Grace and Obedience of Faith

by Steve Wolfgang

The relationship between grace and the human response through the obedience of faith (see the bookended inclusio of Romans 1:5 and 16:25) has been true even in the Old Testament, often erroneously viewed as a primitive, works-based covenant. But, truly, even the Mosaic law itself, as well as the Abrahamic covenant, were fundamentally expressions of faith in accepting and receiving the gifts of God's grace:

"The promise to Abraham was effective because he believed it and acted upon it, continuing to do so long after it had become humanly impossible. The exodus was promised by God, but it would not have happened if the Israelites had not responded to the leading of Moses, and even then some of them did so reluctantly. The same people received the promise of the land, but because their faith and obedience failed at the crucial point, they never received it and perished in the wilderness. And so it goes on all the way through scripture. The promise comes as the initiative of God's grace and always depends on his grace. But that grace has to be accepted and responded to by faith and obedience."
[Christopher J.H. Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992), p. 68, LOGOS edition].