Justified

Overview

This is week 3 in our series on building our faith one piece at a time. We are taking steps to strengthen our faith, to understand what it means to build with God. In the story of Nehemiah we learn what it takes to build something, and in some of our cases to rebuild something that’s been destroyed. For some, we’re taking another step in a long journey, but a journey that sets us more and more free. For others, it feels like we’re starting from scratch. Wherever you are, it will take focus and intentionality, and hope. Colossians teaches us that our faith springs up from hope and as we remain in hope our faith is built into something that is impenetrable, something we don’t live without.

The word faith has a lot of different meanings. We’ve gone over a few so far, and we’re going to look at other understandings of it, so we’re building it in multiple parts of our lives. This series will give us a foundation that we can build on in our VCs and in our personal relationships with God.

Our first definition came two weeks ago. It was this understanding that faith is the enacting of the Kingdom of God, [that God’s rule which is redemptive], is in action as we use the faith we have, that even a little bit is enough to spark everything. That God’s way is exponential not additive.

Last week Mark gave another definition of faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, as described in Hebrews, that as we respond to God’s leading, even when (and especially if) we can’t see it, our faith in responding to his leading yields amazing things in our lives and in the lives of others.

Today we look at faith and works, and the ways we build our faith that God wants to re-orient and start building his way. We’re going to start with this grand look at scripture to understand how this plays out, and then narrow in to give us some direct application for today.

God and Grace

Abraham

Let’s begin... in the beginning. In the book of Genesis we’re introduced to a guy named Abraham. He’s an important figure in religion as the largest faiths in the world flow from Abraham. One of the things we must learn and not just learn but know about God, is that he is and always has been a God of grace. As God sets out his purposes for the world, this is what we find out about Abraham.

Genesis 15:6 NIV

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

(NLT)

Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

God counted Abraham as righteous because of his faith in him, because of his trust in him. Not because he did enough, but because relied on God for everything.

God’s covenants, his promises for his people began with a relationship based on faith. This faith is a trust in God, but it’s a growing trust in God, we don’t just arrive there, but layer upon layer we build that trust. How often do you think about your trust level with God? Today we begin looking at this layer and that will grow over the next few weeks.

So God said Abraham was righteous (made right, acceptable to God) because of his faith. To what end?

Genesis 26

Genesis 26:4 NIV

I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,

God desires to bless the whole world. He always has, there is a reason this came before the law, and there’s a reason Jesus did what we he did. So keep this in mind as we continue.

Torah

Later on God chooses that this blessing of the nations will occur through the nation of Israel. God started out with a wide approach, and then narrowed in to one nation.

Now God’s covenant was based on keeping the law. The law was important because people needed to know what was ok and what wasn’t. The purpose was so God would have a people to himself that would display his love and blessing to the world. At this point righteousness was maintained by adhering to the law.

This was a common thing in that day [Suzerain, Vassal]

This system was in place and the law was in place, because he didn’t want humanity and the world to be harmed but to be made whole, and it would be accomplished as Israel kept the law and followed God and trusted in him.

God wouldn’t nitpick. He wanted holiness from his people, (not perfection). (System of Atonement).

Jesus and Grace

Jesus came onto the scene and he fulfilled the law and it’s purposes. Jesus showed what happens when you trust in God and do what he says. So now we get back to this place Paul was talking about.

(NLT)

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Romans 3:28 NIV

For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

Here’s the picture. We, because of the work Jesus did on the cross are made right with God not by keeping his commands, but by our faith in him, just like Abraham was. And so, we are free from the law. [This is the tricky part.]

We are free from the law, and because of God’s grace he sees as righteous by our trust in him. As we grow to trust him more, we keep the commands he wants us to keep. Not because we have to, but because we want to.

Work and Rest

Why is this important? Because it’s far too easy in our religion to become more concerned with the rules (law that we now call rules) than we do with building our trust in God. The Torah was not Israel’s relationship with God, it was the means by which that relationship was maintained, but it was a relationship.

This leads us in our walk of faith to toil in earning God’s love and acceptance. The problem is, we never get there (or at least we don’t feel like we get there) because we’re working for something that’s already ours. We have these moments of experiencing his love his welcoming, but those moments are fleeting, because we go on to the next thing, hoping that will be enough. But it’s never enough. (Not because we’re not good enough or because God is withholding it)

On the other side of it, to prevent all of that, we have our checklist, and do our best to keep that checklist and if we get most of it down, we’re in good shape. The problem is, we miss out on so much of what God has for us, because we’re missing the relationship.

What we find in everything we just discussed in faith and righteousness is that we can operate out of God’s love and acceptance instead of trying to get to it. The freedom that brings is beyond comprehension. As we build our faith piece by piece, we experience a little more of God’s love piece by piece. As we draw a little closer to him, we experience more of that acceptance, not because of what we’ve done, but because of who he is.

Tension of the Two

Jesus did what we couldn’t, so we live out of this freedom, but we don’t live for ourselves. We have been given this freedom, but we don’t take it for granted or take advantage of it, ignoring the cost.

Scenario 1 - Work to earn my place with God = Works equals righteousness

Scenario 2 - Build my faith in God and allow his love create righteousness in me which produces good works = Faith equals righteousness equals his good works that changes us

Dealing with Self-Punishment (Penance)

CSI - Miami (when is it enough....you’ll know)

How often are we trying to make up for something? How often are we keeping a score card of our rights and wrongs and we end up doing things trying to make up the difference? How often are we punishing ourselves, when God is like you don’t have to do that, I’ve taken it all on for you.

God’s forgiveness is abundant (yes even abundant enough for whatever you’re thinking right now)

As we experience that abundance we’re set free. What’s required is repentance (a conviction and desire to come back to him) not punishment.

When we do the score cards and we have a lot of rights and fewer wrongs, we feel content with that. The problem is as God wants to bring us to new depths in our character and lief with him, we resist (we justify where we are), and we miss on what he’s doing in us because we have a good score card and we don’t want to mess up the balance.

When we do the score cards and we have a lot of wrongs and fewer rights, we feel miserable and shameful, but we don’t need to experience that shame either, that’s not from him, and we must break free from that shame. You begin to break free from that shame by letting yourself be the real you with God, and as you trust him with just a little bit of that, what you’ll experience from him is not an angry father, but a loving God who wants to embrace you. Shame keeps us away from that embrace. It goes against how we know to survive. [Little by little, piece by piece, reveal a little more and he will shower his love upon you].

Striving

Whichever side of the score card we fall on, it can end up leading to the same place. Striving. When our faith becomes about striving, we stop building and instead we are carrying a heavy load that someone already carried for us.

Psalm 46:10 NASB95

“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Cease from your works

Cease from trying to be good enough

Cease from trying to earn what I have already given. I am God, your God, and my love is abundant and not dependent on anything you have done.

Rest

Soul Rest

Peace. Jesus, order of peace (Melchizedek). Called the Prince of Peace.

Doesn’t mean we don’t do anything

Building our faith and and engaging our calling from a place of stillness.

Our work is built from here.

Practical Tips

Take time this week and answer these questions in a journal and then share it with a friend. Has your faith been a checklist type of faith or a never-ending struggle to be good enough, or somewhere in between? [It’s not all or nothing. One part can be A another part could B and another could C]. Ask God to guide you as you answer these questions. [He will bring up scenarios to your mind, let it happen]. As you do, respond with one step. What is one step you can take to walk with Jesus from a place of love and acceptance? What is one step you can take that moves you from a faith to-do list, to a life with God that you might be missing out on? Pick one area of constant shame where you need his love and ask him to come and meet you there. [Piece by piece].

What shame are you currently experiencing or have been recently?

Communion and Prayer

Dealing with shame and contempt of yourself, want to move from keeping a good score card to living life with God…come to the table…come and receive prayer