I’ve posted before how the greetings in Paul’s letters are filled with doctrinal truth. Today I see the same in one of his benedictions or closing remarks. Romans 16:25-27 says:
Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith — to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.I’m trying to rewrite this in simpler English. He is telling his readers that glory belongs to God through Jesus Christ. He says this wise God will build them up in their faith according to the good news he has written to them and aligned with the preaching they have heard about Jesus Christ. He says they heard all this because the mystery of the gospel was hidden but is now revealed, and because the truth in Scripture is now opened up to them. This all happened because God commanded it in order that they might believe and obey Him.
My devotional writer picks out verse 26 to make his point. He says that it’s not faith plus obedience that equals salvation, but obedient faith that equals salvation. He says that true faith is verified every time God is obeyed.
I agree. Jesus is Creator and Lord; He demands obedience. If I trust Him, I will obey. If I don’t, I will not. Faith and obedience are partners. One cannot exist without the other. I cannot say I trust Him and then not do what He says. There is no real faith without obedience.
In Romans 1:8, Paul wrote, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” Later, in Romans 16:19, he explains how people knew about their faith (which is intangible by itself, as if it could exist by itself), “Your obedience has become known to all.”
They might have talked about their faith and people heard the talk, but it was living out their faith in obedience that made them well known. Again, these two go together. As the hymn says, “Trust and obey, there is no other way. . . .”
As the devotional writer also says, faith that excludes obedience won’t save anyone. It is the way that “seems right” talked about in Proverbs, the way that leads to destruction. (Also see Matthew 7:13–14). It is that, “Sure, I believe in God” faith that ignores His commands. This is not saving faith.
While I would normally apply this to unsaved people who have a false assurance of being eternally okay because they say they believe in God. They think that is enough. However, Christians need to be careful in this regard too. Can we claim to follow Christ yet at times act as if His commands do not matter? What kind of faith is that?
Recently I was in a roomful of Christians who were vocal in their determination to do their own thing in a particular area of life. They tossed out some clear commands in the Bible because they didn’t like the way those commands were drawn to their attention. This has deeply grieved my spirit. By their disobedience, they are saying they really do not trust Him, at least to guide their behavior in that area of life.
I’m also burdened for my own faith. I cannot say anything to them unless I am also ‘practicing what I preach’ and being obedient to the faith that I have. I claim that I trust Jesus to save my soul for eternity. I also say that I trust Him to guide me day by day, but true saving faith means that I cannot pick and choose what I obey. If God says it, then faith means that I do it because I believe that He is “God alone wise” and the Lord of my life.
As I reread this, I realized that faith also means that I can trust God to establish not only my own faith, but the faith and obedience of these others who are resisting Him. He is both their Savior and mine and knows how to bring us out of our sinful selves and into the freedom of obedience to the truth.
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