Obeying the Gospel Take time to read Romans 1:1-7, slowly and carefully: Paul a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This has to be one of the most profound opening statements ever penned. It introduces us to one of the greatest documents ever written. In chapter one, verse five, Paul explains his purpose as an apostle of Christ: the Lord gave him grace and apostleship so that Paul could help people in all nations to respond to God with "obedience of faith" (or, "obedience to the faith," meaning, obedience to the gospel). This "faith" is that work of God that was once a "mystery," but is now revealed through the preaching of the gospel to all nations in order to persuade people to obey (16:25-27). So both at the beginning (1:5) and at the end (16:25) of this letter Paul has emphasized that the purpose of God and of Paul's ministry is to motivate people to obey the gospel. We ought not to be surprised then that in this letter the apostle gives considerable attention to the active response that a person is to make to the gospel in order to be justified or saved. Indeed, near the center of the epistle there is again a reference to obedience (6:17-18). In that passage Paul unmistakably points to a moment when a person obeys the teaching of the gospel and through that obedience beomes a servant of righteousness, an identity he did not have before that obedience. The same chapter had already identified that moment as baptism into union with Christ, whereby a person enters into a new life (6:3-4). Understand clearly what Paul said about baptism in that chapter: it means that one is obeying the gospel and that through that baptism the individual will enter a new spiritual life. Therefore, before that baptism the person did not possess what Paul calls "newness of life" (v.4)
We must believe in Christ to be justified (Rom. 1:16-17; 5:1; 10:11-13). We must repent and do what is right in order to receive eternal life (2:4-11). We must confess faith in Christ to be saved (10:10). We must obey the gospel to receive newness of life (6:3-4), to be set free from the dominion and damnation of sin (6:5-11), and to be made a servant of righteousness (6:17-18). And as we stated above, Paul described baptism into Christ as the very moment when obedience to God brings to pass all these changes.
No, the power for this transformation of a life is not in the human action of obedience, but rather in the gospel (1:16). However, it is God who grants salvation and new life to the sinner, and he has said that he gives those blessings to those who obey the gospel.
A study by King McCarver
--Beech Hill Church of Christ Bulletin, Ripley, Mississippi (4-11-99), 2.
