Faith Alone: Romans 3v27-4v8

So, as Johnny said, the Bible reading is taken from Romans chapter 3, verses 27 to Romans

Romans 3:27 Romans 4:8

chapter 4, verse 8.

And the Bible says, where then is boasting?

Is it excluded?

On what principle?

On what?

On that of observing the law?

No, but on that of faith.

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Is God the God of Jews only?

Is he not the God of Gentiles too?

Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God who will justify the circumcised by faith

and the uncircumcised through the same faith.

Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith?

Not at all.

Rather, we uphold the law.

What, then, shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?

If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.

What does the scripture say?

Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

Now, when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.

However, to the man who does not work, but trusts God, who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.

Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against them.

Here ends reading.

Thank you, Joanna.

Well, let's have our Bibles open there at Romans, and we'll pray together.

Father, thank you for the truth of your word.

Thank you that it is your voice to us, your word written down, so that we can hear about what we are like, about what you are like, what you have done for us, and how we should live in response.

Father, we pray that you would give us faith.

Faith to not only hear what you are saying, but faith that will apply it to our own lives, so that we become all that you call us to be.

We need your help.

We rest upon you.

We trust you.

We rely upon you.

Father, help us.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

How do you feel about facing God's judgment?

Just think about that for a moment.

Standing before God and giving an account to him of your entire life.

How do you feel about facing God's judgment?

Well, maybe you feel a little bit like our friend that we've been learning about, Martin Luther.

Luther was terrified of God's judgment.

Here's what he said.

You might identify with it.

He said,

I hated that word, justice of God.

That justice by which God is just, and by which he punishes sinners and the unjust.

I did not love.

No, rather I hated the just God who punishes sinners.

In silence, if I did not blaspheme, then certainly I grumbled vehemently and got angry at God.

He was so afraid of God's judgment that he joined the Augustinian monks in an effort to make himself a better person in the hope that he would become acceptable to God.

You see, the church that he grew up in had taught him that, well, you had to earn your way to God.

You had to earn your salvation.

So by doing things like going to confession, taking communion, praying to the saints, doing good deeds, you earned favour with God.

In some sense, you earned grace from God.

So in response to all your good things, God would give you some grace that would enable you and help you, equip you to be a more righteous kind of person.

And the more grace that you received, the more righteous you became and the closer you got to salvation.

It was salvation by works or salvation by efforts.

The problem with that was you were never sure if you had done enough.

You were never sure if God would accept you.

In fact, trying to earn our salvation would always lead to that experience that Martin Luther had a terrible fear and a hatred of God's judgment.

But as Luther began to read his Bible, and especially as he read the book of Romans, which we have just read together,

he rediscovered the wonderful truth that salvation was not earned by our works,

but was something that you received by faith in Jesus Christ.

He came to discover that you didn't need to fear or be terrified of God's judgment.

Here's how he put it, which is very helpful.

He said, on the one hand, Christ is full of grace and life and salvation.

On the other hand, speaking of himself and all people, the soul is full of sins, death and damnation.

Then he says, now let faith come between them both.

Let faith come between them and sins, death and damnation will become Christ's,

while grace, life and salvation will be the soul's.

There's a transfer, an exchange, which happens by faith.

So he came to discover that faith was the key.

Faith is the means by which we receive salvation.

And this rediscovered truth can be summarized, which is in your handouts or in your news sheets, you can see it there.

Salvation is according to scripture alone, so the source is God's word.

It's in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, to the glory of God alone.

And we're going to be thinking about what it means to have faith in Christ alone.

Let's see how that is true from the passage that we read together in Romans.

Look at verse 27, chapter 3, verse 27.

Where then is boasting?

If salvation is all by faith, can anybody boast and say, I've earned it?

Is there anybody here in this room who thinks they can earn their salvation before God by being a better person?

Is there anyone here who can look at their life and all the things that they have not done and all the things they have done and say,

you know what, I've lived such a good life that God is going to accept me.

Well, what does verse 27 say?

Where then is boasting?

Well, it's excluded.

In other words, nobody can boast.

On what principle or on what basis?

On that of observing the law by doing good things?

No.

But on that of faith.

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

He's making a statement that we don't earn salvation.

We receive it by faith.

And to help us understand what that means to receive salvation by faith, we're going to look at it under three headings.

Here's the first one.

Declared righteous.

Let's read verse 28 again.

For we maintain that a person is justified by faith.

So that's the little phrase justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Now, to be justified by faith means to be declared righteous by God.

It's a legal term.

Here's what one writer said to explain it, which is very helpful.

It's the exact opposite of condemnation.

So to condemn is to declare somebody guilty.

To justify is to declare them righteous.

And in the Bible it refers to God's act of unmerited favour or God's act of grace by which God puts a sinner right with himself,

not only acquitting him, but accepting and treating him as righteous.

Now, most of Romans up to this point before chapter 3 has been showing us that every single person is not righteous.

That we are guilty before God.

Let's have a look at what that looks like.

Look at chapter 1, verse 18.

Chapter 1, verse 18.

So it says there,

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

So God is rightly angry with all the unrighteous behaviour,

all the wickedness, the evil, the godlessness that we see in the world.

All around us, all the time.

And we're included in that.

Because instead of turning back to God and running to God for help,

we've run further away from God.

So chapter 2, verse 5.

Chapter 2, verse 5.

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart,

you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath,

when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

And instead of getting better,

and again, instead of running back to God in repentance,

we've gotten worse.

In fact, there is no desire within us to want God.

So look at chapter 3, verse 9.

Chapter 3, verse 9.

What shall we conclude then?

Are we any better?

Not at all.

We have already made the charge that Jews,

that is religious people,

or Gentiles,

non-religious people,

everybody,

whoever we are,

we're all the same.

We're all under sin.

As it is written,

there is no one righteous,

not even one.

There is no one who understands,

no one who seeks God.

All have turned away.

They have together become worthless.

There is no one who does good,

not even one.

You see,

even if we wanted to be good people,

even if we wanted to improve ourselves,

by ourselves,

we can't.

No matter how hard we try,

we cannot be better people.

And what does all that mean?

Well, look at chapter 3, verse 20.

Therefore,

no one,

no one,

will be declared righteous

in God's sight

by observing the law,

by doing good things.

So it leaves us in a predicament,

in a great difficulty.

But the good news of the gospel is,

is that God declares us to be righteous.

So look down at verse 28,

chapter 3, verse 28,

what we just read.

For we maintain

that a person is justified

by faith

apart from observing the law.

So there is a way

to be made righteous.

And it's something that God does for us.

In other words,

God gives us a righteousness

that is not ours.

So we who are unrighteous,

guilty,

deserving of God's judgment,

by faith,

are now declared righteous,

not guilty,

and free from God's judgment.

Again, look how Martin Luther

puts it.

He says,

there is a righteousness

that God imputes

or attributes to us

apart from works.

In other words,

it is a passive righteousness.

So it's not something we work for,

something we earn.

He asks the question,

so then,

have we nothing to do

to obtain this righteousness?

No,

nothing at all.

For this righteousness

comes by doing nothing,

hearing nothing,

knowing nothing,

but rather in knowing

and believing this only,

that Christ has gone

to the right hand of the Father

not to become our judge,

but to become for us

our righteousness,

our salvation.

So you see,

I do not make myself righteous,

rather God declares me

to be righteous.

He doesn't make me righteous

as a process over time.

It's an immediate act.

He declares me

just as a judge

would pronounce in court

to somebody,

you are not guilty.

So God declares us

to be absolutely righteous.

Now,

we must understand

that what that means is

it's a change in our status,

not a change in our nature.

That means,

on the one hand,

we will always be righteous

before God

if our faith is in God.

We will always be righteous

in our status.

That is never going to change.

But at the same time,

we will always be sinful

in our nature.

Always righteous

in our status,

but at the same time,

always sinful

in our nature.

So as God looks upon us,

as God views me,

he looks at me,

he says,

you are righteous.

Yes,

you fail

and you mess up

and you do things

that are wrong,

but you know what?

The sins,

the failure,

that will never ever

change your status.

we have been declared

righteous by God

and that will not change

because of my sinful behaviour.

We are justified,

declared righteous,

not guilty,

by faith in him.

So that's the first thing

that we need to understand.

That we are justified

by faith,

that first of all means

we have been declared

righteous,

not guilty,

before God.

The second thing

that we need to understand

that this faith

is faith in Jesus.

We are declared righteous

by faith

in Jesus.

Have a look at chapter 3,

verse 22.

This righteousness

from God

comes through faith

in Jesus Christ

to all who believe.

The same is said

at the end of verse 26.

The one who justifies

those who have faith

in Jesus.

So our faith

is not just faith

in an abstract

or kind of a...

We describe sometimes

people say,

oh I've got faith.

Well,

where is that faith

placed?

It must be faith

that is placed

in the person

of Jesus Christ.

And this is the same

for everybody.

Have a look down

at verse 29.

Is God

the God of Jews only?

Is this only applying

to people

who are religious?

Is he not

the God

of Gentiles

or irreligious,

non-religious people too?

Those who don't

read the Bible

or go to church?

Yes,

of Gentiles too.

Since there is

only one God

who will justify,

who will declare

people right before God,

the circumcised,

the religious people,

by faith,

and the uncircumcised,

the non-religious,

through that same faith.

So it's exactly

the same for everybody,

whoever we are,

whatever culture

we were raised in,

whatever our religious

background might have been,

whatever our racial identity,

it is the same

for every single person.

The only way

we can be declared

right before God

is by faith

in the person

of Jesus Christ.

Now,

faith isn't just

an intellectual exercise

saying something like,

oh yes,

I have faith in Jesus,

I believe Jesus exists,

and I have kind of

a faith in him.

No,

it's a trusting exercise.

It's a personal trust

or reliance,

a complete dependence

on the person of Jesus.

Jesus.

And our trust is in Jesus

that his righteous life

becomes my righteous life.

Let me try and explain

that for you.

When you go for a job interview,

or if you can remember

back to the last time

you had a job interview,

you bring with you

your CV.

CV.

And it's a record

of your complete performance

over your life so far.

It has a list

of all your grades,

how well you've done

in school,

in college,

all the points

that you earned.

It might tell you

the position

that you had

in your last job

or any promotion

that you got

and how that was deserved.

And whether you get

that job or not

will depend

on how well

you've performed

in the past

and how well

you perform

in the interview.

So you get the job

completely by merit,

by all your performances

over time.

But when it comes

to our salvation,

when it comes

to the record

of our life,

our CV,

if you like,

before God,

it's not good enough.

The grades

that we have scored,

the points

that we have built up,

all the times

I've been to church,

all the times

that I've told people

about Jesus,

all the times

that I've prayed,

all the good things

that I've done,

it will count

for nothing.

Zero.

So in God's grace,

in his goodness,

what he does

is he offers us

the free gift

of Christ's

performance record.

So what God does

is he gives us

the CV of Jesus.

He credits us

with the performance

of Jesus Christ.

He gives us

the righteousness

of Christ

in place

of our

unrighteousness.

That is what it means

to have faith

in Jesus.

We're given two examples

of what that true

faith looks like.

Have a look at

chapter 4.

Two great heroes,

Abraham

and David.

Two religious people.

And if anybody

was going to make it

to God,

well,

they would.

And how did they do it?

Well, let's look at

the first example,

chapter 4, verse 1.

What then shall we say

that Abraham,

our forefather,

discovered in this matter?

If, in fact,

Abraham was justified

by works,

he had something

to boast about.

But not before God.

So the question

here before us is,

what did Abraham do

to earn his salvation?

Well, the answer is

absolutely nothing.

There was nothing

that he could point to

in his life

that he had done

or said

that would earn

favour with God.

He simply believed

in what God said

he would do.

Verse 3.

What does Scripture say?

Abraham believed God.

He had faith in God

and it was credited

to him

as righteousness.

He did not trust

in his own righteousness

or in his own record,

but in God's gift

of righteousness.

Another example

we're given in verse 6.

David,

King David,

another hero

of the faith.

David says the same thing

when he speaks

of the blessedness

of the person

to whom God credits

righteousness

apart from works.

Blessed are they

whose transgressions

are forgiven,

whose sins

are covered.

Blessed is the man

whose sin

the Lord

will never

count

against him.

That is what it is

to receive

the righteousness

of God.

It means that

God does not

look upon us

the way our sins

show us up to be.

He never holds

our sin

over us

or against us.

They have been

removed completely.

David did not

trust in his

own righteousness,

but in the gift

of God's

righteousness.

It's what we call

the great exchange.

By faith,

our record

is given

to Christ

and Christ's

record is

completely

given over

to us.

So Christ

takes all

our unrighteousness,

the complete

record of how

we've lived

before God,

all our

disobedience

is taken

from us

and placed

upon Christ.

And in

exchange for

that,

by faith,

all the

righteousness,

the complete

record of

Christ's

perfect life,

his perfect

obedience,

is now

transferred

and

credited

to us.

It's the

complete exchange,

my unrighteous

life,

for Christ's

unrighteous

life.

Now that

means,

as we've been

saying,

that we are

now declared

righteous,

not guilty

before God.

But that

does not

mean

that we

are perfect,

that we

never ever

sin.

It does

mean that

our position

before God

has changed,

our status

before him

is clear,

we now have

the record

of his

righteousness,

so as God

looks at us,

we are

perfectly

right.

But,

it means

that I

will continue

to sin,

I will

continue to

mess up.

There will

be an

ongoing

change and

process in

that as I

become more

like Christ,

but I

will still

sin.

And that

can be a

complication

for us,

because sometimes

we think,

I'm declared

righteous before

God,

God looks

upon me as

not guilty,

but I do

sin and I

am guilty.

How is God

going to treat

me now,

because I've

messed up?

Well,

listen to

this,

again from

Martin Luther,

although I

still sin,

I

don't

despair,

because Christ

lives,

who is both

my righteousness

and my

eternal life.

In that

righteousness,

in Christ's

righteousness,

I have no

sin,

no fear,

no guilty

conscience,

no fear of

death.

I am

indeed a

sinner in

this life

of mine

and in

my own

righteousness,

but I

have another

life,

another

righteousness

above this

life,

which is

Christ,

the Son

of God.

So can

you see

what he's

saying there,

that at

one level,

yes,

I have a

status before

God,

declared

righteous,

that will

never ever

change.

No matter

how many

times I

sin or

fail or

mess up,

God will

always see

me as

not guilty.

That's a

wonderful

truth,

a wonderful

way to

live life.

On the

other

hand,

my sinful

nature is

I will

continue to

mess up,

I will

continue to

fail.

Yes,

we continually

need God's

grace and

strength and

help and

the power of

his spirit to

put sin to

death.

That will

always be an

ongoing struggle.

But if our

faith is in the

Lord Jesus,

know this

today,

you are

declared

righteous,

righteous,

no matter

how much

you sin.

So,

we are

declared

righteous by

God through

our faith in

Jesus Christ.

So, it all

depends on

having enough

faith.

If I have

enough faith,

then I will

be saved.

Right?

If I've got

enough faith

within myself,

I can be

saved.

Is that

right?

It's wrong.

You see,

the danger is

we think that

faith is

something that

I have.

It comes from

within me.

I can muster

it up myself.

I can kind

of spur

myself on

to faith.

But that's

wrong.

Faith is

also a

gift from

God.

Look at

verse 27,

chapter 3,

back to

verse 27.

where

then

is the

boasting?

Where's

the boasting?

If we can

say, I

did it.

I earned

my salvation.

He's saying,

nobody should

boast.

Let me put it

this way.

If somebody

asks you

why you are

a Christian,

so if you're

a Christian

here, and

somebody comes

up and says,

why are you

a Christian?

And you

answer and

respond something

like this,

because of

my faith,

or because

I had

faith,

you're

actually

boasting.

You're saying,

I have

faith.

It's me.

My faith

saved me.

I had the

ability to

respond to

God.

I saw what

God was

saying and

what I was

like and

what I

needed and

I mustered

up that

faith and

I trusted

in God.

So it's

my faith.

But that's

boasting.

That's saying

it's coming

from me.

Salvation

no longer

becomes God's

gift, but

something we

deserve because

of my ability

to have

faith.

But that's

wrong.

Let me try

and explain

that a bit

more.

Sometimes we

can treat

faith like

our Tesco

club cards

or whichever

shop you

go to.

You have

your little

plastic card,

you buy

some things,

it scans

in and

you get

points put

onto your

card.

And after

so many

weeks or

so many

items of

buying

things,

you can

cash in

your points

and get

your shopping

for free.

Except for

it's not

really free,

is it?

The selling

point says

it's free,

but in

reality you've

had to pay

for all of

those points

in your

previous shops.

And then

what you do

is you

exchange

those points

and you

get a

free bag

of spuds

or whatever,

something like

that.

Now in

the same

way we

can think

that we

have to

cash in

our faith

to God.

We kind

of earn

some faith

along the

way,

we add

to our

faith

points by

doing good

and right

things,

and when

we've

built up

enough

faith

points,

then we

can cash

it in

and God

in return

gives us

his salvation.

I've got

enough faith

today,

I feel

I've got

that faith,

so I

cash it

in and

God accepts

me and

God loves

me and

I know

I'm saved.

But on the

days where

I'm not

quite so

sure I

haven't got

enough faith,

I can't

quite cash

it in

yet,

and where

am I?

faith is

measured

like that.

Faith is

a gift

from God,

a faith

that is

complete

and sufficient

and enough

that comes

from God.

So look

at chapter

four,

verse

four.

Now

when a

man works,

so when

you go

to your

job in

the morning,

his wages

are not

credited to

him as a

gift,

but as

an obligation.

So when

you get

your weekly

or your

monthly

wages,

it's not

a gift

that your

boss comes

and says

here's

something I'd

like to

give to

you.

No,

you earned

it by

your hard

work,

you deserve

it,

it's yours

by right,

it came

by your

effort,

your boss

is obliged

to give

you what

is owed

to you.

It's not

a gift.

However,

look at

verse five,

to the

man who

does not

work,

but trusts

God,

who justifies

the wicked,

his faith

is credited

as righteousness.

You see,

when we

receive

righteousness,

it's a

gift from

God,

it's something

we don't

earn or

deserve,

we're not

cashing in

our hard

earned

faith,

it is a

gift from

God.

God,

so that

implies

that even

faith itself

is something

that God

gives to

us so

that we

are enabled

to receive

righteousness.

So it's

never dependent

about how

great or

how high or

how low

my faith

is,

or how

great my

faith is,

but the

faith that

God gives

me to

enable me

to believe

and trust

so that

I can

be declared

righteous,

not guilty

in God's

sight.

Well,

you're sitting

there going,

well,

where do I

get this

faith from?

How can I

have this

faith for

myself?

Well,

that answer,

or that

question is

answered if

you go to

chapter 10.

Have a look

there just

briefly.

Romans

Romans 10:13

chapter 10,

verse 13.

Here's where

we get an

answer to

that question.

Well,

how do I

get that

faith?

Where does

faith come

from for

me to be

able to

believe?

So let's

pick it up

in chapter

10,

verse 13.

He makes

this statement.

Everyone,

religious or

non-religious,

who calls

on the name

of the Lord,

that is,

when it says

calls,

that is,

who has

faith or

trusts in

the name

of the

Lord,

will be

saved.

So we

can agree

with that,

we get

that.

Everybody

who has

faith in

the name

of the

Lord will

be saved.

Where does

faith come

from?

Well,

he answers

the question,

verse 14,

how then can

they call?

How can

they have

faith in

the one

they've

not

believed

in?

And how

can they

believe in

the one

of whom

they've

not heard?

And how

can they

hear without

somebody

preaching to

them?

And how

can somebody

preach unless

they are

sent?

As it is

written,

how beautiful

are the

feet of

those who

bring good

news.

But not

all the

Israelites

accepted the

good news.

For Isaiah

said,

Lord,

who has

believed

our message?

So how

can we

have this

faith?

How can

we believe?

Well,

the answer,

verse 17,

consequently,

faith comes

from hearing

the message.

And the

message is

heard through

the word

of Christ.

So,

as we're

reading

scripture,

as we're

reading the

good news

about Jesus

Christ,

as you

listen,

as you

hear,

so God

is at work

in at the

same time

by his

Holy Spirit,

that as we

hear the

good news

about Jesus,

God,

by his

Spirit,

gives us

faith that

we may be

able to

respond to

him.

Other parts

of the

Bible talk

about it,

rebirth,

a renewing

of our

life.

God gives

us faith.

As we hear

the good news

of Jesus

explained,

God works

through his

word by his

Spirit and

enables us

to have

faith and

to trust

in him.

So,

maybe you're

here this

morning,

you're thinking,

I always

feel guilty

before God.

Maybe you've

never trusted

him.

And as you

hear,

we can cry

out to God

and say,

give me that

faith that I

might trust

in him

alone.

Maybe,

on the other

hand,

you struggle

with your

sinful life

and you're

always bogged

down by the

fact that,

well,

I do

sin and

I get

things wrong

and I'm

so guilty.

We need

to look at

how God

views us,

that he

declares us

as righteous

in his

sight,

a gift

from God

through faith

in the Lord

Jesus and

that status

will never

change.

You are

his forever,

which will

enable you

and encourage

you to go

on living

for him,

knowing that

we do not

have to sin

any longer.

So,

faith alone,

it's faith

in the person

of Jesus

Christ and

as we

exercise that

gift of

faith from

God,

we are

declared

righteous

in his

sight.

Let's pray

together.

God,

we are

you

guilty

of

you

you

you

you

you