The Gospel By Faith and Faith Alone
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This morning we observed the Lord’s Supper. We remember the what Jesus did for us in securing our salvation. This ordinance was instituted by Jesus Himself, and it is something that we do on a regular basis. Why? Why did Jesus command us to remember the Lord’s Supper? Why do we do it so often? Why does it never get old or boring or tiresome? Because the Lord’s Supper highlights for us the good news of the gospel!
If you haven’t noticed we make a big deal about the good news of the gospel here at Faith. We talk about it all the time. We have Good News about the Good News testimonies, we have Good News videos, we spend much time in prayer concerning the gospel, it is integral to our teaching and preaching ministries. We have an eagerness about the gospel. Paul did as well!
15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
Why? The book of Romans is Paul’s magnum opus concerning the gospel. It is wonderfully theological and practical. It is deep and encompassing. It highlights just how significant the good news of the gospel is. It is the theme from the beginning to the end of the book of Romans.
Vv. 16-17 make up the thesis statement of Paul’s letter:
Paul is eager to preach the gospel! Why?
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
From faith for faith or from faith to faith
ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν-
ἐκ- best explained as means that is perhaps intensified by the addition of the second phrase: by faith and faith alone.
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed by means of faith and faith alone!
Then Paul, who is a master of OT exegesis, quotes a very significant OT text from Hab. 2 4
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
This theological truth has been true in all dispensations, the same for the OT saints as it is for the NT saints- the righteous shall live by faith and faith alone!
This was the heartbeat of the Reformation- sola fide- by Faith Alone!
And it is the thesis statement for the book of Romans!
Paul is eager to preach the gospel. why?
The gospel is the power of God for our salvation and in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed
By Faith and Faith ALONE!
Our question this morning is why? If we are to experience God’s power and be saved, and if God’s righteousness is to be made known, why must it be by means of faith and faith alone?
Let me just pause here and ask- if you had to now explain the gospel and the essential nature of faith to the gospel where would you start? How would you begin your gospel presentation? How does Paul begin?
The first reason the gospel must be by faith and faith alone:
Because of the righteous wrath of God
Because of the righteous wrath of God
Paul begins his theology of faith and the gospel by explaining the wrath of God.
Romans 1:18 (ESV)
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
In other words you can only experience the power of God’s salvation and God can only reveal his righteousness by faith alone because He is a God of wrath.
Every time you or I sin we accumulate to ourselves the wrath of God. Notice what the text says:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men
All ungodliness and unrighteous of all people results in wrath. The righteous response of a holy God to any sin is wrath.
And God’s wrath is not merely future tense. He is pouring out his wrath on humanity right now because of their ungodliness and unrighteousness. Paul makes three powerful statements about the present outpouring of God’s wrath on the wilfully rebellious.
Statement #1
V. 21- “They did not honor him as God or give thanks,” therefore… V. 24 “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.”
Statement #2
V. 25 - “Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,” therefore … V. 26- “God gave them up to dishonorable passions.”
Statement #3
V. 28- “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,” therefore … “God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”
Then in vv. 29-31 Paul goes on and presents a laundry list of all of the sins of humanity that incur the wrath of God.
29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
The point is this: all sin incurs the righteous wrath of God. And you can never experience the power of God unto salvation while the wrath of God remains against you! This is why the gospel must be by faith and faith alone!
The second reason the gospel must be by faith and faith alone:
Because of the perfect justice of God
Because of the perfect justice of God
In other words you can only experience the power of God’s salvation and God can only reveal his righteousness by faith alone because He is a God of justice.
If you read through chapter 1 of Romans and came away saying, “there are a lot of wicked people in this world that deserve God’s wrath. I’m glad I’m not one of them.” Then chapter 2 is for you!
1 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.
Wait, are you telling me that God’s wrath is against me, and that one day he will judge me? That’s not fair! I’m not as bad as the wicked people of this world.
2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.
But pastor, I have yet to experience the wrath of God for any of my sins!
3 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?
Then why does God delay his wrath and judgement? If I am so deserving of wrath why hasn’t God zapped me off the face of the planet yet?
4 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?
Great, then if God is kind and merciful and patient then I have nothing to worry about right?
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
God is a god of perfect justice! This is clearly spelled out in vv. 6-11!
These verses are actually used by Catholic theologians to attempt to prove that salvation is by works.
6 He will render to each one according to his works:
They will say, “See salvation is when God renders to everyone according to their works.” But, they miss the point of this section. This section is not here to prove that salvation is a result of good works, it is just the opposite. This section shows the exacting standard of God’s justice thus proofing Paul’s thesis statement that the gospel is by faith and faith alone.
In vv 2-7 Paul presents for us two potential outcomes on judgment day:
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
Option #1- If you always do this- if you 100% of the time by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality- then God will give you eternal life.
8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
Option #2- If you, at any point in your life, are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness- then God will give you wrath and fury.
Remember sin always incurs the wrath of God- so if you sin at any point, then God will justly give you the wrath and fury you deserve for your sin.
He states these same two options again in vv. 9-10.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
Option #2- If at any time in your life you do evil, there will be tribulation and distress. And it doesn’t matter who you are, Jew or Greek, everyone who does evil God will measure out perfect justice.
10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
Option #1- If you always do good and you never fail- then God will justly give you glory and honor and peace.
Here is the key principle!
11 For God shows no partiality.
Illustration: Showing more leniency towards Grace than Rascal.
God does not play favorites. God is a god of perfect justice! Why must the gospel be by means of faith and faith alone? Because of God’s justice!
The third reason the gospel must be by faith and faith alone:
Because of the total depravity of humanity
Because of the total depravity of humanity
This is the final nail in the coffin for why salvation cannot be merited, it cannot be earned or worked for, it must be by faith and faith alone! The final nail in Paul’s argument is the total depravity of all men, women, and children. Everyone is utterly sinful. There are no exceptions!
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
Again, Paul shows his mastery of the OT in these verses. And Paul shows that this has been the truth about humanity ever since the Garden of Eden. Paul quotes here from Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
When you measure your own righteousness against the righteous standard of God you cannot help but come away saying the exact same thing as the Apostle Paul- there is none righteous, no not one!
I beg for you to think through what the Scriptures teach! Because if you are unwilling to bend to God’s truth now there is coming a day when you will not have a choice.
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
Illustration: Teenagers- what is it like when you get in an argument with your parents? You think you are right and they tell you you are wrong, how do you respond? Do you always have to get the last word, even if it is under your breathe or in your mind? Your mouth never stops because you believe in your heart, no matter what arguments your parents present you, that you are right and they are wrong.
No one will be like that come judgment day. When you stand before God and he judges you with perfect justice, God’s Word tells us that every mouth will be what? stopped! That means you will have nothing left to mumble under your breath. You will know down to the bottom of your soul that God is right and you are wrong! Your mouth will be stopped and you will be held accountable to God!
This is the final nail in the coffin! All sin incurs the wrath of God. God will one day, with perfect justice, measure out his judgement for your sin. You are a sinner! You deserve the wrath and judgement of God and there is coming a day when you will be held accountable to God for your sin. This is why the gospel is by means of faith and not by the means of your own works!
The fourth reason the gospel must be by faith and faith alone:
Because of the necessity of justification
Because of the necessity of justification
In other words you can only experience the power of God’s salvation and God can only reveal his righteousness by faith alone because of the gracious gift of justification.
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
How is the righteousness of God revealed?
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
The righteousness of God is manifested in salvation, through faith in Jesus Christ. Because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God- thereby we all are deserving of God’s wrath and judgement! Without faith in Jesus Christ, the only way for God’s righteousness to be revealed is through wrath and judgement- because all have sinned. Because God is righteous he has to pour out his wrath! If he didn’t then his righteousness would not be revealed. In other words, if God didn’t judge sin he would no longer be righteous!
But because of Jesus Christ God can give us salvation and at the same time still reveal his righteousness! How is that possible? Because those who believe- those who put their faith in Christ (v. 24) are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
God is able to offer salvation to the sinner and at the same time manifest his righteousness because of the primary benefit of salvation what we call justification! What is justification?
6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Justification- God counts us righteous apart from works, God forgives our lawless deeds and covers our sins. God no longer counts our sins against us. This is what it means to be justified!
If you are justified then, God counts your righteous and no longer counts your sins against you. Therefore, he is free offer salvation. Why? Your sins are gone- therefore there is no longer any wrath laid on your account. God can be perfectly just in his judgment of you because you have been counted righteous in his eyes.
Isn’t that just squabbling over semantics then? How can God count me righteous? How can God forgive my sin? I’m still sinful! I am not righteous! I still deserve God’s wrath! What happened? Jesus happened! The Good News of the gospel happened! Look at v. 25
Romans 3:24–25 (ESV)
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
How can God rightly forgive my sin? Because God put forward Jesus as a propitiation by his blood. The propitiation means satisfaction! Jesus propitiated God. Jesus satisfied God. In what way did Jesus satisfy God? Jesus satisfied God’s wrath and God’s justice! How did Jesus do that? “Whom God put forward as a propitiation BY HIS BLOOD!
Jesus took all of the wrath of God for your sins upon himself on the cross of Calvary. Jesus satisfied the just judgement of God for you sins on the cross by shedding his blood to pay the penalty of your sins. What a wondrous Savior! What a wondrous gift! How does someone receive this amazing gift of God’s grace? Look at v. 25- “to be received by faith.” By faith and faith alone.
Not only does Jesus justify us, look at what his death for our sins does for the Father.
26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Because of Jesus’ death on the cross and his shed blood for our sins, because Jesus fully satisfied the justice of God for our sins- the Father can be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
The gospel is the power of God for our salvation and in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed
By Faith and Faith ALONE!
And why must the gospel be by means of Faith and Faith alone?
Because of the righteous wrath of God
Because of the perfect justice of God
Because of the total depravity of humanity
Because of the necessity of justification
Have you experienced the power of God unto salvation? Have you ever been saved? Maybe you thought your were saved, but this morning you realized that you were depending on your own ability to save yourself. Maybe today you realized the biblical truth that salvation in by faith alone in the gracious gift that Jesus Christ provided for you by his death on the cross. Maybe you understood why you must trust Jesus by faith alone for the first time today. If that is true of you I invite you to ask Jesus to save you right now! You can do that right where you sit. Simply put your faith in Jesus Christ alone to save you from your sins!
If you do know Jesus as your Savior, I trust that this text will kindle anew your love for Him. Be in awe all over again at the wondrous gift that is salvation! Worship Jesus Christ they way he truly deserves. Fall down before him, love and adore him! Go out and joyfully obey Him! Jesus Paid it all for you! He provided everything for your salvation so that you might receive his gracious gift through faith alone!