"Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes"

“The idea of a situation in which faith is possible is only a way of stating the facts of a case in which the following two propositions hold good and are equally true: only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes….. ‘Only those who believe obey’ is what we say to that part of a believer’s soul which obeys, and ‘only those who obey believe’ is what we say to that part of the soul of the obedient which believes. If the first half of the proposition stands alone, the believer is exposed to the danger of cheap grace, which is another word for damnation. If the second half stands alone, the believer is exposed to the danger of salvation through works, which is also another word for damnation.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship

     In his second chapter, The Call to Discipleship, of this book, Bonhoeffer is describing that the call that Jesus Christ issued to those who were to become his closest followers was a call that demanded immediate and unquestioned obedience to follow. Bonhoeffer argued that the reason that these followers became immediate and unquestioning followers was one simple and profound reason: “the absolute, direct, and unaccountable authority of Jesus.” He furthered his argument by demonstrating that the initial sign of these followers belief was one thing: unhindered obedience to the call of Jesus. It was this overall argument that led Bonhoeffer to make the above statements.

     Bonhoeffer was giving a brief but very important description of what is meant by a person of faith – a description that I also agree with. A person who has truly experienced the saving grace of our heavenly Father through our Savior Jesus Christ will live life in such a way that demonstrates the above true propositions are true – and not only true, but in essence two sides of the same coin. Even though the two propositions may seem to be confusing or contradictory, they are simply just two sides of one overarching truth: the evidence of a person who has been saved by the grace of God.

     Only those people who have truly been saved by grace will live a life of obedience to the Word of God. There is no reason for us to expect for any other person to live such a life of obedience; to do so would cheapen the grace of God. For it is only be the grace of God that one is saved, and it is only by the grace of God that one lives a live of obedience to the Word of God. Just as we should not except an unbeliever to live such a life of obedience, we should expect all believers to live a life of immediate and unquestioned obedience. Why? Plain and simple – because of the “absolute, direct, and unaccountable authority of Jesus.” When one comes to know Jesus Christ through salvation, that salvation is a call to acknowledge Jesus as Lord of one’s life. There is no “I will take Jesus as Savior today, and I will take Him as Lord later on (maybe). The call that Jesus Christ issues to all is a call to salvation and lordship – and lordship is all about obedience.

     On the other side of the coin, it is apparent that only those people who live a life of obedience to the Word of God are those people who have truly believed upon Jesus Christ for salvation. In other words a life of obedience is not evidence that I have worked for salvation, but instead it is evidence that I have been granted salvation because of the grace of God. But this side of the coin also means something even more. The person who has truly believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation is a person who has been called to continue to believe in our heavenly Father and His Word for the rest of our lives. In all that we do as a follower of Jesus Christ, we have been called to believe God and to take Him at His Word – even if we do not completely understand all that He calls us to. Just as the first followers of Jesus Christ did not completely understand all that Jesus was calling them to yet they followed in obedience, we today as followers of Jesus Christ are day-in-day-out trust God and take Him at His word. In other words, a life of obedience is the clear sign of a life of believing God and His word.

     Here is the question that we must ask ourselves. Does my life reflect harmony with these two propositions: only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.

Jordan and Rains: Two God-Honoring Men of Legacy

Within the past several months, two truly God-honoring men who had major impact and influence on my life and service for Christ have passed away: C. Ferris Jordan in November 2014 and Allie Rains in July 2015.
In the summer of 1989, I served as a Baptist Student Union summer missionary in St. Louis, MO. My host church was Grace Baptist Church, and my missions partner (Mike Baxley) and I lived in the basement of 4th Baptist Church (and also served there as well). Rev. Allie Rains was the pastor of 4th Baptist Church and served as my ministry supervisor and mentor for the summer. Having just sensed a call to ministry a couple of months earlier, I learned so much about ministry and family life of the minister from Allie Rains. He was a man who truly loved Jesus Christ with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. He had a passion to share his love of Christ with all people who God placed around him, especially the "least of these" people. He modeled how God intended a man to lead and serve his family. He helped me to see what it means to truly provide for your family - that leading your family to wholehearted love and commitment to Jesus Christ results in having the "richest" family any follower of Christ could hope for (this was much needed for this very materialistic-focused young man at this point in my life). His overall example of servant leadership tremendously influenced my perspective of what it means to be a servant minister of Christ. To a large degree, my heart for local church ministry and ministry to the "least of these" was shaped by this amazing man of God.
In the fall of 1991, I entered New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary as a Master of Divinity student. During my first year as a student, I learned so much about the Word of God and about how to practically minister the Word to the people that God put in my life. One of the most influential professors that had a profound impact on my life was C. Ferris Jordan. Dr. Jordan was Professor of Christian Education with specialization in Adult Education. Each time you came into his presence, he radiated the spirit and love of Jesus Christ. His love for Christ and his passion for ministry to adults was contagious to those who sat in his classroom, and this contagiousness had a maximum impact upon me. So much so, that I changed my area off study from Master of Divinity to Master of Divinity with emphasis in Christian Education (with primary attention to Adult Education). Several years later, I pursued and obtained my Doctor of Philosophy degree with a specialization in Adult Education. I pursued this degree because God was shifting my ministry focus from local church pastoral ministry to equipping future ministry leaders at the Christian college level. To a large degree, my heart for higher education for the purpose of equipping young adult ministry leaders was shaped by this amazing man of God.
Rev. Allie Rains and Dr. C. Ferris Jordan, thank you two for your years of faithful service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you for the God-honoring lives that you lived. Thank you for your example of what it means to love the Lord Jesus Christ with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength - and to love your neighbors as you love yourself. Most of all, THANK YOU for the profound impact that you had upon my life. My prayer is that the legacy that I leave will be somewhere close to your legacies!