Grace & Obedience

We receive grace through faith in Jesus Christ, which leads to obedience.

Introduction

Last week, we learned about being a bondservant to Jesus. The things of this world that we have been enslaved to will detach as we begin to attach or fully surrender to Jesus. Now, Paul is telling us that faith in Jesus will produce grace, allowing us to begin to live in obedience. Obedience isn’t a condition of salvation. Instead, it is the result of living out our salvation. Romans 1:2-5 is still part of the prologue of the letter. Paul is introducing himself and what we can expect in the coming pages. The book of Romans teaches us how to live in obedience as we receive grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Son of David & Son of God (Ro. 1:2-4)

· Paul does not say the gospel of Jesus. Instead, he says, “the gospel of God.”

· Jesus is the Savior that Israel had been waiting for. He is the fulfillment of scripture. He is God’s plan for the redemption of all humanity; therefore, he calls it the Gospel of God.

· God repeatedly promised a Savior born in the family of David. It became common practice for the people of Israel to refer to the promised Savior as the Son of David (Is.9:7; 11:1-16; Jer. 23:5; Mic. 5:2-4; Zec 3:8).

· It is with purpose that Paul adds the words, according to the flesh, to reference Jesus as the Son of David. He is distinguishing between Jesus’s divine origin and His human incarnation.

· As far as His flesh (humanity) is concerned, he is a descendant of David. But as far as His spirit (divinity), He has come forth from God.

· Jesus is the promised Son of David “according to the flesh,” but He is also God’s Son.

· God makes the ultimate declaration of this when He raises Him from the dead. However, it is not the first time (Mt. 3:17).

· God raised Him from the dead, identifying Jesus as the promised One who would come in power to judge the living and the dead (Ac 10:40-43;17:31).

· At the same time, the resurrection proved Jesus was perfectly holy (Ac 2:24-31); otherwise, He would have remained in the grave.

· We must recognize that Jesus did not become God’s Son at the resurrection. Instead, the resurrection revealed his sonship.

· Paul makes it very clear that Jesus pre-existed His incarnation (2 Co. 8:9; Gal. 4:4; Php. 2:5-8).

· This means that Jesus was fully God and fully man. He is begotten witch is entirely different than created. God created you and I and Jesus has always been and for that matter will always be.

· Humanity needed a sinless man to pay the penalty for the fall of man. Jesus conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary was given to pay a debit no man was capable of paying.

Grace & Faith (Ro. 1:5)

· There is a balance between faith and grace. They work together.

· Grace is God’s unmerited, undeserved, and unearned favor.

· Grace has nothing to do with us. Grace is God’s part.

· Our part is faith. Faith is our response to the goodness of God.

· Eph. 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

· Notice it is God who makes the first move. He offers His grace, and those who respond with faith are saved.

· Grace is what God does, and faith is what we do.

· Faith doesn’t move God; He isn’t the one who is stuck. Faith doesn’t make God do anything.

· Grace and faith work together, and our part is to accept what God has already done. Grace must be balanced with faith.

· Faith is a belief and trust with an implication that actions based on that trust may follow.

Discipleship & Obedience (Ro. 1:5)

· The words “obedience of faith” should remind us of Jesus’ Great Commission to “make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe (keep, obey) all that I commanded you.” (Mt. 28:19-20).

· The goal of Paul’s apostleship was not just to produce people who had faith in Christ but people whose faith made them obedient to Christ. This is discipleship.

· It must be repeated: obedience is not a condition of salvation. Good works don’t get you to heaven.

· You and I cannot work our way into Heaven (Eph 2:9).

· Obedience comes through loving Jesus. Jesus tells us that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments (Jn. 14:15).

· Yet we are constantly struggling, but if we are honest with ourselves, we know that it is when we take our eyes off Jesus that we struggle to remain in Him.

· We can not learn to walk obediently through willpower and muscle (Jn. 15:4-5).

· The more we seek God, seek His word, and allow people to disciple us, we will learn to walk in obedience.

· Here is the good news: the more you do it, the better you get.

· We need reps to become better at obeying the Lord. It’s not a failure when you miss it. It’s an opportunity to learn, adjust, and try again.

Conclusion

We receive grace through faith in Jesus Christ, which leads to obedience. Obedience is not a condition of our salvation. Our salvation comes when we receive the grace of God and believe. Faith is believing and trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice and love. Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” As we continue to run after Jesus and position ourselves with people who can teach and hold us accountable we will grow in our obedience. It is a natural result of moving toward God rather than away.

Discussion Questions

1. Why is understanding who Jesus is crucial to the gospel of God?

2. Do you struggle to accept God’s unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor? Why or why not?

3. How are you being discipled in your walk with the Lord? What role does obedience play in it?