As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”  And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (1Pet. 1:14-19).

A joyful obedience is the only right response to the gospel.

It is not out of fright that God desire us to follow Jesus.  We are not called to this obedience because we are afraid of punishment.  We are called to obey not first because of what God will do to us, but because of what God has done for us.

When I was a boy, I obeyed my parents because of what I thought they would do to me if I didn’t (like my kids most often do).  As I matured my obedience has matured, and even today I obey my mother not because I am afraid of what she will do to me, but rather because I realize all that she has done for me.

The grounds of our obedience is not a fear of what God will do to us, but the fruit of what He has done for us in Christ Jesus.  This is gospel obedience.  This is the proper and faithful response to the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   This is the glory of God and the delight of His people.