Rom 1:5
(NIV) Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to
call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.
NOTE: Paul's mission was to call people from among
all Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. The call is not exactly to obedience but to
faith, because obedience comes from faith.
So, how might I express this differently? We are not called, just to be obedient,
because then it would depend completely on our own strength, and in that case, the
new covenant wouldn't be any different from the old covenant. No, we are called to an obedience that comes
from faith, or in other words, we are called to a faith where obedience is the
result. While it may not always seem
like it (down in the trees), our obedience or reflection of Jesus Christ grows
as our faith in Christ grows (from the perspective of the forest). Maturity in Christ does make us
different. But there is one
warning. Growing in faith is different
from growing in knowledge, yet both use some similar means. The word of God is indispensable in
both. Christian fellowship is an
absolute necessity. Witnessing is a
natural byproduct. But prayer may be the
difference between the person whose (false) maturity is characterized by
knowledge only, versus the person whose (real) maturity is characterized by
faith. Prayer expresses our dependence
on God. And as we grow in dependence, we
grow in faith, and as we grow in faith, we mature, and as we mature, we grow in
obedience.
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