Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Oct/91

Contributor - Randy Opmeer

Title - By Faith Alone

Topic - Faith

We all forget trivial things. This is normal! But you wouldn't expect people to forget important matters. Yet we do it all the time. Some work so hard for their families that they lose all contact with them. Some play competitive sports with their friends, but compete so much that they put the friendships at risk. Some even forget birthdays and anniversaries. Maybe it's not so surprising, then, that believers lose sight of significant details of their faith. Not surprising, but not good. Listen to how Paul criticizes some of the forgetfulness of the Galatians:

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ... I would Eke to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (Galations 3-1)3)

How May We Please God?

Paul can be so subtle. But he was absolutely right. Many centuries later Martin Luther, among others, faced a similar situation. Luther, as the story goes, wanted very much to please God and be found acceptable by Him. As a monk, he tried as best he could to do that by prayers, fasting, physical hardships, and so on. With great zeal he did whatever the medieval Roman Catholic system told him to do - but in vain. The system was bankrupt! While continuing to pursue God, he discovered in Scripture that the church had forgotten many important things. One neglected truth God reminded the church of, through Luther, was the principle of sola fide - by faith alone. Let us explore this thought some more in the rest of the article.

As we said, Luther wanted to please God. What kind of people is God happy with? No problem. Righteous people that is, those who live rightly before God and man. So how does one become righteous? Big problem. Well, not at first. It was understood that when Jesus died on the cross it was for our sins (I Cor. 15:3). It was thought that when one was baptized, all previous sins were forgiven because of Jesus' sacrifice. The problems started if (or rather, when) one sinned after baptism. Then what? One would have to receive more grace by doing penance (going to confession and fulfilling the works, like prayers, alms giving, restitution, and so on, stipulated by the priest). After this was completed, one would be righteous again, in a state of grace. In other words, becoming righteous was accomplished by do ing the right things, by human effort, by works. Trouble was Luther never expeerienced the sense of pardon he was led to believe would follow.

It was then that Luther made a most happy discovery. God wasn't looking for our works (at least not in that way). He learned this from Paul. Paul showed that Abraham, the father of all true believers, was not justified (declared righteous) by works. Rather, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Abraham had believed God's promises to him and so was declared righteous. That is how Abraham pleased God. Paul goes on:

The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness - for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. (Romans 4:23,24)

So Luther found peace, having discovered that he would be justified before God by faith alone, apart from anything that his feeble efforts could put into the equation.

Faith is Faith in Christ

Let us be very clear, however, that when we speak here about faith we mean faith in Christ. Faith is not some warm, fuzzy thing inside of us that could be one thing for me, another for you, and of equal value whether one be Christian, Muslin, Buddhist, or Shirley MacLaine. Abraham didn't believe just anything. He believed the word of the self-revealing God, or better still, he believed in God Himself. Our belief, with Luther and Paul, is in Jesus, the Word of God and perfect revelation of God. As Paul said: ... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ. God presented as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. (Romans 3:23-25)

In other words, the phrase 'sola fide' for 'justification by faith in Christ alone.'

So why is it faith alone? In short, because there is nothing added to it. We might make brave attempts to act righteously, but as we noted in the passage above, they fall short. As Paul writes, "..if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians 2 :21). No, Christ died for something. He died that we might receive grace through faith So, it is faith alone to guard against any human tendency for boasting (Ephesians 2:9). It is faith alone so that God alone will receive the glory (Ephesians 2:7).

Does such a teaching not encourage a certain disregard for good behaviour on the part of the believers? Not at all. While good works do not justify us, those who are justified do good works (Ephesians 2:9), which tells us that our works cannot save us, is followed by 2:10: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ to do good works..." Be aware, however, that such works have nothing whatsoever to do with justifying us. They flow out of our justification. If we get that wrong, Paul will yell at us like he did at the Galatians.

Sola Fide. May God keep us from forgetting.

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