Obedience

Living Faith—Our faith must affect our life. Pagan religions of the ancient world usually separated faith and conduct. It was OK to live any way you pleased. In contrast, coming to Christ in the early church constituted an engagement of one’s total personality and lifestyle. Believers were “obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). There was a commitment to submit to Christ’s Lordship in Obedience. Our disciples must understand that they are “new creatures in Christ” and that they should be obedient and committed to his word.

That commitment made the Christians invincible. Having already faced the cross, they could look opposition in the eye, without flinching, knowing that they were “more than conquerors” through Christ (Rom 8:37). It is significant that the word witness, which Jesus used in reference to the disciples (1:8), means “martyr,” and is so translated several times in the New Testament (22:20; Rev 2:13; 17:6). Those who speak the Word must be willing to die for it (21:13). This was their martyrdom—a daily dying with Christ—that put a song in the heart of the church. Realizing they were dead, buried, and raised with Christ, what had they to fear? They belonged to Him who had defeated every enemy. So whether they lived or died, what difference did it make? They were “the Lord’s” (Rom 14:8).

― Robert E. Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism