Expert: Scott Talbot - 9/11/2010

Question
QUESTION: This morn. in my prayer time I heard 'allegiance to God' do you know what allegiance to God is and how you can have allegiance to God?

ANSWER: Hi Karibu,

Allegiance means "loyalty or devotion." When one gives his allegiance to another, he is making a commitment of loyalty, or devoting himself to that person.

How can one make such a commitment to God? First, he needs to be born again, adopted into God's family.

God is a holy God, and he demands 100% perfection from us. But we have fallen short of His standard by breaking His rules. God calls this "sin," and God's holiness demands judgment. This judgment is death, but physical and spiritual.

We need to understand that, in order to be accepted by God, we cannot rescue ourselves. But God loved us enough to send Jesus Christ to serve our death sentence for us by dying on the cross in our place. In doing so, a free gift was offered to us--salvation from judgment, and adoption into God's family. To receive this gift, the only requirement is to ask God for it. (See John 1:12, 3:1-18, Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-13.)

So the first step is to be born into God's family. The next step in our allegiance to God is to grow in our relationship with Him. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that God made us to serve Him. Our obedience to Him is not a condition for our salvation, but rather a response to our salvation. We seek to please God by obeying Him, not out of obligation, but out of gratitude.

I hope this helps. Feel free to write back.

Scott

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Scott! I am a believer of God and have been for many years and have grown a great deal in Him.It seems that you have provided me with a definition of allegiance. I know what it mean. Is there something else you can provide me with as to what is our allegiance to God?

Answer
Karibu,

That is great to hear.

Not knowing anything about you or the reason for your question, I thought I would keep it simple and to the point.

Are you looking for specific examples of allegiance? If so, maybe I can suggest a few.

Allegiance to God means choosing His value system over your own or the world's. It means standing up for God when others do not. It means boldly claiming the name of Christ when others look down on you.

Allegiance is sharing the gospel with others. It's living out God's commands. It's growing daily in our walk with Him through prayer, Bible reading, "walking" with God, fellowshipping with other believers, and service to God and others.

It's about obedience, following God's commands, confessing our sins. It's about loving God and loving others.

It's praying for your meal and giving thanks in a crowded restaurant when you know others are looking.

Allegiance is living a life that shows everyone around you that you are a Christ-follower, in a way that glorifies Jesus.

Maybe I'm still not answering your question. If not, write back and ask again in a different way so I know specifically what you're looking for.

Scott