A sermon
preached by The Reverend Scott D. Nowack on March 4, 2012
at First
Presbyterian Church, Kilgore, Texas.
“Sola
Fide”
Genesis
17:1-7, 15-16
Romans
4:13-25
If you awoke in the middle of the night to discover that your house were burning, and every second remaining in the inferno put your own life at risk, what would you grab -- not counting people or pets -- on your way out? Your answer can shed light on your personality and core values.
Anyway, what would you say? What would you grab? Do you gather your most costly items: Jewelry, a laptop, antiques, bonds or cash from the safe? Do you grab what is most sentimental to you: Pictures of the children, grandma's quilt, your journals, a letter written from your father before he passed away? Or do you focus on the most practical items: Passport, phone, backup hard drive, wallet, backing the car out of the garage?
To all our parents, what would your kids take on the way out? Small children may grab their favorite toy and their favorite stuffed animal or blanket. Older youth may grab their mobile phone, their Wii or XBOX or PlayStation, or their favorite jeans.
There is a community photo blog called www.theburninghouse.com, created by photographer Foster Huntington that is based on this very question. People post a picture of all the things they would grab laid out on the floor or table somewhere and provide a written description of what is in the picture. Anyone is allowed to comment on these posted pictures. Some unusual things listed include a childhood toy robot, a mounted deer hoof, an ABBA record, a feather collection and a slice of pizza.
You can learn a lot about a person from this simple question. You get a snapshot of ones core values and personality traits. And our text in Romans poses a similar question to us: If it was your life that was coming to an end and not your house, what would you carry with you into eternity?
Billy Graham used to pose the question: "If you were to die tonight and stand before God, and God were to say to you, 'Why should I let you into heaven?' what would you say?" What is Paul’s answer? Not a thing, except the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Throughout his letter to the Roman church, Paul has argued that all people, Jew and Gentile alike, are separated from God (Romans 3:23). But now Paul also suggests that the grace and mercy of God has been extended to all, Jew and Gentile alike, including the very righteousness of Christ to all who believe. This change of heart and mind comes to us through sola fide, faith alone. It secures a judgment that we're not guilty, an acquittal, if you will. And this astonishing verdict is the result of nothing humans have done, but is the gift of God, given freely to us.
Paul is also refuting theoretical objections from Jewish opposition who might claim their ancestry or adherence to the law as worthy of notice, or as qualifying at the very least for special consideration. God’s promise to Abraham was based on faith and not on the Law. Old Testament law cannot bridge the gap between us and God, only Christ can do that. Paul stresses that the law was given not to bring about redemption, but to point out to us our great need for it.
Based strictly on the Law, Abraham had a great résumé that could certainly earn him favor with God: he obediently agreed to move his family to new lands, hoped in God to fulfill the promise regarding his offspring (v. 18), he was faithful during his test with Issac, buried his wife in Canaan before seeing the fulfillment of all God's promises and became the father of many nations.
Despite these great, amazing works, "his faith 'was reckoned to him as righteousness'" (v. 22). It was through his faith that he was made right with God, that he was redeemed and made righteous. And likewise for all of us after Abraham, our right standing with God "will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead" (v. 24).
So what about us? If our life were coming to an end and not our house, what should we bring in our arms to present to God? Our good works? Our religious laws? The Christian legacy of our family? Our denominational affiliation? The correct doctrine of our faith tradition? Or a lifetime of prayer and love of the Scriptures? All we need to bring is simply faith in Jesus Christ.
To all our parents, what would your kids take on the way out? Small children may grab their favorite toy and their favorite stuffed animal or blanket. Older youth may grab their mobile phone, their Wii or XBOX or PlayStation, or their favorite jeans.
There is a community photo blog called www.theburninghouse.com, created by photographer Foster Huntington that is based on this very question. People post a picture of all the things they would grab laid out on the floor or table somewhere and provide a written description of what is in the picture. Anyone is allowed to comment on these posted pictures. Some unusual things listed include a childhood toy robot, a mounted deer hoof, an ABBA record, a feather collection and a slice of pizza.
You can learn a lot about a person from this simple question. You get a snapshot of ones core values and personality traits. And our text in Romans poses a similar question to us: If it was your life that was coming to an end and not your house, what would you carry with you into eternity?
Billy Graham used to pose the question: "If you were to die tonight and stand before God, and God were to say to you, 'Why should I let you into heaven?' what would you say?" What is Paul’s answer? Not a thing, except the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Throughout his letter to the Roman church, Paul has argued that all people, Jew and Gentile alike, are separated from God (Romans 3:23). But now Paul also suggests that the grace and mercy of God has been extended to all, Jew and Gentile alike, including the very righteousness of Christ to all who believe. This change of heart and mind comes to us through sola fide, faith alone. It secures a judgment that we're not guilty, an acquittal, if you will. And this astonishing verdict is the result of nothing humans have done, but is the gift of God, given freely to us.
Paul is also refuting theoretical objections from Jewish opposition who might claim their ancestry or adherence to the law as worthy of notice, or as qualifying at the very least for special consideration. God’s promise to Abraham was based on faith and not on the Law. Old Testament law cannot bridge the gap between us and God, only Christ can do that. Paul stresses that the law was given not to bring about redemption, but to point out to us our great need for it.
Based strictly on the Law, Abraham had a great résumé that could certainly earn him favor with God: he obediently agreed to move his family to new lands, hoped in God to fulfill the promise regarding his offspring (v. 18), he was faithful during his test with Issac, buried his wife in Canaan before seeing the fulfillment of all God's promises and became the father of many nations.
Despite these great, amazing works, "his faith 'was reckoned to him as righteousness'" (v. 22). It was through his faith that he was made right with God, that he was redeemed and made righteous. And likewise for all of us after Abraham, our right standing with God "will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead" (v. 24).
So what about us? If our life were coming to an end and not our house, what should we bring in our arms to present to God? Our good works? Our religious laws? The Christian legacy of our family? Our denominational affiliation? The correct doctrine of our faith tradition? Or a lifetime of prayer and love of the Scriptures? All we need to bring is simply faith in Jesus Christ.
In view of his sola fide understanding of justification in Romans, Luther stated that "faith takes hold of Christ." Faith does not claim merit. It does not self-justify through good works. For Luther, this taking hold of Christ was truly being seized by him. Like a strong arm extended over the cliff edge to one precariously clinging to his endangered life, we reach for Christ who has grabbed and pulled us out of our sinfulness and into a new relationship in himself.
The implication for each of us of a right relationship with God through faith in Christ alone is that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us more than he already does. At the same time, we can’t do anything that will cause God to love us any less than he already does. Recognizing the massive gap between what most of us believe about the love of God and live regarding it, Brennan Manning said, "The most difficult part of mature faith is allowing yourself in your brokenness to be the object of the vast delight of the risen Jesus." Since we are justified by Christ, we must do the hard work of believing God loves us, allowing ourselves to feel loved by him, and then living in his amazing love.
The implication for each of us of a right relationship with God through faith in Christ alone is that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us more than he already does. At the same time, we can’t do anything that will cause God to love us any less than he already does. Recognizing the massive gap between what most of us believe about the love of God and live regarding it, Brennan Manning said, "The most difficult part of mature faith is allowing yourself in your brokenness to be the object of the vast delight of the risen Jesus." Since we are justified by Christ, we must do the hard work of believing God loves us, allowing ourselves to feel loved by him, and then living in his amazing love.
A second implication is living our life of faith that goes beyond performance. In his book The Search for Significance, author Robert McGee suggests that for many Christians, there is a subtle and unexamined equation to our faith: Spiritual Self-Worth = Performance + Others' Opinions.[1] To feel good about our relationship with God, we need to pray more, sin less, love hard people, serve in hard ministries. The performance list goes on. McGee's answer to this dysfunctional formula is simply the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
He asks confrontational questions to those trapped living a life based on works and not faith: "When God considers you, does God deceive himself in some way or does God know who you truly are? If you think of yourself differently than God thinks of you, who is mistaken, you or God?" Through justification by faith, Christ's redemptive work replaces our work, and gets us to see ourselves as God does.
A third implication of justification by faith alone comes from author Neil Anderson. He presents to us an interesting experiment. Ask a Christian who they are in relation to their faith, and they'll probably answer with denominational affiliation or doctrinal statement, or they'll speak about their gifts or roles in the church. But is this who they are? How we live our faith does not determine who we are. Who we are determines what we do, think, and feel.[2]
Paul argues elsewhere that Christians are new creations; we are justified by Christ as children of God. Christ is not ashamed to call us "brothers and sisters." We are sheep of his pasture and the work of his hand. We are saints, not sinners. That which God says is true of us, is true of us, whether we believe those truths or not. It doesn't matter how we feel about them. It doesn't matter how our past prepares us to be able to trust in them.
As we look at Paul's message of justification by faith, one major point stands out: "That which God requires, God provides." If we want to emerge from the dark depths of false beliefs and expectations, we only need to pack one thing to take with us. It’s the one thing that God provides us through faith in Jesus Christ: amazing grace as we stand and walk with God, for now and all eternity. Amen.
He asks confrontational questions to those trapped living a life based on works and not faith: "When God considers you, does God deceive himself in some way or does God know who you truly are? If you think of yourself differently than God thinks of you, who is mistaken, you or God?" Through justification by faith, Christ's redemptive work replaces our work, and gets us to see ourselves as God does.
A third implication of justification by faith alone comes from author Neil Anderson. He presents to us an interesting experiment. Ask a Christian who they are in relation to their faith, and they'll probably answer with denominational affiliation or doctrinal statement, or they'll speak about their gifts or roles in the church. But is this who they are? How we live our faith does not determine who we are. Who we are determines what we do, think, and feel.[2]
Paul argues elsewhere that Christians are new creations; we are justified by Christ as children of God. Christ is not ashamed to call us "brothers and sisters." We are sheep of his pasture and the work of his hand. We are saints, not sinners. That which God says is true of us, is true of us, whether we believe those truths or not. It doesn't matter how we feel about them. It doesn't matter how our past prepares us to be able to trust in them.
As we look at Paul's message of justification by faith, one major point stands out: "That which God requires, God provides." If we want to emerge from the dark depths of false beliefs and expectations, we only need to pack one thing to take with us. It’s the one thing that God provides us through faith in Jesus Christ: amazing grace as we stand and walk with God, for now and all eternity. Amen.
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