Romans 16:26 – Obedience which is Faith

I would like to take a moment to look at the phrase obedience of faith.

Before we look at what it means, and since Paul mentions this phrase at the beginning and at the end of the Epistle to the Romans, we should look at his purpose for writing:

So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. Romans 1:15

Obedience is a noun not a verb. This is a term or definition,  a title or description. It could describe the action or what results from the action.

‘But now‘ making a distinction to that what was previous not known (v.25), kept a secret for ages past.

‘Is manifested‘ refers back to the Gospel (the person and work of Jesus Christ) (v.25). We could paraphrase the verse (taking the liberty) ‘but now [the gospel] is manifested to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith’.

Let’s look to Scripture to help us interpret this. We know that Paul’s purpose of writing Romans is to communicate the Gospel. How are obedience, faith and the Gospel connected?

We see in the beginning of the church that many of the priests were becoming obedient:

The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. Acts 6:7

Those who are obedient, are given the Holy Spirit:

And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:32

We also see that there are those who do not obey the Gospel:

dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 2 Thessalonians 1:8

So, we arrive at the question, how is is that one is obedient or disobedient in regards to the Gospel?  The Gospel of John may shed some light:

He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36

Clearly salvation is not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). So salvation is not on the basis of doing or performing. Those who don’t believe are considered disobedient however.

obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:9

Peter uses it again in the same chapter to show how believers are title or identification of  ‘obedient children‘:

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 1 Peter 1:14

Obedience of faith could also be stated, ‘obedience which is faith’ when faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17).

God has gifted to every person the possibility to exercise faith.  After hearing the message of the Gospel, they must trust, rest, believe it!

They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31

Paul (as an Apostle of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles) desired that the preaching of the Gospel might be responded to by faith thereby bringing about the declaration of them being obedient.
Those who have been declared obedient, those who have trusted in what Christ did for them – dying for our sins and rising again, are to walk now by faith in their identity of obedient children.

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If you have not made the decision to trust Christ personally – that he saved you from the penalty of your sin, you are considered disobedient before God and He will have to punish you. Trust Him by faith and find forgiveness of your sins today!

Is Obedience Sanctification’s Cause?

Just came across this article and thought I would share it today as I prepare to do my verse-a-day once again from the book of Daniel.

“Is obedience sanctification’s cause?

Several years ago, I attended a seminar with a well-known Christian author who for many years had written about sanctification. He shocked us by proclaiming that,”the books of mine that you own should be discarded–I have discovered that they do not work!”

What his books and small group curricula had advocated was a strategy for ordering one’s life in obedience to God. Why doesn’t that strategy work? The author answered: “I learned that no one overcomes a ‘besetting sin’ until they realize that they are forgiven already.”

What he came to understand is that obedience is the fruit of sanctification, not its cause. God sanctifies us by his grace, not by our efforts.

This is vital to understand (and to live by), for it is essential to the gospel of God’s grace, which proclaims that every aspect of our salvation (justification, sanctification and glorification) is the work of the triune God, by grace, on our behalf. And so the above-mentioned author changed how he writes about sanctification, now encouraging people to “run to Jesus”–to put their trust in him to sanctify them through the Holy Spirit.

Does that mean that we have no part in our sanctification? Well, that depends on what we think our part is. One thing is sure, we don’t cause our own sanctification through acts of obedience. That would be to think that God had justified us by grace, but that now our sanctification is up to us. Though we might acknowledge that God augments our efforts, we would still be viewing sanctification (seen as “becoming holy”) as fundamentally what we do to “get our act together.”

But as the author came to see, that view of sanctification is wrong–not only is it unscriptural, it simply does not work. Why? Because we are no more able to sanctify ourselves (even with some help from God) than we are able to justify ourselves!

The author of Hebrews says it well: “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Heb 13:12, KJV; also see Heb 2:11). Jesus, through the indwelling Spirit, is our sanctifier. As Paul notes, “God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13). Sanctification is the progressive work of the triune God in our lives. It is his work, not our own–though as I will note below, we are called to share in it.

Through his work to sanctify us, God frees us from the power of sin and death: “If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13 and see Romans 8:2). God works in us from the inside out–turning the basic orientation of our thinking, which then leads to change in our behaving.

Again, this change is not the result of self-effort. Rather, it is the fruit of the Spirit–fruit described in Scripture as God’s love, joy, peace, etc. (Galatians 5:22-25). The Holy Spirit works to help us share in the perfect, fruit-bearing life of Jesus, who is the one fully sanctified human”. – Ted Johnson