The Effectiveness of Faith

I. Introduction

When a person has been convicted of a crime and knows that he must stand before the judge in a trial because his freedom is at stake, there is only one goal for that person, and that goal is to be rendered not guilty. Innocent of all charges. Blameless before the courts.

Just about everything in that persons life takes a back seat to this dilemna that they have found themselves in. Because of the fact that this person could lose their freedom and go away for a while he will use all that he has in his possession, every collateral that is obtainable, every piece of money he can get his hands on, to the last dime to win his freedom, to be rendered justified before the courts.

Being that God has rendered an indictment on the entire human race, the same goal of every person that can hear the sound of my voice and beyond should be to be rendered justified before God. Although we all have been rendered guilty of all charges, the judge himself has provided a way out .

There is justification before God for all who puts their faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

a. Proposition: (Faith in Christ is a value that is second to none.)

In the book of Romans, as we witness in verse 21, Paul argues that the Jews who were blessed as Gods people were in the same condition as everybody else. When it comes to justification, God plays no favors. In order to be rendered justified we all must enter in the exact same way, both the Jew and the Gentile. And that way is through faith. As we see in our passage we are studying today, having faith in Christ is a value that is second to none.

b. Interrogational Sentence: (What makes having faith in Christ most valueable?)

c. Transitional Sentence: What makes faith so valuable is it’s effectiveness in the life of the believer. As we can see in the following passages in Romans 3 starting in verse 22 we see first of all that faith effectiveness gives the believer free justification, faith in Christ provides full justification, and faith in Christ provides the finality of justification.

II. Main Body

a. Point 1: Faith in Christ provides free justification

   i. Scriptural Support: Romans 3:24,25a

    ii. Argument: Free justification came with a cost

iii. Explanation:

Paul says in verse 24 that all, no matter who you are, what walks of life you may have come from, regardless of who you are all are justified freely in Christ Jesus. All are justified because all meet the qualifications for justification whis is found in verse 23, all have sinned and fall short. The they in verse 24 refers to the all in verse 23.

Faith is the tool that activates what God desires to do for all if we just believe. Faith activates Gods grace in the life of a believer.

    iv. Illustration: When you receive a debit card in the mail, the value of that debit card is in the the activation of it. In order to activate the card you have to have a code that is provided to you by the debit card company. If you try to spend the money that is on the credit card without activating the debit card, that debit card as valuable as it may be will not work for you. It can’t be just any random code. You have to use the code provided by the company to activate the use of your card. Faith works in the same way. By grace you have been saved. All have been saved, but only through faith. If for some reason you live your whole life without activating Gods grace for your life with the measure of faith that God has given you then don’t complain to God when things don’t ever seem to workout in your life.

    v. Personal Application: This faith requires that you trust in the redemption that Christ has provided for you, payed for with his blood. Why blood? Why does God require blood? Because life on this side of eternity is in the blood. Because of sin your life was required of you. But Jesus provided a life for a life, your life. So what has become free for us cost him his life. And now you have been freely justified by his grace.

    vi. Transitional Sentence: Not only has Faith unlocked for us free justification, Faith also provides full justification.

  b. Point 2: Faith in Christ provides full justification.

    i. Scriptural Support: vv25b

    ii. Argument: Faith activites retrospectively and prospectively

    iii. Explanation: When Christ died on the cross, his righteousness spreaded out retrospectively as well as prospectively. In other words the people who placed their faith in Gods limited revelation in the past was accredited the righteousness of Christ that was future. For example Abraham in chapter 4 is said to believe God approximately 1500 years before Christ act on the cross. Yet because Abraham believed what God revealed to him then, that he would have a son in his old age, it was accounted or credited to him for righteousness. Who’s righteousness? The righteousness of Christ, which was retrospectively activated in the past going as far back as Adam. The same with you. When you trusted in the work of the cross not only was his righteousness retrospective, covering your past sins, they were also prospective, even your future sins have been covered. Therefore both Abraham and you enjoy full justification in the courtroom of God. The judgement that is coming upon this world will have no effect on you.

    iv. Illustration: It’s like if a rich man walked in a Walmart and decided I want to apply all items that were credit this month to my account. And they ask him sir, do you mean all credited purchases and he says yes all. So the store add a credit to the debit cards of the people who paid in the past and put it on his account. All those who made a purchase today will be placed on his account, and all purchases not even made yet for the rest of the month will be charged to his account.

    v. Personal Application But as in anything else God does in order to activate this truth for your life, you have to believe it. God wants you to trust him. God wants you to have faith in him. Faith activates full justification for all that believe

    vi. Transitional Sentence: Not only does this faith provide free and full justification, Faith in Christ provides final justification.

  c. Point 3: Faith in Christ provides final justification.

    i. Scriptural Support: v26

    ii. Argument: Gods declaration can not be reversed

    iii. Explanation: When God makes a declaration in your life nothing on earth or in the heavens nor under the earth can reverse what God has determined. Paul himself says later in this book in Romans 8:38-39 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Once you’ve been declared righteous He, that is the Holy Spirit, that began a good work in you will complete it til the day of Christ (Phil. 1:6). That’s what placing your faith in the gospel, the work of the cross will do for you.

III. Conclusion

  a. So if you love with all your heart and with all of your might and strength put your trust in what Christ has done on our behalf on the cross, then you are rendered justified in the eyes of God the Father. And this justification is free, its full, and it’s final.

  b. Faith in Christ brothers and sisters is second to none. Nothing can do for you what faith in Christ can do for you. Nothing in this world can unlock what God has already determined on your behalf. Nothing on this earth can activate the grace that God has bestowed upon his people. Faith is the code that activates all that the gospel of Jesus Christ can do for the believer. For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power activated in my life, it is salvation declared for my life and it is the righteousness of God accredited to my lifes account.

c. Do you believe this brothers and sisters? Then welcome to the family of God.