What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining
to the flesh, hath found? – Romans
4:1
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are
the children of Abraham. – Galatians
3:7
In Romans 4:7, Paul describes the man
who obtains his righteousness by faith as blessed. Quoting David he said that
this righteousness by faith is seen in three lights: sins may be forgiven, or sins
are covered or sins are not imputed. Abraham’s account in Genesis helps us to
understand this very well. Abraham is reported to have lied; Abraham waged wars
where the innocent is very likely to be killed; Abraham slept with his house
maid; Abraham walked in unbelief and went ahead of God to obtain Ishmael;
Abraham had concubines and seeds out of wedlock; and possibly many other sins
not recorded in scriptures. But when God will give his account of Abraham, he
said “… Abraham
obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws”
(Genesis 26:5). What happened to the other times when he disobeyed God? His
sins were forgiven; his sins were covered; and his sins were not imputed. How?
By the righteousness of faith.
We see quickly from this discuss in
Romans 4 that there are two sorts of righteousness we can submit ourselves to.
The righteousness that comes by the law and righteousness that comes by faith.
The nature of the righteousness by law is that it is the product of keeping the
laws of God. And no matter how well this is done, it is destined for transgression,
sin and condemnation. The righteousness that is by faith comes simply by
believing. It is a righteousness that is not of the law: and where there is no
law, there is no transgression (Romans 4:15). To put it succinctly, those who
are of the righteousness of faith cannot be said to have sinned before God
because their sins are forgiven, covered and cannot be imputed on them.
Abraham also learnt that his faith
could produce tangible results. Scripture records that although his body was
dead and Sarah’s womb was dead, he did not waver in faith; rather, he
strengthened himself in faith and waited for God. Abraham received the child of
promise when he was 99 years of age. Therefore, this faith does not just
produce right standing with God only; with it, we can access God’s promises in our
lives and see Him meet our needs.
Peace with God
Sin puts men at enmity with God but
being justified by faith we have peace with God. This is no fragile peace – it is
not the peace of a graveyard; it is a peace founded upon what Jesus Christ did
for all men on the cross. This peace is not even threatened by what we do after
our justification before God. This peace is not threatened by sin.
It is important that we grasp the
enormity of the peace that the man who is justified by grace through faith has
with God so we may understand the blessing that comes with New Testament
Christianity. Jesus spoke of this peace when he said “these things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world” (John 16:33). So we see that an aspect of this peace is that we have grace to face world tribulation. Also, having peace
with God means we have access to God. It means we can come boldly to God without
the feeling of guilt. It means we can pray to God and believe that God has both
heard them and can answer them.
This peace with God is not founded
upon what we can do or cannot do, it founded upon what God has done: because only
the Almighty God can justify a sinner. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ: that
man, who was far away and separated from a holy God, can be brought nigh by
faith in the cross of Jesus and be justified from all things (Acts 13:39). This justification
gives the man peace with God and freedom to access his presence.
I remember the afternoon, many years
ago, when I read the words of Romans 5:1 for the first time and God by His
mercies helped me to understand it. I was caught in a state of wonder, love and
worship, and up till now when I read that scripture, I thank God for the peace
He has made with me. The strength of this peace is founded on who God is and
not on who we are.
May God indeed help us all the grasp
the length and breadth and height of this peace found in the cross of Jesus; revel in it and allow it to dictate the basis of our eternal relationship with God
the Father.
The Chemistry of this Justification
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the
righteousness of one the free gift
came upon all men unto justification of life. For
as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one
shall many be made righteous – Romans 5:18-19
By the chemistry of our justification
I wish to describe the basic components that brought about this great position
with God. Romans 5:6-21 gives the account of two men: the first Adam and the
last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45). Both of these men’s action had an adverse
effect on the concept of sin in humanity. The first Adam, the man formed by
God, was created in innocence and was without sin. Genesis 3 gives an account
of how this Adam sinned and died spiritually, so that every man born after him
came with a sin nature. This concept of original sin, found in
every child born of man, is the theological term used to describe the sin nature
passed unto every person born into the world. It must be understood that no one
gets this sin nature by doing anything: we get it by being born of Adam. That is
what the scripture above means by one man’s disobedience turning many to
sinners.
The beauty of Justification by Faith
follows a similar concept. When we become justified by faith through the grace
found in Jesus Christ we become born-again.
In the same way we were born of the flesh through our parents (and Adam), we
also become born of the Spirit through Jesus Christ. This spiritual birth
leaves us with a righteous nature in contrast to the sin nature that we received when we are born of Adam. The wonderful news here is that just as we become
sinners without doing anything but being born of the flesh, so also we become
righteous without doing anything but being born of the Spirit. The man that is
justified by faith and is born-again, has a righteous nature that cannot be
earned by works and cannot be lost to sin. So that the same way the sin nature
condemns men to hell and eternal separation from God, so also does the
righteous nature “condemn” men to heaven and eternal bliss with God.
The story of justification by grace
through faith simply tells the wonderful story of Christ redeeming men from
sin. It also shows us that the blessings that comes with redemption cannot be
earned by works neither can they be sustained by works. Justification by faith
permits the believer to sit down, relax and enjoy the grace of God without
doing anything to earn it.
Grace is not Lawlessness
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that
grace may abound? – Romans 6:1
The doctrine of justification by
faith shows us that sin does not threaten our eternal home with God. Christians
have eternal security! Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more than it (Romans
5:20), so much so that sin cannot threaten the effect of the grace of God. What
this means is that the depraved and untaught minds then thinks that the grace
of God permits lawlessness.
It is for this single reason that the
doctrine of justification by faith is not taught in our churches. Church leaders
feel that if people know these truths, it will give them the sort of freedom
that leads to sin. When Martin Luther began preaching these truths that
liberated
Christendom in the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church
said “Justification by faith is the chief error of protestant churches”. Unfortunately,
many untaught men, who may not call themselves Roman Catholic, also think that justification
by faith is heresy, because of the tendency to lead to lawlessness.
Paul said: “Unto the pure all things are
pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind
and conscience is defiled” (Titus 1:15). When the one who is truly
justified by faith and is born again in God finds the truth that sin cannot
threaten the relationship he has with God, it engenders greater devotion, love,
and worship in him towards God. He cannot continue to sin so that this grace can abound; his response is “God
forbid! How shall I, that is dead to sin, live any longer therein”.
Rather than using his new found freedom to serve sin and the flesh, he uses it
to serve God and righteousness. At the same time he realizes that sin does not
possess the potency that many claim it has and so he has grace to face his sins
squarely. One of the realities of the born-again life is the fact that
Christians still sin. And this can be very discouraging if we
do not have the right doctrines to face our sins with. But if the born-again
man knows that sins do not threaten his salvation, he can go to God in prayer
and confess these sins (1 John 1:9), receive a cleansing by the blood and then
receive strength to overcome that sin whenever it comes. Overcoming sin is both
spiritual and practical. Spiritual in the sense that the born-again man has a
righteous nature; and practical in the sense that he now begins to learn how to
live without sin. This exercise requires a great deal of practice (and patience) that would
come with failures - he will surely sin. He must find forgiveness and continues to learn to
overcome his sin. Overcoming sin itself is spiritual growth. This growth means
that at some point one is a babe and a spiritual babe must be carnal (1
Corinthians 3:1). He, however, is expected to grow; which will be seen in his
ability to subdue his flesh more and more. The doctrine of justification by
faith that helps the believer to grasp the concept of his eternal security does
not permit the believer to be lawless, rather it gives him the ability to face
his sins and overcome them, while he revels in the grace of God. The gospel of
Jesus Christ is meant to be taught to the church by men gifted with the grace
to teach, flowing from holy living. Jesus’ words are spirit and they are life.
When men hear these words, faith builds up in them and the spirit in those
words becomes flesh in them. Hearing the true gospel transmits the grace for
holy living to the listener. So that while some are coming to
saving faith in Christ, those who are already saved are receiving grace in
their heart to serve God and to live lives that are pleasing to Him.
On the other hand, when the defiled
and unbelieving hear the truth of justification by faith, it leads them to
lawlessness. We must understand that narrow is the way that leads to eternal
life and so even in a congregation the number of people that would have come to
saving faith in Jesus Christ are always in the minority. So when the gospel is
preached some will latch on it and use it to justify their lawless living. But the
fact that men use truth in a lawless manner should not stop us from stating it.
Justification by faith is an eternal truth in the word of God given to us for
our edification but those who choose to use it in a lawless fashion shall have
God to answer to.
And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our
beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written
unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which
are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and
unstable wrest, as they do also
the other scriptures, unto their own destruction – 2 Peter 3:16-17
No Condemnation
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus
– Romans 8:1
Because we operate under a higher law. There are
two laws, according to Romans 8:2, the Law of sin and death and the law of
Spirit of life. The law of sin and death says: the soul that sin will
die. Or, the soul that sins is condemned to death. The law of Spirit of life
does not give such a condition. It simply gives life; that is all it does! When we are born-again, we are delivered from the
law of sin and death, which the laws of Moses exemplified, to the law of Spirit
of life. There is no condemnation under that law. This is the good news. Christians
have been delivered from the power and penalty of sin. The power of sin no
longer rules them so that they may live in holiness and the penalty of sin is
no longer over them so that they cannot be condemned even when they sin.
We see clearly that this good news
clearly stated in the gospel of Jesus Christ is concerned wholly and solely
with the question of sin. Some argue that we should not preach sin in churches
so that people will not be discouraged. But they say this because they present
a problem without the solution. If while discussing sin, we also show to them that
there is a solution to it, no one will be discouraged with messages on sin. Others
argue that every message that must be preached in church must dwell on sin and
offer holiness as the solution to it. The problem with this sort of teaching is
that the wrong solution is offered to the right problem. Scripture never
teaches anywhere that we are saved by being holy: scripture teaches that we
saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Holiness is a mark on the new
person in Christ; it is this mark that must be seen on anyone that shall enter
into God’s kingdom that was spoken of in Hebrew 12:14b. Unfortunately, there are
some churches that never mention sin. They speak of a super grace that allows
them to live as they like; such individual are already accursed!
The good news, again, is that Christ
Jesus came into the world to saves sinners of whom I am chief (1 Timothy 1:15).
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