The Effectiveness of Faith – part 2
Romans 4:9-12
October 15, 2017
As you know we are currently examining the doctrine of SOLA FIDE
Namely that man is Justified by Faith Alone
Having looked at the Necessity of Faith
We are now looking at the Effectiveness of Faith
By lifting up the example of Abraham,
We see there is only one way a man is made just before God,
And that is by believing God.
Man cannot possibly do anything good enough to get to God,
But because God is so merciful,
If man will place his faith in God,
Then God will credit that faith as righteousness.
It is the absolute blessing of being forgiven.
Romans 4:6-8 “just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”
It is a blessing to be freely forgiven by God.
So Paul has been hammering “Justification by Faith”
Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
Romans 4:4-5 “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”
But you and I know, there is a flip side to every argument.
If works don’t get us to God,
Then why do you always talk about works?
Do I work, or not work?
Does it help, or no help?
The fact is that there is nothing which challenges
The doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone
Like a misunderstanding of the relationship
Between faith and works.
And granted, it’s easy to see why people can be confused in this area.
Let me put two verses up on the screen and you’ll see what I mean.
Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
Seems clear enough.
James 2:24 “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
Do you see the problem?
If all you do is take those two verses out of context
It is an apparent contradiction.
TONIGHT Paul helps us understand this issue.
And in doing so we are again convicted just how effective faith really is.
And in our text, I want you to learn two main points.
#1 FAITH PRECEDES WORKS
Romans 4:9-10
“Is this blessing..?”
Of course he is referring to the blessing
He mentioned in verse 6 that David spoke of.
The blessing of having your sin forgiven…
The blessing of having your sin forsaken…
The blessing of having your sin forgotten…
Paul is here asking the question.
“Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also?”
And that is a very critical question to ask.
He is wanting to know, exactly when forgiveness of sin takes place
Does it occur immediately after faith,
Or does it occur after faith and a few works.
Years ago the local Church of Christ preacher named Bob Martin began publishing the “Caprock Bible Study” in the Texas Spur.
In one of those “Bible Studies” he quoted from the gospel of Mark.
Mark 16:16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”
He then commenced to say that in order to be saved,
A person must have faith and baptism or else he could not be saved.
It was faith plus this one work.
(Incidentally, Tommy Bailey published nearly the same on Facebook)
It’s important to note that
• None of them were questioning the necessity of faith.
• Every Church of Christ preacher I have ever met would tell you that faith is absolutely required for salvation.
For that matter Rome would absolutely tell you that faith is required for salvation.
None of them question the effectiveness of faith.
What they question is the sufficiency of faith.
(the effectiveness of faith)
That is the question that Paul is asking here.
When does forgiveness occur?
The Jews said, it was faith plus circumcision to be forgiven.
Acts 15:1 “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
Paul is asking if that is true here.
And so Paul begins to answer the question.
“For we say, “FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised?
AT WHAT POINT DID GOD FORGIVE ABRAHAM?
AFTER FAITH OR AFTER FAITH AND CIRCUMCISION?
“Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;”
Abraham’s forgiveness came after faith and before circumcision.
Forgiveness:
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
Circumcision:
Genesis 17:24 “Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.”
Please notice that the time span had to be at least 13 years, for Ishmael was born in chapter 16, and Abraham isn’t circumcised until Ishmael is 13 years old.
And the point is OBVIOUS
FORGIVENESS FOLLOWS FAITH & FORGIVENESS PRECEDES WORKS
In order for a person to get to God, faith alone is required.
There is no moral pre-requisite,
There is no standard of goodness to first be attained.
Only faith in Jesus is required.
Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”
In regard to the preacher who wrote the Bible study.
He quoted one half of one verse
And built his entire theology upon it.
Look at that verse again.
Mark 16:16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”
When the second half of that verse is read,
It becomes most apparent that believing and not working
Determines salvation.
IF A PERSON TAKES SCRIPTURE AS A WHOLE,
• You will see that Scripture overwhelmingly teaches that faith alone is required for salvation.
John 3:14-18 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
John 6:40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.”
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 12:44-46 “And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. “He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”
And that is just the book of John.
In order for God to forgive a person and credit righteousness to their account, the only thing required is faith in Jesus.
IT IS ENOUGH
WHY?
BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T HAVE FAITH, WORKS ARE USELESS
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
Matthew 23:23-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
Or consider the children of Israel:
1 Corinthians 10:1-5 “For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.”
About those same people the writer of Hebrews wrote:
Hebrews 4:2 “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”
The problem with them was not a lack of works,
The problem was a lack of faith.
WHAT DO WE LEARN?
• Faith Alone will justify a sinner.
• Works Alone will not.
Going to church… Lord’s supper… Baptism…
Are NOT means of attaining salvation,
And if they occur before salvation, they are out of order.
In fact, in many cases,
They only succeed in giving the lost a FALSE SENSE OF SALVATION.
Forgiveness occurs directly after faith.
Not directly after works.
Therefore, we conclude that FAITH PRECEDES WORKS
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
But there is a second truth that we must understand
In order to have a complete understanding of Scripture.
#2 WORKS PROVE FAITH
Romans 4:11-12
Paul really gives us some tremendous
Insight there in the first part of verse 11.
(incidentally this is James’ point)
Paul called circumcision two different things, did you catch that?
1) SIGN
2) SEAL
Works don’t precede faith, they prove your faith is real.
If a man has no works – he has no faith.
If a man has no faith – he has no salvation.
James 2:14-17 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”
We would have to be blind to miss James’s point.
The idea is that if a man’s faith is not accompanied by action,
Then that man has no real faith.
James 2:18-19 “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
Here James lays down a challenge for all to answer.
“show my your faith without the works,”
And of course YOU CAN’T.
Which is why James says next, “I will show you my faith by my works.”
If you don’t have works, then you don’t have faith.
James 2:20-26 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
And that also fits our example of Abraham.
We know he was saved by faith alone.
But how do we know he had faith?
HIS WORKS PROVED THAT HIS FAITH WAS REAL.
Certainly we think of the willingness to sacrifice his son,
But that wasn’t the first work Abraham ever did.
The first work Abraham performed was circumcision.
WORKS PROVE THAT FAITH IS REAL
And this is seen even in the New Testament.
John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Matthew 7:16-20 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
It is not works that save you.
Works aren’t even required to be saved.
But if you don’t have works, then you don’t have faith.
That is what Paul is speaking of here,
And he gives 3 ways that works prove faith.
1) WORKS SIGNIFY YOUR FAITH
“and he received the sign of circumcision”
“sign” translates SEMEION (say-mi-on)
That which distinguishes a person or thing from others.
It is the word that is used when the crowd wanted to see proof from Jesus that He really was the Son of God.
Matthew 12:38-39 “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;”
They heard Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah
They heard Jesus’ claims to be the Son of God
They wanted proof.
So it is with our faith.
We can claim to have it, but is there any way to prove it?
Sure, we call it works.
In Abraham’s case, the first was circumcision.
And as we have said this circumcision
Was also symbolic of what God was doing in his heart.
God was removing the sin of Abraham
Which had been passed down from Adam.
Today, the first step of faith is baptism, but that is just the first.
Loving God…
Righteous living…
Loving your brother…
Loving the poor…
Loving the lost…
ARE ALL WORKS TO PROVE OUR FAITH IS REAL
But that is what works do.
They prove that your faith in God is genuine.
But there are more.
2) WORKS SEAL YOUR FAITH
“a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised”
What is the difference between a “sign” and a “seal”?
As sign is something you do to prove your faith.
A seal is something you receive to show your faith has been approved.
“seal” translates SPHRAGIS (sfrag-ece)
A signet, the stamp impressed as a mark of privacy or genuineness.
That means when we are talking about a “seal”
We are talking about something that is given after as verification.
A seal is a guarantee of authenticity.
WHAT DO WE MEAN?
• Circumcision for Abraham wasn’t just a test to verify his faith.
• Circumcision was also a gift through which God was approving his faith.
THINK OF IT LIKE A WEDDING RING.
When you stand before the preacher they bring out the rings
And the preacher gives the significance of the wedding ring.
He in effect says that this ring is the “sign” of your marriage.
And he asks if you will wear it on behalf of your spouse.
But to you the ring quickly becomes more than just a sign,
It is also a gift to you from your spouse
Which serves as a reminder that they have pledged their life to you.
So in one sense it is a sign and in another sense it is a seal.
So it was with Abraham’s circumcision.
• It was something Abraham did for God – thus validating his faith.
• And it was something God gave to Abraham – thus reminding of his acceptance.
And by extension that is the same thing works do for us.
On one hand they are the first indicator that we really trust God,
But over time they also become the proof that we look at
That God has accepted us and we are His.
And these works become a reliable seal because
True works of faith are only possible if we are in Jesus and He is in us.
I recently hear R.C. Sproul talk about assurance…
Someone came to him doubting their salvation, and he said, “I’ve got 3 questions for you, to help you determine if you are saved.”
1) Do you love the Biblical Jesus perfectly?
2) Do you love Him as much as you should?
3) Do you love Him at all?
And do you realize that even this less than desired love is a fruit of salvation because no unregenerate person has any affection for Christ.
Now it may very well be that
• You need to repent of something that is stealing your assurance,
• Or you need to obey in an area to regain peace,
• But in regard to salvation that evidence of loving God is only available because God gave you the capacity to do it.
So it is with all spiritual works.
They are only possible because they have been granted by God.
FRUIT ONLY COMES FROM A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.
John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
That means if you have fruit, you are the real deal,
Because you can’t have fruit if you are not.
Matthew 7:17-18 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.”
That is why John wrote his first letter.
1 John 3:13-20 “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.”
John said, we will know we are true believers when our fruit is of God.
And that is only one type of fruit, but you get the point.
Works are not only a sign that you give God to prove your faith,
But works are also a seal that God gives to you
To show your faith is approved.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
These works did not originate with you, they originated with God.
Works serve as a seal.
It is a constant stamp of approval
That we can look at to know we are God’s.
Listen to Jesus:
John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”
Works aren’t just what we do to prove our faith.
They are what God gives us to do,
To prove He has accepted our faith.
When God sees our faith is genuine
He gives us the ability to do good works
Which serve as a seal that we really are His
This is what John had in mind.
1 John 3:7-10 “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”
If God gives you the ability to be righteous,
Then let that keep someone from deceiving you that you aren’t.
They signify your faith to God They seal your faith in God
3) WORKS SHOW YOUR FAITH
“so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.”
Here Paul lists two different categories.
The lost Gentile who is not circumcised.
The lost Jew who is circumcised.
Abraham’s works were meant to show each of them what God required.
The fact that Abraham was justified by faith apart from works
Shows the uncircumcised sinner that he can be saved
And it shows the circumcised Jew that he still needs faith
Works don’t save you, but they are a powerful testimony
To an unbelieving world.
Think about the testimony of baptism.
• Baptize a thug, it reveals that God will save anyone.
• Baptize a religious person, it reveals that everyone needs
salvation
WORKS ARE A POWERFUL TESTIMONY TO LEAD OTHERS TO FAITH.
That’s what James said wasn’t it?
James 2:18 “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Works don’t save you.
They never have, they never will.
BUT WORKS DO HAVE A PURPOSE
They signify your faith – They seal your faith – They show your faith
That is the relationship with faith and works.
THE POINT I AM MAKING IS THAT WHILE WORKS ARE CERTAINLY IMPORTANT, IT IS FAITH AND FAITH ALONE THAT IS EFFECTIVE.
And this is the doctrine which was rescued in the Reformation.
Let me give you another piece of info that I gained from R.C. Sproul.
It is a math analogy, but it paints such a clear picture of what we are about.
Rome says:
FAITH + WORKS = JUSTIFICATION
The Gospel says
FAITH = JUSTIFICATION + WORKS
Antinomianism says (Romans 6)
FAITH = JUSTIFICATION – WORKS
I think that is a clear way to put it.
We are certainly NOT like the antinomians who are asking Paul in Romans 6 if they can go ahead and sin all they want since they are under grace?
Absolutely not!
The genuine faith of Scripture would never make such a claim.
However we don’t at all believe that
Works are in any way necessary for justification either.
WE BELIEVE FAITH IS EFFECTIVE.
Martin Luther said it like this:
“We are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.”
Meaning, if your faith has no works, then your faith is dead.
It is not saving faith and you are not justified.
But if your faith is genuine, and of the sort that justifies,
Then rest assured it will be evidenced by good works.
We’ll continue on with this next time…
