What is the obedience of faith?

Explanation:

Paul says that he was made an apostle to bring about the obedience of faith. Likely he has in mind being obedient by accepting the gospel, and the obedience that follows once the gospel is accepted. We can detect that Paul has in mind both obedience to believe and the obedience that follows belief because Paul highlights both obedience to believe and the obedience that follows belief in various passages.⁴ For example, in Romans 10:14–17 he explains that in order for people to believe, the gospel must be proclaimed. But there are some who do not obey the gospel. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. In other words, there are some who hear the gospel preached but they do not obey it.

At the same time, Paul also refers to the obedience that comes from faith. For example, in Romans 5:21 he says that God’s grace reigns through righteousness leading to eternal life. And in Romans 7:5–6 he writes that while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions were alive, but now that we have been released from the law we serve in the new way of the Spirit.⁵ Thus, being made an apostle in order to bring the obedience of faith has to do with us being obedient to the gospel, and the obedience that is the result of faith.

Counterargument:

According to this argument, Paul highlights both being obedient to the gospel and the obedience that follows from the gospel. The problem is that while Romans 10:14–17 does suggest that Paul emphasizes obedience to the gospel, Romans 5:21 and Romans 7:5–6 do not show that he highlights the obedience that results from faith. Rather, Romans 5:21 has to do with the fact that God’s grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life, but nowhere does Paul say that obedience results from faith. Likewise, Romans 7:5–6 has to do with being released from the law and the new way of the Spirit, not faith leading to obedience. So this argument has given us enough to see that obedience of faith has to do with obeying the gospel, but enough to conclude that faith in the gospel brings obedience.

Response to counterargument:

While Romans 5:21 does not specifically say that faith produces obedience, this is implied from the wider context. For at the beginning of Romans 5:1–21, Paul says that we have been justified by faith, and that through this faith we have access to God’s grace (Romans 5:2). So we have access to God’s grace through faith, and that grace results in righteousness that leads to eternal life (Romans 5:21). It is not a stretch to equate righteousness with obedience, so we can see that through faith we have access to God’s grace that leads to righteousness, which is akin to obedience. Thus, Paul emphasizes being obedient to the gospel in Romans 10:14–17 and the obedience that results from faith in Romans 5:21.

Explanation:

When Paul says that he was made an apostle in order to bring about the obedience of faith, we are tempted to subordinate obedience to faith, or faith to obedience. That is, we are tempted to hold that Paul is saying that he was made an apostle either to bring people to obedience to the gospel or to bring about the obedience that comes from faith. The fact is, obedience and faith are mutually interpreting. This means that to be obedient to the gospel entails faith. One cannot be obedient to the gospel unless one puts their faith in Christ. At the same time, putting one’s faith in Christ will result in a deepening commitment and obedience to Christ. So, we should not compartmentalize obedience and faith because these are two aspects of one process that cannot be separated from each other.⁶

Counterargument:

This view asks us to equate obedience with faith, but it’s hard to see how this is possible, for these seem to be different concepts. To obey is to align with a rule or order, while to have faith is to trust in something. Given that these are two different concepts, it seems that they are not mutually interpreting. That is, it seems possible for one to align with an order before one trusts in something, which is to say, one can obey before faith. At the same time, it is true that when one trusts in something, it may lead to a greater capacity to align with a rule, which implies that faith could lead to obedience. Still, one can trust in something before aligning with a rule, which suggests that faith can be understood aside from obedience. So faith and obedience are not mutually interpreting.

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument fails to understand obedience and faith in the context of the gospel. Let’s assume it is the case that obedience has to do with aligning to a rule. And let’s also assume that to have faith is to trust in something. In contexts outside the gospel, it’s certainly possible to obey a rule without trusting in something, so that obedience is not the same as faith. Likewise, outside the gospel, one could trust in something when this trust does not have to do with aligning with rules, so that faith and obedience can come apart. Still, in the context of the gospel, faith and obedience cannot come apart, because to be obedient to the gospel is to have faith. That is, when it comes to the gospel, to align with the rules is to put one’s trust in Jesus Christ so that to obey the gospel is to have faith. And of course, the result of trusting in Jesus Christ is the capacity to better align with the rules. Thus, in the context of the gospel, obedience and faith are mutually interpreting because it is not possible to obey the gospel without faith, and it is not possible to be faithful to the gospel without obedience.

The only weakness of this view is that it implies that by referring to the obedience of faith, Paul has introduced a clever literary device that displays the heart of conversion and sanctification. For conversion has to do with obedience, but not without faith, and sanctification has to do with faith, but not without obedience. It is entirely possible that Paul has introduced such a device, but it is notable that he only uses this phrase twice, and both times in Romans. Given how well it captures the nuance of conversion and sanctification, if Paul did intend the device to work as this view holds, one would expect Paul to use it more often in his letters, or to expound on it.

Explanation:

What does Paul mean by obedience of faith? Likely, the phrase obedience of faith is used by Paul as a genitive of source.⁹ In other words, Paul is saying that the source of the obedience is faith. So Paul is assigned as an apostle in order to bring people to faith, which will result in their obedience, because the source of obedience is faith.

The reason we should take faith as a genitive of source is that this aligns with Paul’s writings elsewhere. For Paul, a lively faith results in obedience to God.¹⁰ For example, in Rom 4:3 we read that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Faith comes first, and obedience springs forth from that faith.

Counterargument:

The problem with this view is that it downplays the importance of evangelism in Paul’s ministry. This view has it that Paul’s task is to produce obedient believers whose obedience comes from faith. The problem with this line of thinking is that Paul is an apostle whose task is evangelism.¹¹ Suggesting that Paul’s concern is to bring about the obedience of believers is to downplay his call to bring in new believers.

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument fails because it characterizes the phrase in order to bring about the obedience of faith incorrectly. This counterargument explains this interpretation as the notion that Paul is saying he was made an apostle in order to bring about the obedience of Christians, and then suggests this overlooks Paul’s evangelistic outlook to bring in new believers. The fact is, the phrase in order to bring about the obedience of faith captures Paul’s evangelistic spirit perfectly. That is, Paul is saying that Jesus Christ commissioned him to bring about the obedience that comes from faith. So how does one go about doing this? In order for there to be people who are obedient, there needs to be people who have faith, so Paul’s first step is to bring people to faith. This involves preaching the gospel, teaching, writing letters, and discipling those who are interested in Christianity. Through this work, some come to a living faith, and those with a living faith become obedience to God, which is the final goal. So Paul partakes in evangelism and discipleship in order to bring people to a living faith so that through their faith they will become obedient to God.

The weakness of this view is that it uses Paul’s writings to contend that obedience is the result of faith, but it only offers one verse, and this verse does not necessarily suggest that obedience is the result of faith. Rather, it suggests that righteousness is the result of faith.

Explanation:

Paul says that he was called as an apostle to bring about the obedience of faith. We can deduce what Paul means by considering how Jude uses the term faith in Jude 1:3. There Jude says that he found it necessary to write appealing for them to contend for the faith. What Jude means by faith is the body of doctrine concerning Christianity. In other words, the contents of the Old, and especially the New Testament. In Romans 1:5, Paul is saying something similar. That is, he is saying that he has been made an apostle in order to bring about obedience to the Old and especially the New Testament.¹²

Counterargument:

According to this argument, Paul is commissioned by Jesus Christ as an apostle to bring about obedience to the Old and especially the New Testament. The problem is that there was no official New Testament when Paul wrote this letter to the Romans. In fact, much of the New Testament is comprised of letters written by Paul that were later collected into the New Testament. Further, the Gospels may not have even been written by the time Paul wrote his letter to the Romans. So the notion that Paul was appointed an apostle to bring obedience to the New Testament is simply not possible.

Further, it is best to understand the term faith in the context of how Paul himself uses that term. Jude only uses the term faith twice. Paul, on the other hand, wrote over a dozen books and uses the term many dozens of times.

Explanation:

When Paul says that he has been made an apostle to bring about the obedience of faith, the phrase obedience of faith is a synonym for salvation.¹³ In other words, Paul is saying he has been made an apostle to bring people to salvation. Of course, salvation has to do with being obedient to God’s lordship, and God’s lordship is outlined in Scripture.¹⁴ So Paul is saying that he has been made an apostle to bring people to obedience to Scripture.

Counterargument:

Barring some argument, it is not clear that for Paul, obedience of faith is a synonym for salvation. Salvation is a broad and multi-faceted concept that includes being cleansed from sin, sharing Christ’s righteousness, being forgiven by Christ’s substitutionary atonement, and escaping from the clutches of sin and death. Obedience of faith, on the other hand, sounds more specific in that it has to do with obedience and faith. Thus, unless we are given good reason, it is not clear that these should be understood as synonyms. Even if obedience of faith and salvation should be understood as synonyms, so that Paul is saying he was made an apostle to bring about salvation, it is not at all clear that salvation is obeying Scripture. First, the notion of obeying Scripture is vague. How does one obey the story of Saul being killed in battle? If by obeying Scripture one means believe the contents of Scripture, it is hard to see how believing the contents of Scripture is salvation. Rather, salvation is being cleansed from sin, imputed righteousness, forgiveness, etc. Believing the contents of Scripture might lead one to salvation, but salvation itself is not believing the contents of Scripture. So it is not clear how to make sense of this argument.

The weakness of this view is that it is an example of eisegesis rather than exegesis. Eisegesis is when one reads one’s own concerns into the text. In this case, the interpretation is concerned with Christians believing the body of doctrines as summarized in the Scriptures, which is a wholly legitimate and important concern. Still, one has to understand that the goal of interpretation is to detect Paul’s intent, not our own. Given that the New Testament was not yet written when Paul wrote Romans, the obedience of faith cannot be about submitting to the contents of the New Testament.