The Way of Faith
Dr. Phil Newton
South Woods Baptist Church, Memphis, TN
(Copies of this pamphlet can be ordered from Founders Press.)
How does a person
become a Christian? Plenty of opinions abound in answer to this question. Some say that
living a moral life makes a person a Christian. Others declare that joining a
church or being baptized makes a person a Christian. Still others call for a
person to "make a decision" or "pray the prayer" or
"ask Jesus into your heart." While opinions may be important, the one
vital thing when speaking of becoming a Christian is what does God say
about this in His Word?
God has given His Word -
the Bible - to reveal Himself, His purpose for man, and the way to know Him
personally. Everything a person needs to know about becoming a
Christian can be found in God s Word. As God gives a person understanding of
the gospel (the good news of how God, in Christ has provided
salvation for man), then that person can come to the point of genuine faith in
Jesus Christ and, consequently, become a Christian.
GOD
The first place to
begin in understanding salvation (or becoming a Christian) is with God.
Who is God anyway?
What is Godlike?
What does God demand of me?
Unless a person has a
basic understanding of God, then his understanding of the gospel will be faulty
and unbalanced.
The Bible tells us that
God is One, yet He reveals Himself to us in Three Persons. This is called the
Trinity. Hear, 0 Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
(Deuteronomy 6:4). Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
(Matthew 28:18; see also John 5:17-27 where Jesus, the Son, shows His equality
with the Father and John 14:16-17 where Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit being another
which means "another of the same kind," that is, totally equal with
the Son and Father). God is not three Gods, but one God who has
revealed Himself in three Persons who are equal in character, glory, and
power: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), God the Holy Spirit.
1. God is Creator
As the Creator,
everything that exists has been made by God. God Himself designed, initiated,
and brought about the creation of the entire universe. In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth....And God created man in His
image, in the image of God He created him: male and female He created them (Genesis
1:1, 27). The Bible further clarifies that Jesus Christ as God not only made
everything, but everything in creation was made for Him! For by
Him all things were created, the heavens, and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been by Him and
for Him (Colossians 1:16).
2. God is Spirit
When Jesus was teaching a
woman about God and how to worship Him, He made this statement: God is
spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John
4:24). God is spirit describes God's essence, that is, Who He is.
As spirit, God is far above man who is limited by hands, feet, and all the
other aspects of humanity. As spirit, God cannot be worshipped by any form of
idols (Exodus 20:4-6), nor can He be subject to decay, or loss, or corruption,
or any other thing that afflicts man. God is the purest, simplest, most basic
Being in the universe, that is why He said, You shall have no other gods
before Me (Exodus 20:3).
3. God
sees and knows all things
The word used to describe
this is God's omniscience, that is, there are no surprises with
God. This is what is called an attribute of God. He knows everything about a
person, how he will live his life, what his innermost motives and thoughts are
at any given time. This means that God sees everything in a person's life, the
good as well as the evil. Nothing is hidden from Him. And there is no
creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the
eyes of Him with whom we have to do (Hebrews 4:13; see also Romans
11:33-36)
4. God is
Holy
More than any word, the
Bible uses the word holy to describe God. As One Who is holy, God
is utterly pure, totally without any kind of blame or error, absolutely free
from sin in every respect. Because He is holy, God is quite different from man
who is described as a sinner. Holiness not only conveys what is missing from
God, that is, sin, but also what is in God. Holiness is a
positive characteristic describing the uniqueness of God. Holy, Holy,
Holy, is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory (Isaiah
6:3). Holiness can be described as pure light with no mixture of darkness. And
this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is
light, and in Him there is no darkness at all (I John 1:5; see also I
Timothy 6:16 and I Peter 1:16).
5. God is righteous and
just
Everything God does is
absolutely right and proper. He never makes an assumption or an unjust
accusation toward man. His righteousness and justice has its roots in His
holiness. Because God is holy, He therefore can only do that which is right.
His actions toward mankind are just and righteous. He never carries out any act
toward man that is not first rooted in His holy character. His perfection is
seen in His acts of righteousness and justice. The Psalmist writes, God
is a righteous judge.... and the heavens declare His righteousness, for God
Himself is judge (Psalms 7:11; 50:6). God's justice is described in
Exodus 34:7, ...yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished....
God's righteousness and justice demand that He deal with sin and disobedience.
For God to overlook such unholy acts would be to negate His righteousness,
which is impossible to do.
6. God is Judge
Because of Who God is and
because of His character and attributes, He of necessity is the Judge of the
universe. Everyone must stand before Him to give an account. There is
only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy...
(James 4:12). God's judgment is sure, accurate, just, and severe. For the
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that
which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to
them. For since the creation of the world, His eternal power and divine
nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so
that they are without excuse (Romans 1:18-20). Even those who have not
attended church and been under the Bible's teaching have enough natural
revelation about God to know that He is to be honored with obedience.
Consequently, all men are under the severity of divine wrath because of the
sinfulness of mankind.
7. God is love
After seeing God's
righteousness, justice, and judgment, it might appear to be a contradiction to
say that God is love. Yet the Bible is very clear that He is a God of absolute,
pure love. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and
everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not
love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God manifested in
us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might
live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (I John 4:7-10;
see also John 3:16). God loves the individual, though not for what he can do
for God (because man can do nothing for God Who Himself is wholly
self-existent). Instead, God loves man because that is God's nature. It is
impossible for Him not to love. Yet, His love never contradicts His justice.
His love is active and selfless, giving to man out of the abundance of
His grace even though man does not deserve anything that God gives.
THINK IT OVER
1. If someone
asks you, ‘Who is God?" how will you answer him?
2. Do the names
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit describe three Gods or one God? Can
you think of some Scripture passages to back up
your answer?
3. Name at least three
attributes of God and show where these attributes are found in the Bible.
4. Explain what is
meant by God being righteous and just. How does this affect mankind?
5. Give some examples
of how God has shown His love to you. What is the ultimate expression of God's
love to you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MAN AND SIN
Everyone has his own opinion about mankind, but what
really matters most is what God has to say about mankind.
Many modem philosophies consider that man is basically
good and wants to do the right thing if he has a chance. But his environment,
society, peers, and family hinder him from acting right. This
kind of view fails to consider what God has said about the nature of man. To
understand why we need salvation, we must see what the Bible says about man and
his sin.
1. Man was created in the image of God and expected to
obey God completely
We have already noticed that God created everything in the
world. The crowning point of creation came on the sixth day when God created
man in His image. And God created man in His own image, in the image of
God He created him: male and female He created them (Genesis 1:27).
While God created many magnificent creatures, only one creature in all of His
creation was made in God's image: man. Being created in God's image does
not mean that physically we are like God. God is a spirit (John
4:24), so He is not limited by a physical body like humans. Instead, this means
that man has been created with a spirit just as God is Spirit. God made man a
moral creature with a conscience that recognizes right and wrong. As a moral
creature, man was to be governed by the law of God. God's perfect righteousness
is and always has been the standard for man's conduct. In the Garden of
Eden, God gave our first parents one law— From any tree of the garden you
may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall
not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die
(Genesis 2:16-17). The law was given so that man might completely follow God's
righteousness and perfectly mirror God's holiness. Yet, Adam, the first man,
who is representative of all humanity, chose to eat of the
forbidden fruit and consequently, died spiritually and fell under the sentence
of condemnation by violating God's law. Adam's breach of God's law was a direct
assault upon the honor and glory of God. His sin infinitely offended God's
holiness. Though Adam had walked in fellowship and communion with God in the
Garden, that relationship ended --- His communion with God died. The gravity of
Adam's sin can be seen in the fact that a relationship of perfect delight with
God dramatically changed into one of eternal separation from God and the
sentence of God's wrath. Adam's fall affected the entire human
race as well, because we all descended from Adam. Therefore, just as
through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death
spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12). This same sentence
of death (both physical and spiritual death) fell upon all humanity. For
the wages of sin is death. . .(Romans 6:23).
Did God's requirements and expectations for man change
when Adam fell? Absolutely not! God still expected man to fully obey Him. But
since the first man, every person in the human race born of man has failed to
satisfy God's righteous demands of him which are expressed clearly in the Old
Testament Law. Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things
written in the book of the Law, to perform them (Galatians 3:10). Now
we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law,
that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become accountable to
God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight;
for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:19-20).
God's moral law can be summed up in the Ten Commandments
(Exodus 20:1-17). These divine commands affect our relationship to God and man.
The first four commandments (Exodus 20:1-11) make it clear that God alone is to
be our God and He is to be honored above everything. Yet man has
bowed to gods of his own making: pleasure, sensuality, materialism, recreation,
self-indulgence, etc. Because of man's violation of God's laws regarding man's
relationship to God, the eternal judgment of God falls upon him.
The last six commandments govern man's relationship to his
fellow man (Exodus 20:12-17). Jesus Christ clarified the intention of these
commands to show that they refute not simply man's actions towards others, but
even his thoughts and attitudes towards others (see Matthew 5:17-48).
While a person may refrain from overt acts of dishonoring his
parents, murdering, adultery, stealing, lying, and coveting, in his mind he
violates all of these commands. His overt and covert breaching of God's law
brings him under the sentence of divine wrath. A holy, just God cannot
fail to judge man's sin.
2. Man is dead in his spirit apart from Christ
Not only has man failed to fulfill what God demanded of
him, because of his fallen nature, he is spiritually dead. And
you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among
them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the
rest (Ephesians 2:1-3). In this, God declares that because of our sin
nature, man is totally dead in his spirit, lives his life naturally along the
pattern of a world that is anti-God, finds himself under the dominion of Satan,
and consequently, God's awful wrath looms before him. As a matter of fact, this
puts man in a hopeless, helpless estate apart from God's mercy.
3. Man, by his nature and actions, is a sinner
This fact is plain in Scripture. As it is written, ‘There
is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none
who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless;
there is none who does good, there is not even one... .for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:10-12, 23). Think of the best
person you have ever met. He or she is still a sinner. As sinners, mankind
cannot claim to be righteous, because there is no righteousness in our natures.
Man does not understand spiritual things or even seek after God (see also I
Corinthians 2:14) unless God first seeks him. Man is incapable of
doing anything on his own of making himself right with God. The sad assessment
is that all of us have sinned and because of that we fall short of God's glory
[a term which describes the radiance of God s nature].
4. A man dead in his sin cannot do anything to
save himself
Because of man s fallen nature, he cannot lift himself up
to God. He cannot save himself by being religious, or practicing the Golden
Rule, or joining a church. He may give great effort at trying to keep the Ten
Commandments, but if he offends just one of these in action or thought he is
guilty of breaking the entire law of God (James 2:10). These kinds of things
might improve a man's appearance before other men, but they cannot do anything
to improve his standing with Almighty God. He saved us, not on the basis
of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy....For
by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast....Because
by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight.... (Titus
3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:20).
5. Apart from God's intervention of mercy and grace,
man cannot be saved
This means that every man faces God's judgment for his sin
without any ability or hope to save himself. This puts all humanity in the
distressing situation of being destined for God's wrath. But the good news is
that God has intervened in saving grace!
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), and raised us up with Him, and
seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in
the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith... (Ephesians
2:4-8a). Note the two terms that express God's intervention: mercy
and grace. Mercy implies God's disposition of kindness and
compassion toward someone who is undeserving of such kindness. God's mercy has
its roots in His character. This was demonstrated by God giving His Son in
order that sinful men might be forgiven. Grace begins with God, not man.
In grace, God actively initiates His saving work in the sinner, who is himself
dead in his trespasses and sins. While mercy is God's disposition
of kindness and compassion toward a sinner, grace is God's action to
bring the sinner to life (i.e., regenerate him, see Ephesians 2:5; Titus 3:5),
save him, declare him to be righteous, and to secure him for eternity.
Grace is the activity of God based upon the satisfying of
God's justice through the death of Christ, now effectively applied to bring
about the salvation of a sinner. But when the kindness of God our Savior
and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which
we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly
through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be
made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:4-7). You
see, it is not what a man does that can save him from his sin or
God's judgment; instead, it is what God has done for him in Jesus
Christ according to His mercy and grace.
THINK IT OVER
1. What does it mean when the Bible says we are
"created in the image of God?"
2. How does Adam s sin affect you? See if you can support
your answer with Scripture.
3. Has man satisfied God s righteous demands of him by
obeying the Law? Explain the consequence of your answer.
4. Some people believe that man can save himself. Tell
some of the ways people try to save themselves and explain why none of these
ways can justify a person before God.
5. Why is man dependent upon God s intervention for
salvation?
6.Explain what is meant by the terms "mercy" and
"grace."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JESUS CHRIST
The focal point of salvation is Jesus Christ. Apart from
Christ no sinner can be saved. And there is salvation in no
one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among
men, by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). There are two primary
truths which are vital for us to understand concerning Christ and His work of
salvation: Who Jesus is and What Jesus has accomplished on
our behalf (that is, the Person of Christ and the Work of Christ).
1. Who Jesus is (or the Person of Christ)
Throughout the centuries, people have had a variety of
ideas about just who Jesus really is. Some consider him to be a prophet, others
a great religious leader, still others a mystical being. But what does God s
Word says about Jesus?
(1) Jesus Christ is God
When the Apostle John opened the Gospel which bears his
name, he began by identifying Jesus as the One True God. He used a term --Word--
which was common in his day, to describe who Jesus is. By the identifying term the
Word, John points to the One Who created everything that exists in the
universe (see Genesis 1:1) and the One in Whom all mankind derives its life. In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart
from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and
the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:1-5). If Jesus was a created
being, and not infinite as is the case with God, then it would have been
impossible for Him to create all things that have come into
being, for He would be included in all things. The Creator cannot
create Himself! This would be an impossibility!
In the book of Exodus, the Lord God revealed Himself to
Moses at the burning bush on Mt. Horeb by a most unusual name. Moses asked God
to tell him the Name he was to use when addressing the children of Israel on
behalf of God. What shall I say to them? Moses asked. And
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM", and He said, Thus you shall say
to the sons of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus
3:13-14). The name I AM refers to the eternality of God. He is
the One Who has no beginning and no end. He is the eternally Present One. When
Jesus was having a discussion with some of the Jewish religious leaders, He
used the very same name to refer to Himself, which identified Him as being the
Lord God of the Old Testament that revealed Himself to Moses on Mt. Horeb. Truly,
truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am (John 8:58).
The Jews understood exactly what Jesus was saying, that He is the
same God that spoke to Moses at Mt. Horeb! Since they did not believe in Him
being God, they tried to stone Him for using this special name for God.
When the Apostle Paul was writing to Titus on the Isle of
Crete, he gave a marvelous description of the deity (Godhood) of Jesus Christ. For
the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to
deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and
godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the
glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that
He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for
His own possession, zealous for good deeds (Titus 2:11-14). The phrase
he uses, our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, states in clear
terms that Jesus Christ is wholly and absolutely God.
One of the clearest passages relating to Christ's deity is
found in Colossians 1:15-20. And He is the image of the invisible God,
the first born of all creation. The word, image, means
that Jesus is in reality Who He represents. That is, He is in reality the
invisible God. As first born of all creation Jesus is preeminent
over all creation and He is preexistent and unique as the Son. For by Him
all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things
have been created by Him and for Him. Again, the emphasis is placed
upon Jesus creating everything, even things in the heavens and things we cannot
see with our eyes. He not only created all things but all things were created for
Him. This means that the ultimate purpose of everything in creation is
the glory of Jesus Christ! For it was the Father s good
pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him. All the totality of
divine attributes and powers are found in Jesus Christ. And through Him
to reconcile all things to Himself: having made peace through the blood of His
cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Jesus, Who is wholly God, by the sacrificial act of His death on the
cross has provided the means to put sinners in a right relationship with
Himself as God (i.e., to reconcile).
(2) Jesus Christ became man
Notice that there is a difference in these two points of
emphasis on the Person of Christ. Jesus Christ is God, that is
His infinite nature. But this same God became man that He might
reveal God to sinful humanity and ultimately, fulfill all righteousness and pay
the debt of sin the sinner owes God. The passage quoted previously, John 1:1-5,
describes the deity of Jesus by the ancient term Word. John
explains God becoming a man in that same chapter, And the Word became
flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only
begotten from the Father, fill of grace and truth (John 1:14).
The act of God becoming man is known as the Incarnation.
When the angel spoke to Joseph about the fact that his bride-to-be, Mary, was
with child by a supernatural act of the Holy Spirit, he explained that Jesus
would be the One to save His people from their sins. The story goes on to
explain that Jesus was to be called Immanuel, which translated means, God
with us (see Matthew 1:18-25). That s the great news of the
Incarnation, God has come to man to bring about his redemption! As Thomas
Watson put it, "The Word was made flesh , that through the glass of his
human nature we might look upon God."
Why did God come to man? Only God could fully satisfy His
own righteous, just demands ---demands based upon His divine nature and
character. Man had proven over and over that he could never measure up to God's
Law. But since man is the one who has sinned, the demand of justice is that man
himself would have to suffer for his sin. This is why Jesus became a man, so
that He might fully obey God's Law as a Man and that He might suffer the
judgment of God on our behalf as a Man. "...It was God who was offended,
and it was God who satisfied. Thus Christ's person is in two natures" (Thomas
Watson). Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren In all things,
that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining
to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17).
For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). All that God
is, He is in Jesus Christ. The great God that mankind has offended with sin and
rebellion came to dwell among us that He, out of His mercy and grace, might act
redemptively on our behalf. Since then the children share in flesh and
blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He
might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and
might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their
lives (Hebrews 2:14-15).
As man, Jesus Christ faced the limitations of humanity,
yet He never sinned. He fulfilled every demand of the Law and all that pertains
to righteousness. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize
with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet
without sin (Hebrews 4:15; see also Philippians 2:5-11). As the Sinless
One, He became the perfect Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world (see
John 1:29, 36).
2. What Jesus has accomplished on our behalf (or the
Work of Christ)
Most people have heard that Jesus died on the cross. Why
did Jesus Christ have to die such a horrible death? What implications does that
act of His death have for sinners?
The death of Jesus on the cross relates directly to God's
holiness and man's sinfulness. Because God is holy and
just, He cannot ignore sin, nor let the sinner go unpunished. Every act of sin
by man personally affronts God. As a creature affected by Adam's fall, man must
face the consequence of the Fall. God's character demands that He punish to the
full degree every sinful person. To do anything less than this would mean that
God was not being God.. .and that is impossible!
On the other hand, a sinful man does not have any hope of
persuading God to not punish him for his sinfulness. That man cannot make
himself right before God because nothing short of perfection pleases God (see
Matthew 5:48). Even if he tries his very best, man cannot save himself from the
wrath of God.
This is where God intervenes in His great love and mercy!
God came to man (remember, this is the Incarnation) in order to give His own
life to redeem man from the curse of sin and the certain wrath of God. Jesus
Christ conquered sin and death on our behalf which was verified by His
resurrection from the dead. Now, through the sacrificial act of Jesus Christ,
Who is God Himself: sinful man can be declared righteous before Holy God! The
power of His death and resurrection can actually be applied to the sinner to
save him for all eternity.
Just what did Jesus accomplish through His death?
(1) Righteousness of God
Jesus Christ fulfilled all of the righteous requirements
which God demands of us. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of
God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the
righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe;
for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God (Romans 3:21-23). Because all of us are sinners, we have no way in
our own power to fully obey the Law of God. We cannot do anything to save
ourselves. But what Jesus did on our behalf was absolutely righteous. He
perfectly obeyed the Father so that His righteousness might be put on our
account. He went to the cross, undeserving of the death He faced, and died a
righteous death on our behalf. In other words, God did not change the rules in
mid-stream concerning salvation. He did not cheapen His holiness or deny His
justice by saving sinners. Instead, His Son totally fulfilled every demand of
God's righteousness, so that our salvation through Christ meets every
requirement of God's holy character and nature.
(2) Justification
The work of Jesus on the cross justifies the sinner who
has faith in Him. Being justified as a gift by His grace through the
redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24; see also Romans
3:25-28; 5:1-2)
The word justifies has both a negative and
positive meaning. Negatively, it means that the sinner who put his faith in
Christ has been declared not guilty by God. All of the charges
against the sinner because of his sinfulness are certainly accurate. But Jesus
Christ has borne the judgment of God against the sinner, so that now, because
of what Christ has done on behalf of the sinner, God declares the sinner
to be not guilty of his eternal crime.
But this word is also a positive one. God now declares the sinner to be righteous.
How righteous is the new believer in Christ? Just a righteous as Jesus Christ! He
made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him (II Corinthians 5:21). The
righteousness of God cannot be imitated or manipulated. It can only be given
through Christ. Jesus bore our sinfulness in His own body on the
cross and imputed (credited) to us His own righteousness. When
that believer stands before God, he will stand justified,
declared not guilty and having within him the righteousness of God through
faith in Christ. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart
from works of the Law (Roman 3:28).
(3) Redemption
Being justified as a gift by His grace through the
redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24). Redemption pictures an ancient slave
market, where the slave stands on the block to be sold once again into slavery.
But something amazing and wonderful happens! Someone pays the price for
the slave's freedom and sets him free! The utterly amazing thing is that the
Redeemer pays for the slave by entering into slavery for him. That's what Jesus
did for us at the cross. While we were enslaved to sin with no hope of ever
being set free, Jesus Christ became our substitute. He paid the debt we owe
because of our sin (Romans 6:23). At the cross He experienced all of the
horridness of sin's wicked power and the wrath of God due that sin. Through His
life He paid for our redemption that we might be free. Consequently, we were
brought out of the slave market of sin, never to be held by its power again for
we are set free in Christ. The believer never returns to that same
old position of slavery to sin. For all eternity, be is free! If
therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed (John
8:36).
(4) Propitiation
Being justified as a gift by His grace through the
redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a
propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins
previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the
present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has
faith in Jesus
(Romans 3:24-26). Propitiation may seem to be a strange word, but is one of the
most important truths in the Bible. Remember that God's righteousness has to be
satisfied simply because He is God. To pardon a sinner without first satisfying
His righteousness, would mean that God was contradicting His own nature, which
is impossible. In order to forgive sinners, God satisfied His righteousness and
justice through the death of His Son at the cross. That's what propitiation
means---a satisfying of God's righteousness and justice, so that God might
justly declare sinners to be righteous and forgiven through faith in His Son.
In Jesus Christ's death an actual sacrifice to atone for man's sins occurred.
Our sin was transferred to Christ at the cross and the full payment due because
of our sin was met through His death. This means that God's holy wrath has been
satisfied through the substitutionary death of His Son. Therefore, He had
to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the
sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17; see also Hebrews 2:14-18 and I
John 2:1-2). It is only because Jesus satisfied all of the demands of God's
righteousness and justice on our behalf that we can enter into
a relationship with the very God we have offended with our sinfulness.
(5) Adoption
When a sinner comes to Jesus Christ in faith, trusting in
what Christ has done on his behalf to satisfy all of God's demands, then he is
adopted into God's family. So also we, while we were children, were held
in bondage under the elemental things of he world But when the fulness of the
time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in
order that He might redeem those who were under the Law that we might receive
the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit
of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Therefore you are
no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God
(Galatians 4:3-7). Our adoption takes place, not because God did not have a
son, for He does...the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead, God adopts us because of our
great need for Him. The price of adoption was the blood of His own beloved Son
at the cross. As He adopts us, He gives us both His name (which
earthly parents can do in adoption) and His nature (which an
earthly parent cannot do; see 11 Peter 1:4).
Jesus Christ has accomplished for us what we could never
accomplish nor ever deserve. Understanding who Jesus is and what He has done
for us makes the truth of the gospel come alive in our hearts and minds.
THINK IT OVER
1. Is Jesus Christ God Himself? If so, explain this through
the use of Scripture.
2. Did God come to man? Explain how He did this and why He
did this.
3. What does it mean to be justified? Explain how God
justifies the sinner.
4. What does propitiation mean? Explain how this affects
our salvation.?
5. Name the two specific things that God gives us in
adoption. How does this affect you personally?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FAITH
A person can hear the gospel, but if he never exercises
saving faith he remains lost for eternity. While many people try to justify
themselves before God on the basis of their religious activity or their good
works, the Bible clearly tells us that the only way to come to God is through
faith in Jesus Christ. Too often, faith is misunderstood.
1. There are four kinds of faith
First, there is a historical faith, which
means that a person believes what the Bible says because they have been
culturally conditioned to believe it. In communities where the Christian faith
is strong or there is a strong sense of divine authority, a person who does not
believe the Bible's message about Christ might become an outcast. This happens
due to the strong social and cultural influences which often have roots in
Christianity. The only problem is that this kind of faith cannot
save. The demons of hell exercise this kind of faith...and they certainly are
not saved! You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also
believe, and shudder (James 2:19).
Second, there is temporary faith, which
lasts for a while, then fades away because it does not have any roots. Jesus
describes this in the parable of the sower in which the Word of God is sown
upon a heart with shallow soil. Just like a little seed which germinates in
shallow soil, there springs up what appears to be life. But
because of the shallow soil the life is only temporary and quickly withers. And
the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears
the word, and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in
himself but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises
because of the word, immediately he falls away (Matthew 13:20-2 1).
Some people have a religious experience or even have great excitement about the
Christian life, possibly even making a public profession of Christ. But if the
Word of God does not take firm root in his life by its saving power, this kind
of person quickly fades away when the demands of the Christian life confront
him. This kind of faith cannot save.
Third, there is a miraculous faith, which
describes those individuals who through some means or another are able to
perform miraculous works and because of this they believe themselves to be
saved. Judas Iscariot followed Jesus Christ for three years and was even
involved in doing miraculous works. Yet he perished in hell! Pharaoh's
magicians imitated the miracles of Moses for a time, yet they were by no means
believers! Jesus warned against this kind of false faith in Matthew 7:21-23: Not
everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he
who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that
day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out
demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to
them, 'I never knew you: Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.
'
Finally, there is a true, justifying faith
or saving faith, which is a gift of God given to us that we might
believe the Person and Work of Christ on our behalf. For by grace you
have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast (Ephesians
2:8-9). Let's clarify this wonderful gift of saving faith.
2. What faith is not
Sometimes it helps to see what something is not in order to see what it really is.
Saving faith is not a mere acknowledgment of the historical facts of Jesus
Christ. Most people will acknowledge. this, yet remain lost. Saving faith is
not merely believing in God. Remember that the demons believe in God too!
Saving faith is not simply an acknowledgment that Jesus is a Savior or that
Jesus can save. Neither is saving faith simply faith in faith.. .nor
faith in a decision. ..nor faith in a prayer. ..nor faith in a profession...nor
faith in your own plan of salvation.
3. What justifying faith is
True faith is based upon the fact of what God has declared in His Word. The
object of saving or justifying faith is Jesus Christ and what He has
accomplished on behalf of sinners through the cross. It is when the sinner
humbly approaches Jesus Christ in absolute trust in Him that the work of the
cross is applied in saving power to the sinner's life. Where then is
boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of
faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of
the Law (Romans 3:27-28). It is not the works of the sinner that saves
him. His works are powerless to bring about salvation. But when God gives
him grace to believe in Jesus Christ and trust what Christ did on the cross for
him, that person is transformed by the power of God.
How does justifying faith operate? There are three facets
to this kind of true, saving faith. First, there is self-renunciation
in which a person comes to the end of himself, recognizes his absolute sinfulness
and hopelessness before God, and turns from his sin, then turns to God, Who
alone can save him. Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be
wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the
Lord (Acts 3:19). This self-renunciation is evident by repentance,
which involves a change of mind about life, so that the person
turns away from his life of rebellion toward God and casts himself wholly upon
the mercy of God to save him (see also Acts 2:38; Luke 13:3; Mark 1:15). The
Apostle Paul described this work in his own life in Philippians 3:8-9. More
than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in
Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which
is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis
of faith.
Second, justifying faith involves a total reliance
upon Jesus Christ and His work on the cross to save you. That's what
faith or believing means, a total reliance or absolute trust in someone or
something. in this case the Someone is Jesus Christ! When the
Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas what he must do in order to be saved,
they replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and
your household (Acts 16:30-31; see also John 3:16; 3:36; 5:24; 6:40;
6:47). This belief in Christ goes beyond a mere head knowledge of Jesus to a
trust in Christ and Christ alone for salvation.
Faith means "Forsaking All ,I Trust Him." The Apostle
Paul never boasted about anything he did in order to be saved,
because he realized that it was all of Christ and none
of him. But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I
to the world (Galatians 6:14).
Third, Justifying faith involves appropriating or
receiving Christ Himself as your Redeemer, Justifier, Savior, and Lord.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave
the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who
were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God
(John 1:12-13). When a person comes to Jesus Christ in absolute trust, he
receives Christ into His life, and with Him, all that He has accomplished for
sinners. Now that new believer knows Christ in a different fashion. No longer
is He just an impersonal God in the heavens. But now he enters into a living,
dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ as his Lord. Jesus has redeemed him from
the power of sin, so Jesus is now his Redeemer. Jesus has applied His blood and
righteousness to his life and declared him to be righteous before God, so Jesus
is now his Justifier. Jesus has saved him from the wrath of God, so now Jesus
is his Savior. Jesus has laid claim to his life for eternity by His atoning
death and mighty resurrection, so now Jesus is his Lord.
THINK IT OVER
1. What are the four kinds of faith? Try to given an
example of each one.
2. Give some examples of a false kind of faith that people
substitute for saving faith.
3. What is true, justifying faith?
4.Why is self-renunciation an aspect of saving faith?
5. What are the three facets of faith? Can you give a
Scripture reference for each one?
6. What happens to the sinner in terms of his new
relationship to Christ when he trusts Christ?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONCLUSION
As you have read through this booklet or perhaps studied
it with a group, you have been confronted with the Bible's teaching on
salvation. You have seen Who God is and how His character is evident in
everything He says, or does, or demands. You have seen the problem of man's
sinfulness and his hopelessness to save himself.
Because of man's sin, he stands condemned by the law and
he faces a destiny with the wrath of Holy God. But the good news
is that you have seen that God has come to man through Jesus Christ! In His
coming to earth, Jesus had one primary mission, to bear our sins on the cross
and face the wrath of God in our place. But it is only when we repent by
renouncing our self and sin, trust in Christ alone, and receive Him as Savior
and Lord that we can know His saving life. Trust Jesus Christ as your Prophet
who has spoken His saving word to you. Trust Him as your Priest
who has mediated before God in your behalf by His atoning death on the cross.
Trust Him as your King who now reigns over you.
The Bible declares, He who has the Son has the life;
he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life (I John
5:12). Have you trusted Jesus Christ alone for your salvation? Do you have THE
LIFE which only comes in knowing Christ through faith?
If this is not settled in your life, seek the Lord ,Who alone
can save you. As a sinner who cannot save himself, cast yourself upon
His mercy. Discover that He is full of mercy and grace. Admit to God your
sinfulness and desperation for His forgiveness. Repent of your sins and turn to
God. Trust Him to save you for eternity through the blood of Christ. Depend
upon what God has declared in His Word and the witness of the Holy Spirit in
your life as your assurance of being right before God.
If you have put your faith in Christ, now declare your
faith publicly before men through baptism. Unite with a church which preaches
and teaches God's Word. Daily seek the Lord through His Word, beginning with
John's Gospel, then reading Romans, I John, and Galatians. Bring your thanks,
praises, and needs before your Heavenly Father in prayer. Seek to tell others
about Jesus Christ and His power to save. By God's grace, seek to walk daily in
obedience to the Lord. Trust Him for strength and power to obey.
If you are already a true believer, then rejoice in the
grace of God given to you in Christ! Use this booklet as a study tool for
understanding in greater fashion the work of Christ on your behalf Seek to
declare the good news of Jesus Christ with others. May the Lord give you power
to bring glory to His great Name!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ADDITIONAL READING
Benton, John. Coming to Faith in Christ. Banner
of Truth
Blanchard, John. Right With God.
Banner of Truth
Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God. Navpress
Ferguson, Sinclair. Growing in Grace.
Banner of Truth
Hulse, Erroll. Baptism and Church
Membership. Carey Publications
Lloyd-Jones, Martin. Life in Christ.
Crossway Books
Lloyd-Jones, Martin. The Heart of the Gospel.
Crossway Books
MacArthur, John, The Gospel According to
Jesus. Word of Grace
MacArthur, John, Faith Works.
Word Publishing
Martin, Albert N, What Is a Biblical
Christian? Trinity Book Service
Nesom, Joe, Be Sure What You Believe.
Founder Press
Packer, J.I. Knowing God. Inter
Varsity Press
Thomas, Geoffrey, Reading the Bible.
Banner of Truth
Watson, Thomas. A Body of Divinity.
Banner of Truth
Webster, William. The Christian--Following
Christ as Lord. Banner of Truth
Whitney, Donald. Spiritual Disciplines of the
Christian Life. Navpress
Whitney, Donald. Spiritual Disciplines Within
the Church. Moody Press
Quotations from the Bible are from the New American
Standard Bible.
