Rom 3-Understanding Faith
| Understanding Faith! Romans 3:19-31
May 21, 2006 New Century Version – 19We know that the law’s commands are for those who have the law. This stops all excuses and brings the whole world under God’s judgment, 20because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin.21But God has a way to make people right with him without the law, and he has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. 22God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same: 23All have sinned and are not good enough for God’s glory, 24and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ. 25God gave him as a way to forgive sin through faith in the blood of Jesus’ death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair, as in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. 26And God gave Jesus to show today that he does what is right. God did this so he could judge rightly and so he could make right any person who has faith in Jesus.27So do we have a reason to brag about ourselves? No! And why not? It is the way of faith that stops all bragging, not the way of trying to obey the law. 28A person is made right with God through faith, not through obeying the law. 29Is God only the God of the Jews? Is he not also the God of those who are not Jews? 30Of course he is, because there is only one God. He will make Jews right with him by their faith, and he will also make those who are not Jews right with him through their faith. 31So do we destroy the law by following the way of faith? No! Faith causes us to be what the law truly wants. PRAYScripture Memory: Romans 3:26 – God gave Jesus in order “to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” Intro: Faith enables us to attempt many things… (Superman / trust fall, etc.) Faith Preempts PrideFaith Secures SalvationFaith Fulfills God’s Law 1. Faith Preempts Pride (v. 27)NIV Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.NLT Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds. It is based on our faith.NCV So do we have a reason to brag about ourselves? No! And why not? It is the way of faith that stops all bragging, not the way of trying to obey the law.“Pride is the place where Christian morality differs most sharply with all other moral systems.” C.S. LewisThere is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the lightest mercy in it to others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others. The vice I am talking about is Pride. C.S. LewisPride is an interesting thing. We naturally gravitate towards it in ourselves while, at the same time, we are bothered by it in others.We want to feel good about ourselves. This is natural and is not entirely bad. Certainly an insecure person will have more than his/her share of problems. But is being secure synonymous with being proud? F God says, time and again, that He is opposed to the proud. (James 4:6; Prov. 3:34; 1 Peter 5:5)F God hates pride and arrogance Psalm 101:5 – Whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure.Proverbs 16: 5 – The Lord detests all the proud of heart.Proverbs 8:13 – I hate pride and arrogance. F Pride is an outgrowth of self-sufficiency. It is an attitude of the heart which says, “I don’t need God.” Pride says, I can and I will. Hosea 13:6 – When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.Jer. 9:23-2423 This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. There is a big difference between being secure in and of ourselves, and being secure in the love one greater than ourselves.Pride looks around at others with an attitude of competition. It looks for those with whom I can compare favorably and it is quick to look for the chinks in the armor of those with whom I do not compare as favorably. It looks to exalt self. It is slow to deal with feelings of inadequacy or criticism by others and, at the same time, quick to criticize or find fault with others.2 Cor. 12:7-10 – 7To keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud. 8Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9Each time he said, “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. 10Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.F There is no place for pride in our position as God’s children.Eph. 2:9 NLT Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 2. Faith Secures Salvation (vv. 28-30)NCV – 28A person is made right with God through faith, not through obeying the law.NLT – 30 There is only one God, and there is only one way of being accepted by him. He makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.So what is faith?“Faith is believing that Christ is what he is said to be, and that He will do what He has promised to do, and then to expect this of Him.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon | | Faith, in the sense which affects our eternal condition, is not merely faith in and of itself. True faith, of the kind we are talking about this morning, is defined by its object of its faith rather than its bearer.True saving faith is not F faith in the church.F a feelingF True saving faith is very different from “faith in faith.” – “All things are possible to him who believes…” (Mk. 9:23). It is not “self-confidence” or “optimism.”True saving faith is:F Defined by God’s Word.F Born of God’s Word.1 Peter 1:23 – You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. F Sustained by God’s WordThis is, at one and the same time, both very simple and very difficult for us to grasp.The difficulty:F Faith stands in contrast to “obeying the law”It means acknowledging that I can NOT do it.F Faith is completely separate from worthIt means acknowledging that I can NOT earn it or deserve it.F Faith involves taking God at His Word, despite not being able to see Him.It means acknowledging that God is a whole lot smarter than me. – Walking by faith stands in contrast to, even opposition to walking by sight.2 Cor. 5:7 – We live by faith, not by sightThe Simplicity:F Faith means taking God at His Word.It is so simple that a child finds it easier than an adult.Luke 18:17 – I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Note: this does not mean that faith does not involve knowledge. We are not talking about blind faith.F Faith means accepting what we know in our hearts to be true and yet what the world around us denies, namely our deep rooted sinfulness and inability to save ourselvesIt means surrender, and we do not like to do that… for ANYONE.F Faith means embracing the love of God as seen in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.We will never truly see the love of God until we understand this point. 3. Faith Fulfills God’s Law (v. 31) NLT – Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law. The purpose of the law is to show us our need of grace.The law calls us to submit ourselves to God’s way of doing things.If we love God we WILL delight to obey Him.John 14:15 – NLT “If you love me, obey my commandments..”or more literally:NKJV “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”John 6:28-29 – NLT – 28They replied, “What does God want us to do?”29Jesus told them, “This is what God wants you to do: Believe in the one he has sent.” Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb. 11:6)Cain and Abel – It was not that Abel’s sacrifice was a better sacrifice, in and of itself, it was that he gave a sacrifice out of faith, out of a desire for God’s glory, out of a desire to please God & to worship Him.1 Samuel 15:22 – Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. Summary / Review:True faith is incompatible with pride. No one will come to God by it as long as they are clinging to their pride and no one who has come to God by it can long endure in it.True faith is taking God at His Word. It is trusting Him as He has revealed Himself in the pages of Scripture despite not being able to see or understand everything. It is believing that Christ is what he claimed to be, and that He will do what He has promised to do, and confidently expecting this of Him.It is not a feeling. It is not a matter of drumming up within ourselves something which is not there. It is trust in the Person and Works of Jesus Christ, trust which results in obedience even when obedience doesn’t seem to make sense. It is built upon and sustained by God’s Word.It is obedience which flows from love and confidence in God’s love rather than that which flows from some need to be good enough to earn His love. It flows, not from a sense of self-worth, but rather from an understanding of God’ amazing grace.A Truth to Remember: God accepts as righteous all those who will come to Him in faith.A Challenge to Consider: True faith is seen in the humility of our obedient response. |