Faith Alone

INTRODUCTION

We are looking today at the second sola, sola fide or Faith alone

Last week we looked at sola scriptura or Scripture alone and saw that it was the principle cause of the Protestant Reformation

Martin Luther argued that Scripture alone was the final authority

But the Roman Catholic church disagreed and “argued that the Church, its hierarchy, its tradition, and its normative interpretation of Scripture were sources that could also be cited as equally legitimate” (Terry L Johnson, The Case for Traditional Protestantism: The Solas of the Reformation, article, April 25, 2005)

The Reformers never agreed

They understood that Scripture was “inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim.3:16)

They said it’s not Scripture plus

It’s Scripture alone

Now the second sola, sola fide addresses the ‘material’ issue, the core theological ‘matter’ over which they disagreed”

What was that core theological matter?

It was that of justification by faith

The Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church “could not agree about either the nature of Christ’s atonement or the means by which its benefits are received” (Johnson) even though Paul addressed both in his letter to the Romans

Paul said in Romans 3:28, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

That’s the benefit

The nature of Christ’s atonement was for the purpose of redemption

The angel of the Lord said to Joseph in Matthew 1:21 that Jesus would “save His people from their sins”

That’s the point of it all!

Using Paul’s terminology in Romans 3:24, we are “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus”

That’s because Jesus was “delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification” (Rom.4:25).

Luther said this issue of justification by faith was “the article by which the church stands or falls”

Luther believed “This article was the head and cornerstone of the Church, which alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves and protects the Church; without it the Church of God cannot subsist one hour.”

But we have all kinds of people being told today nothing about justification by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

They are told just to pray a prayer and that’s it!

Just pray and go on your way, not as a changed, transformed child of God but as one who has now appropriated Christ to their lives

But that is not the gospel!

That’s not what brought about the Protestant Reformation

People were already “praying” as like the Church told them

They did not know the purpose and benefits of justification because they were locked out of the Scriptures by both the language it was in and the clergy who withheld it from them!

Hence comes John Wycliffe

Hence comes John Huss

Hence comes Martin Luther

Hence comes John Calvin who challenged the Roman Catholic Church with sola fide

John Calvin...

in his debate with Cardinal Sadoleto (1477–1547) said that justification by faith was ‘the first and keenest subject of controversy between us’. Remove the knowledge of this doctrine, he argued, and ‘the glory of Christ is extinguished, religion is abolished, the church destroyed, and the hope of salvation utterly overthrown’. (Johnson)

It was faithfulness to this article of faith that determined the outcome of the conflict!

‘At the beginning of our preaching,’ Luther said, the doctrine of Faith had a most happy course, and down fell the Pope’s pardons, purgatory, vows, masses, and such like abominations, which drew with them the ruin of all Popery . . . And if all had continued, as they began to teach and diligently urge the article of Justification – that is to say, that we are justified neither by the righteousness of the Law, nor by our own righteousness, but only by faith in Jesus Christ – doubtless this one article, by little and little, had overthrown the whole Papacy.’ (Johnson)

Luther correctly saw that if sinners are justified by faith alone in Christ alone, then the whole system of salvation rooted in priest-operated, church-based religious works would collapse [and] a new, Christ-centered, faith-based Christianity would arise from its ashes. (Johnson)

So the question this morning is “How can one be made right with God?”

The answer is “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31)

The answer is by “faith”.....sola fide

Martin Luther finally came to this same conclusion

When describing his conversion he said, “At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, “In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’” There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, “He who through faith is righteous shall live.” Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally other face of the entire Scripture showed itself to me” (https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/story-martin-luthers-conversion).

Did you hear what Luther said?

He said “the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith”

For that to happen, Luther had to first come to the understanding that...

I. Salvation is Solely of the Lord

Steve Lawson said...

This strong declaration means that every aspect of man’s salvation is from God and is entirely dependent upon God. The only contribution that we make is the sin that was laid upon Jesus Christ at the cross. The Apostle Paul affirmed this when he wrote, “From Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Rom. 11:36). This is to say, salvation is God determined, God purchased, God applied, and God secured. From start to finish, salvation is of the Lord alone.

That’s what we hear in Genesis 49:18, as Jacob is preparing to die, he calls his sons and blesses them and says of God “For Your salvation I wait, O Lord.”

He said this is “Your salvation”

Hannah understood this as she prayed in 1 Samuel 2:1, rejoicing in “Your salvation”

After Asap and His relatives were assigned by King David to give thanks to the Lord, Asap called on the people in 1 Chronicles 16:23 to “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.”

In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews stated a question in Hebrews 2:3, “How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord...”

“Your salvation, His salvation”, this “salvation” belongs to God

It was “first spoken through the Lord”

Acts 28:28 calls it the “salvation of God”

He originated the idea and plan of man’s redemption

It’s no wonder that Revelation 19:1 says that “Salvation and glory and power belong to our God”

Why? Because he is the author of salvation

He is also the executor of that salvation

“Salvation and glory and power” belongs to Him

Now here is a paradox we find in Scripture

Where Scripture says salvation originates with the Lord, it also says Jesus is the Savior (Tit.2:13)

He came to “seek and save the lost” (Lk.19:10)

The lost are “His people” for whom He died (Mat.1:21)

So Scripture says of Him...

There is No Other Name Given (for salvation)

Acts 4:12, “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.””

It is Only Through the Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

That is why “salvation [is] through our Lord Jesus Christ

He is “the author and perfecter of faith” (Heb.12:2)

Salvation is of the Lord!

It is “through the Lord Jesus” alone

It wasn’t Christ plus the sacraments or the Roman Catholic Church

II. Salvation is Apart from the Works of Man

The Roman Catholic Church said in “The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism: ‘For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained.’” #816 (Jones, Richard F. Understanding Roman Catholicism (p. 28).

The 1994 catechism reaffirms the existing teaching of Vatican II, that salvation can be obtained only through the Roman Catholic Church. The catechism leaves no doubt that the Catholic church is necessary for salvation (Jones)

But Scripture says...

It is By Grace Through Faith

It is not “through Christ’s Catholic Church”

This is not Christ’s church

When you say something like that you’re not the church of Jesus Christ!

If the “church” is ignoring this “article of faith,” it is not the church but a cult!

The Scripture says in Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

The Apostle John said in John 3:14–18 “14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Our faith in in Him…in Christ not the Roman Catholic Church!

Martyn Lloyd Jones said how that happens is by...

Gems from Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Working)

the Spirit acting upon the soul from within and producing within us a new principle of spiritual action.

Great Doctrines of the Bible (2), 71

In other words, it is a work of God in your soul!

The Bible calls it regeneration

Titus 3:5, “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,”

Even though this Greek word occurs only twice in the NT, it is synonymous with the new birth (Jn.3:3-6)

God regenerates His people, grants them “faith” for salvation and changes their will making them “willing to come” to Christ

John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Jesus says it again in verse 65, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”

Notice He says “no one can”

This refers to ability

No one has the ability to come to Me, Jesus says, “unless”

Now He gives the necessary condition

What is the necessary condition?

That “the Father draws him” first (v.65)

That it has to be “granted…from the Father” (v.65)

It is only through regeneration or the new birth can anyone receive Him or believe in Him!

John 1:12–13 “12 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, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

That’s what Jones meant when he said it is “the Spirit acting upon the soul within and producing within us a new principles of spiritual action”

Salvation is through faith...

Therefore...

It is Not By the Works of the Law

Romans 3:28, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

The Law was never meant to save anyone. It was given to reveal our inability to keep it and our inability to be saved by it. All the law could do is condemn us not give us mercy.

Romans 9:16, “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”

It’s not by our works, it’s by grace

Romans 11:6, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”

Paul said to Timothy reminding him that God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim.1:8-9)

Salvation is by grace through faith

It is not by the works of the law

“Salvation is not your good works, religion or rituals, it’s God’s work on the cross” (anonymous)

III. Salvation is by the Work of Christ Alone

Christ did all the work. We did nothing but contribute the sin that made it necessary.

We Were Cursed by the Law

We couldn’t keep it

We were condemned by it

When Adam sinned, his new sinful condition would be passed on to all of his descendants also making them guilty before God as if they were there eating the same forbidden fruit!

That means every person is a sinner because every person is in Adam

He is our federal head

Even the baby in its mother’s womb is a sinner

David said in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”

He’s not saying he was born out of a sinful relationship from his parents

He was saying his condition was “iniquity” and “sin” just like his parents

There is not one person who is not a sinner

The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:23)

And because of the curse of the Law, Romans 6:23, “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You ask, “How is that so?”

The answer is...

Jesus Became a Curse for Us

Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”

Paul said it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

In other words, Christ who never could have sinned was treated by God as if He did

He did that for us “so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”

In order to be saved, you must understand that...

IV. Salvation is by Faith in Christ Alone

It is by Faith Alone (sola fide)

Galatians 2:16, “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

It is in Christ Alone (sola Christus)

Salvation is not by works, it is by sola fide and by sola christus

It is by faith alone in Christ alone!

Let me remind you of what Jesus said in John 14:6, He said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

That means He is the only way to the Father and therefore the only way to heaven

The Apostle John said in 1 John 2:23, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”

In order to be saved you have to come in faith to Christ trusting in His atoning work on the cross for your sins

You have to give up your life to have Christ’s

You have to make the exchange, my sinful life for His righteous life

R.C. Sproul said...

“When we see that the righteousness that is ours by faith is the perfect righteousness of Christ, then we see how glorious the good news of the gospel is.”

Amen!

CONCLUSION

I want to close with three quotes from Martyn Lloyd-Jones...

The first...

The main heresy is still justification by works

(Romans, Saving Faith)

He’s right!

So many think they must earn their way or earn God’s favor

But you can’t!

His favor has to be on you!

His favor is seen in the Cross!

The second quote by Martyn Lloyd-Jones is...

No one ever comes to Christ until the point of desperation has been reached.

(God’s Way Not Ours, 71)

Have you come to the point of desperation?

You are a guilty sinner before God that unless you repent you will spend all eternity in hell being punished for your sins for all eternity!

That’s why you need Christ!!!!

The third quote by Martyn Lloyd-Jones is...

You will never know the blessings of salvation until you have cast yourself, just as you are, in utter helplessness up the sole mercy of God.

God’s Way Not Ours, 93

Have you “cast yourself”?

Have you come to Him “in utter helplessness”?

Have you Plead for the “mercy of God” out of your “desperation” for Christ “up to the sole mercy of God”?

Salvation is of the Lord

It is apart from works

It is by grace through faith in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ

If you have never surrendered to Him, I urge you to do so today

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28–30 “28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””

Let’s pray