Paul emphasized justification by faith more than any other writer, yet he strongly insisted that saving faith is inseparably bound up with obedience. He taught that the mystery of God’s redemptive plan, the church, has been “made known to all nations for the obedience of faith” (Romans 16:26). The New International Version translates this last phrase as “made known . . . so that all nations might believe and obey him” God’s grace brings “obedience to the faith” (Romans 1:5). Christ worked through
Paul to “make the Gentiles obedient” (Romans 15:18). Similarly, Luke recorded that a great number of priests were “obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). Faith and obedience are so closely linked that a lack of obedience to God is proof of a lack of faith: “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?” (Romans 10:16).
Many other passages reiterate the essential link between obedience and salvation. Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Only the man that both hears and does the Lord’s Word will be saved (Matthew 7:24-27). Jesus also said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15); “If a man love me, he will keep my words” (John 14:23).
The Lord will punish with everlasting destruction those who “obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (II Thessalonians 1:7-10). Christ has become “the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Hebrews 5:9). Peter said, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (I Peter 4:17).
John gave the following test for a Christian: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (I John 2:3-5). We know God, have the love of God perfected in us, and are in God only when we obey God. The true believer will obey God’s commandments and will thereby know that he has love (I John 5:1-3).
When God sent the death angel to visit every household in Egypt, the Israelites were not automatically protected simply on the basis of their mental attitude. They had to apply the blood of the Passover lamb to their doorposts (Exodus 12). Only when they expressed their faith through obedience to God’s command were they safe. “Through faith he [Moses] kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them” (Hebrew 11:28). Likewise, saving faith today includes active obedience. We must apply the blood of the Lamb to our lives by obedience to His gospel of repentance, water baptism in His name, and receiving His Spirit.
Someone who really believes God’s Word will obey it. God’s Word teaches water baptism, so the Bible believer will be baptized. God’s Word promises the gift of the Spirit, so the true believer will expect, seek, and receive this gift. One Protestant writer has stated, “Christians have historically affirmed that to enjoy a life-transforming relationship with God a person must believe and obey the gospel.” Another Protestant theologian wrote, “The content of faith can in fact be caught in one sentence: Jesus is Lord (I Corinthians 12:3). . . . Therefore, to say in faith that ‘Jesus is Lord’ is also to commit one’s self to obedience. To believe the fact is to obey the summons implicit in the fact; and only in obedience is the fact truly acknowledged. . . . For Paul obedience is the same as faith, just as disobedience is a lack of faith.” Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.”