40 Important Bible Verses About Disobedience

Refusal to abide by rules and principles laid down by someone in authority is known as disobedience. Disobedience in the Bible is considered as a sin of witchcraft. God abhors disobedience and does not treat it as a light case. Christians are to follow the exemplary life of Christ on earth, he obeyed his Father without questions. Completely carrying out the instructions of God is not an easy task to achieve, situations we find ourselves in might make us back out and do things our own way, but it is always best we obey God and follow his plans because he is a strategic planner and his ways and thoughts are much bigger than ours. Let us study some Bible verses that treats the sin of disobedience and it’s consequences.

Total obedience in God is a reflection of our unwavering faith in him. We can not say we obey God by just mere words, obedience to God requires action. Nevertheless, there are consequences attached to disobedience. When we disobey God, we loose track in life, our hopes shattered, confusion and frustrations sets in. To avoid these situations, it is better we obey regardless of the timing, situation or the subject matter we have been asked to leave behind. For us to be happy in Jesus, we have to trust and obey God. When we obey, we enjoy the numerous blessings that comes with obedience.

SEE ALSO: 35 Inspiring Bible Verses About Sunsets

What Does The Bible Say About Disobedience?

Disobedience in the Bible is a very big deal for God. It is not just about breaking rules or refusing to follow principles, it is about deviating from the plan and purpose of God. Let us look at the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Their disobedience was not just about eating the forbidden fruit, it showed their distrust in God and their curiosity to differentiate evil from good. {Genesis 3:6-12}. After which their disobedience attracted curses from God. This story explains how the Bible views the sin of disobedience, it is seen as a departure from God’s guidance.

The book of Deuteronomy 28:15 says “However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commandments and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you” This was Moses speaking to the children of Isrealites that if they did not obey God, all the curses laid will come upon them and over take them. This is to let us know that for every act of disobedience, there is a punishment for it, whether grave or simple. Here are some Bible verses to enlighten us more on the consequences of disobedience and a guard to help us obey God at all times;

Bible Verses About Disobedience

1. And he said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? – Genesis 3:11
2. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 7:21
3. But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors. – 1 Samuel 12:15
4. He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:8
5. My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. – Proverbs 3:1-2
6. We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. – 1 John 2:3-4
7. Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? – Luke 6:46
8. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9
9. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 6:23
10. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. – Acts 5:29
11. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; – Romans 3:23
12. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: – Ephesians 2:2
13. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:14
14. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. – John 8:44
15. Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed – Psalm 119:136
16. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, – 2 Timothy 3:2

Consequences of Disobedience to God Bible Verses

1. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. – Ephesians 5:6
2. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king. – 1 Samuel 15:23
3. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. – Colossians 3:6
4. However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you. – Deuteronomy 28:15
5. But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. – James 1:14-15
6. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. – Romans 5:19
7. And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? – Hebrews 3:18
8. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. – Isaiah 1:19-20
9. But I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. – Jeremiah 7:23-24
10. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. – Romans 2:6-8
11. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. – 2 Thessalonians 1:8

Fruits of disobedience in the Bible

1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. – Ephesians 6:1-3
2. For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? – 1 Peter 4:17
3. If you love me, keep my commands. – John 14:15
4. Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. – Proverbs 16:18
5. See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse — the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands. – Deuteronomy 11:26-28
6. The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. – Joshua 5:6
7. Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey — whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? – Romans 6:16
8. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome. – 1 John 5:3
9. And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! – Mark 7:9
10. But the children rebelled against me: they did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws, of which I said, ‘The man who obeys them will live by them,’ and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. – Ezekiel 20:21
11. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. – Titus 1:16
12. Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them. – Isaiah 63:10
13. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. – 2 Corinthians 10:5