Articles
Justification By Faith
The Bible teaches we are justified by faith. It has always been this way. Even in the Old Testament, it was taught, “The just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17; Hab. 2:4).
The word “faith” carries with it the idea of faithfulness. It is a picture of a man whose entire life is characterized by faithfulness toward God. Faithfulness will always do what is asked of it. Sometimes it demands nothing except trust. At other times, it demands obedience. Abraham’s faith justified him in both instances. God promised him he would have more descendants than the stars of the sky. In that instance, faith demanded nothing more than Abraham’s trust. Later Abraham was told to offer Isaac as a sacrifice unto God. Now, faith required obedience. Abraham’s faith worked. He obeyed. On both occasions, Abraham was justified by His faith.
This helps to understand the faith that saves you and me. It is the same kind of faith Abraham had (Rom. 4:12). God has promised you and me, dear Christian, that Jesus’ death makes possible the remission of our sins. What does this promise require of me? It requires no action on my part; just simple trust. He further tells us that to be saved we must “repent and be baptized for the remission of our sins” (Acts 2:38). What does this require of me? Trust alone will not do now. I must obey in faith and then trust Him to do what He has promised. God then asks us to continue to live in faithfulness to Him (Rev. 2:10). Will we sometimes fail? Yes, in weakness we sometimes do. What will faith do in those moments? It will fall upon God. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us” (1 Jn. 1:9). It is this man, the faithful and trying man, that God saves. He is not a perfect man but he is a faithful man. He knows too well his imperfections and His need for God.
In contrast to this man is the man who strives to be saved on the basis of his works. Somehow he has convinced himself of a list of things he can do to earn salvation. I’ve always thought that would have to be a short list!! He will think of a short list of things he has done that will surely save him. He doesn’t lean on the sacrifice of Jesus but rather on his own works. This man is shallow in his thinking. Surely, he ought to be able to see before God’s entire and perfect law that he has sinned and is in tremendous need of God. The only thing law can really do for him is to reveal his sin and need for God’s grace (Rom. 3:20). This should point him toward the cross of Christ.
Many people read the Bible’s emphasis on not being saved by works and conclude that there are no works for us to do in pleasing God. They miss the point. The cross motivates us to obedience and good works for it gives us somewhere to go when we fail. If it were not for the cross, I would not even try to obey. Why should I? Without the cross, just one sin dooms me. But the cross allows me to pick myself up, be forgiven, and get on with the business of being faithful to God. It is “faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6). When the faithful servant has striven to do all that God has commanded him, he still humbles himself before His master saying he has only done what was his duty to do (Lk.17:10).
May God help us to be faithful to Him in all things, not trusting in our works but in Him. This is the lifestyle of the justified man.
