--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every virtue is a form of obedience to…" description: "\"Every virtue is a form of obedience to God. Every evil word or act is a form of rebellion against Him. This may not be clear at first; but, if we think..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/stephen-neill-47678_acceptance_every-virtue-is-a-form-of-obedience-to-g_612028.jpg" --- # Every virtue is a form of obedience to God. Every evil… ![“Every virtue is a form of obedience to God. Every evil word or act is a form of rebellion against Him. This may not be clear at first; but, if we think patiently, we shall find that it is true. Why were you angry? You will probably find that it w as because you were not willing to accept the world…” quote by Stephen Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/stephen-neill-47678_acceptance_every-virtue-is-a-form-of-obedience-to-g_612028.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/stephen-neill-47678_acceptance_every-virtue-is-a-form-of-obedience-to-g_612028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/stephen-neill-47678_acceptance_every-virtue-is-a-form-of-obedience-to-g_612028.jpg) > “Every virtue is a form of obedience to God. Every evil word or act is a form of rebellion against Him. This may not be clear at first; but, if we think patiently, we shall find that it is true. Why were you angry? You will probably find that it w as because you were not willing to accept the world as God has made it, or because you were not willing to leave it to God to deal with the people that He has made.” [Stephen Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-neill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral behavior is framed as obedience to divine will, while wrongdoing is rebellion; understanding requires patience and acceptance of God's order. **In simple terms:** Obedience to God equals virtue; rebellion equals evil. Key Takeaway Align actions with perceived divine order. Themes morality religion obedience Mood thoughtful serious Type ethical theological When to use this quote - personal decision-making - ethical dilemmas - spiritual reflection - conflict resolution - acceptance of circumstances Key Concepts theology free will Questions to Reflect On - How does patience reveal moral truth? - Can obedience coexist with critical thought? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex moral contexts and ignore human agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acceptance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance/) [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Angry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angry/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Form Obedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form-obedience-4968430/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Leave It To God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave-it-to-god-219882/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Made it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made-it/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Obedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedience/) [Obedience God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedience-god/) [Obedience to god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedience-to-god/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellion/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-form-3197368/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Rebellion to tyranny is obedience to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/rebellion-to-tyranny-is-obedience-to-god/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rebellion-to-tyrants-is-obedience-to-god/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Cynicism is a form of obedience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-eady/cynicism-is-a-form-of-obedience/) [Cornelius Eady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-eady/) > [“Virtue is a form or expertise or skill, the knowledge of how to live well in every way which shapes the whole personality. Virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ussher/virtue-is-a-form-or-expertise-or-skill-the-knowledge-of-how-to-live/) [Patrick Ussher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ussher/) > [Neither son loved the father for himself. They both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying, and serving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/neither-son-loved-the-father-for-himself-they-both-were-using-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Purity doesn't happen by accident; it requires obedience to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/purity-doesn-t-happen-by-accident-it-requires-obedience-to-god/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [True worship is obedience to God for no other reason than that you delight in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-worship-is-obedience-to-god-for-no-other-reason-than-that-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our obedience to God’s commandments comes as a natural outgrowth of our endless love and gratitude for the goodness of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/our-obedience-to-god-s-commandments-comes-as-a-natural-outgrowth-of/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [Faith and obedience are inescapably related. There is no saving faith in God apart from obedience to God, and there can be no godly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/faith-and-obedience-are-inescapably-related-there-is-no-saving-faith/) [John Macarthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) > [Obedience to God is an expression of our love for GOd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/obedience-to-god-is-an-expression-of-our-love-for-god/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every time you open up your heart in obedience to God and worship Him with all your heart, all your mind, and all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-zschech/every-time-you-open-up-your-heart-in-obedience-to-god-and-worship-him/) [Darlene Zschech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-zschech/) > [I believe Christians often perceive obedience to God as some test designed just to see if we’re really committed to Him. But what if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/i-believe-christians-often-perceive-obedience-to-god-as-some-test/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [If my ruling disposition is self-interest, I perceive that everything that happens to me is always for or against my self-interest; if, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-my-ruling-disposition-is-self-interest-i-perceive-that-everything/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The whole duty of man is summed up in obedience to God's will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-whole-duty-of-man-is-summed-up-in-obedience-to-god-s-will/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The Christian man must aim at that complete obedience to God in which life finds its highest happiness, its greatest good, its perfect consummation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/the-christian-man-must-aim-at-that-complete-obedience-to-god-in-which/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) ## More by Stephen Neill > [If everything is mission, nothing is mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-neill/if-everything-is-mission-nothing-is-mission/) [Stephen Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-neill/) > [A mission which becomes a commercial concern may end by ceasing to be a mission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-neill/a-mission-which-becomes-a-commercial-concern-may-end-by-ceasing-to-be/) [Stephen Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-neill/) > [The good teacher discovers the natural gifts of his pupils and liberates them by the stimulating influence of the inspiration that he can impart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-neill/the-good-teacher-discovers-the-natural-gifts-of-his-pupils-and/) [Stephen Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-neill/) > [Life is filled with meaning as soon as Jesus Christ enters into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-neill/life-is-filled-with-meaning-as-soon-as-jesus-christ-enters-into-it/) [Stephen Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-neill/) > [ “This Christian claim \[of universal validity\] is naturally offensive to the adherents of every other religious system. It is almost as offensive to modern… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-neill/this-christian-claim-of-universal-validity-is-naturally-offensive-to/) [Stephen Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-neill/) > [The bad teacher imposes his ideas and his methods on his pupils, and such originality as they may have is lost in the second-rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-neill/the-bad-teacher-imposes-his-ideas-and-his-methods-on-his-pupils-and/) [Stephen Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-neill/) > [Is the leadership of the worldwide church in the hands of men and women who know how to lead others one by one to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-neill/is-the-leadership-of-the-worldwide-church-in-the-hands-of-men-and/) [Stephen Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-neill/) [Explore all 8 Stephen Neill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-neill/) ## More Acceptance quotes > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When one fib becomes due as it were, you must forge another to take up the old acceptance; and so the stock of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/when-one-fib-becomes-due-as-it-were-you-must-forge-another-to-take-up/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Acceptance of death when it arrives is one thing, but to allow it to upstage the joys of living is ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-blythe/acceptance-of-death-when-it-arrives-is-one-thing-but-to-allow-it-to/) [Ronald Blythe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-blythe/) > [“Loving someone who does not love you back hurts, alot, i know. It is liking seeing these pair of shoes at the retail store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomthandazo-tsembeni/loving-someone-who-does-not-love-you-back-hurts-alot-i-know-it-is/) [Nomthandazo Tsembeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomthandazo-tsembeni/) > [Take responsibily for your past, the bad memories of poor decisions you took were your choices once, and you liked them for the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marvin/take-responsibily-for-your-past-the-bad-memories-of-poor-decisions/) [Aruho Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aruho-marvin/) > [Let us learn to accept and appreciate things now, and we'll find more happiness in every moment we live. Happiness comes when we stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/let-us-learn-to-accept-and-appreciate-things-now-and-we-ll-find-more/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [“Love first; ask questions later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-courtney/love-first-ask-questions-later/) [Jeremy Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-courtney/) > [“There was beauty in chaos, she'd just never known it before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-linsmeier/there-was-beauty-in-chaos-she-d-just-never-known-it-before/) [Amanda Linsmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-linsmeier/) > [Accepting the challenges in life makes it interesting and overcoming them makes it eloquent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/accepting-the-challenges-in-life-makes-it-interesting-and-overcoming/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Acceptance is the only thing you should teach. Be it Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Dalit, you must inculcate acceptance, not tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-haasan/acceptance-is-the-only-thing-you-should-teach-be-it-christian-muslim/) [Kamal Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-haasan/) > [There just seems to be more acceptance now of other kinds of British films, than the picture-postcard ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/there-just-seems-to-be-more-acceptance-now-of-other-kinds-of-british/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 3,960 Acceptance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every virtue is a form of obedience to God. Every evil word or act is a form of rebellion against Him. This may not be clear at first; but, if we think patiently, we shall find that it is true. Why were you angry? You will probably find that it w as because you were not willing to accept the world as God has made it, or because you were not willing to leave it to God to deal with the people that He has made.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Neill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-neill/every-virtue-is-a-form-of-obedience-to-god-every-evil-word-or-act-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acceptance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-neill/every-virtue-is-a-form-of-obedience-to-god-every-evil-word-or-act-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/stephen-neill-47678_acceptance_every-virtue-is-a-form-of-obedience-to-g_612028.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/stephen-neill-47678_acceptance_every-virtue-is-a-form-of-obedience-to-g_612028.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/stephen-neill-47678_acceptance_every-virtue-is-a-form-of-obedience-to-g_612028.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every virtue is a form of obedience to God. Every evil word or act is a form of rebellion against Him. This…” — Stephen Neill", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen Neill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-neill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every virtue is a form of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-neill/every-virtue-is-a-form-of-obedience-to-god-every-evil-word-or-act-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-neill/every-virtue-is-a-form-of-obedience-to-god-every-evil-word-or-act-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```