Anyone who has hung out with Junior High and High School kids has probably had a conversation similar to the one below:

Adult: How did your semester go?

Kid: Great!  I pretty much got all A’s on my report card!

Adult: Oh nice!  It’s always good to be on the Honor Roll.

Kid: Well, I got all A’s except for 2 C’s and 3 B’s…and a P in Studyhall.

Adult: So did you get any A’s?

Kid: Yeah, in P.E.

Despite the initially encouraging report, the kid was NOWHERE TO BE FOUND ON THE HONOR ROLL. And sometimes the kid will then proceed to make excuses…or blame teachers, parents, and the government…or compare his grades to friends who are even less motivated.  Regardless, if he sends in his transcripts as part of an application to any institution of higher education, it will be instantly rejected!

And we see a similar report from King Saul in 1 Samuel 15.  He had been instructed by God to utterly destroy the Amalekites and all their possessions. And he followed these instructions PERFECTLY!  Except, of course, for sparing their king and all the best of the defeated nation’s stuff.  So kind of like getting all A’s except for 2 C’s and 3 B’s. 

And then he set up a monument to himself and had the audacity to claim he had followed God’s instructions!  Then when confronted with his disobedience, he made excuses, justified his behavior, and blamed his own people.  No wonder God rejected him as King.

The word for “partial obedience” is “disobedience.”  Saul was obviously a colossal failure. But ultimately, even the “good students” all get F’s on their report card when it comes to God’s standard of holiness.  If you’re relying on the strength of your own merits, your Heavenly Application will be instantly rejected.  No exceptions, and no excuses. It’s only by the blood of Christ that any of us can make God’s Honor Roll. However, obedience is the evidence that you’ve submitted your transcripts on His terms😊