Difficult Divine Decrees: Not by Faith Alone
Notes
Transcript
Difficult Divine Decrees: Not by Faith Alone
Difficult Divine Decrees: Not by Faith Alone
The question is not related to the title specifically, but you will see when we get to the end why I am taking this approach.
I want to be clear…
I am preaching to Christians today.
If you are not a Christian, this is not for you.
Martin Luther was the person who popularized the concept of
Justification by faith alone (sola fide)
It was a marked change where Luther challenged the Catholic Church’s teaching that salvation was through faith and works.
In other words, what you did mattered.
Now the RC was abusing the idea of works and Luther wanted to bring an end to that
Which he did and rightfully so.
But in doing so…
Did he eject a necessary part of Christianity?
But, some of you might not know that Luther had problems with his theory.
Specifically, the New Testament.
You see, that term…
Faith alone…
Only appears one time in the New Testament, and it appears in the book of James.
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. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
How did Luther handle this?
When he translated the Bible into German, he wrote this to the preface of the New Testament.
"In a word, St. John's Gospel and his first Epistle, St. Paul's Epistles, especially those to the Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, and St. Peter's first Epistle, are the books that show you Christ and teach you all that is necessary and good for you to know, even though you were never to see or hear any other book or doctrine. Therefore St. James's Epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it."
This quote can be found in Luther's Preface to the New Testament (1522).
For Luther, he prioritizes books of the New Testament…
But I find another problem verse for Justification by Faith Alone.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
It would seem that Jesus is quoted as saying that observing, doing, all that he commands is the second part of making disciples.
Did you notice that in Luther’s list, St. Matthew’s Gospel is not in his list either.
Let’s do this…Let’s look at what Jesus commanded in the Gospel of Matthew and see what that entails.
Here is a list of all the commands given by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew:
1. Matthew 4:17: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
2. Matthew 4:19: "Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people."
3. Matthew 5:12: "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven."
4. Matthew 5:16: "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
5. Matthew 5:24: "First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift."
6. Matthew 5:25: "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court."
7. Matthew 5:29: "If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away."
8. Matthew 5:30: "If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away."
9. Matthew 5:34: "But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all."
10. Matthew 5:37: "All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'."
11. Matthew 5:39: "Do not resist an evil person."
12. Matthew 5:41: "If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles."
13. Matthew 5:42: "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."
14. Matthew 5:44: "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
15. Matthew 5:48: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
16. Matthew 6:1: "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them."
17. Matthew 6:3: "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."
18. Matthew 6:6: "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen."
19. Matthew 6:9: "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.'"
20. Matthew 6:17: "But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face."
21. Matthew 6:19: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth."
22. Matthew 6:20: "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven."
23. Matthew 6:25: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life."
24. Matthew 6:33: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness."
25. Matthew 7:1: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."
26. Matthew 7:6: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs."
27. Matthew 7:7: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
28. Matthew 7:13: "Enter through the narrow gate."
29. Matthew 7:15: "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."
30. Matthew 9:38: "Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
31. Matthew 10:7: "As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'"
32. Matthew 10:8: "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give."
33. Matthew 10:16: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."
34. Matthew 10:27: "What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs."
35. Matthew 10:28: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul."
36. Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
37. Matthew 11:29: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me."
38. Matthew 15:10: "Listen and understand."
39. Matthew 16:24: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
40. Matthew 18:8: "If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away."
41. Matthew 18:9: "If your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away."
42. Matthew 18:15: "If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you."
43. Matthew 18:17: "If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church."
44. Matthew 18:18: "Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
45. Matthew 19:14: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them."
46. Matthew 22:19: "Show me the coin used for paying the tax."
47. Matthew 22:21: "So give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
48. Matthew 22:37: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
49. Matthew 22:39: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
50. Matthew 23:3: "So you must be careful to do everything they tell you."
51. Matthew 23:8: "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers."
52. Matthew 23:9: "And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven."
53. Matthew 23:10: "Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah."
54. Matthew 24:4: "Watch out that no one deceives you."
55. Matthew 24:6: "See to it that you are not alarmed."
56. Matthew 24:42: "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."
57. Matthew 24:44: "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
58. Matthew 26:41: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
59. Matthew 28:19: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
60. Matthew 28:20: "And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
These commands from Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew cover a wide range of instructions related to faith, behavior, relationships, and the mission of spreading the Gospel.
Moreover, there is an interesting passage where Jesus is chastising the teachers of the law and he Pharisees…
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
You know what Jesus is saying?
Yes, tithe your mint, dill, and cumin
And, do the more important matters Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness.
Luther addressed this problem by saying that
Faith was first.
Then works are the natural evidence of your faith.
Luther spoke of
- Repentance of sin and Transformation
- The Holy Spirit and Sanctification from sin
- Warning against Hypocrisy of sin
- Church Discipline against sin
You notice what the focus of this list is?
Sin.
You notice what is missing?
Commands of Jesus.
As you can see, you want
Justification by faith alone (sola fide)
To be true…for you.
Essentially, if you hold to Luther’s ‘Justification by faith alone,’ then you have no grounds what so ever to judge a person based on their identity, gender, or sexual orientation.
Because if it is faith alone, then what one does in the body of Christ is of no regard to one’s standing before God.
Discuss all the commands of all scripture
Believing Loyalty…
If you are going to hold people to a standard, then hold yourself first.
If your anger is viewed as murder, then why do you get to excuse and explain that away while others who actually murder do not.
If your lustful eyes cause you to commit adultery, then why do you get to excuse and explain that away while others who actually commit adultery do not.
If your tongue of fire (James) spreads hell on earth, then why do you get to excuse and explain that away while others do not.
For me, the commands of scripture are true for all for all time.
So I will never redefine marriage
I will never say sexual immorality is excused
When it comes to transforming our society, we will never make that happen by judgment.
Repentance does not come by judgment
If you don’t believe me then I can safely say you never read the Hebrew Bible.
And I have good scriptural support too.
Just following one of the versus Luther used for ‘Justification by Faith Alone,’ (again never said in scripture).
And you need to be prepared to hear this…because Paul wrote this to you and me.
If you take scripture seriously, then listen up.
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
How in the heavens and on earth do you think our judgment of anyone is going to lead one to repentance?
Kindness
Forbearance
Patience
These lead to repentance.
List
Now, which ones do you practice?
Which ones do you fail the practice?
Are you willing to say, “Not by faith alone?”
Are you willing to apply that standard to yourself?
Difficult Divine Decrees: Not by Faith Alone
Difficult Divine Decrees: Not by Faith Alone