Title: Faith alone/Romans 4:1-5
'Faith alone' is a banner held high by Luther, the Reformer in the 16th century A.D., when the corruption and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church reached its peak. As opposed to injustice in the Catholic Church, which claims that sins are forgiven by paying indulgences, the doctrine of faith alone, that is, faith alone, became the starting point of the Christian movement and became the main program of Protestantism. This doctrine, along with the doctrine of all priests, became the two major dividing points between Catholics and Protestants.
The famous theologian Karl Barth said that the difference between us Protestants and Catholics is only and but. The slogans that the Reformers cried out for were "Grace alone," "Faith alone," "The Bible alone," "Christ alone," "The Bible alone," and "The glory of God alone." However, Catholics say that 'acts are also needed'.
Last week, in the dimension of 'only grace', I spoke under the title 'Abounding grace of God'. Today, I will receive grace under the title of 'Faith alone'.
If your doctor tells you that you are a critically ill patient at the crossroads of life and death, "Just do nothing and stay still! And you will get better", you will probably be very disappointed, thinking, "Now I am stuck." . But on the other hand, if the doctor says, "Your disease is very fatal. But there is a drug that has recently been developed, try it. I can't guarantee the results, but if it works, it may get better." will be hung up on the doctor.
This is why people prefer to do something rather than tell everyone to do nothing. However, people tend to react the same to spiritual matters. In other words, people always think, "Do I have to do something to be saved?" Therefore, they mistakenly believe that they must have something to be proud of to be saved. But the Word of God today says that our salvation is possible only through justification by faith. By the way
1. God says that we are not justified by our works.
“So then, what can we say about Abraham, our father in the flesh? If Abraham was justified by works, he would have something to boast about, but not in the sight of God.” He said that (Romans 3:28).
Paul refers to the pessimistic anthropology that all mankind apart from God are sinners and are in a desperate state. There is none righteous, not even one; there is no one who does good, not even one. And as a result, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (3:23). So people have been working hard for a long time to solve the problem of death caused by this sin. But everyone is proud of the grave. No human action, no honor, no power, no wealth, no religion can save man from sin and death. Because no human good deeds, no best deeds, can be justified before God.
It was the same with Abraham. Abraham had nothing to boast about in the flesh before God. In other words, even Abraham could not be saved by human works. Paul explains it, "If Abraham had been justified by works, he would have something to boast about, but not in the sight of God" (verse 2). That's right. No one can be justified before God by human works.
2. God says that justification by faith is salvation.
To be justified before God means to be saved. Judaism says that only those who do the law are declared righteous by God. However, we say that God has opened a different way for all human beings because they do not 100% fulfill the requirements of the law. The way to be justified by God is to be declared righteous from God. The way to receive that declaration is to believe in Jesus, who paid for our sins on the cross. Our salvation is in justification by faith alone. Paul uses the example of Abraham here to testify to the fact that we are not justified by works, but only by faith. Paul writes in Galatians, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Galatians 3:6). God did not consider Abraham righteous because of his good deeds or deeds, but he justified him because of his faith in the word of God and his faith. Abraham believed the words "... preach the gospel to Abraham, and in you all nations will be blessed" (Galatians 3:8).
He believed in the wonderful spiritual promise that all Gentiles would be blessed through him. And it goes further, "...for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree, so that the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus may come upon the Gentiles... (Galatians 3:13-14). The faith of can be seen that in Jesus Christ, he believed that the blessings of Abraham would reach the Gentiles, that is, Abraham believed that the Messiah would appear from among his descendants and would bring blessings to all the Gentiles as well. He saw him by faith and justified him, so here we see that salvation is possible only through justification by faith.
3. God says that we can be saved through faith in Jesus.
Ultimately, we have come to the truth that our salvation comes only through faith in Jesus, the Christ. Abraham believed what God had told him about Jesus, the Christ, and God saw his faith in him and counted him as righteousness. From Adam to Abraham and to us today, no one in this world has been saved in any other way. Only through faith in Jesus, the Christ, can we be saved. That is why the author of Acts declares, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Therefore, we can only be saved through faith in Jesus, the Christ, and this is the total gift and grace of God that has nothing to do with our works.
Conclusion.
Therefore, we have nothing to do to be saved. Because there is no way we can be saved by our works. The only way is through faith. All we need to do is to receive by faith the gift of salvation that Jesus accomplished for me and for us on the cross.
That's why Paul says in verses 4 and 5, "To those who work, their wages are not counted as grace, but as debts; but to those who do not work, but believe in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness." are doing Wages received for work are not gifts, but fair remuneration. However, if you receive a daily wage even though you have done nothing, it is a gift and grace. Grace is God's one-sided favor freely given to those who do not deserve it.