Faith’s initiative springs from a prior initiative. The phrase “obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5; 16:26) is not correctly rendered as “obedience to the faith” (KJV), nor as “obedience that comes from faith” (NIV), nor even as “faith and obedience” (NEB, REB). It is precisely the act of faith itself, which is already obedience to the voice of God. There is something at stake in this grammatical nicety: the summons of God, to live and act before him, is not first a universal message of good news and then a particular command for each individual to obey. It is from the start a command as well as a
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