The Gospel and Obedience

“But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” There is no victory over sin without obedience.

Think that Paul had a form of doctrine he delivered to them whereby they could be set free from sin! However, this form of doctrine did not set them free from sin unless they obeyed it from the heart. Then they were set free and became servants of righteousness.

Which congregation can you visit where they possess this knowledge, where they can say they were slaves of sin, and have now been set free from it and have become servants of righteousness? Wherever you go you get to hear that Jesus has done everything. They say you must look up to Him and not at yourself. Salvation is complete and free and is imputed to you through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the exact opposite of Paul’s instructions to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16. Obedience is understood to be something that has to do with the law and your own works. The gospel is interpreted as faith without obedience, and the life of Jesus is imputed to you.

What follows is an excerpt from what one of the greatest religious leaders in Norway has said. “In order to interpret the Scriptures correctly, it is important to have light over the difference between the law and the gospel. The law is the Word of God that speaks to us about our duties and responsibilities. This Word demands unconditional obedience; it accuses us before God whenever we fail. The law always accuses. The gospel is the Word of God about Christ’s finished work. It makes no demands on us, but it promises forgiveness for all sins and all God’s grace and blessing to those who receive Jesus. Only in this light will it become clear what the Bible actually is: not a set of moral rules and comments on life; neither is it a book containing a religious philosophy of life together with considerations about the purpose of life; but it is a living message from God concerning salvation from sin and eternal perdition through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who died for us.”

We can see that the promises of the gospel are nullified through this kind of preaching. The only thing that is left is what the law with all its sacrifices also promised. They also received the forgiveness of sins, but they were not set free from their sins. Lev. 16:16; Heb. 10:1-4. The fact that they were not set free from sin under the law is characterized by the apostle as weakness and uselessness. Therefore Jesus introduced a better hope. This better hope that we have—when we draw near to God—is that we are set free from sin, a perfect salvation. Heb. 7:17-25; Acts 13:38-39. There we can see that what was impossible under the law has now become possible through faith in Jesus Christ who came with grace and truth.

When Paul was called to preach the gospel, he received grace and the apostleship to work obedience to the faith among the Gentiles. Rom. 1:1-5. Without obedience we have no part in the promises of the gospel. Now we can understand how the spirit of the Antichrist has deceived the religious world. 1 John 4:13.

Another deception among the religious masses is the understanding that Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount not so that we should keep it, but that we should come to acknowledge that we are sinners who need grace. In other words, they contradict Jesus’ own words with which He concludes the Sermon on the Mount. Matt. 7:24-28. It is hard to imagine anything more anti-Christian.

Everything Jesus said was the gospel. He gave this as a sign to John the Baptist when the latter sent his disciples to ask Jesus whether He was the One who was to come. Matt. 11:4-6. The distinguishing characteristic of the gospel is that what was impossible under the law has become possible for us through the work which God did by sending His Son. Through this salvation the law was to be fulfilled in us who walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.

The old covenant consisted of conditions and promises. They were earthly promises. Deut. 29. The new covenant also has conditions and promises, but they are heavenly promises. We partake of divine nature; therefore it is a heavenly calling. Eph. 2:12; 2 Pet. 1:3-4. Jesus is our forerunner. Heb. 3:1, 6:18-20. The similarity between the two covenants is that we have to be obedient in the covenant to obtain the promises.