Drew Boswell

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“Sola Fide: Faith Alone” Romans 1:16-17

A Sermon Series

The Five Solas

“Sola Fide: Faith Alone”

Romans 1:16-17

Introduction

The theologian Martin Luther who nailed the 95 thesis on the church door that started the Protestant Reformation, was a Catholic priest. He was very frustrated, and this is what he wrote in his journals, “I hated that word, justice of God . . . the justice by which God is just and by which he punishes sinners and the unjust . . . I was a sinner with an extremely troubled conscience . . . I hated the just God who punishes sinners . . . I grumbled vehemently and got angry at God . . . I was raging with wild and disturbed conscience . . . I badgered St. Paul on the spot in Romans 1”[1] Luther had been taught that he was made right with God by his actions, the works that he did to try and please God, But his conscience still bothered him because he knew he was a sinner. The more he tried to please God with his actions, the more frustrated and angry he became.

Then he came across Romans 1:17, and later he would write, “All at once I felt that I had been born again and entered into paradise itself through open gates . . . I saw the whole of Scripture in a different light . . . I exalted this sweetest word of mine, ‘justice of God’ with as much love as before I had hated it with hate. This phrase of Paul was for me the very gate of paradise.”[2]

Martin Luther realized by the Holy Spirit revealing to him a proper understanding of Romans 1:17, All that is required for salvation and right relationship with God, for a person to be considered righteous, is faith; faith alone.

Prayer

God’s People Have the Power of the Gospel (v. 16)

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Paul begins v. 16 by stating that he is “not ashamed of the gospel.” A Scottish theologian, James Stewart, made the comment, “There’s no sense in declaring that you are not ashamed of something unless you have been tempted to feel ashamed of it.”[3]

The gospel means “good news,” and it is good news because all of humanity have sinned and are in need of a Savior. For the Jews it was a “stumbling block, and for the Gentiles foolishness.”[4] In order to see it as good news, you have to understand the bad news, or the fallen situation in which all of humanity are “dead in their trespasses and sin” (Eph. 2:1).

The OT law is designed by God to show every person that they are not capable of what God requires to go to heaven, or be in His presence (sinless perfection). No one can keep the law, Jesus even show this further with His teachings of (murder related to anger, and adultery related to lust, etc.).

There is a huge temptation by the church to make the gospel less offensive. It has been said that, “Christianity is wounded most in the house of its friends.”[5] In Galatians 5:11-12 Paul expresses his fear of removing the offense of the gospel. “But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.”

Paul clearly recognizes something we need to realize: the true gospel is offensive to sinful human beings. You cannot remove the offense of the gospel without removing the gospel itself.  Paul recognized that it was impossible to share the true gospel without offending the lost.

Then he goes on to tell us why he is not ashamed of the gospel, “for it is the power of God for salvation,” – “of all the religions and non-religions of the world, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only message that truly saves . . . they cannot cleanse from sin or make a person right with the Creator of the universe. Only the gospel provides salvation from judgment.”[6]

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (Jesus).” The only way to be forgiven of your sins, and enter into eternity is through Jesus.

Jeremiah 13:3 “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?” Can a person change their nature? No. It takes the power of God acting in their lives to change our hearts.

Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because the gospel is not just “one power over against another others, by the supreme power, the power of almighty God Himself directed toward the salvation of men, God’s almighty saving power.”[7] In worldly religions and cults, people follow them because they want power, they want their gods to do something on their behalf. They would have healing papyri, having a healing formula – but here is true power of God to the person for the ultimate healing.

One temptation is change the gospel so that it is not offensive; another temptation is to try to bring people into a righteousness of God is some way other than the gospel (join a Sunday school Class, Come to Church, give money, serve on a committee) and never the mention of Jesus, their sin, or the cross – serving does not bring about righteousness in a person, only the gospel changes a life. We invite people to the gospel. A changed life begins only at the foot of the cross.

And that forgiveness of sin, is “to everyone who believes,” When the angels came to the shepherds, who were watching their flocks by night, they told them, Luke 2:10-11 “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” The good news of the Savior’s arrival is for the world, all the people.

Paul says that the good news for everyone, who believes. In Genesis 15:5 God tells Abraham to look up and to count the stars, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Abraham was made righteous before God by believing what God said. Those who would become descendants of Abraham (the stars in the sky, the sands on the seashore), would be those who believe God, and who also because of their faith are counted to them God’s righteousness.

God’s People Live by Faith (v. 17)

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Paul is referencing Habakkuk 2:4, “. . . the righteous shall live by his faith.”[8] The Old Testament and the New Testament both define faith the same way. God makes a promise, and the people believe God’s promise.

“How can a sinful man be made right before a perfect God? Paul is declaring in verse 17 that in Christ, God gives His own righteousness and thus meets all His demands for perfection.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 describes it this way, “For our sake he made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God transferred your sin to Jesus upon the cross, and God transferred Jesus’ sinless righteousness, “a God kind of righteousness”[9] to you.

How does this transfer happen? Paul explains, by faith alone. It is an openness to the gospel, but it is a gift from God (not something you do). It is the “human response of surrender to the judgement and unmerited mercy of God which God Himself brings about – God who not only directs the message to the hearer but also Himself lays open the hearer’s heart to the message. And yet this faith, as God’s work in a man, is in a real sense more truly and fully the man’s own personal decision than anything which he himself does of himself; for it is the expression of freedom which God has restored to him —the freedom to obey God.”[10]

To helps us get a definition of the word faith, lets’ go to Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation” (and the whole chapter). Each of the people listed in Hebrews 11, were told to do something, or that something was going to happen – and they believed it and acted accordingly (Noah built and ark, Abraham moved his family, etc.).

A proper understanding of faith is helpful then for us to see if someone says they receive Christ but use His grace and mercy as an excuse to sin in what theologians call antinomianism, “In some Christian belief systems, an antinomian is one who takes the principle of salvation by faith and divine grace to the point of asserting that the saved are not bound to follow the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments. Antinomians believe that faith alone guarantees eternal security in heaven, regardless of one’s actions.”[11] As if faith in Jesus allows them to disregard the teachings of Scripture.

In Paul’s life there was a radical change on the road to Damascus. He went from hunting down Christians and persecuting the church to planting churches and being one of their primary leaders. No one can remain unchanged who has received the grace of God in the gospel, and walks “from faith for faith.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

And then on the opposite side of lawlessness is the legalistic religious person – who also claims to be a follower of Jesus, but in reality they are not reliant upon God’s righteousness being revealed, and they are not living by faith. Instead, they are reliant upon their careful keeping of their own personal law, and what they think earns God’s favor toward them.[12] (this is what frustrated Martin Luther).

Both the lawless person and the legalistic person don’t understand faith. The lawless lacks faith because true faith leads to life change, not continued sinfulness. The legalistic person lacks genuine faith because they are trusting in themselves to earn God’s favor.

Paul uses this phrase, “from faith for faith,” and another way to say this is “faith from start to finish.”[13] (v.17) “the righteousness of God is revealed . . .“The righteous shall live by faith – Faith is revealed or given by God to people who then receive salvation, who then live out their lives by continuing to live by faith. We start our walk with God in faith, and we walk in faith all the way through until the end. “It is not a one-time act, but a way of life. . . Theologians have called this “the perseverance of the saints.”[14]

Genuine faith will lead to a heart change.

(v. 17) “The righteous shall live by faith.” This is a passage Paul quotes from Habakkuk, and that prophet who at his wits end. First, wickedness was rampant in Israel and God seemed oblivious to it, moving Habakkuk to rail against God in a series of complaints (Hab. 1:2-4). Second when God said that He was going to use a nation more wicked than Israel (the Babylonians) to punish Israel, this produced cries and complaints of injustice from the prophet (Hab. 1:12-2:1).

So Habakkuk was frustrated and didn’t understand why God was doing what He did. God responds to the prophet by saying that He was going to reveal His righteousness, and will put all of Habakkuk’s concerns to rest. But until God shows His plan, “the righteous shall live by faith” – to trust him. When things don’t make sense, and life seems to be going in the wrong direction – trust Him.

Before Paul’s reference of the Habakkuk passage he says, “as it is written,” “Whenever ecclesiastical teachings begin to compromise with the pagan notion that righteousness can be earned, there needs to be a clear reaffirmation that God’s righteousness comes from faith, not works. “As it is written” – the Greek work for this emphasizes the permanence and authoritative nature of Scripture.”[15] It has always been faith, and as secure as God’s Word stands, it will always be faith, faith alone.

We want to change the world; it is dark, at times it feels hopeless, and things don’t always go the way we think it should go. So, God gives us a supernatural power to change to world around us, to change families, even whole communities – we have “the power of God for salvation” – the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Bellevue Baptist Church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

The discipleship process begins with the gospel.

The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall. Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see, and with faith we are freed from the flimsy enclosures of life that only fear allows to entrap us.[16]

__________________________

[1] Kenneth Boa & William Kruidenier, Holman New Testament Commentary, Romans (Nashville, Tennessee; Holman Reference, 2000) 36.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Kenneth Boa & William Kruidenier, 30.

[4] 1 Corinthians 1:23

[5] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Romans 1-8 (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Press, 1991) 51.

[6] Jason K. Allen, General Editor, SOLA. How the Five Solas Are Still Reforming the Church (Chicago, Illinois; Moddy Publishers, 2019) 59.

[7] C.E.B. Cranfield, The International Critical Commentary, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Volume I (Edinburgh, Scotland; T&T Clark LTD) 88.

[8] Quoted also in Galatians 3:11

[9] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume IV (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1931) 327.

[10] Cranfield, 90.

[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomianism

[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legalism_(theology)

[13] George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1954) 394.

[14] MacArthur, 57. Col. 1:22-23; Heb. 3:12-14

[15] Robert Mounce, The American Commentary, Romans (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman & Holman Publishing, 1995) 74.

[16] https://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/f/faith.htm

“Sola Gratia; Grace Alone” Ephesians 2:1-10

A Sermon Series

The Five Solas

“Sola Gratia; Grace Alone”

Ephesians 2:1-10

Opening

In Luke 15 we see the story of the prodigal son. The boy went to his father and demanded his inheritance, even though his father was still alive (which was a great insult, and potentially hard on the family financially). But the father gives the boy his inheritance and the boy leaves home, travels far away and absolutely wastes the money. Eventually he runs out of money, finds a job taking care of pigs, and is so hungry he wants to eat the slop the pigs are eating. He comes to his senses and decides to ask his father back home if he can work on the family farm as a servant.

Luke 15:20 “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’3 22 But the father said to his servants,4 ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

We know that the prodigal son was not physically dead while in the far country, or physically made live when he returned home. The prodigal son was dead because he was away from home, out of touch and out of communion with the father. He is dead in his trespasses and sin against his father.

Prayer

Your Past (vv. 1-3)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Paul begins our chapter by reminding us of our past. “Scripture uses many metaphors to describe man’s sinful state, such as blindness, deafness, fever, paralysis, leprosy, etc. but not one more forceful in meaning than this one of being dead in sins.”[1]

Man does not become spiritually dead because he sins; he is spiritually dead by his nature, therefore he is sinful. His condition has nothing to do with the way he lives; it has to do with the fact that he is dead even while he is alive.  He is spiritually dead while being physically alive.

We are “dead in the trespasses and sins,” – to trespass is a violation of a definitive law, and to sin is to miss the mark (like an archer aiming at a target). We are guilty on both accounts. It is as if there is a giant “no trespassing sign” and we willfully went past it.

“We are sinners because we have taken our own way, and we are trespassers because we have transgressed what we knew to be the revealed word of God; and so we are dead to God in our natural condition.”[2]

 And no one will deny that there are degrees of sin. If we compare Hitler who oversaw the killing of millions of Jewish people, and someone who stole a package of gummies at a gas station – are they the same? Both are sin.

 If we look at Mark 5:21ff. we see Jairus’ daughter, and by the time Jesus got to her she had only been dead for a very short period of time, yet dead still. And later when we see Jesus coming to Lazarus’s tomb (John 11) – he intentionally stayed away for days, and when it was time to roll away the stone at the entrance when “Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”[3]

 Both Jarius’ daughter and Lazarus are in different stages of corruption, yet they both are dead. You may not be Hitler, but we are all sinners by our nature, Romans 3:23 “. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 Man’s common state of sin is like people trying to jump across the Grand Cannon (4 to 18mi.). 10 year old (8 feet), 20 year old Olympic long jump (30 feet), 50 year running from the IRS (50 feet) – all will fall short. We are all, “Sons of disobedience and children of wrath” are parallel verses, meaning the same thing.

(v. 2) “in which you once walked,” – The word walk is often used in the New Testament to describe a way of life. The words transgressions and sin describe the path in which people walk and the boundaries that shape their lives.[4]

Because we were spiritually dead, by nature (v. 3) “in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind” – it is our nature as human beings to live this way, and which always results in God’s Wrath. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In the gospel of Matthew 11:16-19 we see “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 17 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” John the Baptist and Jesus were both preachers, John’s message was focused on repentance and judgement (like a funeral dirge), and Jesus’ sermons he compares to a flute at a party (good news, joyful) – but the people did not respond to either.

But in the heart of some, there is a quickening. The Holy Spirit draws some toward Jesus.

This leads us to the theological word, justification (how one is made right with God). Since I am a sinner who is spiritually dead, how can I be made right with God again? What the Reformers of old (Martin Luther and others) are fighting against is the false teaching that I am made right with God through my actions, what I do. Am I justified before God by something that I do? (pay an indulgence, say a prayer, do a good act, etc.)

 Your Present (vv. 4-6)

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

 (v. 4) “But God,” – dead people can’t do anything. They can’t breathe, they can’t heal, they can’t take action to please God – all they can do it decay. And since they can do nothing to improve their situation, God chose to do something to make our relationship with Him right again. He made the first move.

1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”

“being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us” – “There is an infinite resources of mercy for the vilest sinner. There is no one for whom there is no mercy” or where the mercy will run out.[5] Not just a little bit of mercy, God is rich in His mercy toward sinners.

God saw our condition of sin and spiritual death, and out of compassion and love for His creation He took action, “made us alive together with Christ Jesus.”

Jesus’ death on a cross and his resurrection from the dead is a picture and a promise of us being made alive with Jesus. “There was a time when because of my sins Jesus Christ lay dead in the grave, but having completed the work that saves, God quickened Him from the dead and brought Him back in triumph from the tomb.”[6] We believe in Him and are brought forth from the place of the dead and are brought back to life.

“by grace you have been saved” – grace is God’s action toward us when we do not deserve His favor. “Grace,” – “God’s loving act to bring salvation freely to those who cannot merit it.”[7] Our nature is to rebel against God, His nature is to offer grace to His creation.

“raised us up with him and seated[8] us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” – Jesus has done all the work (dying on the cross, bearing the weight of our sin, He has done all the things required for our salvation), then we get to go with him to heaven. Jesus bought the ticket, and he turns and hands us one for free, and we get to go with him.

 Your Future (vv. 7-10)

7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

(v.8) “Grace is God’s part, faith is our part.”[9] God loves his creation so much that He sent His Son into the world to be a propitiation for our sins, but He loves His Son so much that he will not permit anyone into heaven who ignores the work of the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished.”[10]

 When a person chokes or drowns and stops breathing, there is nothing he can do.  If he ever breathes again it will be because someone else starts him breathing. A person who is spiritually dead cannot even make a decision of faith unless God breathes into him the breath of spiritual life.  Faith is simply breathing the breath that God’s grace supplies.[11]

Every person lives by faith. When we open a can of food or drink a glass of water we trust that it is not contaminated. When we go across a bridge we trust it to support us.  When we put our money in the bank we trust that it will be there when we go to withdraw it.  Life is a constant series of acts of faith.

(vv. 8-9) “it (salvation) is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works” Human effort has nothing to do with it.  And thus, no one should boast, as if he had any part of it.  All boasting is eliminated in salvation. When we see each other in eternity, we will know that none of us deserve to be there and will bow before Jesus in his glory and grace.

Salvation is a Free Gift From God.

(v. 10) “For we are his workmanship” – “created in Christ Jesus for good works” Not in order to be saved but because we are already saved are we to do good works. As the sun was created to shine, the rose to give forth its delightful fragrance, the bird to fly, so we are created anew to do good works and thus to glorify him who created us as what we are in Christ Jesus.”[12]

(v. 10) “which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”[13] – “What Paul says is not that God prepared us that we should walk in good works (so Luther), but that he prepared the good works.”[14] The believer is saved, but then we don’t look around for just something good to do, God lays out the journey before us. Our job is to stay close to God and His Word, so that “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

“We are saved not by but for good works, and we are saved not just for a beautiful heavenly destiny that God has prepared but for good works here, likewise prepared by God.”[15] So when we say, Grace Alone – we mean that God offers His grace to a person, and they are saved based on faith in Jesus. No working or earning God’s favor (you couldn’t even if you tried), God’s Grace alone is needed for salvation.

Conclusion – let’s go back to Luke 15, remember when the father sees the son returning home, he says, “Bring quickly the best” – for the farmer it was a robe, a ring, sandals, and a celebration meal. When our heavenly father sees us, he says “Bring quickly the best” What is the best that the heavenly father gives us?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God gave His best so that we may have eternal life – have you received Jesus’ free gift of salvation and new life?

________________________

[1] August Van Ryn, Ephesians The Glories of His Grace (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers Publishing, 1963) 40.

[2] H. A. Ironside, In the Heavenlies (Neptune, New Jersey; Louizeaux Brothers, 1979) 101

[3] Ironside, 100.

[4] Klyne Snodgrass, The NIV Application Commentary, Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 1996) 96.

[5] Ironside, 105.

[6] Ironside, 106.

[7] Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Two (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982) 549.

[8] Seated is given in the past tense (aorist tense) indicating it being so definite that it is as if it has already fully taken place. MacArthur, 60.

[9] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 4 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1931) 525.

[10] Ironside, 111.

[11] John MacArthur, The John MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Ephesians (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Press, 1986) 61.

[12] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians to the Ephesians and to the Philippians (Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1961) 427.

[13] “C. L. Mitton concludes his discussion on this verse with an appropriate comment: “This final phrase about our ‘walking in them’ reminds us that fine phrases or eloquent sermons about love are not what is required, but the actions, costly actions, which express in practical conduct the love which God’s saving power has created in our hearts.” David J. Williams, New International Biblical Commentary, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishers, 1990) 186.

[14] Lenski, 427.

[15] Walter L. Liefeld, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, Ephesians (Downers Grove, Illinois; Intervarsity Press, 1997) 67.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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