| The Obedience of Faith [God's mystery has been made known] by the command of the everlasting God to all the gentiles, that they might turn to him in the obedience of faith. -- Rom. 16:26, Phillips --------------------- "Obedience of faith." Haven't we seen these words somewhere before? The answer is yes. Paul used them in the very first paragraph of his letter to Rome. Speaking of Christ, the apostle noted that he had "received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among the nations" (Rom. 1:5, RSV). Some of Paul's contemporaries saw red when he repeatedly emphasized grace. They got upset, assuming that he was doing away with law and obedience. Many people still see red on the topic today. If someone speaks of free grace, they mumble snide remarks about "cheap" grace. Beyond that, just as in Paul's day, they often become aggressive toward the preachers of grace, treating them as if they have apostatized. So what else is new? Things haven't changed much since the days of Paul, including misunderstandings of grace. But if we follow Paul we don't have much to worry about. After all, "free grace" is not the same as "cheap grace." Cheap grace is grace without response or cost, but God's free grace is the most costly thing in the world. It not only required the life of the Son of God on Calvary, but it demands the self-centered lives of those who accept it. The apostle makes it clear in Romans 6 that accepting free grace means a total transformation of our whole being-a death to the old ways and a resurrection to a new way of life based on a new set of principles. Paul had it right. We don't earn salvation by works or law-keeping, but those who are saved through faith will obey. They will have the obedience of faith and will love God's law. It is no accident that Paul's great letter on salvation in its first and last paragraphs speaks of the "obedience of faith." The concept remained one of his themes all through the Epistle. Obedience has no value outside of a faith relationship, but inside that relationship obedience is vital. We can be thankful that Paul the ex-Pharisee wrote his book. In it he has exposed us to some of the issues that he had wrestled through in his own experience. The issues that Paul raised in Romans should be topics of contemplation for every Christian every day. |
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