“Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience of faith for his name’s sake.” Romans 1:5
Hello and happy Lord’s Day (aka Sunday 😉) friends!! Alright, look, we’ve all been there, right? You know what I’m talking about. If you’re like me, you’ve given the, “All you need to do is BELIEVE in Jesus” speech, right??
Well, the good news is you’re not wrong. That’s EXACTLY what my message was all about last week. We are justified by faith ALONE. In fact, if you’d like to learn more about this issue, you can watch my new series linked 👇
But if you think about it, we’re not “saved” by a faith that IS alone, right? 🤔
What I mean by that is this: Even the demons “believe” in a sense, right? That’s what James says (James 2:19). So, all of this has me thinking, “What is true SAVING faith?” Well, what’s your answer?
I think we’ve got a great clue in the opening verses of Romans when Paul talked about the “obedience of faith” or possibly the obedience “that is” faith (depending on your translation).To be clear, the obedience of faith CANNOT be a work. Otherwise, we would not be justified by faith ALONE. In truth we CANNOT disconnect faith from obedience. In fact, if you study the Scriptures, the ancient Hebrews (including those who wrote the New Testament) often so intimately connected the two that these two concepts are often talked about as the same thing.
Did you know, for example, that the Hebrew word shama, meaning “to hear,” implies hearing PLUS obedience. This is often our meaning when we ask our kids, “Did you hear me?!” 😂 We don’t just want faith from them, but faith-filled OBEDIENCE. Friends, the Lord looks at us with this same attitude, and that’s why a right understanding of faith is SO important!
Application:
What does the term “faith-filled obedience” mean to you?
Is it right for someone to justify ungodly behavior and assume they are saved because they have “faith?”
Would you say you are living a life of “faith-filled obedience” to Jesus?