Ken Ramey on the Connection Between Listening and Obedience

The Sunday feature of the Worldly Saints blog is all about quotes. No commentary from me, no reflection, etc. Just a provocative or informative quote from a saint in church history.

“There is an inseparable relationship between listening and obeying. Throughout Scripture, listening is equated with obeying. In many passages, a direct connection is clearly made between listening and obeying (Exod 15:26; Deut 6:3-5; Luke 6:47; 8:21; 11:28). They are like two sides of the same coin. They are synonymous terms. In fact, there is a direct lexical link between the words “hear” and “obey” in both the Old and New Testament. The Old Testament word for “hear” is sama. This is the same Hebrew word used for “obey.” There is no separate word for “obey” in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the Greek word for “hear” is akouw. The word for “obey,” hupakou, which literally means “to hear under,” is a derivative of the word for “hear.” The implication is that, in God’s mind, hearing and obeying are one in the same.”

– Ken Ramey in Expository Listening