Romans 1:5
"...through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith..."
I want to focus on three words; "obedience from faith."
The NIV says it this way; "the obedience that comes from faith."
Those who know me are aware that for most of my life I have struggled with sexual sin; specifically, lust and porn.
On one occasion during my quiet time with the Lord, I was repenting for being "weak in my flesh." The Lord simply said to me, "You're not weak in the flesh, you are weak in your faith." This connected a lot of dots for me, which is not the point of this writing, so I won't go into it now.
The point is our obedience should come from faith. Romans 14 deals mostly with dietary issues. Paul tells them they can eat whatever they want as long as they receive it by faith. Whatever they ate or didn't eat was done unto the Lord. The entire Chapter has to do with not only food, but I think more importantly faith.
In verses 5 and 6 Paul speaks of those who set aside a day for the Lord and those who observe the days all the same; he went on to say that whatever they do they should do it unto the Lord.
In verses 7 and 8 he says that we don't live or die to ourselves but for the Lord, in life and death.
The rest of the Chapter deals with eating and drinking and how we conduct ourselves. The last half sentence of the Chapter says, "and whatever is not from faith is sin."
Which brings me back to "obedience that come from faith."
The Bible tells us not to lust or hate. The Scriptures tell us that we must forgive. The Bible tells us things that we then take and apply to our lives, which is what we should do, but is that faith or have we taken the grace of the New Testament and put it under the law?
This takes me back to the beginning of this article. I mentioned that the Holy Spirit had spoken to me that I was not weak in my flesh but weak in my faith. What? I have been a Christian since Labor Day, 1986. I have an NASB Study Bible, NIV Study Bible, ESV Study Bible, NKJV Study Bible, KJV Bible, NRSV Study Bible, The Holman's Apologetics Study Bible, the NLT Bible and many other study aids. I am not bragging; I just have a thing for Bibles. How can I be weak in my faith with all this stuff? These books aren't just collecting dust, I read them. How can I be weak in my faith?
"Whatever is not from faith is sin."
All too often I have read the Bible through the lens of legalism. Because my personal life is nowhere near perfect and my self-image is currently under construction, I reject the passages that I am righteous, justified, sanctified or called. Instead, I cling to the passage that speaks of a vessel of dishonor or that a leopard can't change his spots.
I have this idea that I must be perfect to be called or used by God. If that were the case, there would be nobody qualified to preach.
To clarify; I am not advocating that we tolerate sin in our lives. What I am suggesting is that we take our eyes off the sin and fucus on Jesus. As Hebrews 12:2 says, "fixing our eyes on Jesus the Author and perfecter of faith.
I found myself whining to God almost incessantly about the fact that I wasn't where I thought I should be in my walk, which by the way is unattainable. This went on for far too long. I am embarrassed to say, for years.
Finally, the Lord said to me, "Why don't you praise me for what I have done in your life instead of lamenting over what I have not yet done!" It kind of sounds like a question but it was a command.
I can't even describe the change that has taken place since I have taken my eyes off myself and put them on Jesus. I still have to battle the negativity. Those negative thoughts have been hanging around for a long time. Now-a-days I catch them a lot sooner which means the darkness is not nearly as intense or long lasting. Now I am able to reject them as quickly as they come in, most of the time.
I stand on those verses that say, "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Or, "He calls those things that are not as though they are." Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has a plan for us. The Bible also says that no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered the heart of man all God has prepared for those who love Him.
It is interesting that I cling to a couple of verses, taken out of context, to convince myself that I am of no use to God; when there is a plethora of passages that say otherwise.
We walk by faith, not by sight. Who does God say you are?
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