Sola Fide’ - Salvation by Faith Alone…

We are saved by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone. True faith results in good deeds, including adherence to the moral law of God.

Acts 15 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.

3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. 4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, [a]acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus [b]Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

12 Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. 13 And after they had [c]become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: 14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

16 ‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the [d]Lord who does all these things.’

18 [e]“Known to God from eternity are all His works. 19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from [f]sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.

21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

I. The hardest thing often times for people to grasp is salvation by Grace alone.

We don’t need to add anything to grace to be saved but we seem to always want to add something to it. *

Some will say of course we need the grace of God to be saved, none of us can save ourselves, but we still have to do something.

Some would say that this extra something is

Baptism

Or belonging to a particular church

Or good works

Or have an ecstatic spiritual experience such as speaking in tongues

In the early years of the church the issue was the same.

The first believers were Jews and they had grown up in Judaism and were attached to their traditions.

They thought that there were certain things that you just had to do to be saved. They would have… confessed that Jesus died for their sins and would have also said that no one could be saved without being a Jew first. And they would have believed that the door to Jewishness was to be circumcised. This wasn’t much of a problem when there were not many Gentile converts. But it became a problem when the number of Gentile converts increased. And these new converts where not told that they had to become Jews or keep the mosaic law.

Acts 15 tells us what the Christians did to solve this mounting difficulty.

They convened a council of various regional churches and during this gathering...

1. They prayed about the issue

2. Discussed the issue with great care

3. Sought the mind of God concerning the issue

The issue was…

15 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” 6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.

This issue was not whether Gentiles could be saved. The issue was circumcision. Circumcision was recognized as the legal observance that signified incorporation into the covenant people of Israel.

The keeping of the law is every Jew’s divine responsibility. Peter refers to this responsibility as a yoke that is upon their necks.

He is also referring in part to…

The Jewish Feast

Dietary Restrictions

And the Pharisaic interpretation of the 10 commandments.

Let’s consider 3 auguments…

Augument 1, if circumcism and adherence to the Mosaic law was required before you could become a Christian then Paul and Barnabas could have been said to be false teachers, because they taught that the Gentiles didn’t have to be circumcised or become a Jew first in order to be saved. They said that everyone is to be saved by the work of Christ, received by faith alone.

However, it is important to note that Paul agreed that all who profess the name of Christ are expected to live a righteous life.

Romans 6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be [a]done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been [b]freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, [c]reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as [d]instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

We are saved by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone. True faith results in good deeds. Including adherence to the moral law of God.

Augument 2, if it was necessary for the Gentiles to keep the law of Moses to be saved, then faith is not enough. We might still be able to say that faith is important, but not that humanity is saved by faith alone, since we would also need something else.

In other words, we would reject Sola fide ("by faith alone"). – “The doctrine of sola fide asserts that God's pardon for guilty sinners is granted to and received through faith alone, excluding all "works" (good deeds)”.

Salvation is by faith alone...

Augument 3, if it was necessary for the Gentiles to keep the law of Moses to be saved, the Gentiles throughout the whole world, both in the past and today are not saved.

We are saved by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone.

II. Let’s follow the flow of the debate concerning these auguments

There was healthy debate at Council at Jerusalem that accomplished the following…

1. The Gospel of Divine Grace was reaffirmed

2. The unity of the Church was safe guarded

3. The evangelism of the Gentiles could proceed with hindrance

4. The Gentile Churches that were already established were given encouragement

5. The future of the Church as a whole was guaranteed

Acts 15 7 And when there had been much dispute,

The healthy debate process may have gone something like this…

1st The participants expressed their thoughts

2ndEveryone reacted to view of the other side

3rd Then they all expressed a cohering (binding) agreed

upon view together

Then Peter rose…

7…Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, [a]acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus [b]Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

Peter said that Gentiles need not become a Jew to be saved. Salvation is for everyone just as they are when then believe.

Acts 10:44-48 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And [o]those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

Then Peter answered, 47 “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

Paul and Barnabas Rose

12 Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.

In other words, God is working, who are we to stand against God?

Romans 2 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose [g]praise is not from men but from God.

Jeremiah 31:33 “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, And write it in their hearts; And will be their God, And they shall be my people.”

Then James Rose...

13 And after they had [c]become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: 14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.

James said, don’t make it difficult for the Gentiles who are now turning to God.

James then quoted Amos…

15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

16 ‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the [d]Lord who does all these things.’

18 [e]“Known to God from eternity are all His works.

James then proposed writing a letter to the Gentiles telling of the council’s decision (Sola fide ("salvation by faith alone")… But the letter was also to include four things to avoid…

19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from [f]sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. 21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

1 Thessalonians 4

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. 7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. 8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who[a] has also given us His Holy Spirit.

22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas,[g] and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

23 They wrote this letter by them:

The apostles, the elders, and the brethren,

To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:

Greetings.

24 Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, [h]saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”—to whom we gave no such commandment— 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one [i]accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual[j] immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.

Farewell.

The first church council meeting was called to debate the doctrine of Sola Fide.

During the meeting they...

1. They prayed about the issue

2. Discussed the issue with great care

3. Sought the mind of God concerning the issue

And the results were…

1. The Gospel of Divine Grace is reaffirmed

2. The unity of the Church is safe guarded

3. The evangelism is to proceed without hindrance

4. The church is encouraged

5. The future of the Church as a whole is protected

Salvation is by Faith alone… Sola Fide’

We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.

Romans 12 I beseech[a] you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your [b]reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We are to Serve God with Spiritual Gifts

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

We are to Behave Like a Christian

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient[c] in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given[d] to hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have[e] regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Salvation by Faith alone… Sola Fide’

We are saved by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone.

True faith results in good deeds, including adherence to the moral law of God.

In Jesus’ Name… Amen.