On Obedience and Faith
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Recapturing Paul's fundamental teaching on the relationship between obedience and faith in salvation.
Text: Rom. 1:5
Date: 09/06/2026, the Combined service.
Series: "Romans: Unashamed of the Gospel" Part 8
Description:
As Paul continues his opening statement to the Romans, his attention flows from the fullness of Jesus Christ our Lord and His centrality to the Gospel to how that Good News will be revealed to a world lost in sin and spiritual darkness. He goes on to explain how the expansion of the church is entirely by the grace of God, and driven by the evangelistic outreach of the "sent ones" whose hearts have been redeemed. But we will spend most of our time exploring what Paul means and doesn't mean by the enigmatic and profound phrase "obedience of faith" that this outreach of the church is to bring about. We will find that Paul's teaching of the relationship between obedience and faith is radically different from the various forms of "easy believism" to be found in the church today. Indeed, Paul's vision is of the expansion of a church filled with true believers who exist and work faithfully for the glory of Christ by changing the world one soul at a time through the "obedience of faith".
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I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, Rom. 1:5.
A. Context
B. Understanding "obedient faith".
1. The preeminence of Christ, Matt. 1:21; Luke 3:22.
2. On grace and apostleship.
a. What Paul means by "we".
i. A difference in opinion.
ii. Why "we" means "we".
b. Finding the meaning of "grace and apostleship".
i. How others read this.
ii. The context of grace, Eph. 2:5.
iii. A broader view of "apostleship", Acts 14:14; Rom. 16:7; Phil. 2:25; 2Cor. 8:23.
3. The obedience of faith.
a. Defining "obedience of faith".
i. The different translations.
ii. Looking at the words.
1) Defining "obedience", rom. 6:16.
2) Defining "faith".
3) Putting the words together.
iii. Turning to Scripture, Rom. 6:25-26.
b. The command to believe.
i. The essence of sin.
1) The origin of the sin of disobedience, Gen. 2:15-17, 3:1,4,5,17.
2) Scriptural evidence of the sin of disobedience, Eph. 2:2-3; Num. 20:12; Matt. 22:37-40.
ii. The egregious sin of unbelief.
1) From Mark, Mark 1:14-15.
2) From John, John 6:26-29.
3) From Luke, Luke 9:34-35.
4) From Acts, Acts 17:30.
5) From Paul in Romans, Rom. 6:17, 8:7, 10:16.
c. The nature of the obedience of faith.
i. The nature of "obedient faith", John 3:3, Eph. 2:8-9.
ii. The irresistible "effectual call", Eph. 2:1; John 6:44,47, 11:43; Rom. 9:16..
iii. The fulness of the obedience of faith, Ex. 21:6; Luke 9:23.
d. A great commission.
4. Among the nations, Rom. 1:16, 3:29, 9:3, 11:13; Acts 9:15, 13:47, 26:20.
5. For His glory.
a. In the name of Jesus, Rom. 1:1,3,4,5.
b. Believing for His name's sake.
III. Application
IV. Conclusion
