The Obedience of Faith

"Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal."

Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?"

Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

John 6:27-29 NASB

The setting is the day following the feeding of the five thousand. The people, expecting another miraculous sign (perhaps another meal) from Jesus, found Him on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 

In these verses Jesus instructs them to get their priorities right. The temporal things in this world are nothing compared to living for the kingdom of God. This is similar to the passage in Matthew 6:25-34, where Jesus warns us that life is not about food and clothing, but about seeking as our priority His kingdom and righteousness.

Of course the people seeking Jesus that day were now desirous to know what kind of work they should be doing then. Maybe a few good deeds, some things that appeared "religious"?

Jesus tells the crowd that the work required was to believe in Him. I think many people today misunderstand this belief as an acknowledgement of the existence of Jesus. They are content to believe biblical facts about Him, and let it go at that. After all, faith and works are often portrayed as two opposing things that we must be careful not to mix up. But what does it mean to believe, in a truly biblical sense of the word?

In Romans we read of the "obedience of faith". The apostle Paul, speaking of Jesus, the resurrected Lord who had called him said this,

     Through whom we have recieved grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among the Gentiles for His names sake.

Romans 1:5 NASB

And again at the close of this epistle we read the following,

     Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to the obedience of faith.

Romans 16:25-26 NASB 

Paul the apostle to the Gentile nations stated that the gospel foretold in the Old Testament Scriptures, that he now proclaimed, led to the obedience of faith among all who received it. 

I think that the message Paul proclaimed is often misunderstood. To many, the emphasis is placed upon faith and not works, a concept which Paul also preached. In a passage which teaches that all have sinned and are guilty before God we read that no one will be justified by the works of the law because the law has proven that we are all sinners (Romans 3:9-20). And this is true. There is no possible way that we can be good enough, or perfect enough to undo all the guilt we have encured in our lifetimes. By the time we realize we need to live right we have already become guilty, and are estranged from God. We can't fix that by amending our ways. That is abundantly taught in the Bible.

However a mere assent to some facts about Jesus will never save us either. That is an insufficient faith. Paul writes this as well in Romans 2:12-13. 

     For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.

Faith is more than knowing and holding certain facts to be true. Faith and obedience are two sides of a coin. It is often stated that a person who believes will obey Jesus out of a thankful heart, and I believe that there is truth to this statement. Jesus Himself stated that one who is forgiven much will love much (Luke 7:47). But it goes even deeper than this. 

Faith is a loyalty to Jesus as Lord of our lives. In an act of repentance we turn from our past when we were in control, living in opposition to God and His will for our lives, and now submit our lives by faith, under His absolute rule for our lives. Therefore faith is an ongoing submission to Jesus that we live out daily. Faith cannot be separated from obedience. Every act of obedience to the Lordship of Jesus Christ is an act of faith. This is quite the opposite of selfishly performing some good works in the hope that we can somehow earn God's favor.

The life of Abraham shows this. What began in Genesis 15:5-6 where Abraham believed God's promise that he would have an heir, and God counted that belief as righteousness. This belief found it's culmination years later in Abraham's obedience in offering up Isaac, the promised heir.

 

It tells us in Romans 4:17-22 that Abraham believed God's promise against all the odds. We all know the story of Hagar, how early on, Sarai his wife, who was barren gives her maid to Abraham as a wife and she conceived and bears him Ishmael. They attempted to fulfill God's word to them in the flesh. That was not God's plan. He allowed Abraham to grow older until it was now impossible for him as well as for his wife to conceive and give birth. Yet Abraham still believed God's promise without wavering. 

Some time later Abraham faced the biggest test yet. God commanded him to take his son Isaac, the fulfilment of the promise that he had unwaveringly held on to, and offer him as a sacrifice to the LORD (Genesis 22:1-19). 

Abraham, motivated by the same faith that brought him this far, obeyed. We read in Hebrews 11:17-19 that even though he was about to offer up his son Isaac, the promised heir, he obeyed, considering that God was able to raise the dead. We know how it went. As Abraham was at the point of slaying his son the angel of the LORD stopped him and told him, "Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." (Genesis 22:12)

Obedience and faith are intertwined. You cannot escape this fact.

     Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that his faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God.

James 2:21-23 NASB 

Jesus is the risen, exalted Lord. He has been given the name that is above every name. One day every knee will bow to Him, like it or not. In response to this inescapable fact how are we to live out our lives? Do we try to do good deeds, hoping that we will have enough in our favor to "tip the scales" on the day of judgement? Or do we bank on a head knowledge of Jesus and some biblical facts about His life, death, and resurrection, thinking that this is faith? This passage in Philippians 2:6-12 ends with an exhortation to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. If we believe we will submit and obey by faith. Just like Abraham, our faith and our works will work together in obedience. This is true saving faith.

     

Faithfulness

But Christ was faithful as a Son over His house - whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.

Hebrews 3:6 NASB 

In my previous post I examined what true saving faith consists of. It is more than a head knowledge, and more than agreeing with some biblical facts about Jesus. True saving faith is a faith that moves us to obey Christ. We become those who follow Him in a loving submission to His will for our lives. 

This faith is expressed in a loyalty to Jesus. It's not a matter of doing some good things, but a faithful, ongoing lifestyle. Habakkuk 2:4 defines faith as faithfulness. To paraphrase it we could say, "The just shall live by their faithfulness." 

To continue with this topic I would like to look at a passage in Hebrews that expresses the same concept of ongoing faithfulness and how it is a vital part of saving faith.

     Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME." For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest , but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. 

Hebrews 3:12-19 NASB

The first point I would like to make is that unbelief and disobedience are used interchangeably in this passage. We read how God had led the people out of Egypt, yet they sinned and fell in the wilderness. 

The story of the exodus should give us warning. They saw the miracles and power of God. They experienced His presence with them along the way. They were at Mount Sinai when God descended in fire and the mountain quaked. They should have believed right? 

Hebrews 4:2 tells us that they had the good news preached to them, just like we have. The problem was that they did not unite faith with what they heard. Those who had heard the good news of the promised land failed to enter in because of disobedience (Hebrews 4:6).

Those who were disobedient failed to enter in because of their unbelief. This is the exact opposite of faith. Faith and obedience are two sides of the same "coin," while disobedience and unbelief are the two sides of a "coin" as well. 

My second point is this. True saving faith is ongoing. One may stumble, but he or she will get back up and press on. The text we have looked at admonishes us to hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end. One well known Christian author wrote that once you have received Jesus you are eternally secure. Every sin, past present and future is now forgiven. He goes on to say that even if you fall away into a sin such as drunkenness or even apostatize and become an atheist, you are still secure in Christ. 

But look at the example we have here in Hebrews. We are to encourage one another daily so that we do not fall into unbelief as ancient Israel did. Faithfulness is a lifetime thing. Our allegiance to Jesus Christ is not something to try for a while, but we are still good if we quit. That is not faithfulness, but fickleness. 

It doesn't matter what side of the eternal security debate you fall into. A true Christian will live a consistent life of obedience to Christ. An individual who does not must question the validity of their faith.

 

Saving Faith

Salvation, God's gracious gift, comes to us through faith (Ephesians 2:8). This is something that I would assume most of us who claim to be Christians believe. John 3:16 is a verse that we hold dear. It speaks of God's love for a sinning world; a love that sent Jesus to earth to die for our sins, so that whoever believes in Him could be set free from death, and have eternal life. 

Our definition of faith then becomes vital. If we miss this, we miss it all. And tragically I fear that a large number of Christians have indeed adhered to and propagated a faulty definition of saving faith.

Countless gospel tracts have been distributed, sermons preached, and altar calls given that instruct the sinner to only believe. The belief required involves something to the effect of believing that Jesus is the Son of God, or believing that He died on the cross and rose again. While these facts are indeed true, and belief in them is important, is that enough?

Is it sufficient to mentally assent to some facts about Jesus?

You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe and shudder.

James 2:19 NASB

Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God!"

Mark 1:23-24 NASB

I am quite certain that none of us would consider these "believing demons" to be Christians. But yet it leaves us with a point to grapple with. The demons believe! That is, they are very much aware of Jesus, and who He is. They believe it, they know it to be true.

There is also emphasis placed upon works. Instructions are often given to individuals seeking salvation to cease from their works and place their trust in Christ's perfect righteousness. Now there is truth to this. Any attempt to earn our salvation by our good works is futile. Christ was our perfect sacrifice, and there is no amount of good works that we can do to earn our way to heaven. Unfortunately people are led to believe that good works have nothing to do with our salvation, that although it's fine to do good things, and God desires us to do good works, an absence of good deeds has no bearing on our salvation. As a result faith and works are pitted against each other, and for many, there is no real effort put forth when it comes to living a sanctified lifestyle. 

The issue goes much deeper than a mere assent to some biblical truths about Jesus and and His death and resurrection. That kind of faith is not only inferior, it is also misplaced. What I have described is often referred to as "easy believism" or "cheap grace." It is taught by many popular pastors and Bible teachers. 

It is easy to focus on verses such as Ephesians 2:8-10 
    

      For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

This passage affirms the truth that God's salvation comes to us as an act of His grace. We don't deserve it, neither can we achieve it by our own efforts. and it also affirms that God has created us to live a righteous and obedient life for Him. But for many the emphasis is on the grace and faith without works, and the good works that should follow are an afterthought.

Compare this passage found in James with the one quoted above,

     Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

James 2:17-24

Instead of standing in opposition to each other, faith and works are part of the same process. What begins as a belief culminates in obedience. As it states in Galatians 5:6, faith expresses itself through love. Works done out of obedience to Christ are not an "afterthought," but an essential part of our faith in Him. If we love Him, we will obey Him (John 14:23-24).

Jesus calls us to follow Him. Nowhere in the Bible do we find a place where absolute submission to His will is a good idea, but optional. But that is what we so often hear taught. I remember sitting in a service once where the pastor proclaimed that you can accept Jesus as Savior, and decide later if you want Jesus to be Lord. There are those who teach that "Lordship salvation" is a heresy. They claim that it involves "works" and negates faith. 

In Romans we read about the faith we are to profess.

     But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, in your mouth and in your heart" - that is the word of faith which we are preaching, that is if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

Romans 10:8-11 NASB

This involves more than a mental assent to some facts about Jesus. It is a surrender from the heart to the rule of Jesus Christ over one's life. To confess something is to express our agreement with that thing. If we believe that Jesus has been vindicated, all of His claims and teachings validated by His resurrection from the dead, and He is therefore now the living Lord, we are faced with two things. Do we put it off as some nice but unnecessary step to take in our Christian journey, or do we fall to our knees in humble submission? Jesus agrees with Paul, or to properly put it, Paul is in agreement with the words of Jesus.

     And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with  the holy angels.

Mark 8:34-38 NASB

We are starting to see what true saving faith consists of. In Romans 1:17 Paul, quoting from Habakkuk 2:4 states that the righteous man shall live by faith. It is important to understand the definition of faith here. The Hebrew word translated faith in Habakkuk 2:4 speaks of fidelity, faithfulness, a loyalty to the one you have faith in. This is so much more than a mere head knowledge, or a profession to save oneself from hell, whithout a change of lifestyle. The one who puts their faith in Jesus as Lord, is faithful to Jesus as Lord. It is a submission of ourselves, a commitment of all that we have and are, to Him and His service. 

As we have seen faith finds it's fulfilment in obedience. We read this in Hebrews 5:8-10,

     Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

And again we see salvation linked with a faithful walk in holiness described in 1 John 1:5-7,

     This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin

Our faith must work itself out in our actions if it is a real saving faith. If our commitment to Jesus is not whole hearted, and we are not faithfully following Him with loving obedience, then we must question if our faith is real at all.