Romans 1:5

Sermon preached on October 25, 2009 by Laurence W. Veinott. © Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Other sermons can be found at http://www.cantonnewlife.org/.

Unless otherwise noted, quotations are from The Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.


In the third week of February 1942 the destroyers the U.S.S. Truxtun and the U.S.S. Wilkes were escorting the Navy cargo ship Pollux from Portland, Maine to Argentia, Newfoundland. As they approached the coast of Newfoundland on the night of February 17-18 they encountered a violent winter gale and snowstorm. Visibility was reduced to zero but they kept going. What they didn’t know was that the wind and the currents had gotten them well off course and as they were heading north they were steaming toward the rocky cliffs of southern Newfoundland. At 4:10 in the morning the Truxtun hit the rocks. The Pollux hit soon thereafter, and so did the Wilkes, although she detected the danger almost in time and crashed less forcefully than the other ships. She was able to back out and escape the rocks. But the other ships were doomed and they were soon smashed to pieces. Many lives were lost. Many more would have perished had it not been for the heroic efforts of the local people. They let down ropes from the cliffs to help the sailors, others launched small boats to try to rescue those in the water. An interesting story from that incident was told by one of the survivors, Lanier Phillips. He was a 19 year old African American who had known much racism in his life. When he was brought ashore he was afraid he would be lynched. But instead he was taken to a local home and extremely well cared for. He said that when he was first brought there, the women of that isolated community had never seen a black man before and they thought that he was covered with oil—so they tried to wash it off him.

The loss of those ships and so many lives was a great tragedy. It happened because the people navigating the ships made a crucial mistake—they got lost. They didn’t know they were off course. Many things were required for the safe operation of those ships—one of the most crucial was that of knowing where you were. They missed that critical ingredient.

At the beginning of Romans the apostle Paul tells us about one of the indispensable components of Christianity— ‘the obedience of faith’. In verse 5 Paul referred to Jesus and wrote

"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."

There are two ways of understanding this phrase, ‘the obedience of faith’. It could be understood as meaning ‘the obedience that comes springs from or is a result of faith’, as the NIV renders it. In that case, the thought is that those who have faith will obey the commands of God. The phrase could also be understood as meaning, ‘the obedience that is faith’. In other words, the acceptance of the gospel is described as an act of obedience. For example, Romans 10:16 says, (HCSB)

"But all did not obey the gospel.
For Isaiah says,
‘Lord, who has believed our message?’"

We could understand it either way. But the fact that throughout Romans Paul insists that faith and a new obedience go together leads me to lean toward the interpretation that Paul meant ‘the obedience that comes from faith’. Chapters 6 and 8 in particular show that the grace that is given in Christ invariably involves a transformation of one’s life. Near the end of his letter (Romans 15:18) Paul referred to the ‘obedience of the Gentiles’, indicating that the gospel had indeed changed their lives.

Thus I find it unlikely that the phrase (literally) ‘into obedience of faith’ would refer only to the initial act of obedience. But even then, the obedience that results from faith would not be excluded, for as Cranfield says, (Romans, p. 67)

"It is also true to say that to make the decision of faith is an act of obedience toward God and also that true faith by its very nature includes in itself the sincere desire and will to obey God in all things."

"Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved…"

In John 3:16 Jesus said,

"For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life."

Belief in Jesus is central to the gospel.

Yet having said that, it is also true that the call of the gospel is a call to obedience. We are not saved by our obedience, but nevertheless, it is an essential part of the Christian life. Salvation in Jesus Christ is by grace alone through faith—yet we are also called to be holy and to lead lives that are pleasing to God. We see this clearly in Ephesians 2:8–10. Paul wrote,

"For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—
and this not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God— not by works,
so that no one can boast.
For we are God's workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance
for us to do."

Notice how both things are there—salvation by grace alone through faith, and good works that flow from it. Both go together. If you have faith in Jesus you will have good works. Jesus also taught us this in John 14:23. He said,

"If anyone loves me,
he will obey my teaching."

The apostle John put faith and obedience together in 1 John 3:23–24 as well. He wrote,

"And this is his command:
to believe in the name of his Son,
Jesus Christ,
and to love one another
as he commanded us.
Those who obey his commands live in him,
and he in them."

If you believe in Jesus you will live according to His commands. Faith and obedience go together. The apostle Paul told us the same thing in 2 Thessalonians 2:13. He wrote,

"But we ought always
to thank God for you,
brothers loved by the Lord,
because from the beginning
God chose you to be saved
through the sanctifying work of the Spirit
and through belief in the truth."

Leon Morris sums it up: (Pillar Commentary on Romans)

"When anyone is saved through faith, it is with a view to obedience."

"Not everyone who says to me,
'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only he who does the will
of my Father who is in heaven."

Christianity is about having a new life. As the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation;
the old has gone,
the new has come!"

Colossians 2:20 speaks of Christians as having,

"died with Christ
to the basic principles of this world,"

As John Murray writes in his commentary on Romans, (p. 14)

"For the faith which the apostleship was intended to promote was not an evanescent act of emotion but the commitment of wholehearted devotion to Christ and to the truth of his gospel."

One of the great truths that much of professing Christianity has forgotten today is Hebrews 12:14,

"without holiness
no one will see the Lord."

Many churches and professing Christians today have abandoned that truth. They have forsaken the teachings of the Bible and have adopted many of the practices of the pagan world. Not only that, but they teach that anyone who holds to biblical teaching is ignorant, unlearned or plain evil.

But nothing could be further from the truth. What does God want for your life? He wants you to be holy. He wants you to live according to His commands. As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 (HSCB)

"For this is God's will,
your sanctification:"

This means that if you're a Christian,

you should to be striving to be more holy.

In Philippians 3:12–14 the apostle Paul wrote,

"Not that I have already obtained all this,
or have already been made perfect,
but I press on to take hold of that
for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers, I do not consider myself
yet to have taken hold of it.
But one thing I do:
Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize
for which God has called me
heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Paul was pressing on toward greater obedience.

So I ask you—Do you have method to become more holy? It's interesting that the Methodist movement in the 1700's got its name from the methodical way in which it's early members sought to improve their lives. A small group of students at Oxford University met together for mutual improvement. They developed a 'method' of improving themselves. They fasted, received communion every week, visited the sick and poor, as well as prisoners, and abstained from certain forms of amusement.

Do you have a method for improving yourself?

Around 1722 Jonathan Edwards made 70 resolutions that he vowed to read every week. They were designed to help him improve his life. Here's a sample,

4. Resolved, Never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God, nor be, nor suffer it, if I can possibly avoid it.5. Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.6. Resolved, To live with all my might, while I do live.7. Resolved, Never to do any thing, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.9. Resolved, To think much, on all occasions, of my dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.13. Resolved, To be endeavoring to find out fit objects of liberality and charity.14. Resolved, Never to do any thing out of revenge.15. Resolved, Never to suffer the least motions of anger towards irrational beings.16. Resolved, Never to speak evil of any one, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

"We all stumble in many ways."

No matter what progress you had made in the past it's clear that you're not perfect yet. As the apostle Paul said to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 13:9,

"our prayer is for your perfection."

Then as he concluded the letter he said, (2 Corinthians 13:11)

"Finally, brothers, good-by.
Aim for perfection,
listen to my appeal,
be of one mind,
live in peace."

So I ask you—what are you doing to grow in grace? Do you have a strategy like Jonathan Edwards?

Your strategy, whatever it is, should be centered around the commands and exhortation of the Word. I read somewhere that Charles Spurgeon read John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress over a hundred times. He said,

"Next to the Bible, the book that I value most is John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress ... it is a book of which I never seem to tire…"

"Spirituality is not letting anyone judge you."

"Spirituality is being true to yourself."

"The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption, are his ordinances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer, all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation."

"Do you not know that
the runners in a stadium all race,
but only one receives the prize?
Run in such a way that you may win.
Now everyone who competes
exercises self-control in everything.
However, they do it
to receive a perishable crown,
but we an imperishable one.
Therefore I do not run
like one who runs aimlessly,
or box like one who beats the air.
Instead, I discipline my body
and bring it under strict control,
so that after preaching to others,
I myself will not be disqualified."

Paul said he did not run like one running aimlessly. He did not box like one who beats the air. He had a methodology. As he wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:23, 

"'Everything is permissible,'
but not everything is helpful.
'Everything is permissible,'
but not everything builds up."

He knew himself and he knew what things would be helpful to him and what things would be harmful. You need to do the same.

The second implication from our text is that

you ought to be holy no matter what.

Notice the phrase,

"for His name's sake"

The glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is the reason you should be holy. Christ's glory was of paramount importance to Paul. Paul told the Romans that it was through Christ and for His name's sake that he had received grace and apostleship to call the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. The purpose of all these things was the glory of God.

Should you be holy if you lose everything, if things don't go well for you? Job's wife didn't think so. She urged Job to curse God and die. But she was wrong.

Should Paul have been holy, and Paul defines part of his obedience as an apostle as calling the Gentiles to faith in Christ—even if he was told not to preach about Jesus?

Proselytizing has a bad name in our society. The world doesn't want us to try to convert people. It's actually been made illegal in some countries and it's looked down upon in others.

In Acts 4 and 5 we see that the apostles were forbidden to teach or preach in the name of Jesus. Should we be holy even when there's opposition?

Yes! The words of our text convey the missionary purpose of Paul's call to the Gentiles. Paul preached in order to bring the Gentiles to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel focuses on Jesus and is designed to bring all nations to the obedience of faith. It's all about God's glory.

In the same way, you are called to be holy and to be a light to the world. (Matthew 5:14-16, Philippians 2:15-16) You are to obey God in all circumstances so that He may be glorified in your life.

Lastly, for those of you who are not Christians,

our text shows you that you're not going to be all right.

God calls you to obedience. If you're not believing in Jesus, you're not obeying God. If you're not believing, you're not living according to His commands. You're still in your sins. You're off course. You're like those two destroyers and cargo vessel that were heading for the rocks. You will be lost unless you go to Jesus. Go to Him now.

• Romans 1:5