They Have Not All Obeyed

 But they have not all obeyed the gospel.  

—Romans 10:16—

Most people don’t seem to understand the call of obedience by God. Denominational concepts of “faith only,” though nowhere found in the NT, are maintained as the truth. The idea seems that the gospel is a message only. Yet, as we see above—and I would encourage reading the entire context of Romans 10—Paul asserts that “they have not all obeyed the gospel.” How would one know? For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” (Romans 10:16b)

Inherent with the preaching, or declaration of the gospel message is a call from God for obedience to its demands (see 2 Thessalonians 2:14). And maybe here is where some of the misunderstanding comes from—we’re not preaching the demands of the gospel as we should. Maybe we’re too preoccupied with a therapeutic gospel.

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36) “He learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” (Hebrews 5:8–9)