Most Recent Blog Posts
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119 Dead to Sin, Alive to Christ!
Romans Chapter 7 poses two dilemmas for anyone trying to live righteously. The first is “how to be dead to sin and alive to God.” In other words, how do I stop sinning so that I might live for God? I try to be good, but no matter how I try, I can’t be good enough, can I?
The second dilemma is realizing that the “Old Testament Law can’t deliver you from sin.” If the Bible teaches us anything, it’s knowing what the Lord expects from us (the Law) doesn’t empower us to live according to the Law of righteousness. Knowing is not the same as doing! At the same time, we know that the Law is good. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”This quote begs the question, what is the purpose of the Law?Show More
The Purpose of the Law.
The purpose of the Law is to show us the character of the Lord and what He expects from us. His expectation of us is to obey Him so that He can bless us and fulfill His purpose.
Galatians 3:19-25 “What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions (Adam and Eve), till the Seed (Jesus) should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now, a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.”
The Law was given because of the transgressions of Adam and Eve. As a result of the Fall, mankind had a conscience, discerning good from evil. In the Garden of Eden, after the Fall, the Lord made a promise to provide a Seed or Messiah. A Savior to deliver mankind from sin and the transgression that released the sin-nature. The beauty of Jesus is that He mediates for us; a mediator intercedes between two parties. Because Jesus is God, He is also one with the Father. When we come to Jesus, there is no better mediator because when we come to Jesus, we come to the Father as well.
Galatians 3:21 “Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
The Law is not against the promises of God, but the Law cannot give life. Therefore true righteousness cannot be through the Law. The scriptures clearly state that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” However, faith in Jesus Christ releases the work of the Messiah or Savior to deliver from the hold of the sin-nature.
Galatians 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor (the Law).
Before faith came the Law showed us what was expected of us and the knowledge that by our own strength or efforts, we could not keep the Law. The Law was a tutor or teacher showing us what was expected of us until the message of Faith came in the New Covenant. Now that the Gospel has been revealed and the gift of Grace is released by Faith in Jesus alone, His righteousness is transferred or imputed to us by faith. “For by Grace we have been saved through Faith, it is a gift of God not of works (of the Law), lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Romans 7
In Romans 7 1-6, Paul puts forth the argument that the only way to be free from the Law is to be dead to the Law. He uses the illustration of a married woman. As long as her husband is alive, she is bound to her husband for as long as he lives. However, if the husband dies, she is free to marry another and not be called an adulteress. In verse 4, Paul says, “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.” In other words, we need to be spiritually Born-again! To be Born-again means that the old has died and all things are new (2 Corinthians 5:17). You have died to sin and now re-born to live for God.
Romans 7:7-12 points out that the Law actually creates a desire for what is forbidden but not the power to resist temptation. As Believers, we know that it is foolishness to resist God, but Proverbs 9:17 states a truth: “17 “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” 18 But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell.” The very temptation that seems so sweet and pleasurable turns around and causes guilt, shame, and condemnation!
Romans 7:13-25, Righteousness in a sin filled world.
The realization that although I want to do the right thing very often, something comes over me, and I wind up doing the very thing I don’t want to do. Has that ever happened to you? It certainly has happened to me, and the Apostle Paul acknowledges that he had to deal with that as well.
The way Paul puts it, there seems to be a battle between my will or mind and my flesh. This is a real problem for the Christian even today. The conflict between what I know is right to do and the ability to do what is right often escapes me.
I think if we are honest with each other, we would all admit that we all face times when we know what is right and yet we do the opposite, then afterwards we wonder why we did it? The Apostle Paul calls this the sin nature of man, which is opposed to the Spirit of God.
Remember, the Devil is the author of lies, half-truths, and temptations. He makes the temptation so attractive and pleasant-looking, then once you have fallen into his trap, he accuses you and heaps guilt, shame, and condemnation! Satan or the Devil is called the accuser of the brethren in the Bible (Revelation 12:10), and he does his evil work very effectively.
Conclusion
In Romans 7:24 Paul cries out,” O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Perhaps you have felt this way too, the good news is found in the beginning of Romans 8, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Paul is saying that because of what Jesus accomplished at the Cross of Calvary, I am not condemned. I’ve been set free of the control of the sin nature, and I am empowered by the Holy Spirit to resist sin and temptation. My attitude is gratitude for the Lord in that He took all of my sins and “remembers them no more.” I now choose to be guided by the Holy Spirit because I am loved, forgiven, and accepted. Choosing to follow Jesus is a journey, but in time I will be able to submit to God and resist the Devil (James 4:7) in all areas of my life.
When I stumble and fall, I know that I can come to the Lord repent, and He will pick me up. He will never reject me! 1 John 1:5 says the following: “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Finally, remember that the Lord is much more interested in the attitude of the heart than outward appearances. His grace is sufficient; in 2 Corinthians 12:9 Jesus said to the Apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” What is true for Paul is true for each one of us who desires to follow Jesus! In your weakness, be quick to repent. You are His, and He is yours. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
More on the glorious promises of victory found by walking in the Spirit in Chapter 8 of Romans, the next time we meet.
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118 Who you obey is master over you!
The New Testament is divided into three parts: the four Gospels- Matthew Mark, Luke, and John, the 22 Epistles, and finally the Prophetic book of Revelations for a total of 27 books. The word Epistle is Greek for “letter” as in a correspondence. The only difference between an epistle and a letter is that a letter is written to an individual, whereas an epistle is written to a group of people. Most of the epistles of the New Testament were written to the various churches at that time and were passed from church to church.
The original epistles were long letters. To make the reading easier, the letters were broken up into chapters in the early 1200s, whereas the verses were added in the mid-1500s. The point I want to make is that while God inspired the entire Bible, the placement of the chapters and verses were man’s invention to make reading the Bible easier. I say all of this to make the point that it is important to read and understand the chapters and verses in context. To get the full understanding of what God intended, you must read what goes before and after the chapters. Show More
We have been looking at the book of Romans, which the Apostle Paul wrote We need to understand that the entire book was actually a single letter or epistle. The natural tendency is to begin at the beginning of a chapter and then read to the end of the chapter as if it were a single letter, but a chapter is just part of a letter. Keep in mind that all of the scriptures are made available to us because of God’s great love for us.
So far, we have looked at Romans Chapter 5 (Episodes/Posts 114 – 115), which dealt with grace, righteousness, and justification. Romans 4 (Episodes/Posts 116 – 117) examined the importance of faith in receiving the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Again, never lose sight of God’s love for you as you read and study the scriptures.
Today we will look at Romans 6, which deals with the difficult challenge of living a righteous life in the world today. There are two crucial issues in Romans 6 for the Believer, the first is the concept of “being dead to sin,” the second is the idea that “who you obey is master over you!”
Let’s look at the first issue, being dead to sin.
The first verse in Romans 6 states, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” This statement only makes sense if we look at the end of Romans 5, “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” The Apostle Paul was trying to avoid a false idea that the more one sinned, the more grace would abound or that it was ok to sin because grace was available. However, when we read the end of chapter 5 and the beginning of chapter 6 together, it makes sense, “5:20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not (or of course not)! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
Here the principle of being dead to sin is introduced. You must choose to see yourself as dead to sin. If you are dead to sin, then sin can’t have any control over you! Before you knew Christ, you did not have the Holy Spirit to guide you. The Holy Spirit makes the Bible, the Word of God, come alive and have meaning for you. The Holy Spirit also battles with the flesh to lead you into righteousness instead of sin, but you must make choices every step of the way. Remember 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” The spiritual reality is that the “old you” is dead, and you are now alive in Jesus Christ. Romans 6 says, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Let’s jump to Romans 6, beginning in verse 12. We’re told that we have to decide to make sure that sin doesn’t control our bodies and that we don’t find ourselves in situations and circumstances that will lead to unrighteousness or sin. We must choose to present ourselves to God as being alive from the dead and our actions and words reflect the righteousness of God. Because we’re given this promise in verse 14, sin will not have dominion over us because we’re not under Law (legalism) but under Grace (relationship). In other words, we don’t have to let sin control us. God is at work in you to desire and to empower you to please the Lord, which means dying to sin. (Philippians 2:13) Because of the Holy Spirit in us, we can always choose to say and do the right thing as difficult it may seem in the beginning.
The second issue in Romans 6 is the issue of who has control over your life?
You can serve the Lord, or you can serve the “flesh.” The flesh, in this case, are the natural urges of humankind, the philosophies of the world. The flesh also includes as the hurtful habits or ways of thinking, that we have learned, that are contrary to the will of God. Listen to what Romans 8 tells us about the flesh and Spirit, “5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Paul makes this major point in Romans 6:16, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”The brutal truth is that Satan wants to enslave you into doing his will. Satan’s desire is to steal, kill and destroy, but the Lord’s purpose is that you would serve the Lord and experience the abundant life! (John 10:10) A life filled with love, peace, and joy.
Finally, Romans 6:23 ends with a verse that we should all memorize, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The Benefits of Grace.
The benefits of grace, righteousness, and faith only apply to a believer in Jesus Christ. A true believer is one who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! Now, what does the phrase “Lord and Savior” mean? Let’s take the word Savior first. Accepting Jesus as Savior means that you believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose again to be alive with the Father in Heaven. In other words, your place in Heaven is assured, and your confidence is in Jesus that you will rise again. Death has no “sting” which means we don’t fear death. Don’t get me wrong, we are all human, and we naturally don’t look forward to death, but death doesn’t produce terror because we know that no matter what happens, our destination is Heaven. We have peace with God!
The word Lord, in Lord and Savior, means that we voluntarily submit to Jesus as our King. As our King, we do all that is in our power to obey Him and His teachings. Now, we don’t have the strength or power to obey the Lord in our own natural strength and ability; as much as we try, we always fall short. However, Jesus in His wisdom gave us the Holy Spirit to help, comfort, teach and guide us in overcoming the attractions of the flesh and the world! Every true believer has the Holy Spirit, whether they believe it or not. It is a matter of learning to discern His voice and then to obey.
I’ve been using the term “true believer” as one who is truly redeemed or saved. How does one become a true believer, Romans 10:5-13 says it best:
Then starting in Romans 10:8, But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
True faith is a Commitment, not just a Statement!
Calling on the Lord means that you have confessed with your mouth and believed in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. Confessing with your mouth is that act of repentance, recognizing that your sin has separated you from God and that you truly want to see that relationship restored. Believing in your heart is that act of commitment to follow Jesus wherever he may take you! It’s not enough to just say the words the words must be followed up with the desire to follow Jesus.
For some people fulfilling the commitment to Jesus is easier than for others. All of us have different backgrounds and “baggage” to overcome in life. We are not to judge the progress of another Christian as long as they are moving forward in their relationship with Jesus Christ. We should be encouraging them. As in all things in life, when you encounter something new, there is a learning curve, that process where you take baby steps in the beginning and then move forward into maturity. As one matures, they are able to take the greater steps that we often associate with a strong believer.
We should be thankful that God is patient, loving, merciful, and kind and he accepts us right where we are and brings us into places that we could never imagine. The Lord is gracious, his love boundless, and his desire is that you would walk with him, knowing that you are never alone because His Holy Spirit is with you leading and guiding you into the abundant life.
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117 Faith that pleases God!
117 Faith that pleases God!
As we continue our series on grace, law, and faith I want to continue on our focus on faith. Faith is such an essential aspect of the Christian life; faith opens the door to heaven’s blessings and provisions. Faith is how we “connect” with the Lord. Show More
Defining Faith
When I use the word faith, I’m not talking about faith as in belonging to a particular church, denomination, or group… as in Pentecostal, Evangelical, Baptist, or Catholic. The faith that the Bible talks about is faith in the one who makes the promises in the Bible. Too often, our faith is in the promise and not in the one who makes the promise. Our faith in the one who makes the promise can only come as we seek a personal relationship with the Lord. I know that relationship is often spoken of, but I don’t think relationship is fully understood by many. Jesus is as real as the person who may be standing next to you, it’s just that He’s in the spiritual realm, and because we are spiritual, we must learn to develop our spiritual eyes, ears, and heart to comprehend spiritual things. (1 Corinthians 2)
All that matters to God is “do you know Him, meaning Jesus?” There is no substitute for knowing Him; sacrifices, self-imposed religion, false humility, and acts of piety will not move the Lord. The Apostle Paul warns us against this kind of deception in Colossians 2:4-10, “Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words… 8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
How to Please God
There is only one thing that will please God, and that is faith scripture says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6.
In this single verse, we find the key to having access to God, it is by faith! Then we learn what faith looks like; we “must believe that He is” and that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Let’s look at these principles.
- Must believe that He is… one must believe that Jesus is real. Jesus is not some ancient person. He is not some historical figure, a statue, or icon. Jesus is God in the flesh and now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. One must believe that He died for our sins and that we are completely and totally forgiven of ALL our sins, past, present, and future. We have been made righteous and justified by His shed blood, and finally, that because He rose again, we will one day rise up to be with Him forever.
- Rewarder… God gives good gifts to His children. The most important gift, of course, is the gift of Jesus, “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Jesus is the gift, and Jesus also gave us a gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit as a seal that we belong to Him and the Helper or comforter to help us live a Christ-centered life on earth. Then because of the extravagant love of God, the Holy Spirit gave us “the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23) and spiritual gifts outlined in 1 Corinthians 12.
- Diligently seek Him… This means that we are pursuing a relationship with our Lord. We are not casual, absent-minded, or careless about our relationship with the Lord. The phrase “diligently seek” can also mean to worship Him. True worship is to live a consecrated life to the Lord. Which means we are 100% sold out to Jesus.
- Romans 12:1 states, 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (or worship). You accept that you are His and He is yours, and you live to be pleasing to Him. That is what true worship is.
- Romans 12:2 says, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. You are committed to breaking the old sinful habits you’ve developed of a lifetime, with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and exchanges them for righteous living which you were created for.
Believer’s Faith – Practical Everyday Faith
Two kinds of faith, Saving Faith and Believer’s Faith.
Saving Faith is that kind of faith that the Holy Spirit puts in a non-believer as an opportunity to come to know Christ. In John 6:44 Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Apparently, the Holy Spirit draws a person to accept the truth of Christ, that Jesus came to save and not condemn!Believer’s Faith is the faith that the believer has because of the word of God (Bible) and because the person has put his/her trust in Him, the promise keeper, Jesus Christ. Listen to what Jesus said in Mark 11: 22-24, So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Keep in mind that Jesus is speaking to His followers or disciples. Jesus is saying that followers have the authority to speak to situations and circumstances, and if they will believe without doubting, they will have what they ask for. The key is to speak in faith without doubting! The disciples in Mark 11 were with Jesus, you have Jesus in your heart; this entire story or parable is about the Believer’s faith! Acts 1:8 says that we have received power because of the Holy Spirit in us, that is supernatural power… do you believe it?!
Faith and Works
The three most common areas in which we seek God’s blessings are health, relationships, and finances. God promises us that all of our needs will be met in Christ Jesus (Matthew 6:31-34), but we must come to Him in faith, that is, trusting that He will provide.
We are trusting in Him to deliver what He has promised because He is faithful and true. We sometimes get off-track and put our trust or faith in the promise and forget about the one who made the promise. We should hope in the promise which produces an expectation, and faith in Jesus who gives us the assurance.
The point that faith requires doing something is well made in the book of James. First, look at James 1:6, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways”.
We must not doubt or waver in our faith! We must be steadfast in our faith in God. If our faith is in the promise, then circumstances will cause our faith to waver, but if our faith is in Jesus and our relationship with Him, then we will be steadfast. It is very much like being a passenger on a plane, is your trust in the advertising promise that you will have a safe flight or in the pilot to make it a safe flight?
Become a Doer of the Word! The second point is found in James 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” If we are not doing or responding according to the Word of God, then we are hearers only! Don’t deceive yourself in thinking that you have faith if there is no outworking of that faith. It is like the person who believes it will rain but doesn’t bring an umbrella along. Let your actions correspond to what you believe!
Justification is by faith, not works! The third point is found in James 2:24-26. This section of scripture is sometimes misunderstood in particular verse 24, which says, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” It is a tragic mistake to think that James is saying that salvation or any other area of spiritual life is by works and faith. In the context of verses 24-26, James is saying that faith must have some evidence or outworking that points to faith in God. Just doing good deeds or good works, while noble and should be encouraged, by itself will not justify you. However, believing in Jesus and as a result, you are led to do good deeds… well, that is the evidence of Faith!
Now there will be times when we must wait upon the Lord to do His part, but this by no means suggests that we do nothing. Resisting the temptation to sin is an important faith action. Resisting doubt and fear is also an important faith action. The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Too many interpret this to mean I do nothing, and God will do it all. Yet Proverbs 16:9 states, “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” We need to walk it out, or as the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “we walk by faith and not by sight.”
The Influence of Emotions and Experiences
The Bible Dictionary defines faith as persuasion, credence, moral conviction, assurance, belief or, fidelity.
The Bible’s definition of faith is: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. Hebrews 11:1Emotions
Notice that in both definitions, there is no mention of feelings or emotions. Faith is a decision and commitment to believing, not a feeling. If you rely on feelings, you will be “tossed” about by doubt. One moment you will feel like you are in faith, then the next you will doubt. Remember, James 1:6-8, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways“. You must actively avoid those people and circumstances who weaken your faith in life.Experience
The same is true of experiences. They can be misleading. I am sure everyone has experienced disappointment when you were believing for something to come to pass, and it didn’t! A sick person doesn’t get healed or even dies! A relationship is not restored! Or a financial disaster actually comes to pass!Faith is easy when everything you pray for comes to pass. True faith comes through the trials and tribulations of life. We live in a “fallen world.” The scriptures are clear that Satan is the ruler of this world in the sense that the world is still characterized by sin. Jesus said. “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over Me” (John 14:30). This title of “ruler of this world” suggests that Satan is the major influence over our world. Scripture teaches that the whole world is in his power. “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the evil one” (1 John 5:19).
Sometimes bad things happen to good people, but despite the evil that sometimes befalls Christians our position must be a position of faith, which is to not doubt God’s Word. We should never succumb to the temptation to “rewrite” the Word of God based upon personal experience.
Conclusion
Finally, what happens when what we are believing for doesn’t come to pass. Sometimes it is just a timing issue. God is always at work, and the promise is on its way. Remember God is not limited by time and space. However, it could be that as it says in James 4:3, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures”. In other words, God can’t bless those things that are contrary to His nature of love, forgiveness, and acceptance.
I pray that you will be able to say, in the words of the Apostle Paul at the end of his life, in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
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116 Faith, Grace, and Law!
116 Faith, Grace and Works
Faith in the original Greek is “Pistis,” and a Bible Dictionary defines faith as; persuasion, credence, moral conviction, assurance, belief or, fidelity. Show More
Faith is Spiritual
As stated in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” So, faith for a Christian is believing in the spiritual or unseen. You put your faith in Jesus and your hope in His promises. Again, it is not faith in faith or even faith in the promises found in the Bible, but faith in the One who made the promises in the Bible.
So, faith is not wishing, hoping, or wanting something to be. Instead, it is the confidence and assurance that because of the love of God, He will not leave you or abandon you to your circumstances. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Do you believe that… that nothing can separate you from God’s Love?
It is your faith in the Lord that causes you to behave or act in a manner that shows you have already received that for which you are believing. Now that was a mouthful! Let me put it this way; the world says, “Show me and then I will believe!” God says, “Believe in Me and then I will show you!” Genuine faith believes in the promise even before the promise is fulfilled!
Faith
For some Christians, faith is seen as something to employ in order to get God’s attention. We may have a need, desire, or some impending health crisis. Don’t get me wrong; when we have needs, we should bring them to the Lord. We are encouraged in the Word to bring our issues to the Lord. But faith is not something we turn to only when we are in trouble. Faith is the continual manifestation of our righteousness before God. In other words, I am trying to live in a way that is pleasing to God.
It is because of my fellowship or intimacy with God that I am confident, sure that He hears me and will answer me in my time of need. He is my help as I walk by faith in Jesus. “Paul says in Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure”.
As in the Garden of Eden, before the Fall, God wants to walk with you and fellowship with you. As you see your relationship with Him in this manner… you will find that your faith will grow, and all of the promises that faith brings will be yours.
Romans 4
I can think of no better book of the Bible than Romans 4, that speaks to the three concerns that we have today. Those three concerns are grace, Law, and faith. The Apostle Paul uses examples that the Jews of the time would be very familiar with, Abraham and King David. Abraham because he truly is the father of Israel in the sense that God had promised Abraham that out of his loins would come a great nation, and of course we know that is Israel, but also that a multitude of people would come from his loins. Clearly, the Jews of the day we’re very familiar with the promise of God to give this Israel a land of their own and prosperity. King David, of course, is the one whom God used to bring the struggling nation of Israel to power and prominence.
Listen to what the Apostle Paul writes about Abraham beginning in chapter 4; Paul wrote that Abraham discovered the things of the flesh or what later became known as the works of the Law really meant nothing to God. Verse three says, “for what does the scripture say Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness”, now that’s a powerful statement in itself. What Paul was saying was that it was faith that brought righteousness to Abraham. Remember Abraham believed God, and that’s what faith is. Faith is simply believing in God and then doing according to what you believe. He goes on to say in verse 4, “now to him who works the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.” In essence, Paul is saying that if you’re trying to work for your Salvation, then it can’t be by grace. Grace is a gift of God and is not earned or deserved.
He then goes on beginning in verse 5 to recount the words of King David in Romans 4:5, “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” Notice that David was not believing in a system, ritual, or organization… he believed in Him!
David was a man who believed God and God’s righteousness was imputed to him, verse six says, “just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works,” and the keys here are “that David believed in God” and “apart from works.”
There were many in that day that believed that because of circumcision and the covenant of the Law, they automatically were heirs to the promises of Abraham. Let me put it another way they believed that all they had to do was follow the rules and regulations of the Law, and the fact that they were Jews meant that they had earned the right to the promises of God. However, beginning in verse 9, Paul makes the case that Abraham was declared righteous because of faitheven before circumcision was instituted. This fact alone meant God was not only the God of the Jews but also non-Jews if they just simply believed in the Lord and acted accordingly.
To be a doer of the Word is what God is looking for. Doing the Word is the evidence that you truly believe in Him. Many are content to just understand the Word, and they believe in an intellectual sense, but their lives do not reflect what they believe. Intellectual belief alone is not sufficient to have the righteousness of God imputed to you! What the Lord seeks is a relationship, not just following rules and regulations. A true relationship will produce a desire to please the One who has rescued and delivered us, our Lord Jesus Christ!
The rest of Romans 4 is an illustration of the faith that Abraham had in his Lord. In verse 16 Paul writes, “therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace so that the promise might be sure to all the seed not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are the faith of Abraham who was the father of us all.” I hope you can see that Paul was saying that the promise was not simply for the Jews but for anyone who would believe in the Lord and trust him.
Verse 19 begins a very powerful section of this chapter, and it begins with, “and not being weak in faith he did not consider his own body already dead since he was about 100 years old and the deadness of Sarah’s womb”. Remember, the promise was that they would have a son, and they waited patiently for the fulfillment of that promise. Here they were beyond the age of childbearing, and they still believed. Verse 20 says, “Speaking of Abraham he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief but was strengthened in faith giving glory to God 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform 22 and therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness”. Can you see it? It’s by faith that we come to God. It’s by faith that we appropriate or receive the promises of God; it’s faith in the One who made the promises found in the Bible. The Lord is the one from whom all blessings flow.
In verse 23, Paul writes, “now it was not written for his sake (meaning Abraham) that it was imputed to him but for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification”. Hallelujah, he took away our sins, his righteousness was imputed upon us, and in God’s eyes, we are justified!
Grace and Faith
In my opinion, the following verses speak so clearly to the importance of grace and faith. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Remember, grace is receiving something that you don’t earn or deserve; it is a gift. Salvation is offered as a gift from God, and we receive that gift by putting our faith in Jesus Christ and him alone. Notice, that the gift is not based on works, which simply means it has nothing to do with your own efforts to make yourself worthy or to make yourself good enough. After all, how good is good enough? Grace doesn’t end with the gift of salvation, what grace does it creates a desire to please the One who has extended grace to us. As the scripture clearly says, “we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Simply put, God has a plan for your life, and as you walk out his plan, then you will see the blessings of God poured out on your life.
Remember you can’t please God without faith, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
As you go through life bring to remembrance, or remind yourself that, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Or as another translation puts it, Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen.” (TPT)
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115 Grace, Law and Righteousness!
As we continue to look at the difference between Grace and Law, let me begin with the last message’s conclusion.
“As human beings, we focus on the act of sin, which is the breaking of the Ten Commandments, but the breaking of the individual commandments reveals a deeper issue… disbelieving God and what He has said! Disbelieving the Lord is unrighteousness or sin.
Words like righteousness, unrighteousness or sin, and justification are words that many use in Christendom without fully understanding what they mean. So, let’s take a moment to look at these terms from the Apostle Paul’s perspective. Jesus uttered these terms, and those in Jesus’ day understood them clearly. Paul explains these terms in the book of Romans to help us understand what they mean. Romans is a doctrinal book and essential for us to understand. Show More
What is Righteousness?
Righteousness is innocence before God. the Lord uses the word holy to describe Himself, “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15. Because the Lord is holy we are made holy. The word holy usually means to “be set aside for God’s use or purpose.”
Believing what the Lord has said and doing it is defined as “righteousness” or doing right in God’s eyes. Our walking in righteousness enables the Lord to bless us. Righteousness is for our good! Unrighteousness, on the other hand, is when a person rejects or disbelieves what God has said, and it should be obvious, the Lord can’t bless what He doesn’t approve.
The Bible shows two ways that a person can be righteous in God’s eyes:
- For a Christian, it by Grace– Righteousness is not a result of our own efforts but the fact that the righteousness of Jesus has been imparted to us. I like to look at righteousness imputed to us like this when the Father looks upon me, He sees the blood of Jesus on my life, and He says “he is righteous.
- Living under Grace means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You believe that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, lives in you to “help” you become the man or woman that He has created you to be.” The real work is to avoid sin and learn how to hear the “voice” of the Spirit, through the Word of God and through the Spirit of God. Once having heard from the Lord the next thing is to obey! Remember, Trust and Obey! You are a New Creation in Christ. You are not bound or tied to the past all things are new. 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Your sin nature is dead and has been replaced by the spirit of God
- For the Old Testament Jew, it was by the works of the Law– Righteousness under the Law meant that your righteousness before God was based upon your own effort to observe all of the commandments, remember there were 613 commands in the Mosaic Law, (the Ten Commandments + 603 Mitzvot).
- If the Bible tells us anything, it is that man cannot keep the Law of Moses perfectly, and perfection is what is needed. The Lord instituted a sacrificial system to cover the sin with blood, but the Law could not change the sin nature.
The first unrighteous act in the Bible
Before the “Fall” of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they lived in a state of innocence. They had no idea of sin. They were righteous before the Lord. It never occurred to them to disobey God in any way. They were innocent, righteous, and holy.
The Lord provided an opportunity for exercising their free-will by establishing the “Tree of the knowledge of good and evil” and the command that Adam and Eve not eat of it. This choice was an expression of the free-will that the Lord gave human beings to distinguish them from all the other created beings on earth. Until the Fall, Adam and Eve never exercised this free-will to disobey God because they trusted in Him, believed in Him completely.
Then Satan came onto the scene disguised as a serpent. The serpent deceived Eve into thinking that the Lord was with-holding something from her. Something that tasted good, looked good, and would provide her with wisdom to be like God. The moment they ate of the forbidden fruit, they experienced sin or unrighteousness, and all of humankind inherited the sin-nature.
Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Romans 5:18
Living in a State of Conscience; awareness of good and evil.
After the “Fall” or disobeying God’s command to not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve became conscious of good and evil. As descendants of Adam and Eve, all of humankind is born with a conscience, all can discern good and evil. Now couple an awareness of good and evil with free-will, you have a sin-nature. All of humankind is born with a sin nature. “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, Romans 3:23. The evidence of a sin nature is that everyone has to die. Death is the seal of sin. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Because God has given us free-will, we can choose to do good or evil. No one can make us do evil, not even the Devil. The only thing the Devil can do is to tempt us. To make that which is forbidden look so attractive that we convince ourselves that God did not really mean what He said. Isn’t that what happened to Adam and Eve? This state of being able to make a choice to do evil is the “sin nature.”
All of Romans chapter 4 is about Abraham and how he was found righteous before God even before the Law existed. Abraham is an example of justification by faith. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Romans 4:3 we’ll discuss this the next time.
What is Justification?
Justification means to be found not guilty. Don’t all of us need to be found not guilty. We all have a past, and we are dealing with the present, but keep in mind that although we are not perfect, we stand in a position of righteousness, and we are justified by our faith in Jesus Christ.
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. The word Advocate in this verse refers to Jesus and an Advocate is one who pleads your case before the Father. Another word for Advocate is Counselor, as in a lawyer, your counselor is making intercession on your behalf. Hebrews 7:24 states, But He (Jesus), because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
The Apostle Paul makes a profound statement in Romans 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Romans 3: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
The Sin Nature of Mankind, Romans (Exposit)
Romans 5:12-17 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
15 But the free gift (grace) is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of graceand of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
Conclusion
I am born with a sin nature. Even when I try to do the right things, I wind up doing the wrong. I disobey the Lord even when I don’t want to. I am unrighteous no matter how much I try. However, my faith in Jesus and His power and authority has, wiped away my sin and put to death my sin nature making me alive by the Holy Spirit. This is what being born-again really means. The old “man” is dead, and I am alive in Christ. The righteousness of Christ is imputed on me.
Jesus has justified me, in that the Father sees that I belong to Jesus; I’ve have been redeemed by Jesus and because of that, now the Father declares me innocent.
You’ve been forgiven, made righteous, and justified by your faith in Jesus, your savior and your deliverer. Now it is time to say, I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).
