I Give Up: Faith Alone
Last week I started talking about what we give up, and the five sola’s that distinguished us in the Lutheran Reformation. I spoke of Sola scriptura: “Scripture alone”. The idea that we do not influence the Bible, but the Bible influences us. We don’t force our will over its interpretation, but instead see it as God’s Word, divinely inspired and provide for us for many purposes. That leads us into this week; Sola fide: “faith alone”. This deals directly with our salvation as something freely given to as a gift of the Spirit. You see, what this forces us to give up is the idea that I can do enough, be good enough, earn, justify or impress God enough that I can get into heaven through my own actions. This seems hard to give up. After all, we like to be in control. I want to have an opinion, a say, I want power. I want to earn my faith, and my reward. Yet I can’t. I can’t be good enough. I certainly can’t impress God. As much as I want to picture the end times being a heavenly draft or a schoolyard pickup game, it just doesn’t work that way.
OK, the two captains are Jesus and Satan. Satan cheated on the coin toss so he gets to pick first.
Round one, Satan chooses that scrappy little betrayer, Judas. The dagger bearer with two in the back!
Round one, Jesus picks Pastor Dan, He did a great sermon, and did you see how he BBQ’s? He will know what to do with all those extra fish!
As much as I would love to see it that way, I would not be round one, or round 100 million. But my Old Adam wants me to compete here. I want to make it all about me.
That’s not how God does it. It’s all about faith.
So where does it come from?
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 (ESV)
Are you sure I can’t earn it?
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 (ESV)
But I don’t understand….
That your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV)
So what does it do again?
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 (ESV)
But that means I have to give up control, doesn’t it?
Was it ever really yours?
The Lord of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand – Isaiah 14:21 (ESV)
And what does that get me?
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. – John 6:47 (ESV)
But what about James 2:18 it says: “But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” How do you deal with that preacher man???
I think I am arguing with myself right now….and I might be getting sassy…..but it’s a good question. Works are a part of our lives; an important part. But they don’t drive the salvation wagon. I want you to stop and think about this analogy. Picture an airplane flying through the sky. On a good clear day you can see the contrails. A plane leaves that everywhere it goes, but no one would suggest that the contrail is what makes the plane fly, or gets it to where it is going. Yet if the plane does not produce the contrail, it is in serious trouble. Works are important in the same way. The contrails are a result the plane’s flight, and good works are the result of the saving faith we have been shown. Matthew says it well chapter 3:8
We Bear fruit in keeping with repentance
Peter supplemented this in 2 Peter 1:5-8 (ESV)
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What is the “very reason” Peter writing about? It is that through His (God’s) promises we have become “partakers of the divine nature”.
What’s that?
Luther calls that the great exchange.
And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, – Romans 4:5 (ESV)
In essence Christ takes on our sin, our guilt, our shame, and we put on His righteousness. That is, the perfect righteousness earned by Jesus is put upon us. In turn, our sins are poured upon Jesus who made satisfaction for them by bearing the wrath of God against His people on the cross.
But why on Earth would Jesus do such a thing? That’s unbelievable!
It is, and I will tell you why. It is one word: GRACE. But I will tell you more about that next week, when we talk about sola gratia: “grace alone”.
Praise the Lord; this was becoming a sermon…..
Everyone’s a critic, but Christ is critical. As in you need Him.
Dually yours,
-Pastor Dan