January 13, 2023 – Friday
Romans 1:5 NIV
5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.
Comments
Did you know the book of Romans has faith mentioned 40 times in the NIV, one more than Hebrews and twice what Matthew and 1 Timothy each have. In the Old Testament only Psalms has more mentions of faith, 74 times.
Romans has been called the meat and potatoes of the New Testament, so it is interesting to see faith mentioned so often there. Our verse for today is the first mention of faith in Romans, 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. The Him is obviously Jesus, but looking at the verse in context makes this very clear, 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David,4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
As we know from Paul’s meeting with Christ outside Damascus, it was through Jesus Paul received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. Because of the grace granted him, that Paul received from Christ, that he was also able to receive his apostleship. His apostleship had one purpose, to call Gentiles to obedience that would come forth from their faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His defeat of death by rising on the third day.
This faith was something special, it was not a positive body of doctrine received and believed—but, it was in its strict sense, that active habit and attitude of mind by which the Christian shows his devotion and loyalty to Christ, and his total dependence on Him (Ellicott’s Commentary). We do this for not for ourselves, but to show our devotion and loyalty to Christ and our total dependence on Him.
But do we? Is our faith at work showing our devotion to Jesus and our loyalty to Him? Or is it even active? Does our faith reflect our loyalty to Him or is it just a word we throw around? Do we truly depend upon Him or is our faith the last thing we call upon in our time of need?
Do we have obedience that come from faith for His name? This is faith that produces obedience. Can we have obedience to Him if we do not have true faith? The obvious answer to that is a resounding “NO!” Without true faith Jesus has a reply for those who come to Him without true faith in Matthew 7:22-23, 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ And He condemns them as evildoers!
Bottom Line: Let us act on our faith bringing us to obedience to Him and let our faith be real and active in our lives.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Help us always turn to You in our faith, faith founded upon Your Son who did so much for us. Let our faith lead us to call upon You all the time in obedience to the faith You have granted us. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek