The Obedience of Faith

Paul begins and ends his epistle to the church at Rome with an interesting phrase: “the obedience of faith” (Rom 1:5; Rom 16:26). He starts with the claim that he was called as an apostle “to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles” (Rom 1:5). He ends with the statement that the gospel brings about the obedience of faith (Rom 16:25-26). What is that?

Some think it refers to “obedience to the faith”—orthodoxy or works of some sort that cause or maintain faith. That’s manifestly foolish given Paul’s declaration that “’None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one’” (Rom 3:10-12). He’s abundantly clear that “By works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20). And, conversely, he states unequivocally, “We hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Rom 3:28). So … no … “the obedience of faith” is not about works that produce faith.

What, then? Instead, “the obedience of faith” refers to the exact opposite—obedience that faith produces. It is the whole-life response that the gospel creates—faith that bows, trust that yields, belief that submits. It is not faith plus obedience, nor obedience instead of faith, but faith as a form of obedience and obedience as the inevitable fruit of faith.

Some speak of coming to Christ and then doing nothing afterward. No growth. No sanctification. It cannot happen. John wrote, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments” (1 John 5:1-2). A living tree may grow quickly or slowly, but it cannot fail to grow. In Paul’s terms, when you come to Christ, you die with Him and rise to new life with Him (Rom 6:2-4). Change may be large or small, quick or slow, but it can never be nonexistent or it isn’t new life—it isn’t genuine faith.

We can backslide for a time (Gal 6:1) or be weak in faith (Rom 14:1), but the one who has come to Christ is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and He produces new life. This is how John can say, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9). That is, no one who is actually born of God has the ability to live a life of ongoing, habitual, unrepentant sin. That’s a pretty large “cannot” in that verse.

It is impossible to truly come to Christ in faith and remain unchanged, because saving faith is the Spirit created, Christ uniting, life transforming work of God that inevitably bears fruit in the believer’s life. So, what about you? Do you see God working in your life, or are you comfortable as you are?