “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins....”

No wonder Saul was later told, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22.16, ESV).

Have you called on the name of the Lord to be saved? It is not a verbal calling (as in a “sinner’s prayer” – which has no Scriptural support), but a calling on the Lord in baptism for the forgiveness of sins (cf. 1 Peter 3.21; Heb. 10.22). If you’re interested in learning more about what is required to be saved, e-mail Bryan Garlock or text 903.308.4905.