Justification By Faith Alone

The Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone helped to spark the Protestant Reformation. In many ways, Sola Fide (faith alone), defined the Reformation. It was hotly contested in the sixteenth century, and continues to be today.

So what exactly is the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone? First we must define what it means to be justified in the eyes of God. Based upon what was accomplished on the Cross, God pardons and declares the sinner to be "just", and Christ's righteousness is passed upon to the sinner. Wayne Grudem defined "justification" in his "Systematic Theology" book as: "An instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ's righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight."

Now that we have established what it means to be justified, we will look at how we are declared to be justified. We must first have true, saving faith. "yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified." (Galatians 2:16). Once the sinner is given the gift of faith, they are then declared justified. Faith is the means in which God justifies us. It is not meant to try to earn favor with God. 

There are no other ways to be declared "not guilty" by God. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that justification is first obtained by baptism, and then if the adult is to continue to be justified, faith is essential. Faith alone is not enough, and you must accept the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The RCC also teaches that there are different levels of justification. Ludwig Ott, Catholic theologian, wrote: "The Council of Trent, however, declared that the measure of grace of justification received varies in the individual person who is justified, according to the measure of God's free distribution and to the disposition and the co-operation of the recipient himself." When we make justification of our own merit, it is no longer a free gift from God. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) 

As a side note, if you believe in justification by faith alone, the RCC has declared anathema on you. From the Council of Trent:
"CANON XXIV.-If any one saith, that the justice received is not preserved and also increased before God through good works; but that the said works are merely the fruits and signs of Justification obtained, but not a cause of the increase thereof; let him be anathema."

In every religion, man works towards God. Biblical Christianity, however, states that we are saved by grace through faith alone. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) Even though we are required to believe, that faith is still a gift from God. The good works that the Apostle Paul goes on to talk about are the result of true faith. "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1) Because God has made a legal declaration that, through faith, Christ's righteousness has been given to us, we are no longer at war with God.

The righteousness that we are given, is one not of our own, but one that belonged to someone else. It is justitia alienum, an alien righteousness. It is outside of us, extra nos. It belongs to Christ. Martin Luther wrote, in regards to alien righteousness: "Everything which Christ has is ours, graciously bestowed on us unworthy men out of God’s sheer mercy, although we have rather deserved wrath and condemnation, and hell also. Through faith in Christ, therefore, Christ’s righteousness becomes our righteousness and all that he has becomes ours; rather, he himself becomes ours."

Confusion about justification through faith alone comes sometimes when reading James 2:14-17: "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." James is merely stating that if someone professes faith, but does not produce any form of good works, then they do not possess true saving faith at all. This is not true faith, and it is useless.

When we deny, or don't have a proper understanding of "justification by faith alone", we deny God all the glory due to Him. There are no works, or sacraments that can earn our way to Heaven. Yet, the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone leaves us fully dependent on God. It is only by placing your faith in Jesus Christ that Christ's righteousness will be counted as yours. 

"For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law"- Romans 3:28

“Once a Christian is righteous by faith and has accepted the forgiveness of sins, he should not be so smug, as though he were pure of all sins… He is righteous and holy by an alien or foreign holiness—I call it this for the sake of instruction—that is, he is righteous by the mercy and grace of God. This mercy and grace is not something human; it is not some sort of disposition or quality in the heart. It is a divine blessing… Is not this righteousness an alien righteousness? It consists completely in the indulgence of another and is a pure gift of God, who shows mercy and favour for Christ’s sake.’ - See more at: http://churchsociety.org/blog/entry/alien_righteousness#sthash.SZHb6cD7.dpuf

“Once a Christian is righteous by faith and has accepted the forgiveness of sins, he should not be so smug, as though he were pure of all sins… He is righteous and holy by an alien or foreign holiness—I call it this for the sake of instruction—that is, he is righteous by the mercy and grace of God. This mercy and grace is not something human; it is not some sort of disposition or quality in the heart. It is a divine blessing… Is not this righteousness an alien righteousness? It consists completely in the indulgence of another and is a pure gift of God, who shows mercy and favour for Christ’s sake.’ - See more at: http://churchsociety.org/blog/entry/alien_righteousness#sthash.SZHb6cD7.dpuf

“Once a Christian is righteous by faith and has accepted the forgiveness of sins, he should not be so smug, as though he were pure of all sins… He is righteous and holy by an alien or foreign holiness—I call it this for the sake of instruction—that is, he is righteous by the mercy and grace of God. This mercy and grace is not something human; it is not some sort of disposition or quality in the heart. It is a divine blessing… Is not this righteousness an alien righteousness? It consists completely in the indulgence of another and is a pure gift of God, who shows mercy and favour for Christ’s sake.’ - See more at: http://churchsociety.org/blog/entry/alien_righteousness#sthash.SZHb6cD7.dpuf

What is the Inspiration of the Bible?

What is the inspiration for Scripture? To Bible-believing Christians, the answer seems to be an easy one. However, as with anything today, the topic can be controversial.

Prior to the middle of the 19th century, the Church was almost universally in agreement that it believed God gave actual words to the human authors of Scripture. In the second century, early Christian apologist, Justin Martyr, called the Bible, "the very language of God." In the fourth century, Gregory Nyssen, bishop of Nyssa, called the Bible, "the voice of the Holy Spirit." The great Protestant Reformers of the 16th and 17th centuries held similar beliefs.

However, halfway through the 19th century, various evolutionary ideas began to compromise certain beliefs about the inspiration of Scripture. Verbal inspiration was questioned. Some in the Christian community began to question the accuracy of Scripture, particularly parts of the Old Testament like the worldwide Flood in Genesis.

However, such ideas are at odds with the Bible. According to the New Testament, the Old Testament prophets proclaimed words that were initiated and controlled by God. These were not the words of the human, but were the words of God, so that it's accuracy can not be questioned.

In the Old Testament, Hebrew words for "breath" are frequently translated to "spirit" in English. God's "breath" is an expression for his Spirit going into the world. I like the visual of standing outside in the cold and watching your breath come from your mouth. So with this in mind, Scripture was produced by God's breath.  "...then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." (Genesis 2:7) Where God breathed life into Adam through his nostrils, in the same way He breathed through humans the words that made Scripture.

In the New Testament, the breath is the Holy Spirit. This is again how God communicates. By saying "the Holy Spirit says", this is the same as "Scripture says." "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice..." (Hebrews 3:7)

The Holy Spirit worked through the Biblical writers. The message, while it was given by God, was put down by humans. But because God is the primary author, the word of God is infallible. The Bible is the inerrant word of God.

Sola Scriptura!

Hosanna!

Palm Sunday begins the most important week of the Christian world that ultimately ends in Resurrection Day (or Easter). When we think of Palm Sunday, palm branches, obviously, come to mind.

The first Palm Sunday began with Jesus sending two of his disciples to Bethphage to find an animal for him to ride in on. They found a donkey/colt for Jesus to ride in on, and the owners questioned why they needed it. The disciples responded "The Lord needs it." This was good enough for the owners, as they allowed the disciples to exit with the donkey/colt.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, Jesus was treated as a king. "Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road."(Matthew 21:8). This was similar to when Jehu was anointed King of Israel, "Then in haste every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, “Jehu is king.” (2 Kings 9:13)

"So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”(John 12:13) Waving palm branches was significant during this time, and wasn't something that was taken lightly. This signaled the hope that a liberator was arriving. It was also significant that they yelled, "Hosanna". "Hosanna" comes from a Hebrew word that means, "save now". This and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" can be found in the hallel, which were psalms sang every morning at the Feast of Tabernacles. So clearly, this was significant to the Jewish people.

While the crowd celebrated as Jesus rode into town, it must have been an odd sight. Kings normally would ride into town on royal horses, but Jesus rode in on a donkey. He fulfilled prophecy from the book of Zechariah by riding in on a donkey:"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." While the people had envisioned the messiah coming as a strong military leader, instead they got a humble man riding in on a donkey. To add to the visual, donkeys that people ride in that area of the world are much smaller than what we have in America. They are so much smaller that grown men have to bend their knees while they ride so that their feet don't drag the ground. As a side note, I wonder how many at that time realized that Jesus was fulfilling prophecy by riding in on a donkey? Did it click with them?

The celebration would not last, and within a week, Jesus was dead. What looked to be the anointing of a new king of Israel, soon would end with Jesus hanging on a cross at Golgotha. The people celebrated a new king to save them militarily, while Jesus came to save his people from their sins.

Special Revelation... a specific message to a specific people

Previously we looked at one form of revelation by God, general revelation. As you may recall, general revelation (in a nutshell) is God revealing himself through a general message to a general audience. You can walk outside and take a look at God's creation, and that is a general revelation from God. Special revelation is a specific message, for a specific people.

There were various ways that God chose to reveal himself in the Old Testament, such as dreams. For example, 1 Kings 3:5 says, "At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you".  God also revealed himself through visions, such as in Genesis 15:1, "After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great". (As a side note, modern books that describe visits to Heaven that are not consistent with what the Bible teaches, or books that claim to have new revelation from Jesus Christ himself, are not "special revelation". These books are dangerous and should be avoided. Due to a lack of discernment, these books are best sellers at Christian book stores. "Heaven is for Real", "Jesus Calling", "The Shack" are just a few examples to avoid.)

God chose to have all information about him to be revealed in written form, and he directly guided the authors, even to the specific words used. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."- 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Scripture is the means in which God uses to bring his people to him. He uses it as a light, but also to judge the disobedient, those who are not committed to Jesus Christ.  "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

The most important form of special revelation was God becoming a man in Jesus Christ. Christ came to the world with a specific message to his people, to save his people from their sins. As God in the flesh, Christ showed his followers how to live and the way to eternal life, "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

Without special revelation, we would know nothing of God's messianic purposes in Christ. In love, God revealed his law, and in love, God revealed how he will reconcile his people who broke his law to himself. We can have no doubt, because of special revelation, that if we are in Christ, we will be justified, sanctified, and ultimately glorified. 

"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world."- Hebrews 1:1-2