“Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name’s sake.” (Rom. 1:5 NAS)
I have always been intrigued by the expression “the obedience of faith”. The Apostle Paul only used this expression twice in his letters, and both times are found in his letter to the Romans. The central principle of this letter is that the righteous must live by faith. “Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works.” (Rom. 9:30-32). This gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith.’” (Rom. 1:16,17).
Note that righteousness is revealed from faith to faith. It is the righteousness of God “for us” and “in us”. We come to salvation by faith, but we also live righteously by faith. So important is the role of faith that Paul calls it our obedience. It is not our self-effort that pleases God but simply believing Him. If faith is obedience, then why does doing what is right matter? Because “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2Cor. 5:10).
When James talked about completing our faith with corresponding action, he was not implying that what we begin in the spirit should be completed in the flesh (Jas. 2:22). Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is completed by letting Christ live through us. Paul exhorted the Roman believers to put off the deeds of darkness and to put on the Lord Jesus Christ as an armour of light (Rom. 13:12-14). To the Galatians he said, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Gal. 3:27). To clothe ourselves with Christ is to put on His life; to live in Him as He lives in us by faith (Gal. 2:20). Another way of explaining this is: “Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Gal. 5:16). This is a spiritual act of worship where we yield our members to the Spirit of God (Rom. 12:1). As we clothe ourselves with Christ, we are the Bride making herself ready. We are being clothed with fine linen, which are “the righteous acts of the saints” (Rev. 19:7,8).
Faith is a spiritual substance, like hope and love (1Cor. 13:13). Without faith we cannot walk in a manner that pleases God (Heb. 11:6), but it is also possible to have faith and not please God. I like the comparison Paul made of our spiritual life as a ship on the ocean, driven by faith. Without pure motives and a good conscience, it is possible to go shipwreck with our faith. (1Tim. 1:19). If I have all faith but not love, I accomplish nothing (1Cor. 13:2). “For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness, for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.” (Gal. 5:5,6).
Faith becomes effective when it is relational. We should know “Whom we have believed” and be convinced that He is able to fulfill His promises to us. (2Tim. 1:12). If we look to a loving God, we can obtain “everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” (2Pe. 1:3,4). When we have a prayer need, we should fellowship with Him in the Spirit, as we meditate on His promises. The Holy Spirit will then bear witness in our heart concerning God’s will in our situation. It is much easier to believe when we have an assurance of God’s will. “And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” (1Jn. 5:14;15). By meditating on God’s promises we obtain hope, which we must have before we believe. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1).
It is very important to talk to God about our need, before we make the request, because once we pray the prayer of faith, we must consider it done (Mk. 11:23,24). The things we believe for, however, may not immediately become visible. In the book of Daniel, we read that some prayers are not answered right away; the answer may be delayed by spiritual opposition (Dan. 10:12-14). Our response is not to continue asking, but to stand in faith as we wage war with praise and thanksgiving.
There is so much more that can be said about faith. The important thing is that it pleases God when we believe. Remember that faith is relational. It is not enough to know the promises, we need to know how He wants to accomplish them. Jesus knew the Scriptures, but He only did what He saw the Father do (Jn. 5:19). It is important that our prayers be motivated by love, but they must nevertheless be made in faith. Our words and actions should also reflect the faith that is in our heart. We should never end our prayer with “If it be Thy will” because that is not a statement of faith. In our time of meditation, we yield before Him in surrender, but once we have His mind on an issue, our response should be to pray in faith. There is a place for the prayer of surrender, but it is not the same as the prayer of faith. As we grow in our relationship with Him, we become like Him. As maturing sons and daughters, we please Him with the obedience of faith.
Highway in the Wilderness 