One immediately notices the influence of Philippians 4:4-9 in the below verses and perhaps echos of Acts 2:42 and Hebrews 11.
John Frame:
Grudging obedience is not what he desires of us. It may be better than no obedience at all, but it is seriously defective. We should seek, not only to obey him, but also to delight in obedience. That delight comes from prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, through immersion in the words of Scripture and the hearts of the great saints of redemptive history, and through the fellowship of the church in Word and sacrament. The Doctrine of the Christian Life, 306.
Kind of seems like the true desire to do what pleases God is one of the best assurances of conversion there is. Jesus delighted to do the Father’s will because it gave him joy to do so, right? Why should His children be different. And, weren’t the Pharisee’s guilty of obeying for the wrong reasons?
The passage quoted reminds me of the elder son in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Our small group did a study using Tim Keller’s “The Prodigal God” and it was an eye opener. So easy to do things out of grudging obedience rather than with a joyful heart. Certainly God is glorified when we do things out of our love for Him because it is a joy not a burden. Thank you for sharing this Chris!