âThrough him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience of faith for his nameâs sake.â Romans 1:5
Hello and happy Lordâs Day (aka Sunday đ) friends!! Alright, look, weâve all been there, right? You know what Iâm talking about. If youâre like me, youâve given the, âAll you need to do is BELIEVE in Jesusâ speech, right??
Well, the good news is youâre not wrong. Thatâs EXACTLY what my message was all about last week. We are justified by faith ALONE. In fact, if youâd like to learn more about this issue, you can watch my new series linked đ
But if you think about it, weâre not âsavedâ by a faith that IS alone, right? đ¤
What I mean by that is this: Even the demons âbelieveâ in a sense, right? Thatâs what James says (James 2:19). So, all of this has me thinking, âWhat is true SAVING faith?â Well, whatâs your answer?
I think weâve got a great clue in the opening verses of Romans when Paul talked about the âobedience of faithâ or possibly the obedience âthat isâ 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 âto hear,â implies hearing PLUS obedience. This is often our meaning when we ask our kids, âDid you hear me?!â đ We donât just want faith from them, but faith-filled OBEDIENCE. Friends, the Lord looks at us with this same attitude, and thatâs why a right understanding of faith is SO important!
Application:
What does the term âfaith-filled obedienceâ mean to you?
Is it right for someone to justify ungodly behavior and assume they are saved because they have âfaith?â
Would you say you are living a life of âfaith-filled obedienceâ to Jesus?
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