The Obedience of Faith
Romans 16:25-27
Fourth Sunday in Advent
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the fourth Sunday in Advent is the Epistle reading Romans 16. Paul tells us in our reading for today that God has called us to the obedience of faith. So we have to ask the question, what does Paul mean when he says the obedience of faith? He is saying that all of us who believe in Jesus Christ are called by God to obey His will. The Holy Spirit created faith in our hearts through the power of the Gospel. Now that we have faith in Christ we are moved to obey the will of God. We are not saved by our obedience. Salvation comes from Christ alone. We are moved to obey the will of God because we are already saved. So as Christians we are to trust what God says to us to be true and to know that His will is right.
We see two wonderful examples of this in our readings for today. King David and Mary are great examples of two people who trusted what God said to them to be true. They are two people who obeyed the will of the Lord. In our Old Testament reading we are told that King David wanted to build a magnificent temple for God in the city of Jerusalem. God through the prophet Nathen told him not to build the temple. David wanted to build the temple but God said no. The Lord had a different plan in mind. David was not allowed to build the temple because God planned to build an eternal kingdom through the house of David. God would make sure that David’s throne would last forever. The Lord was of course referring to Jesus Christ, who would come from the house of David. The throne that will be established forever is the throne of Christ. The Kingdom that the Lord was referring to is the eternal Kingdom of God. Notice David’s reaction when God spoke to Him through the prophet Nathan. He trusted God’s Word to be true. He believed that Christ would come into the world and that He would come from his house. David also knew that God’s word was right. God said that David should not build the temple. He told David that His plan was far greater because His plan would bring salvation to the world. David heard what God said to him and he trusted the words of the Lord to be true. He knew that God’s Word was right.
We see another example of the obedience of faith in our Gospel reading with Mary. Luke tells us that the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her that the promise God made to David was to be fulfilled. The angel told Mary that the promised Christ was in her womb. This would have been earth shattering news to Mary. The thought of giving birth to Jesus Christ would have been overwhelming. She was also afraid. To be pregnant before marriage would have led people to conclude that she had committed adultery. She could be stoned for such a thing or perhaps thrown out of her community. The angel assured her that God was with her and that He would protect her. Gabriel explained that Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice how Mary responded when she heard the Word of God through the angel Gabriel. “And Mary said, behold, I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your Word”. In other words Mary trusted that God’s Word was true. She knew that God’s will was right.
As Christians we are called to the obedience of faith. We are to trust what God says to us in His Word. We are to understand that God’s will is always right. But our enemies are also out there. Satan and the sinful world will tempt us to turn away from God’s Word and turn to their lies. There are many examples of this. God tells us in His Word that He created all things in six days. The fallen world tells us that the earth and all things came into being because of a cosmic accident called the big bang. God tells us that human beings were created by Him in His image. The world tells us human beings have evolved over billions of years and that they come from monkeys. Who is telling the truth? Who is right? Is it the almighty God or is it the theory of sinful, fallible people?
God’s Word tells us that angels are real. They are mentioned in the Bible many times. Luke tells us that it was the angel Gabriel who spoke to Mary. The angels are powerful, spiritual messengers of God. When they reveal themselves to people they often say the words fear not. But the world depicts them as sentimental figures. They are often depicted as harmless looking beings with a harp in their hands jumping around on clouds.
God’s word tells us that there are also fallen angels led by Satan. God’s Word tells us that we are all engaged in spiritual warfare and that these fallen angels attack us through temptation. But Satan would have us believe that he is not real. He wants us to only focus on the material world and not pay any attention to the spiritual warfare going on. When we forget that Satan is out there we invite him to sit next to us and whisper lies and deception in our ears. So who is true and right? Is it our loving Lord or is Satan the most evil and vile being in the world?
God’s Word tells us that miracles do indeed happen. The Bible is filled with miracles that God did for the benefit of His people. Jesus Christ did many miracles. In our Gospel reading we see a great miracle from God. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. That means that Mary gave birth to Jesus when she was still a virgin. But our culture tells us that there are no such things as miracles. As a matter of fact, the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus has been questioned by many. So who is true and right? Is it the Lord, the one who can perform miracles because nothing is impossible with God or the world that says that there are no miracles to be found?
God’s Word tells us that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who is both God and Man. God’s Word tells us that Jesus is our Savior. God’s Word tells us that Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins of the world. God’s Word tells us that Christ rose again from the dead to give us new life. God’s Word tells that we are forgiven through Christ and given the gift of eternal life. But the fallen sinful world tells us that Jesus was only a great moral teacher similar to all the other great moral teachers of the world. The world tells us that Jesus is not the Son of God. We are told that this harsh dark world and sinful life is all that there is. The world tells us that there is no true meaning in life at all. The world tells us that there is no grace or hope.
So who is true and right? Is it Satan and this sinful world? Our enemies who tell us that the world is a big cosmic accident, that we come from monkeys, that angels are chubby beings that float on clouds, that Satan is not real, that miracles don’t happen, that Jesus is just a moral teacher, that this dark world is all that there is. Or is God almighty correct? Who tells us that He created all things, that human beings were created in His image, that angels both good and bad are real, that we are engaged in spiritual warfare, that miracles do happen because nothing is impossible with God, that Jesus is our Savior and that the Lord is indeed gracious to all of us.
So who is true and who is right. I think you know the answer. God who speaks to us in His Word is always true and His Will is always right. Let me leave you with the words of the apostle Paul from our reading in Romans. “Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my Gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith – to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Christ Jesus! Amen.