Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
In David Brousseau’s three “levels of obedience” (fear, dutiful, love), where do you see yourself most clearly—and what specific commands tend to expose loophole-hunting (fear), resentment (duty), or genuine delight (love)?
Another way to ask: Which kind of obedience fits you best right now: fear, duty, or love? What commands most often show you looking for loopholes, feeling resentful, or obeying with real joy?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript suggests most believers experience a mixture of fear, dutiful, and love obedience, sometimes in different areas of life; the goal is to grow toward “love obedience,” where we “love what God loves.” The clearest diagnostic is what happens inside us when Scripture confronts our preferences—do we look for loopholes, comply resentfully, or obey joyfully?
- Fear obedience: people ask, “Is that a salvation issue? Do I need to do this to get to heaven?” and they’re “looking for loopholes…do the bare necessity.”
- Dutiful obedience: obey “like a servant,” but view commands as “arbitrary…restrictive and a killjoy,” shown in statements like, “If I was not a Christian, I would…”
- Love obedience: “someone who loves what God loves…respond[s] in joyful obedience,” echoing “How I love your law…my meditation the whole day long.”
- Glenn notes, “Not everybody is at the same place…Even in your own life…fear…duty…love.”
- He says our aim should be “to come to love obedience,” though “few people…fully engaged.”