Justified by Faith
Posted By Joe on September 16, 2009
A couple months back, we looked at a few passages in Galatians regarding salvation by faith in Christ alone.
Paul preached to the people the gospel of justification by faith plus ... nothing! The Bible is abundantly clear on this point. Let's take a look at the beginning of Galatians where Paul introduces this.
Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead). --Galatians 1:1.
He begins his letter explaining that his authority has come directly from God. You may remember the story of the Damascus Road where Paul had an encounter with the risen Jesus (Acts 9:3-8). Paul begins his letter by referring to that encounter where he received his mission from Jesus Himself.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. --Galatians 1:3.
You'll find that all of Paul's letters begin with the familiar phrase "grace to you."
who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. --Galatians 1:4.
There is the gospel, quickly summed up. Christ gave Himself for our sins. He paid the price for our sinfulness, a debt we couldn't never pay.
Then we read "according to the will of our God and Father." Jesus died in our place--suffered the most agonizing death imaginable--so we could live, by the will of God. God loves you and I so much that He willed Himself to suffer and die and take upon Himself the sin of the world.
to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. --Galatians 1:5.
Amen, indeed.
I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. --Galatians 1:6-7.
Paul was amazed that people were abandoning God ("Him") for a "different gospel." This different gospel was one that said that yes, Jesus died, but we also need to keep the Mosaic law to gain salvation. Wrong! Again, I say, wrong!
If the church you are attending teaches anything else by salvation in Christ's death alone, find another church!
If you have friends that are insisting that you need to keep a set of laws, rules, sacraments to gain eternal life, read what it says in the Bible!
Friend, the Bible is the infallible word of God. Everything you need to know about salvation lies within. The Bible does not contradict itself. The Bible is a single, unified message transmitted from God to us to show us the way to Him.
Jesus died to pay the price for the sins of the world. He died and rose once and for all. His death satisfied everything that was required of the Father for the penalties of sin.
You, nor anyone else, can earn your way into heaven.
You cannot be "good" enough.
You cannot be a good enough husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, or child.
You cannot be a good enough businessman.
You cannot be ethical enough.
You cannot be honest enough.
You cannot be harmless enough.
You cannot be "nice" enough.
None of these things work!
The only thing that works is Christ's shed blood. That is the only thing that will wash away your sins.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! --Galatians 1:8-9.
Paul himself felt so strongly about this he literally repeated himself in verses 8 and 9 to make sure the people got the point. Even now, the message is still the same.
There are Christian churches and faiths that do not adhere to this doctrine and that is a huge problem. This is basic, Christian doctrine. This is essential doctrine. This is the heart of the gospel and of salvation. If you get this wrong, its implications are eternal!
For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. --Galatians 1:10.
What a verse! As Christians we are to win souls to Christ, but not at the expense of a watered-down, "seeker-sensitive" gospel! The gospel is not a "popular" message. This is why the world is increasingly become hostile to Christianity and I dare say, God Himself.
If you have not made Jesus Lord of your life voluntarily, do it now! You are either for Christ or against Him (Matthew 12:30). Don't wait. Don't delay. Tomorrow is promised to no one!
May He Increase!
About the author
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. James 2:10
"One failure, one breach, one bad moment, and guilt for the whole law crashes down on me? Kind of an overreaction, isn't it? Seems nit-picky at least, even oppressive. So that's what God is really like, huh? Figures."
Let's admit it. We all think that way. But the failing is not in God. It's in us.
Every American knows the name Benedict Arnold. He was a traitor. He betrayed the American cause in the Revolutionary War. The memory of Benedict Arnold conjures up one thought: treason.
What we may not know is that Arnold had served energetically and effectively on the American side. As a general in our Continental Army, he bravely fought and won at Fort Ticonderoga. But he was passed over for promotion, he ran up some personal debts, he came under criticism by political competitors, so he switched sides. He became sneaky. He got himself assigned to the command of West Point, in order to hand it over to the British. But his plot was discovered.
I wonder what he was thinking. He probably weighed all the good he had done for the Americans against the bad he was receiving from the Americans, and he justified himself, he told himself it was okay. But that isn't how the moral calculus works. Doing good does not offset doing evil. Doing evil offsets doing good. That is why the good record of Benedict Arnold will forever be overshadowed in the American consciousness by his final act of betrayal. His betrayal revealed the true state of his heart. He had not been serving America sincerely but for ulterior motives. And when his Self was not served to his own satisfaction, he turned. If his Self had been served to his satisfaction, he doubtless would have stayed true. But even then, his loyalty would have been deeply false. Undiscovered, but false.
Our obedience to God doesn't prove a thing. It might not be obedience at all. It might be coincidence. It might be that what the Bible says and what we were going to do anyway just happen to line up. What reveals our hearts is our disobedience. This is why one violation of the law not only does condemn us but deserves to condemn us. Our sin exposes the fraudulence of our righteousness, not the other way around.
Let's face it. We are all Benedict Arnolds. But God loves Benedict Arnolds. Christ died for his betrayers. Now he offers us his royal amnesty on terms of grace, received with the empty hands of faith, which we are finally able to hold out before him when we know and admit and repent of what we really are.
Ike, wonderful comment. Thanks so much for it. I'll admit--and probably to your point--that all I knew of Benedict Arnold was what everyone knows him for: being a traitor. Need to brush up on my history. But I love your application of him to our role in sin and disobedience.
Ike, the pulpit is still open to you!
All i got is faith, faith that He will complete a good work in me. he has a long way to go!
Here, here! Huzzah! Pastor Ike is always welcomed to the pulpit.
Thanks Will!