Obedience is following orders or commands.
It is a conscious choice of my will, something I do to follow laws or imposed rules. It is done with or without the heart. Obedience is a response to a will, action, desire or law. It is a command or rule that comes from outside of me. Obedience is the change of my behavior or actions to comply with a demand from authority.
There is an Old Testament verse that states “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” Relating to Saul, the first King, offering a sacrifice (a gift) to God that God did not request. Saul instead offered a sacrifice from war winnings in place of following God's command fully with his heart.
Note: God blessed Saul to win the battle. God did not want a 'sacrifice' that essentially cost Saul nothing. Saul had been given clear instructions on what God did want and instead chose to do his own thing.
Sacrifice is a gift, but it can be altruistic or self-seeking.
To comply is to yield assent; to accord; agree, or acquiesce; to adapt one's self; to consent or conform.
Compliance occurs when I publicly and outwardly agree with my mouth or actions to the greater will/ authority or the group but I have changed nothing internally. I'm just faking obedience.
It is a sour thing, an outward obedience done without a single piece of the heart. It is done against my will. Compliance is all show. It is situational to another person's or groups will compelled or imposed upon mine and I do it only until it is no longer necessary. It is the thing I do in public when everyone is watching.
Conformity is one effect of the influence of another’s will.
Acceptance happens when the greater will crushes mine, when I internalize a belief or attitude or action that has been imposed (forced) on me. My will has fully conformed and been transformed into another’s. I’ve given in, usually without pleasure or joy. It is a ceasing of my will along with a desire to stop fighting.
Submission is yielding to power or authority.
The difference between the submission and everything else {obedience, sacrifice, compliance, acceptance} is in my heart and my will.
To surrender is to give-up the power, control, or possession of my will, while obedience is to do as ordered, an act of my will in accordance to another’s.
To obey, I exert my conscious will to follow a command.
To conform, I submerge my will and play-act obedience.
To accept, my will has given up, there is no fight left.
To submit, I surrender my will, fully (my heart, my trust, my body, my possessions) to one who commands.
The hard work of surrender is obedience with love, always keeping my dominant at the center, staying open for communication with trust rather than defensiveness, and willingly following him where I would not choose to go on my own.