Audio commentary on this verse

Note 5 at Ro 1:5: This is the first of 24 times the term “grace” is used in Paul’s epistle to the Romans. The Greek word for “grace” is “CHARIS,” and CHARIS is translated many different ways throughout the New Testament. It is translated in the following ways: “acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace(-ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank(-s, -worthy)” (Strong’s Concordance). The most common way it is translated is as “grace,” used 130 times in the New Testament.

According to Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon, “the word ‘charis’ contains the idea of ‘kindness which bestows upon one what he has not deserved’...the N.T. writers use ‘charis’ pre-eminently of that kindness by which God bestows favors even upon the ill-deserving.”

Another form of the Greek word CHARIS is “CHARISMA,” and CHARISMA is translated “(free) gift” (Strong’s Concordance). Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines CHARISMA as “a gift of grace, a gift involving grace (charis) on the part of God as the Donor.” In other words, CHARISMA is a specific form or manifestation of the grace of God. It is used to describe as free gifts the following: righteousness (Ro 5:16-17), spiritual gifts (1Co 12:28-31 and Ro 12:6-8), eternal life (Ro 6:23), the five ministry gifts (Eph 4:11), celibacy (1Co 7:7), healings (1Co 12:9, 28, and 30), and miraculous intervention (2Co 1:11).

Note 6 at Ro 1:5: The Greek word used here for "obedience" is "HUPAKOE," and it means "attentive hearkening, i.e. (by implication) compliance or submission" (Strong's Concordance).

Many times in the New Testament, faith and obedience are linked together (Ac 6:7, Ro 16:26, Jas 2:14-22, and 1Pe 1:21). This is because the origin and historical development of the words "believe" and "obey" are closely related. What you believe is what you will do.

If you really believed that the building you were in was on fire, you would do something. Different people might do different things, but it is inconceivable that anyone who really believed the building was on fire would do nothing. The New Testament calls this a "work of faith" (1Th 1:2-3 and 2Th 1:11). This is an action corresponding to and induced by what a person believes. This differs from a work of the Law in that works of the Law require no faith and are works of one's own resources without any reference to, reliance on, or trust in God (Ga 2:16, 3:12, 5:4; Ro 3:28, 4:15-16, and 9:30-32).