Is faith without obedience also faith?
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“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever does not obey the Son will not see eternal life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). What is the meaning of this truth?
Doesn't that mean that faith is obedience, and disobedience is disbelief? As the above truth says, from now on, we should see faith and obedience as one, not two.
If we re-arrange the above words, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life, and he who does not obey the Son will not see eternal life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). is.
Therefore, to believe the gospel is to obey the gospel. Obedience is action. That is why the Bible testifies, “As the body without the soul is dead, so faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).
The act of faith that obeys the gospel is not the righteousness of man who walks according to the law, but the righteousness of God that follows the Holy Spirit. That is why he said that Jesus cannot be called Lord except through the Holy Spirit. As it is written, “Therefore I make it known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3). is.
That is why the Bible says, “I tell you, walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).
Faith is evidenced more clearly as obedience: “Through him we have received grace and apostleship, for the sake of his name's sake of believing and obedience among all Gentiles, of whom you also were called to be the things of Jesus Christ” (Romans 1: 5) As he said, “believing and obeying” is the fruit of the gospel. Therefore, faith without obedience is vain and chaff that goes into the unquenchable fire.
Therefore, the gospel and obedience are one. The Bible also testifies about this, "But they did not all obey the gospel." Isaiah said, "Lord, who has believed our message?" (Romans 10:16).
If we re-arrange the above words, "But they did not all obey (believe) the gospel." Isaiah said, "Lord, who has believed what we preached?" (Romans 10:16). .
Also, in the word of truth, “It was said that there again they will not enter my rest. Then there are those who will enter there, but those who were first preached the gospel did not enter because of their disobedience. This is what it was said in advance that it was this day, appointed a day, but today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. If Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken of another day after that. ) did.
As the saying goes, “Those who first received the gospel did not enter because of their disobedience.” Even today, there are many who received the gospel first, but there are no people who practice the gospel in obedience to faith. So the Lord prophesied, "...will you find faith in the world when the Son of Man comes?..." (Luke 18:8).
The gospel is not the gospel itself, but the gospel becomes the gospel when we obey it by faith. This is similar to the parable of the Lord Jesus, where the forgiveness of ten thousand talents did not become the gospel, but the person who received the forgiveness of ten thousand talents became the gospel with a hundred denarii. It is the same as it is written, “Should you not have pity on your brother-in-law, just as I have compassion on you?” (Matthew 18:33).
Also, as it is said, “Be diligent in your efforts, and add virtue to your faith, and gain knowledge by virtue…” (2 Peter 1:5), faith without virtue is a belief in a lie that has nothing to do with salvation.
Therefore, it is recorded in the Bible, “Pursue peace with all men and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Thank you Lord.
Last but not least, Kim Yoon-goo