Obedience of Faith and Justification by Faith – Opposing Doctrines?

The book of Romans begins and ends talking about the “obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5 and Rom. 16:26). In chapter 1 Paul says that “we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles.” (Rom. 1:5 NAS) In Rom. 16 he speaks of the gospel being made known to all nations with the purpose being “obedience of faith.” (Rom. 16:26 NAS)

Obedience of faith is simply the obedience that grows out of or is the result of faith. No man obeys God who does not first believe God. Without faith there is no motivation for obedience. Where there is no faith the natural man prevails, our fleshly human nature. We do that which pleases us without thought of or for God.

Faith is always the first step in pleasing God. “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.” (Heb. 11:6 NAS)

Jesus said, in speaking of himself in John 8:24, “unless you believe that I am he, you shall die in your sins.” (NAS) Jesus again, “he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” (Mark 16:16 NAS) We might say disbelieved what? The gospel message (1 Cor. 15:1-4, Mark 16:15-16), the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (Acts 8:37, Philippians 2:11, 1 John 3:23), that he is Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36).

So, faith is essential to salvation. Where there is no faith salvation is impossibile. We must always remember, however, that “faith without works is useless.” (James 2:20 NAS) “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26 NAS) Thus in John 12 we find a group of believers who could not be saved. “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in him but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.” (John 12:42 NAS)

The faith Paul spoke of in the book of Romans was that which led to obedience. It was an obedience of faith. It was a living faith and not a dead faith.

I have said all of that to get to this point. Why is it that men use Rom. 5:1-2 in such a way as to make void works (obedience) of faith? Rom. 5:1-2 reads as follows:

“Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.” (NAS)

It is widely taught that man is saved by faith alone and this passage is often used as one proof text. Of course we are justified by faith but not faith alone or faith only. “You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.” (James 2:24 NAS) Faith must be accompanied by obedience for it is the obedience of faith that saves – a living faith and not a dead one.

In Acts chapter 2 Peter preaches the first gospel sermon ever to be preached not long after Christ’s ascension back to heaven. All agree that he spoke by inspiration as the Holy Spirit had just fallen upon the apostles. He argues the case that the Jesus whom they had not long ago crucified was and is the Christ of God. What is the result? Does he convince them? He most certainly does for they cry out being “pierced to the heart … ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’”

Would you dare say these men lack faith? According to our saved by faith friends the job is finished. Nothing else to be done. They are saved. Oh, they might, according to the teaching of our times, offer a prayer to God making confession to him – a confession of faith - but that is it.

Did Peter tell them the job is done? Did he tell them to offer a prayer of confession to God? He did neither. I emphasize this – he did neither. With Peter the job was not done. What was left to be done? An obedience of faith.

What did that consist of? In Peter’s own words, “repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:38 NAS)

Paul’s conversion was similar as found in Acts 9, 22, and 26. When the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus there was no doubt but what faith came instantly to him. Salvation by faith only advocates have Paul saved at this point in time. They have him saved by their human doctrine but God does not.

Paul (called Saul at that time) spends the next 3 days in Damascus neither eating nor drinking (strange behavior for a man who should be rejoicing in his salvation) (Acts 9:9). He prays (Acts 9:11). Now, according to the salvation by a dead faith people, he has to be saved. He has faith. He has prayed. It is a done deal.

Not so with the man sent from God to Paul, the man Ananias. Ananias tells him to “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16 NAS) Jesus had already told all who would believe him quite a long time before Paul’s conversion that water was involved in salvation.

“Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5 NAS) He said, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16:16 NAS)

What is baptism? It is one aspect of obedience of faith. In Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost when Peter preached that first sermon would there have been obedience of faith had those he spoke to failed to heed his admonition? What if Paul had refused to heed the words of Ananias? Would there have been obedience of faith?

Justification by faith is dependent on obedience of faith. The book of Romans was not written to people who had not been baptized.

“Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:3-4 NAS)

Who gets to walk in newness of life? Paul tells you. Will you answer? It is the man or woman who has been baptized.

How is it, do you suppose, that the Romans came to know about baptism? Do you suppose it was taught to them in the same way Peter taught those in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost?

Then Paul also tells how the Romans got into Christ. He says, “all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 6:3 NAS) He said the same thing in Gal. 3:27 in talking to the Galatian Christians.

Of grace Paul says “we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand.” (Rom. 5:2 NAS) He is talking to us all but in context the message is to the Romans. Where is grace found?

We are to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 2:1 NAS) We enter into Christ by the obedience of faith. Our faith leads us to be baptized per Mark 16:15-16. When we have done so we have been saved by grace for we are then found in Christ where grace is found.

I know a lot of people have a hard time with grace and law. Any effort to be obedient, especially being baptized, is seen as a work and thus working one’s way to heaven. What people fail to understand is man has always been and always will be under law to God.

If there has been no law there has been no sin for John defines sin as being lawlessness, “sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4 NAS) Were Adam and Eve under law to God? How about the people in the time of Noah? Why did they die if not because of lawlessness? How about the people of Sodom and Gomorrah? I remind the reader all of this was before the time of the law of Moses. Then later we have a long period of time when the Jews were under the law of Moses.

Well, how about today? Are we under law today? Paul says if we “bear one another’s burdens” we “fulfil the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:2 NAS) To the Corinthians he speaks of himself of “not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ.” (1 Cor. 9:21 NAS) Being under grace as we are today does not mean lawlessness. In Romans, the very book from which this article is drawn, Paul says “the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the Law of God.” (Rom. 8:7 NAS)

Yet, the reader of the book of Romans will recall that a good portion of the book deals with the teaching that one cannot be saved by the works of the law. “By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in his sight.” (Rom. 3:20 NAS) One thing that is often overlooked as people read through books such as Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews is that what the writer is combating, generally speaking, is the idea that the Jews had that keeping the Law of Moses was the road to salvation.

Paul often had to deal with Judaizing teachers within the church for even when converted to Christ many still believed keeping the Law of Moses, to one degree or another, was essential and were happy to try and bind that upon others. Thus there was an attempt by some to bind things like circumcision (Gal. 5:3) and it is said of Peter that he feared “the party of the circumcision” (Gal. 2:12 NAS). Had this group had their way it would have eventually destroyed Christianity.

It is true no man can be saved by law keeping apart from grace. Salvation by law requires perfection in law keeping. Thus Paul says, “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them.’” (Gal. 3:10 NAS) One mistake and you are not saved but condemned by law.

That being the case James says, “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” (James 2:10 NAS) When one breaks a single law he has convicted himself as being a law breaker. A criminal is a criminal. It matters not what one specific law he broke.

James’ statement is as applicable to the law of Christ as to any and all laws. With regards even to the law of our land you became a law breaker the first time you exceeded the speed limit by even a single mile per hour. You will always be guilty of having done that. You were a law breaker and there is no going back and undoing it.

This is why to be saved we must be saved by God’s grace. God being perfect himself demands perfection in us if we are to be saved by works of law. For us that is an impossibility.

But, does salvation by grace mean salvation by disobedience? Does it mean disregard for the law of God? Paul says, “May it never be!” (Rom. 6:2 NAS) Please listen now carefully to what Paul has to say and mull it over in your mind.

“How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death.” (Rom. 6:2-3 NAS) We have been baptized into his own death where he shed his blood, the blood that redeems us, baptism being the place where that blood is contacted, and have been baptized into our own death to sin. Thus Paul says, in the conclusion of verse 3, “so we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:3 NAS)

God has always saved man the same way – by faith and obedience, “obedience resulting in righteousness.” (Rom. 6:16 NAS) Other versions say “obedience to righteousness” (NKJV), “obedience, which leads to righteousness” (ESV), and so on.

The beginning of salvation is found in the beginning of the obedience of faith, not in a non acting faith that resides in the mind alone. That is why Peter demanded of believers that day so long ago that they “repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:38 KJV) That is obedience of faith.