Obedience to the Faith
Obedience to the Faith
Romans 1:5-7 (KJV)
5 “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: 7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jesus called The Apostles. (verse 6) That is what makes them The Apostles. The word means sent forth and the 12 disciples and Paul were sent by Jesus directly. They were sent with a message, and Paul tells us that the message was “for” the obedience to the faith.
“For” in this context is revealing the reason The Apostles were sent. The message was obedience to the faith. He was called to bring about, or to call people to, obedience to the faith.
His message was for all nations. It is important to note here that Paul did not say that his message was for “the nations.” “The nations” was a way of referring to everyone who was not an ethnic Jew. If Paul had used that term, he would have meant only the Gentiles. On the contrary, he was careful to say “all” nations. In this way, he includes the Jews, the nation of Israel.
It is easy to read the word obedience and immediately think that there must be some difficult work to do. The Apostles have been sent to tell people about the obedience that comes from faith.
Another way to say this is that faith is what pleases God (see Hebrews 11:6), so believing Jesus is obedience. Jesus tells us in verses 29 and 40 of John chapter 6 that believing in Him is the work and the will of God. This obedience is the heart of the Gospel message.
The Good News of the grace of God is for everyone. When the angels appeared to the shepherds in Luke chapter two, they said their message was for all nations. Again, the good news was not just for Israel and not just for “the nations.” Jesus is for everyone, not just for some.
Romans 1:6 and 7 carry the good news that we are also called by Jesus. It tells us that we are loved by God, and we are saints.
We do not need to blanche at being called saints. The word means holy ones. When we were reborn, we became holy people. We were placed into Jesus, and Jesus came to live in us by His Spirit. Nothing unholy can exist in Him and He does not live in any unholy place. His very presence makes us holy. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that He became sin so that we would become righteous.
This is who you are in Christ. You are holy, righteous, and loved.
