The apostle Paul was often misunderstood and falsely accused of evil for preaching the good news of justification by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He was especially misunderstood and mistreated by the legalistic Jews who thought that the good news of Jesus Christ was a message against the people and against the Law. “When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, ‘Men of Israel, come to our aid! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place…” (Acts 21:27-28).
Paul was perceived as being anti-Semitic (against the Jews) and antinomian (against the Law) because of his preaching of the gospel. The root word for Law is nomous. If we say that someone is autonomous we are saying that he is self-ruled or self-governed. Auto means self and nomous means law. So to say that someone is antinomian is to say that he is against the Law – he is against being ruled or governed. This was the accusation brought against the apostle Paul from the legalistic Jews. They accused Paul of antinomianism – being against the Law and preaching against the Law. For the legalist, the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is seen as antinomianism. The legalist perceives the gospel to be that which nullifies the Law and therefore that which gives a license to sin.
However, the apostle Paul proved that the good news of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ was that which actually established the law and not that which nullified it (Romans 3:31). Listen! Even the Lord Jesus Christ said that He didn’t come to abolish the Law – He said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but fulfill” (Matthew 5:17).
The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law completely. He upheld the Law in principle through His sinless life; He upheld the Law in penalty through His sacrificial death; and He upheld the Law in probity through His supernatural resurrection. Probity means integrity or uprightness. The supernatural resurrection showed the Law to be that which is good and it showed the Person of the Law, God the Father, to be just, good, and right in all His dealings. Therefore when we exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we do not nullify the Law but establish the Law by trusting in the One who completely and perfectly upheld the Law through His life, death, and resurrection.
But for the life of him, the legalist cannot comprehend that faith establishes the Law. The legalist cannot see how grace isn’t the same as antinomianism. So after establishing the truth of imputed righteousness through the grace of Jesus Christ who upheld the Law on our behalf, whose grace is greater than multiplied sins, the apostle Paul anticipated the false accusation of antinomianism – “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase” (Romans 6:1)?
You see, the legalist would attempt to carry Paul’s message of justification by grace through faith to what he believed to be its final conclusion and would inevitably come up with the charge of antinomianism. The legalist would reason: if justification is by grace through faith then the Law has been nullified and men have a license to sin.
The legalist believes that the only remedy against sinning is the Law. The legalist also believes that God cannot be pleased apart from works of the Law. So the legalist adds Law to justification in violation of the plain and clear teaching of the Scripture. So the legalist, being under the Law, has not died to sin because the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56), and so there is no deliverance from sin through the Law.
However, the legalist has no real understanding of the working of the gospel so he sticks with his faulty logic rather than looking into how the gospel actually is not that which gives men a license to sin. What the legalist needs is an explanation of the wonder working power of the gospel.
So Paul answered the question that would be raised from the legalist – “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it” (Romans 6:2)? God in His wisdom and power has designed salvation in such a way that those who are justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ have died to sin so that there is no way that the gospel of grace promotes sin or gives a license to sin.
“May it never be” is a strong and forceful way of saying that the gospel is not that which promotes or perpetuates sin. So the legalist is immediately confronted with the truth that his understanding of the gospel is wrong. If he would examine the gospel closely and see how faith in Jesus establishes the Law, puts one to death in Christ, and raises him with a new life principle under loving and loyal obedience to Jesus as Lord, the legalist would understand how the gospel doesn’t promote sin. Jesus said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
Any man under the principle of being ruled by the Law is doomed because by the Law comes the knowledge of sin and no flesh shall be justified in God’s sight through the works of the Law. However, any man under the principle of being ruled by the Lord because of his love for the Lord is blessed and justified because we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law and that we are justified without any cause in us by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. We love Him because He first loved us.
Can’t you see how loving loyalty to Jesus as Lord because He loved us and gave Himself up for us doesn’t make one lawless? This is how it works: while unsaved we all lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest (Ephesians 2:3). Our life principle was under the lordship of sin and the principle of Law cannot give life to a sinner but actually gives power to sin. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Ephesians 2:4-5).
You see, God put us to death with Jesus our Lord who did fulfill the principle of the Law and died on our behalf so that he could put to death the lordship of sin in our lives and raise us up with Jesus to walk with a new life principle – loving loyal obedience to Jesus as Lord.
Salvation restores that which was lost – obedience to God through obedience to Jesus and is what the Bible calls the obedience of faith. Salvation is a Lordship issue! Lordship is the death-blow to legalism showing it to be the lie that it is.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Imputation
After having established the truth of justification by faith, the apostle moved into his discussion on the blessings of that justification: that we have peace with God; access to God; we exult in the hope of the glory of God; we have assurance of God’s love for us; we have assurance of final salvation; and we exult in God Himself through Jesus Christ our Lord.
But what we may not realize and may not have stopped to consider is how can the sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection of one Man bring about justification for as many as have faith in Him. It may seem that under penal-substitution one Man could only die for and save one man. Why isn’t there a one for one ratio in salvation with each sinner needing his or her own savior who couldn’t be anyone else’s savior? How is it that Jesus can be the Savior of innumerable souls and not just the Savior of one individual?
Actually the answer to that question is of utmost importance and is what the apostle Paul was establishing in Romans 5:12-21 – the basis of justification through imputation. The basis of our justification through one Man is imputation through headship.
The first man, Adam, was given headship over the human race. All men descend from him. Even Eve had Adam as her origin. This means that Adam was created first; that Adam by virtue of the created order was the head of the race; and therefore Adam was the federal representative for all men. This made Adam responsible for all men and that whatever Adam became all men would become by the very law of nature in procreation – each will reproduce “after its kind.”
The fall of man into sin changed man’s nature to that of a sinner and therefore all men born into the world through the agency of a human father are born with a sin nature. In the fall of man it was Eve who sinned first and then Adam. However, we read that sin and death entered through Adam and not Eve because Adam was the head of the race and responsible for it.
So the consequences of the fall into sin was that death spread to all men because all sinned in and with Adam and all receive a sin nature from Adam who is our representative head. All who have an earthly father have a sin nature because of the imputation of the guilt of one man – Adam. This is the reason for the virgin conception of Christ. God bypassed the necessary imputation of the sin nature of Adam to Christ by Christ not having an earthly father. Although Mary had a sin nature and was a sinner, the woman is not the head of the race and the sin nature is not imputed because of her but because of the man. Therefore, because of the virgin conception of Christ, He was not born with a sin nature.
To understand this better let’s consider he angels. The angels don’t procreate. Their full number was created when God created the angels and there aren’t any being born and there aren’t any more being made. So no – you’ll never be an angel! The angels do not have a federal head or representative – when Satan fell he didn’t cause the fall of all the angels and his sin was not imputed to any other angel. The other angels that fell, fell on their own and each fell from a pure and perfect state into sin. Since there was no imputation of sin from one head angel neither can there be the imputation of righteousness from one savior for angels – if they were to be saved each would have to have a different savior – and that is not going to happen!
It is on the basis of federal headship that not only can one man be responsible for the fall and sin nature of all men but that one Man can also be responsible for the salvation and rescue of innumerable souls and not just a one to one ratio. The last Adam, Jesus Christ was born of a virgin so that the sin nature of Adam was not imputed to Him. He lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to God which qualified Him to lay down His life in one full and final act of obedience – His obedience to the point of death, even death on a cross, as a substitute or sacrifice because of our transgressions. Our sin was imputed to Him so that He could pay our debt. The Lord Jesus experienced a supernatural resurrection because of His innocence and because the death that He died was not His own but for others. It is on this basis and this basis alone that His righteousness can be imputed to those who have faith in Him – He was raised for our justification.
As the last Adam, Christ is the federal head of the redeemed race and all who are in Christ will be made alive! This is how one Man can save so many!
But what we may not realize and may not have stopped to consider is how can the sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection of one Man bring about justification for as many as have faith in Him. It may seem that under penal-substitution one Man could only die for and save one man. Why isn’t there a one for one ratio in salvation with each sinner needing his or her own savior who couldn’t be anyone else’s savior? How is it that Jesus can be the Savior of innumerable souls and not just the Savior of one individual?
Actually the answer to that question is of utmost importance and is what the apostle Paul was establishing in Romans 5:12-21 – the basis of justification through imputation. The basis of our justification through one Man is imputation through headship.
The first man, Adam, was given headship over the human race. All men descend from him. Even Eve had Adam as her origin. This means that Adam was created first; that Adam by virtue of the created order was the head of the race; and therefore Adam was the federal representative for all men. This made Adam responsible for all men and that whatever Adam became all men would become by the very law of nature in procreation – each will reproduce “after its kind.”
The fall of man into sin changed man’s nature to that of a sinner and therefore all men born into the world through the agency of a human father are born with a sin nature. In the fall of man it was Eve who sinned first and then Adam. However, we read that sin and death entered through Adam and not Eve because Adam was the head of the race and responsible for it.
So the consequences of the fall into sin was that death spread to all men because all sinned in and with Adam and all receive a sin nature from Adam who is our representative head. All who have an earthly father have a sin nature because of the imputation of the guilt of one man – Adam. This is the reason for the virgin conception of Christ. God bypassed the necessary imputation of the sin nature of Adam to Christ by Christ not having an earthly father. Although Mary had a sin nature and was a sinner, the woman is not the head of the race and the sin nature is not imputed because of her but because of the man. Therefore, because of the virgin conception of Christ, He was not born with a sin nature.
To understand this better let’s consider he angels. The angels don’t procreate. Their full number was created when God created the angels and there aren’t any being born and there aren’t any more being made. So no – you’ll never be an angel! The angels do not have a federal head or representative – when Satan fell he didn’t cause the fall of all the angels and his sin was not imputed to any other angel. The other angels that fell, fell on their own and each fell from a pure and perfect state into sin. Since there was no imputation of sin from one head angel neither can there be the imputation of righteousness from one savior for angels – if they were to be saved each would have to have a different savior – and that is not going to happen!
It is on the basis of federal headship that not only can one man be responsible for the fall and sin nature of all men but that one Man can also be responsible for the salvation and rescue of innumerable souls and not just a one to one ratio. The last Adam, Jesus Christ was born of a virgin so that the sin nature of Adam was not imputed to Him. He lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to God which qualified Him to lay down His life in one full and final act of obedience – His obedience to the point of death, even death on a cross, as a substitute or sacrifice because of our transgressions. Our sin was imputed to Him so that He could pay our debt. The Lord Jesus experienced a supernatural resurrection because of His innocence and because the death that He died was not His own but for others. It is on this basis and this basis alone that His righteousness can be imputed to those who have faith in Him – He was raised for our justification.
As the last Adam, Christ is the federal head of the redeemed race and all who are in Christ will be made alive! This is how one Man can save so many!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Purpose of the Incarnation...The Real Purpose of Christmas
This is a repost of The Purpose of the Incarnation which I first posted on July 10, 2008. I felt the necessity to repost this at this time being we are in the Christmas season and particulary because of the trivialization, misinterpretation, and misrepresentation by many in our day concerning the true purpose of Christmas. Many in our day are reducing the love of God as found in His sending of His only Son to some form of "warm fuzzies" and are minimizing the purpose of our Lord taking on flesh and blood in order to live a perfect life by faith and then to die in the place of sinners in order for God to justly save sinners. So here it is:Biblically speaking, what was the purpose of the incarnation? This question is of utmost importance and is not to be trivialized. To misunderstand the purpose of the incarnation is to misunderstand the righteousness of God and the necessity of penal substitution through a pure and sinless sacrifice for the purpose of God legally declaring the unjust, just, while God remains just. In simple terms (not trivial), God is just (right) and always will be and He will not violate who He is. Therefore God cannot and will not arbitrarily declare an unjust creature, just, without there being an actual legal transaction securing both the justness of God and the justness of the unjust. There has to be an imputation of the justness of a just substitute to the unjust or else God will not declare him or her to be so.
Therefore the incarnation was a necessity for penal substitution, for atonement! This was the primary purpose of the incarnation – to make propitiation for the sins of the people. I will establish this biblically but first I want to look at a few examples of misinterpreting and trivializing the incarnation.
Probably the most famous (should be infamous) for his misinterpretation of the incarnation and atonement would be Charles Finney. Concerning Christ and the atonement Finney said, “He can not plead as our Advocate that He has paid our debt, in such a sense that He can demand our discharge on the ground of justice. He has not paid our debt in such a sense that we do not still owe it. He has not atoned for our sins in such a sense that we might not still be justly punished for them. Indeed, such a thing is impossible and absurd. One being can not suffer for another in such a sense as to remove the guilt of that other. He may suffer for another's guilt in such a sense that it will be safe to forgive the sinner, for whom the suffering has been endured; but the suffering of the substitute can never, in the least degree, diminish the intrinsic guilt of the criminal. Our Advocate may urge that He has borne such suffering for us to honor the law that we had dishonored, that now it is safe to extend mercy to us; but He never can demand our discharge on the ground that we do not deserve to be punished. The fact of our intrinsic guilt remains, and must forever remain; and our forgiveness is just as much an act of sovereign mercy, as if Christ had never died for us” (Charles Finney, Christ Our Advocate, VI. What His plea in behalf of sinners is, Number 7).
So according to Finney man could have been forgiven based on the mercy of God alone and apart from the incarnation – “Our forgiveness is just as much an act of sovereign mercy, as if Christ had never died for us.”
Since Anselm (1033-1109) most of the Church has understood Christ's death in forensic, i.e., legal categories. In Cur Deus Homo, Anselm argued that God having willed to redeem us, he could so in no other way than by the incarnation.
Not so, however, for the Pelagians. In their scheme, it has been considered unjust for Christ to have suffered vicariously for sinners. How can one righteous person suffer for others, especially the unrighteous? This was Pelagius' argument and has been followed in more Modern times by Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) and Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875).
Hugo Grotius was the major proponent of the governmental theory of the atonement. He trained as a lawyer rather than a clergyman. Following closely in his footsteps in the nineteenth century was another lawyer and proponent of the governmental theory of atonement, Charles Finney. According to the governmental theory of atonement, the purpose of Christ’s death was not to satisfy the demands of God’s just nature so that He might be able to do what He otherwise could not have done, namely, forgive sins. The governmental theory of atonement separates the person of God from the government of God so that sin is not a violation of God’s person but of His laws. However the two cannot be separated and to violate God’s laws is to violate God’s nature, His person.
Another example of misinterpreting and trivializing the incarnation is seen in writings of many in the postmodern movements of our day. Such as Ron Martoia in his book Morph. Seeking to justify being like the world to win the world (cultural relevance), the incarnation is grossly misinterpreted by Martoia as God’s desire to be culturally relevant. He says, “The quintessential example of genius intersection is, of course, the incarnation: God’s presence, voice, and message piercing and penetrating 1C culture. As we simply observe the potency of the incarnation, several things come to mind. God sent Jesus as a person. God could have sent the message packaged any number of ways. He didn’t choose a CD player to herald the good news, a Web page that automatically pops up every time someone logs on, or an MP3 download into our ear canal. The fact that he sent a person bespeaks God’s desire to be relevant, understandable, approachable, and relational (Ron Martoia, Morph, Group Publishing, 2003, pg. 17).
Could God have redeemed any other way? According to Martoia, “God could have sent the message packaged any number of ways.”
Did God send Jesus for the purpose of cultural relevance? According to Martoia, “The fact that he sent a person bespeaks God’s desire to be relevant, understandable, approachable, and relational.”
But according to God’s Word God could not have redeemed any other way, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendents of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:14-18).
Penal substitution is the only way God can forgive and remain just. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore the incarnation was necessary for the realization of penal substitution and that is the primary biblical interpretation for the incarnation. If God could have redeemed any other way, surely He would have done it! But because there was no other way – what a demonstration of the love of God in penal substitution – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Blessings of Justification
When I attended Bible College I had an Old Testament professor who when he preached began by saying, “It’s a glorious experience to be a Christian!” It was Dr. J. W. Lee’s desire to express to his fellow Christians the blessings of justification. This is what the apostle Paul was doing in Romans 5:1-11. After having established the truth of justification by faith apart from works of the Law from Romans 1:1 – 4:25, Paul went on to declare six implications or blessings of justification.
Since we are justified by faith we have peace with God (Romans 5:1). This peace that we have with God which is based totally on having been justified by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ is both objective and subjective – our peace with God is based on fact first and foremost which when properly understood and applied will issue in its being felt in the heart.
Our peace with God is objective – it is based on fact (Isaiah 32:17) – “And the work of righteousness will be peace….” Our peace with God is based solely on absolute truth. Justification means that God declares us righteous, which is a declaration of peace, made possible only by Christ’s sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection. It is only through Christ that God can give a legal pardon where His justice and mercy can meet together without one violating the other – “Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10).
Our peace with God is subjective – the fact produces feeling (Isaiah 32:17) – “And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.” As long as our feelings of peace are flowing from the facts of our peace then all is well. However, it is possible to feel at peace but to actually be at war with God – “There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord" (Isaiah 48:22). The false prophets declare peace to people who have no peace – “They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace’”; and as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, they say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you’” (Jeremiah 23:17). False peace is based on lies (false facts), which leads us to the truth that feelings are not to be our source of assurance but the facts as revealed in God’s Word are to be.
Since we are justified by faith we have access to God (Romans 5:2). In our sin we are locked out of God’s presence and do not have access or entrance into His presence. Through Jesus Christ we have access to God where God, so to speak, stretches out His golden scepter to allow us into His presence without us forfeiting our lives. Our justification through Christ’s blood gives us peace with God and access into His presence so that we can come to Him through worship and prayer and even approach His throne of grace in our time of need. The privileges of prayer and worship are based on justification. One doesn’t just go waltzing in into the presence of royalty without someone taking him by the hand and giving him an introduction into royalty’s presence. This is what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in obtaining our justification.
Since we are justified by faith we have joy in God (Romans 5:2-4). This joy in God is both future and present.
We have joy in the future sharing of the glory of God (Romans 5:2) – “And we exult in hope of the glory of God.” We all fell short of the glory of God and we all despised God’s glory and exchanged it for that which is a lie (Romans 1:23) but those who have been justified will share in the glory of God. The truth of our future glorification gives us joy in God who is able to complete what he has begun.
We have joy in the present suffering for the glory of God (Romans 5:3-4). Our suffering for the sake of righteousness proves our justification to be real (Matthew 5:10-12) and is used by God to transform our character. Also we are promised that our present suffering is producing in us an eternal weight of glory that our suffering cannot compare to (2 Corinthians 4:16-17). He who is justified by faith has peace with God, but tribulation in the world. The unrighteous have peace with the world, but distress and tribulation with God (Romans 2:8-9). The peace of the justified is eternal and his tribulation and distress temporal. The peace of the unrighteous is temporal and his tribulation and distress eternal.
Since we are justified by faith we have assurance of God’s love (Romans 5:5-8). We have the inner experience of God’s love for us (Romans 5:5). God’s love for us is poured out within our hearts through His Holy Spirit who was given to us. God’s Holy Spirit causes us to stand amazed that He could love us – sinners condemned and unclean – and yet He does. This is the basis of our loving God – “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:16, 19).
We also have the outer proof of God’s love for us (Romans 5:6-8). There is never any reason for the believer to doubt God’s love for him or her. Just one look at the sacrificial death of Christ on our behalf should dispel any doubt about God’s love for us.
Since we are justified by faith we have assurance of final salvation (Romans 5:9-10). There is no way under God’s heaven that those who have been justified by the blood of Christ will fail to be saved from the wrath of God. That in and of itself would be an insult to the Lord Jesus Christ who died on our behalf and would also nullify the purpose of His death.
Since we are justified by faith we exult God Himself (Romans 5:11). The whole purpose of God sending His Son and reconciling us to Himself through Him was so that not only would we exult in our Lord Jesus Christ but so that we would also exult in God Himself. Our love for the Father is because of His love for us by sending His Son to rescue us just as our love for the Lord Jesus Christ is because of His love for us by coming and giving Himself up for us.
“It’s a glorious experience to be a Christian.”
Since we are justified by faith we have peace with God (Romans 5:1). This peace that we have with God which is based totally on having been justified by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ is both objective and subjective – our peace with God is based on fact first and foremost which when properly understood and applied will issue in its being felt in the heart.
Our peace with God is objective – it is based on fact (Isaiah 32:17) – “And the work of righteousness will be peace….” Our peace with God is based solely on absolute truth. Justification means that God declares us righteous, which is a declaration of peace, made possible only by Christ’s sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection. It is only through Christ that God can give a legal pardon where His justice and mercy can meet together without one violating the other – “Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10).
Our peace with God is subjective – the fact produces feeling (Isaiah 32:17) – “And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.” As long as our feelings of peace are flowing from the facts of our peace then all is well. However, it is possible to feel at peace but to actually be at war with God – “There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord" (Isaiah 48:22). The false prophets declare peace to people who have no peace – “They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace’”; and as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, they say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you’” (Jeremiah 23:17). False peace is based on lies (false facts), which leads us to the truth that feelings are not to be our source of assurance but the facts as revealed in God’s Word are to be.
Since we are justified by faith we have access to God (Romans 5:2). In our sin we are locked out of God’s presence and do not have access or entrance into His presence. Through Jesus Christ we have access to God where God, so to speak, stretches out His golden scepter to allow us into His presence without us forfeiting our lives. Our justification through Christ’s blood gives us peace with God and access into His presence so that we can come to Him through worship and prayer and even approach His throne of grace in our time of need. The privileges of prayer and worship are based on justification. One doesn’t just go waltzing in into the presence of royalty without someone taking him by the hand and giving him an introduction into royalty’s presence. This is what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in obtaining our justification.
Since we are justified by faith we have joy in God (Romans 5:2-4). This joy in God is both future and present.
We have joy in the future sharing of the glory of God (Romans 5:2) – “And we exult in hope of the glory of God.” We all fell short of the glory of God and we all despised God’s glory and exchanged it for that which is a lie (Romans 1:23) but those who have been justified will share in the glory of God. The truth of our future glorification gives us joy in God who is able to complete what he has begun.
We have joy in the present suffering for the glory of God (Romans 5:3-4). Our suffering for the sake of righteousness proves our justification to be real (Matthew 5:10-12) and is used by God to transform our character. Also we are promised that our present suffering is producing in us an eternal weight of glory that our suffering cannot compare to (2 Corinthians 4:16-17). He who is justified by faith has peace with God, but tribulation in the world. The unrighteous have peace with the world, but distress and tribulation with God (Romans 2:8-9). The peace of the justified is eternal and his tribulation and distress temporal. The peace of the unrighteous is temporal and his tribulation and distress eternal.
Since we are justified by faith we have assurance of God’s love (Romans 5:5-8). We have the inner experience of God’s love for us (Romans 5:5). God’s love for us is poured out within our hearts through His Holy Spirit who was given to us. God’s Holy Spirit causes us to stand amazed that He could love us – sinners condemned and unclean – and yet He does. This is the basis of our loving God – “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:16, 19).
We also have the outer proof of God’s love for us (Romans 5:6-8). There is never any reason for the believer to doubt God’s love for him or her. Just one look at the sacrificial death of Christ on our behalf should dispel any doubt about God’s love for us.
Since we are justified by faith we have assurance of final salvation (Romans 5:9-10). There is no way under God’s heaven that those who have been justified by the blood of Christ will fail to be saved from the wrath of God. That in and of itself would be an insult to the Lord Jesus Christ who died on our behalf and would also nullify the purpose of His death.
Since we are justified by faith we exult God Himself (Romans 5:11). The whole purpose of God sending His Son and reconciling us to Himself through Him was so that not only would we exult in our Lord Jesus Christ but so that we would also exult in God Himself. Our love for the Father is because of His love for us by sending His Son to rescue us just as our love for the Lord Jesus Christ is because of His love for us by coming and giving Himself up for us.
“It’s a glorious experience to be a Christian.”
Monday, October 5, 2009
Justification by Faith in God
In Romans 4:1-25, Paul proved four aspects about justification by faith from the life of Abraham in the Old Testament: (1) how the Old Testament proved that justification is by faith and not works (Romans 4:1-8); (2) how the Old Testament proved that justification is by faith and not circumcision (Romans 4:9-12); (3) how the Old Testament proved that justification is by faith and not Law (Romans 4:13-17); and (4) how the Old Testament proved that justification is by faith in God (Romans 4:17-25).
We have now studied the first three aspects about justification by faith from the life of Abraham as recorded in the Old Testament. Now we come to the fourth and final aspect about justification by faith from the life of Abraham – justification is by faith in God (Romans 4:17-25).
Faith believes God (Romans 4:17). Faith is not only believing in God, it is also believing God. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith rests completely in God – in His wisdom, love, and power! Abraham believed in God and believed God who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. Abraham didn’t only believe in God – he also believed God.
Faith believes without seeing (Romans 4:18). “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Against all evidence to the contrary Abraham believed God’s promise and His power to call as though existing that which did not exist – that he would be a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Abraham took God at His word and believed God even under what appeared to be impossible circumstances – this gives glory to God and is genuine and biblical faith.
Faith believes in spite of circumstances (Romans 4:19). God waited until it was totally impossible from the human standpoint to fulfill His promise to Abraham by giving him a son in the face of impossible circumstances. It was unthinkable that a man ninety-nine years old could beget a child in the womb of his wife who was eighty-nine years old and who had never had a child up to this point! From a reproductive point of view, both Abraham and Sarah were dead. But in spite of the circumstances – Abraham did not become weak in the faith – he kept on believing God.
Faith believes God’s promise (Romans 4:20). God is truth and He cannot lie – believing God’s promise because of believing God’s character gives glory to God. Abraham didn’t focus on his impotence but on God’s omnipotence.
Faith believes God’s power (Romans 4:21). God is able to perform what He promises and therefore the promise of God and the power of God combine to give absolute assurance of the things hoped for – “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
Faith receives God’s justification (Romans 4:22-25). Since faith believes God by believing without seeing, believing in spite of circumstances, believing God’s promises, and believing God’s power it receives God’s justification – completely as a gift and not something to be earned. The gift of justification is tied to God’s promise concerning His Son – this is the testimony or the promise that faith believes in order to receive God’s justification. To not believe is to not receive and to make God into a liar.
The story of Abraham and his faith is important to us today because men are now saved and have always been saved on exactly the same basis on which Abraham was saved – through believing God concerning His promise concerning His Son. Jesus said that Abraham rejoiced to see His day, and he saw it and was glad (John 8:56). Abraham believed God’s promise concerning God’s Son.
God’s promise concerning His Son was the He would deliver Him up because of our transgressions and raise Him up because of our justification (Romans 4:25). "Delivered up" is a judicial term referring to the commitment of a criminal to his deserved punishment. Jesus Christ was delivered up to serve the sentence of death that our transgressions deserved. Over and over the Bible makes it plain that the death of Christ was for our sins, for our transgressions, and not for crimes that He committed because He never did.
Christ was raised from the dead to provide our justification. Two things are true here: (1) God would have been unjust to execute an innocent man in the place of the guilty and then not raise that innocent man from the dead, and (2) a dead high priest cannot mediate between man and God and therefore cannot save anyone – but our living High Priest, Jesus Christ, can!
Justification is by faith in God!
We have now studied the first three aspects about justification by faith from the life of Abraham as recorded in the Old Testament. Now we come to the fourth and final aspect about justification by faith from the life of Abraham – justification is by faith in God (Romans 4:17-25).
Faith believes God (Romans 4:17). Faith is not only believing in God, it is also believing God. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith rests completely in God – in His wisdom, love, and power! Abraham believed in God and believed God who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. Abraham didn’t only believe in God – he also believed God.
Faith believes without seeing (Romans 4:18). “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Against all evidence to the contrary Abraham believed God’s promise and His power to call as though existing that which did not exist – that he would be a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Abraham took God at His word and believed God even under what appeared to be impossible circumstances – this gives glory to God and is genuine and biblical faith.
Faith believes in spite of circumstances (Romans 4:19). God waited until it was totally impossible from the human standpoint to fulfill His promise to Abraham by giving him a son in the face of impossible circumstances. It was unthinkable that a man ninety-nine years old could beget a child in the womb of his wife who was eighty-nine years old and who had never had a child up to this point! From a reproductive point of view, both Abraham and Sarah were dead. But in spite of the circumstances – Abraham did not become weak in the faith – he kept on believing God.
Faith believes God’s promise (Romans 4:20). God is truth and He cannot lie – believing God’s promise because of believing God’s character gives glory to God. Abraham didn’t focus on his impotence but on God’s omnipotence.
Faith believes God’s power (Romans 4:21). God is able to perform what He promises and therefore the promise of God and the power of God combine to give absolute assurance of the things hoped for – “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
Faith receives God’s justification (Romans 4:22-25). Since faith believes God by believing without seeing, believing in spite of circumstances, believing God’s promises, and believing God’s power it receives God’s justification – completely as a gift and not something to be earned. The gift of justification is tied to God’s promise concerning His Son – this is the testimony or the promise that faith believes in order to receive God’s justification. To not believe is to not receive and to make God into a liar.
The story of Abraham and his faith is important to us today because men are now saved and have always been saved on exactly the same basis on which Abraham was saved – through believing God concerning His promise concerning His Son. Jesus said that Abraham rejoiced to see His day, and he saw it and was glad (John 8:56). Abraham believed God’s promise concerning God’s Son.
God’s promise concerning His Son was the He would deliver Him up because of our transgressions and raise Him up because of our justification (Romans 4:25). "Delivered up" is a judicial term referring to the commitment of a criminal to his deserved punishment. Jesus Christ was delivered up to serve the sentence of death that our transgressions deserved. Over and over the Bible makes it plain that the death of Christ was for our sins, for our transgressions, and not for crimes that He committed because He never did.
Christ was raised from the dead to provide our justification. Two things are true here: (1) God would have been unjust to execute an innocent man in the place of the guilty and then not raise that innocent man from the dead, and (2) a dead high priest cannot mediate between man and God and therefore cannot save anyone – but our living High Priest, Jesus Christ, can!
Justification is by faith in God!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Faith not Law!
In Romans 4:1-25, Paul proved four aspects about justification by faith from the life of Abraham in the Old Testament: (1) how the Old Testament proved that justification is by faith and not works (Romans 4:1-8); (2) how the Old Testament proved that justification is by faith and not by circumcision (Romans 4:9-12); (3) how the Old Testament proved that justification is by faith and not the Law (Romans 4:13-17); and (4) how the Old Testament proved that justification is by faith in God (Romans 4:17-25).
We have already considered the first two aspects about justification that Paul proved from the life of Abraham. First, justification is by faith and not of works. Abraham was a pagan idolater who had done nothing and could do nothing to earn his justification. Second, justification is by faith and not circumcision. Abraham was justified at least fourteen years before he was circumcised. The conclusion is more than obvious: Abraham’s circumcision had absolutely nothing to do with causing his justification.
Now we come to the third aspect about justification that Paul proved from the life of Abraham – justification is by faith and not the Law (Romans 4:13-17).
Here in these verses, promise, grace, and faith are contrasted to Law so that we can see clearly that there are two opposing ideas about justification. One is justification as a gift by grace through faith in God’s promise. The other is justification as a wage by works through the Law.
Now which was it with Abraham? Was Abraham’s justification a gift by grace through faith in God’s promise? Or was Abraham’s justification earned as a wage by works through keeping the Law?
Abraham was not justified by keeping the Law (Romans 4:13-15).
God’s promise didn’t come through keeping the Law (Romans 4:13) – the Law was 430 years later. God’s promise came through faith. In other words God’s promise of justification through faith in His testimony concerning His Son isn’t given to those who insist on earning it through works, or circumcision, or keeping the Law – it is only given to those who will freely receive it.
God’s promise couldn’t come through keeping the Law (Romans 4:14-15). Through the Law faith would be made void – “For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified” – justification would then be earnable; men could please God in their flesh; faith would be unnecessary; and Christ would have died needlessly.
Also through the Law the promise would be nullified – “For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified.” God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants was an unconditional promise. The covenant or promise that God entered into with Abraham was based solely on what God would do and on nothing that Abraham would do. Abraham didn’t work for the promise; he wasn’t circumcised in order to receive the promise; and he didn’t keep God’s Law in order to receive the promise. If Abraham had the ability to bring about his justification then there was no need for God to make the promise that he would bring it about and therefore the promise would be nullified.
Through the Law justification is impossible (Romans 4:15). The Law brings about wrath not justification because men are sinners and the penalty for violating God’s Law is God’s wrath and the death of the sinner. The Law wasn’t given to save men but to show men that they need to be saved. The Law which brings about wrath shows men their great need for grace and mercy so that they will flee to God’s promise of justification through His Son and come to Jesus who said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Abraham was justified by faith (Romans 4:16-17)
Abraham was justified by God as a gift (Romans 4:16). The promise cannot and will not be received by works through the Law – it is only by faith in accordance with grace – and this way the promise is guaranteed. Think about it – if the promise of eternal life was through works of the Law it could not be guaranteed because the Law can be broken and because we are all sinners no one could ever reach it or attain to it. But the promise is guaranteed because it cannot be broken (God keeps His promises) because it is in accordance with grace and not by Law. Also this way the promise is guaranteed not only for those who are of the Law – the Jews – but also for those who are not of the Law – the Gentiles. And in both cases, for the Jews and for the Gentiles, the promise is guaranteed by grace through faith. Therefore only those who are of the faith of Abraham receive the promise.
Abraham was justified by grace through faith (Romans 4:17). Faith isn’t just believing in God (the demons believe in God); faith is believing God. Believing God gives God glory for in doing so one believes the trustworthiness and ability of God. Abraham believed God! Abraham believed God concerning God’s promise. Abraham believed God concerning the Christ and His resurrection from the dead. Any man who will be saved will believe God concerning His testimony about His Son – “The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son” (1 John 5:10).
Adding works of any kind to the gift of justification by grace through faith is to not believe in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. It is unbelief and makes God into a liar.
We have already considered the first two aspects about justification that Paul proved from the life of Abraham. First, justification is by faith and not of works. Abraham was a pagan idolater who had done nothing and could do nothing to earn his justification. Second, justification is by faith and not circumcision. Abraham was justified at least fourteen years before he was circumcised. The conclusion is more than obvious: Abraham’s circumcision had absolutely nothing to do with causing his justification.
Now we come to the third aspect about justification that Paul proved from the life of Abraham – justification is by faith and not the Law (Romans 4:13-17).
Here in these verses, promise, grace, and faith are contrasted to Law so that we can see clearly that there are two opposing ideas about justification. One is justification as a gift by grace through faith in God’s promise. The other is justification as a wage by works through the Law.
Now which was it with Abraham? Was Abraham’s justification a gift by grace through faith in God’s promise? Or was Abraham’s justification earned as a wage by works through keeping the Law?
Abraham was not justified by keeping the Law (Romans 4:13-15).
God’s promise didn’t come through keeping the Law (Romans 4:13) – the Law was 430 years later. God’s promise came through faith. In other words God’s promise of justification through faith in His testimony concerning His Son isn’t given to those who insist on earning it through works, or circumcision, or keeping the Law – it is only given to those who will freely receive it.
God’s promise couldn’t come through keeping the Law (Romans 4:14-15). Through the Law faith would be made void – “For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified” – justification would then be earnable; men could please God in their flesh; faith would be unnecessary; and Christ would have died needlessly.
Also through the Law the promise would be nullified – “For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified.” God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants was an unconditional promise. The covenant or promise that God entered into with Abraham was based solely on what God would do and on nothing that Abraham would do. Abraham didn’t work for the promise; he wasn’t circumcised in order to receive the promise; and he didn’t keep God’s Law in order to receive the promise. If Abraham had the ability to bring about his justification then there was no need for God to make the promise that he would bring it about and therefore the promise would be nullified.
Through the Law justification is impossible (Romans 4:15). The Law brings about wrath not justification because men are sinners and the penalty for violating God’s Law is God’s wrath and the death of the sinner. The Law wasn’t given to save men but to show men that they need to be saved. The Law which brings about wrath shows men their great need for grace and mercy so that they will flee to God’s promise of justification through His Son and come to Jesus who said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Abraham was justified by faith (Romans 4:16-17)
Abraham was justified by God as a gift (Romans 4:16). The promise cannot and will not be received by works through the Law – it is only by faith in accordance with grace – and this way the promise is guaranteed. Think about it – if the promise of eternal life was through works of the Law it could not be guaranteed because the Law can be broken and because we are all sinners no one could ever reach it or attain to it. But the promise is guaranteed because it cannot be broken (God keeps His promises) because it is in accordance with grace and not by Law. Also this way the promise is guaranteed not only for those who are of the Law – the Jews – but also for those who are not of the Law – the Gentiles. And in both cases, for the Jews and for the Gentiles, the promise is guaranteed by grace through faith. Therefore only those who are of the faith of Abraham receive the promise.
Abraham was justified by grace through faith (Romans 4:17). Faith isn’t just believing in God (the demons believe in God); faith is believing God. Believing God gives God glory for in doing so one believes the trustworthiness and ability of God. Abraham believed God! Abraham believed God concerning God’s promise. Abraham believed God concerning the Christ and His resurrection from the dead. Any man who will be saved will believe God concerning His testimony about His Son – “The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son” (1 John 5:10).
Adding works of any kind to the gift of justification by grace through faith is to not believe in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. It is unbelief and makes God into a liar.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Faith not Circumcision or Baptism!
The Old Testament from the life of Abraham proves that justification is by faith and not by works. The apostle Paul was referring to this truth in Romans 4:1-8 showing how Abraham didn’t work for his justification and how God justifies the ungodly through faith by crediting faith as righteousness. Abraham was justified because he believed God’s promise not because he worked to earn it. But from the life of Abraham the Old Testament also proves that justification is by faith and not by circumcision (which would also be a work).
This also has huge implications in our day for those who teach that justification is through baptism. Circumcision and baptism have a correlation in that circumcision was to serve as a sign and a seal of justification just as baptism is to serve as a sign and seal of justification. So in this study the truth will be established that justification is by faith and not by circumcision or baptism.
In Romans 4:9-12 the apostle Paul will prove that Abraham was justified long before he was circumcised showing that circumcision has nothing to do with justification and therefore even the Gentiles can be justified on the same basis that Abraham was justified – by faith and not by circumcision.
In Romans 4:1-8 the apostle Paul spoke of the blessings of justification on the basis of faith and not of works. Now in Romans 4:9 he moved into whether or not circumcision had anything at all to do with Abraham’s justification. If justification is based on circumcision then Abraham would have had to been circumcised before he was justified and the logical conclusion would be then that any man at any time would have to be circumcised in order to be justified. If this were true then the Gentiles would be excluded from justification apart from becoming a Jew through circumcision.
So Paul asked, “Is this blessing [of justification] then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, ‘Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness’” (Romans 4:9). In order to answer Paul’s question and establish the truth that his ministry as the apostle to the Gentiles was legitimate then the account of Abraham’s justification would have to be inspected in respect to his circumcision and see which came first. If circumcision came first then Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles was illegitimate. If justification came first then Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles was legitimate. So Paul went to the justification of Abraham as the prototype of all true believers and established the truth that justification is by faith and not by circumcision.
Abraham received the blessing of justification by imputation while he was uncircumcised (Romans 4:10). The account of Abraham’s justification occurs in Genesis 15:6 but he wasn’t circumcised until Genesis 17:23-27. There was at least fourteen years after Abraham was justified before he was circumcised. He was eighty-six (Genesis 16:15) when Hagar bore Ishmael to him (which was after he was justified) and he was ninety-nine when he was circumcised. Abraham was justified before he ever took matters into his own hands and conceived Ishmael with Hagar. There would have been a nine month gestation period before the birth of Ishmael so we can easily conclude that there was at least fourteen years between Abraham’s justification and his circumcision. The conclusion is more than obvious: Abraham’s circumcision had nothing whatsoever to do with his justification.
Circumcision was a sign and a seal of the justification which Abraham had while uncircumcised (Romans 4:11). Circumcision didn’t save or justify Abraham and it is not what Abraham did to cause God to show favor to him. Is anyone saved because he is circumcised? Absolutely not! Circumcision was to be a sign (symbol) of the removal of the flesh and a seal (stamp) of living by faith, pointing to two realities that had already taken place.
Is anyone saved by baptism? Absolutely not! Baptism is to be a sign (symbol) of the death and burial of the flesh and a seal (stamp) of living by faith by being raised up to walk in newness of life under the Lordship of Christ. To be justified either by circumcision or baptism is not to have righteousness credited but would be to earn righteousness through a work – perish the thought.
The faith of Abraham (believing God about the Christ – see Galatians 3:16) is what both the circumcised and the uncircumcised must possess to be saved (Romans 4:12). We are justified by faith and not by circumcision or baptism. “Even so Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. ‘Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.’ The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham the believer” (Galatians 3:6-9).
This also has huge implications in our day for those who teach that justification is through baptism. Circumcision and baptism have a correlation in that circumcision was to serve as a sign and a seal of justification just as baptism is to serve as a sign and seal of justification. So in this study the truth will be established that justification is by faith and not by circumcision or baptism.
In Romans 4:9-12 the apostle Paul will prove that Abraham was justified long before he was circumcised showing that circumcision has nothing to do with justification and therefore even the Gentiles can be justified on the same basis that Abraham was justified – by faith and not by circumcision.
In Romans 4:1-8 the apostle Paul spoke of the blessings of justification on the basis of faith and not of works. Now in Romans 4:9 he moved into whether or not circumcision had anything at all to do with Abraham’s justification. If justification is based on circumcision then Abraham would have had to been circumcised before he was justified and the logical conclusion would be then that any man at any time would have to be circumcised in order to be justified. If this were true then the Gentiles would be excluded from justification apart from becoming a Jew through circumcision.
So Paul asked, “Is this blessing [of justification] then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, ‘Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness’” (Romans 4:9). In order to answer Paul’s question and establish the truth that his ministry as the apostle to the Gentiles was legitimate then the account of Abraham’s justification would have to be inspected in respect to his circumcision and see which came first. If circumcision came first then Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles was illegitimate. If justification came first then Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles was legitimate. So Paul went to the justification of Abraham as the prototype of all true believers and established the truth that justification is by faith and not by circumcision.
Abraham received the blessing of justification by imputation while he was uncircumcised (Romans 4:10). The account of Abraham’s justification occurs in Genesis 15:6 but he wasn’t circumcised until Genesis 17:23-27. There was at least fourteen years after Abraham was justified before he was circumcised. He was eighty-six (Genesis 16:15) when Hagar bore Ishmael to him (which was after he was justified) and he was ninety-nine when he was circumcised. Abraham was justified before he ever took matters into his own hands and conceived Ishmael with Hagar. There would have been a nine month gestation period before the birth of Ishmael so we can easily conclude that there was at least fourteen years between Abraham’s justification and his circumcision. The conclusion is more than obvious: Abraham’s circumcision had nothing whatsoever to do with his justification.
Circumcision was a sign and a seal of the justification which Abraham had while uncircumcised (Romans 4:11). Circumcision didn’t save or justify Abraham and it is not what Abraham did to cause God to show favor to him. Is anyone saved because he is circumcised? Absolutely not! Circumcision was to be a sign (symbol) of the removal of the flesh and a seal (stamp) of living by faith, pointing to two realities that had already taken place.
Is anyone saved by baptism? Absolutely not! Baptism is to be a sign (symbol) of the death and burial of the flesh and a seal (stamp) of living by faith by being raised up to walk in newness of life under the Lordship of Christ. To be justified either by circumcision or baptism is not to have righteousness credited but would be to earn righteousness through a work – perish the thought.
The faith of Abraham (believing God about the Christ – see Galatians 3:16) is what both the circumcised and the uncircumcised must possess to be saved (Romans 4:12). We are justified by faith and not by circumcision or baptism. “Even so Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. ‘Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.’ The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham the believer” (Galatians 3:6-9).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)