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JACKSON, Tenn. — Aug. 23, 2019 — Biblical faith results in a life of obedience to God, inspired by Jesus’s lordship over all of life, 51���� President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver told the university community Aug. 23.

“The sad reality is that we can believe things that don’t influence the way we live,” Oliver said. “That should not be so. Said another way, we are saved by faith, and the Christian life must be lived by faith as well.”

Oliver’s fall convocation address in G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel on the topic of faith was the fifth in a series on the virtuous life. Previous convocation messages by Oliver have addressed courage, justice, prudence and temperance.

“I want to remind us as we begin a new academic year that the virtuous life isn’t automatic,” Oliver said. “It is developed. It is the fruit of contemplation, experience and practice.”

In focusing on the topic of faith, Oliver referenced the university’s theme verse for 2019-2020, Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who love, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I know live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Faith in the New Testament, Oliver said, is always used in reference to faith in God or Christ and in a spiritual manner. This is in contrast to belief as a purely natural exercise. Thus, Oliver said, faith is more than an opinion held without necessary proof.

He said faith is a firm conviction, producing a full acknowledgement of God’s revelation of truth. Faith is a personal surrendering to God. And, finally, Oliver said faith is a life of obedience to God. The third component was the focus for Oliver’s address.

The Union president referenced the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22 as an example of faith.

“Abraham’s faith was so great, so strong, that he was willing to do something that was entirely antithetical to his own personal interest in order to be faithful to God,” Oliver said. “And for that, God honored Abraham and gave him children more numerous than the stars in the sky and the sands on the shore.

“The object of Abraham’s faith was not God’s promise, namely a son with Sarah,” Oliver continued. “His faith rested on God himself.”

A more recent example of faith Oliver cited was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who demonstrated faith in a time of great difficulty and in the face of great odds. For his desire to be faithful to Christ, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and executed by the Nazis.

Discipleship is a key component of faith and obedience, Oliver said, referencing “The Cost of Discipleship” in which Bonhoeffer attacked easy Christianity and cheap grace.

“The cost of discipleship is high. But the cost of non-discipleship is even higher,” Oliver said. “With discipleship comes abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in the light of God’s overriding governance for good, hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances and power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil.”

In the heart of a disciple is a desire and a settled intent, Oliver noted.

“The disciple of Jesus, the one who lives by faith in the Son of God, desires above all else to be like Jesus,” he said.