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10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
Basic Discipleship
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson
This material is copyrighted c2002 and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of the Berean Baptist Church.
To order a copy of Basic
Discipleship,
please visit our Publications section.
PHASE
3 CHURCH
ORIENTATION AND EDIFICATION
SESSION
13
Hallelujah for this great truth! Most of the religious world has a works mentality. Almost to a man, the non-religious world assumes any hope beyond the grave would be based upon the merits of the person in question. God has a different idea.
The vast majority of even those people who have been in Christian circles most of their lives do not have a clue as to what faith in the Bible sense of the word is. They use the word often but have it totally confused with presumption and use is synonymously so. This session, therefore, begins with two exercises to establish what faith is, as used in the Bible.
Likewise, few people seem to grasp the gravity of the word justification as seen in the scriptures. This session, therefore, follows the look at Bible faith with an exercise on justification. It is hoped that the disciple who works this exercise will see justification as a legal matter before God as he looks at God's laws and man's offenses. He should understand the necessity of the redemptive work of Christ as the only means of making the sinner right with God. Please be alert to the need of your disciple at this junction of his/her training. Justification before God by faith is a fundamental Christian concept. It is not an easy one, nor is it a familiar concept to the natural mind. Do not take for granted that your disciple will be straight in understanding it. There are many rogue groups that call themselves Christians who will target your disciple once they sense that he believes in justification by faith. They will use a multitude of anti-scriptural, yet passionate and powerful, arguments to convince him that he will never make heaven apart from (1) good works on his part and (2) the maintenance thereof till his death.
James 2 is the pet text of many who propagate justification by works. In a study of this sort, James 2 cannot and should not be ignored nor omitted. This passage is taken into consideration at the end of this session. It is very important that the student see that James is discussing man's justification before other men, not before God. Men can not see faith; they see only the good works that faith produces. Therefore, in the eyes of men, there is no faith where there are no works. That is not the case with God, for He looks directly on the heart. (Men cannot do this.) It does not take works for God to know there is faith in the heart. When it comes to justification before God, Paul goes to great length in Romans 4 (and other places) to prove that it comes by faith alone. When it comes to justification before God, it comes by faith alone without works. Help your disciple see this truth. If he fails to reconcile Romans 4 and James 2 in his mind, you will ultimately lose your disciple. You can be sure that the devil will make every effort to bring this matter to his attention and use it to confuse him.
You are in the heavy doctrinal section of this Basic Discipleship study. Help your disciple to establish long roots. Pray with him and stay available. Let him know that you care and that you are there for him. Probe. Answer his questions. Give direction.
Be sure to get the next assignment into his hands.
Justification is one of the hottest of the hotbeds of disagreement in the entire "Christian" world. You wouldn't think so in view of the clarity of the Bible on this issue, yet there is enormous division over this issue both outside and inside the ranks of "Christianity." (Note that the word Christian is being initially used here to include all of those who profess to be Christian and not as a reference to those who really are Christian in the Bible sense of the word.)
Almost all religious people, both inside and outside "Christianity" believe in some form of justification by works. The concept of salvation by a Savior apart from works or merit on the part of the individual is foreign to every religion except true Christianity. Even among professing Christians, there are multitudes who insist that no person can be just with God apart from a certain standard or performance on his/her part. For hundreds of years, major theological wars have raged within "Christian" ranks over this issue.
It is time for you to discover for your own self some of what the Bible, God's Word, says on this most vital issue.
WHAT
FAITH IS
The Bible repeatedly uses the word "Faith." It seems that only a few have even the faintest concept of what the term faith is, as used in the Bible. Complete this multiple choice exercise to gain a better understanding of the term faith as used in the Bible. First read the scripture, then circle the best answer from the options given.
1. Hebrews 11:1-3. Faith is:
A. Believing something because we see it with our own natural eyes.
B. A strong feeling or belief in something whether or not there is any basis or evidence to justify our feeling or belief.
C. Believing because God said it and/or His character justifies what we believe.
D. Something
mystical and unclear in scripture.
2. Romans 10:17. Faith is:
A. Impossible, apart from the word of God.
B. Believing
strongly the words of anyone, especially when it comes to religious matters.
C. Being convinced in your heart that something is right or going to happen whether or not the Bible supports the belief or hope.
D. Hyping up yourself and becoming excited, convinced and dogmatic about something.
3. Ephesians 2:8-9. People are saved from sin's penalty:
A. By works alone and apart from faith.
B. By a combination of faith and works.
C. By faith alone and apart from works.
D. By simply being good people.
4. Romans 11:6. People are justified before God:
A. Exclusively by grace through faith alone or exclusively by works alone but not by a mixture of grace and works.
B. By a combination of grace and works.
C. The scriptures are silent on how a person is justified.
D. The matter of grace versus works when it comes to salvation is not important.
5. Romans 1:16-17. The just shall live by:
A. Works.
B. Faithfulness to God.
C. Not sinning.
D. Faith.
Faith
in God as Compared to Presumption
Read
Deuteronomy 1:19-44, then answer the following questions. Each question
relates to this passage and to the matter of what faith is.
1. Verse 21. Is it true that when Israel reached "the mountain of the Amorites," God promised victory if they would attack immediately? Yes.
2. Verses 22-25. Instead
of attacking immediately as God commanded, the Israelis manifested their lack of
faith in God by doing what? Sending 12 spies to search out the land.
3. Verses 27-28. Ten of the spies returned with a negative report. What was the impact upon the people as a whole? They were fearful and murmured against God.
4. Verses 34-35,40,42. Did God withdraw His promise? Yes.
5. Verses 41,43. In spite of the withdrawn promise of God, what did the Israelis do? They attacked anyway.
6. Verse 44. What was the result of their belated attack? Defeat.
7. Verse 43. In view
of the withdrawn promise of God, their belief and action was called what? Presumption.
8. Is it obvious that believing something where there is neither promise of God nor attributes on His part to guarantee it is presumption and not faith? Yes.
9. Do you suppose it is really correct to speak of faith in the economy, faith in the word of any man or faith in even our own strong feelings in the same sense that the word faith is used in the Bible? No.
10. Would you agree that most of what you hear that is called faith, even in
Christian circles, is really presumption?
From the scriptures, it is quite obvious that real, Bible faith is believing something in view of (1) some statement or promise of God on the subject or (2) because of what is known of His character or nature. In either case, real faith is impossible apart from the divine revelation of His word.
WHAT
JUSTIFICATION IS
Justification
has to do with justice. God has His own justice system.
Fill in the blanks in the exercise below to gain a better understanding
of God's legal system.
1.
Romans 3:9-23. All people are sinners or lawbreakers before
God.
2. Habakkuk 1:13. The holiness of God will not allow Him to look upon sin except in judgment.
3. John 3:18. Sinners whose sins are not addressed by the work of Jesus Christ are condemned before God.
4. Romans 6:23. The penalty for sin is death.
5.
Revelation 20:14-15. God's penalty for sin is more than mortal death and a
mortal grave. It is eternal separation from God in the lake of fire.
6. Job 9:2,20,30-33. It is impossible that any person can be just with God apart from an intercessor.
7. 1 Timothy 2:5-6. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
8. 1 Peter 2:24 Jesus Christ "his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."
9. Isaiah 53: . "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
10.
Ephesians 2:14-16. "For he is our
peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of
commandments con tained in ordinances; for
to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he
might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having
slain the enmity thereby."
11. Hebrews 9:28. "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many."
12. 2 Corinthians 5:21. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
13. John 5:24. When a person hears the redemptive message and believes in Jesus Christ, his condemnation is removed and he is justified with God.
14. Romans 8:1. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus."
15. Romans 5:1-2. In view of the work of Christ and one's identification with Him by faith, that person is viewed by God as justified.
16.
Philippians 3:8-9. A sinner's standing of justification with God is
secured by the finished work of Jesus Christ, not by the merits of
the sinner.
The
scriptures establish the word justification to be a legal term having to
do with how fallen sinners can be just with God. It is obvious that they can be just with God, but only upon
the merits of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. He alone is the mediator
between God and man. He justifies
men with God upon the strength of His own work on their behalf, never upon the
strength or merits of anything they have done or might do.
As Ephesians 1:7 puts it, "we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."
JUSTIFICATION
BEFORE GOD BY FAITH AND NOT BY WORKS
You have already looked at Romans 11:6 which says that justification before God is either by grace or by works and not the result of a combination of grace and works. You have also seen Ephesians 2:8-9 which affirms that justification before God is exclusively "by grace through faith" and not of works.
To further see how insistent the scriptures are that justification before God is by faith and not by works, match the following scriptures with the correct references.
1. "For by grace
are ye saved through faith" (4) Phil. 3:9
2. "By faith ye
stand"
(5) Gal. 2:16
3. "Ye are all
the children of God by
(1) Eph. 2:8-9
faith in Christ Jesus.”
4. "The
righteousness which is of God by faith." (6) Rom. 3:28
5. "A man is not
justified by the works of the law."
(2) 2 Cor.1:24
6. "We conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
(3) Gal. 3:26
7. "That Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith." (8) Gal. 3:11
8. “The just shall
live by faith."
(7) Eph. 3:17
9. "Abraham
believed God, and it was counted unto
him for righteousness.” (10)
John 3:36
10.
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life"
(9) Rom. 4:3
11.
"He that believeth not the Son shall not see life"
(12) Rom. 5:1
12.
"Being justified by faith, we have peace with God"
(11) John 3:36
How
Do You Reconcile Romans 4 With James 2?
There seems to always be someone around who insists on works for salvation. They scour the Bible searching for some passage to justify their position. They think they have found it in James 2:14-26. This passage is not teaching justification before God by works, but if it were, the Bible would be in direct contradiction of its teaching in Romans 4.
Read
each of these passages, then study the comparative chart below.
It will become clear that Paul, in Romans 4, is talking about
one's justification before God, which is by faith, while James, in James 2,
is talking about justification before man which is by works.
Romans 4
James 2
Vs
2 Discussion of activity "before God"
Vss 15-16 Discussion of activity before men
Vs 5 Righteousness counted by faith without works Vs 16 Men see works, not faith
Vs
6 God "imputes" righteousness without works Vs
18 To men faith is mani-fested by works
Vs
3 Abraham justified before God by faith
Vs 21 Abraham justified before men by works
Vs 10 Abraham saved while circumcised Vs 21 Isaac offered long aftercircumcision
Vs 16 "It is of faith, that it might be of grace" Vs 24 Justified with God by faith; men by works
Vss 22-25 God's righteousness "imputed" to all believers Vs 20 Faith produces works before men
Vss 24-25 Imputing comes to those who believe the gospel Vs 26 Before men there is no faith without works
When God justifies fallen sinners by faith apart from their works, He gets all the credit for their redemption. Salvation is not earned. It is received by faith. Thus, "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"