Thursday: Does Faith Promote Sin?
One of the main accusations against Paul was that his gospel of justification by faith alone encouraged people to sin see (Rom. 3:8, Rom. 6:1). No doubt the accusers reasoned that if people do not have to keep the law to be accepted by God, why should they be concerned with how they live? Luther, too, faced similar charges.
How does Paul respond to the accusation that a doctrine of justification by faith alone encourages sinful behavior? Gal. 2:17-18.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
Paul responds to his opponents’ charges in the strongest terms possible: “God forbid!” While it is possible that a person might fall into sin after coming to Christ, the responsibility would certainly not belong to Christ. If we break the law, we ourselves are the lawbreakers.
How does Paul describe his union with Jesus Christ? In what way does this answer refute the objections raised by his opponents? Gal. 2:19-21.
Paul finds the reasoning of his opponents simply preposterous. Accepting Christ by faith is not something trivial; it is not a game of heavenly make-believe, where God counts a person as righteous while there is no real change in how that person lives. On the contrary, to accept Christ by faith is extremely radical. It involves a complete union with Christ — a union in both His death and resurrection. Spiritually speaking, Paul says we are crucified with Christ, and our old sinful ways rooted in selfishness are finished (Rom. 6:5-14). We have made a radical break with the past. We are made new (2 Cor. 5:17). We have also been raised to a new life in Christ. The resurrected Christ lives within us, daily making us more and more like Himself.
Faith in Christ, therefore, is not a pretext for sin but a call to a much deeper, richer relationship with Christ than could ever be found in a law-based religion.
| How do you relate to the concept of salvation by faith alone without the deeds of the law? Does it, perhaps, scare you a little, making you think that it can be an excuse for sin — or do you rejoice in it? What does your answer say about your understanding of salvation? |
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Just like being part of my family, I live in the same place, we share with each other and look out for each other. Yes there are conflicts of interest and even serious difference of opinion, even arguments. But non of that stops me from being part of my family. Because in our hearts we love each other and do what we can for one another. Likewise, when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we are adopted in the family of God. We know what we should do to show our love to God, but often we fail, but God picks us up and puts us back on the straight and now road. This can happen to us many times, but no matter how many times this happens we can be assured that through faith we are saved in Christ Jesus, we just have to keep pressing on, being transformed through the Holy Spirit bearing good fruits as the vine grows in us and we in the vine. Thanks God that he does not look at our achievements but looks at our motives.
Growing up, the law has always been described to me as a mirror; while dressing or applying powder, it reflects our image and we get to see the things that are wrong, that needs adjustment, it doesn't help us correct it neither does it tell us, we have to see it ourselves.
Being saved by faith in Christ gives me immense joy, the knowledge that I am a new being in Christ, a new being that is dead to the past I've lived and has a future in Christ is the greatest gift of all. I did not give my life to Christ because I have no life to give instead, I received His life and that is why I now live in Him, in His image.
Now I cannot be saved by the law, because I cannot keep the law as I ought to by own power, I need Him to teach me his ways and precepts.
My salvation is because of what Jesus did. Period. My "dids" don't enter into salvation they only prove that what Jesus did is real to me! Praise God He loves me that much!
I do have to meditate much more on the fact that faith in Christ alone saves me! And the Law was written as a guide for me to observe! Being all as a result of God's love for humanity!
Justification by faith is a holistic approach to the whole concept of God's Law. It incorporates both physical and spiritual principles of the law. It is a possibility that one may keep the physical principles whilst violating the spiritual principles as is the case with legal religion.
When Paul says "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man" {Rom 7:22} he refers to the spiritual principles of the law which flows from within [out of love] the same principle God mentions in Jeremiah 31:33 "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people". "Through faith in Christ obedience to every principle of the law is made possible" (Manuscript 122, 1901). – {6BC 1077.6}.
His righteousness, His blood that atones for our sins and His obedience is accepted for us. The heart is renewed by the Holy Spirit. It then bears forth "the fruits of the Spirit." Through the grace of Christ man live in obedience to the law of God which is within him[inscribed in his heart]. He does not endeavor to establish his own righteousness. "But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour. . ." Phil 1:22. He is clothed with His righteousness. He sees that "the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good". {Rom 7:12} because he "delights in the law of God after the inward man" Rom 7:22.
I desire the same faith Jesus possesses. I believe this total faith is in God. God is Love; God is the Law. How can one have faith in Jesus,Who is God and Who is the Law? Please critic.
Butch, I think the faith of Jesus is not just a faith in our lives "like" the faith of Jesus, but it is the very faith of Jesus in our lives. This comes to us only by the Spirit of Jesus. We must allow the fruit of His Spirit (which includes His Faith) to grow in our lives by giving permission for His Spirit to motivate us in every issue of our lives.
We should watch (be ever vigilant) and pray (ask for the motivation of God's Spirit of Love to motivate our thoughts and feelings) always in order to be victorious over our own selfishness and sin.
The law is a transcript of God's character of love, peace, joy, forgiveness, mercy, justice, etc. Therefore God and his law are both holy just and good. But only by staying focused, by faith on his Son who also kept that law without a flaw and then became our sacrifice, can we be counted righteous and blameless in God's sight.
Amen! Abiding in our Friend, Jesus, Jesus produces the fruit!
Amazing Love. Amazing grace!
Well, while it does produce the fruit, nevertheless, we can never equal the pattern. In other words, God accepts our efforts to copy the pattern of his son Jesus (and the fruit of his Holy Spirit,) but he has to make up for our unavoidable deficiencies that will always be there this side of his Son's second coming.
One can be justified by faith. Faith alone can save us but not our works. As we have had from the Jewish perspective that works alone can save and therefore they totally neglected the power of faith in the salvation to Christians. Paul was much exuberant and vividly denouncing that very critic.
We can only be justified by faith in Jesus. One thing we should take note is that not being a servant of Christ and Professing His very Majesty declares your Faith in Him.
You must accept the fact Jesus is there, He is the creator, the Saviour, and only Him can give us life.
Boakye, I think there could be a great difference between the "faith IN Christ" and the "Faith OF Christ." I think the Faith OF Christ is given to us through the work of the Holy Spirit in us and the faith IN Christ is developed by our own thinking. This may be why our attempts to keep the law fail so miserably sometimes.
We need the very Faith OF Christ to rightly walk forward in victory after victory. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives with our permission continually. Pray without ceasing for this Spirit which brings us the Faith of Jesus.
Jesus kept the law flawlessly for every living human being. Yet, even this fact, we have to accept by faith for God to justify us. Then comes sanctification, this is the work of a lifetime "By faith," moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day and on and on till Jesus returns and then he finally gives us a glorified body. Then and only then can we say that we are saved and perfect and sinless. But and thanks be to God and his son and his Holy Spirit, in sanctification, even though we will still be flawed with our obedience, he covers us with the robe of his righteousness in his son Jesus.
But keep in mind, as the lesson pointed out, the apparently most accurate translation of this particular passage is "the faithfulness of Christ". It is only because Christ came and went through with the plan perfectly that we can apply his robe of righteousness instead of our filthy rags. As our relationship grows we gain trust (faith) in both what He did, and in His ability (through the Holy Spirit) to make us more and more like Him.
The problem with faith in Jesus is that is easily becomes a "work". We try hard to have faith, rather than spending time in relationship with Him. And as we focus on our faith, our focus is automatically on ourselves, not on Jesus.
The ROBE OF JESUS' RIGHTEOUSNESS for us is TWO FOLD: 1. JUSTIFICATION which only requires OUR FAITH without any WORKS on our part in what HE did in living out GOD'S 10 COMMANDMENTS without a flaw and then becoming OUR SACRIFICE; When we accept this by faith GOD justifies us and considers us PERFECTLY SINLESS AND FLAWLESS JUST LIKE HIS SON. Then comes 2. SANCTIFICATION, this is a work of a lifetime for us in LIVING FOR GOD and BECOMING LIKE HIS SON by faith. This part does require WORKS but THESE WORKS never become OUR JUSTIFICATION IN HIM but only helps us to BECOME LIKE HIM, it is OUR FITNESS FOR HIS KINGDOM but never becomes OUR TITLE TO THAT KINGDOM, our TITLE to that KINGDOM is always OUR JUSTIFICATION which only and ever requires OUR FAITH ALONE in what HE DID, IS DOING, and WILL DO FOR US.
Pete, is sanctification our works or Jesus working in us? Galatians 2:20 says "NOT I BUT CHRIST lives in me." In Galatians 5 its called the fruit of the Spirit, not the works of the flesh.
That concept has haunted us as a church far too long. While it is true that we must consent, all of it is Christ. He started by taking our guilt, freeing us from the burden of it. But even the changes are accomplished, not by gritting our teeth, but by beholding Him. As soon as we start focusing on our faith (which is real) or our progress (which will happen), we take our eyes off of Christ, and like Peter on the lake, start to sink. We realize our own inadequacy. Hopefully (like Peter) it drives us back to Christ. But if we focus on it, it will drive us to despair. The very concept of separating sanctification from justification sets us up for misconceptions. Sanctification (in that sense) is the result of having been justified.
Ironically, the word sanctification was hijacked by the Christian world at some point in the past. It comes from the Latin word "sanctus", which means "holy". That in turn comes from the NT Greek word "hagia" and a similar Hebrew word which are often translated as "holy", but their root meaning is "set apart". That is why we find inanimate objects "sanctified" and why the Sabbath is "sanctified". Sanctified people are people who are "set apart" to serve God. Once "set apart" they will grow--absolutely. But the word itself refers to the declaration of being set apart for God. And while Christian growth is a Biblical concept, I know of no use of "hagia" that refers to such a process. It always refers to the declaration of being set apart.
Why would we sin after we have come to Christ? Many fail to understand this, and feel that sin is inevitable, rather than learning of Christ and His promises: 1 Corinthians 10:13: "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." Jesus is "the way" of escape. We need a living connection with Him, and it is by beholding Him that we are changed into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18), and by surrendering the entire heart to Him that we are cleansed from sin and made partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). All the fruits of the Spirit will be revealed in our lives when we are connected to Christ! We need not have a lapse in this experience unless we start to allow unbelief to overcome us by taking our eyes off Jesus, letting our minds wander from Him, so that sin ceases to appear exceedingly sinful as that which brought infinite pain to the heart of God. We overcome by failing more and more in love with Jesus and hating the sin that would hurt Him so, and throughout the day having living communion with Him that has been strengthened and encouraged by having spent a "thoughtful hour" with Him in the morning!
"We need not have a lapse in this experience unless we start to allow unbelief to overcome us by taking our eyes off Jesus"--but we do. Peter literally took his eyes off Jesus (while walking on the water) and began to sink. Later he took his eyes off Jesus (that fateful Thursday night) and disowned Him. Even after repenting, and later receiving the Holy Spirit, and after a vision about clean and unclean, and much more, he still took his eyes off Jesus at Antioch and Paul had to remind him. That is why we all need justification. Why we all need the robe of Christ's righteousness. Why we all need to trust in "the faithfulness of Christ". Because we are human and fallen.
We sin, after we come to Jesus, because we still have our sinful natures and our character defects. These are two things in us as humans that will never be done away with until God gives us a glorified body after his son returns. These are two things that require the work of a lifetime to deal with and conquer until then.
Is Thursday's study pointing out a similar misconception amongst some today of ‘once saved always saved’? Are there similar dangers in some thinking that “I can live in sin like this for just a little longer, then I can repent and be forgiven” – through faith. Many similar notions, including working on the Sabbath because ‘God understands and will forgive me’… I can see too how Paul would have been challenged by those who tried to separate the two: Justification through faith in Jesus and living in obedience to God’s law.
Blessings and happy Sabbath!
Sabbath Blessings to you all blessed of the Most High.
Let us remember "The prophet Hosea had pointed out what constitutes the very essence of Pharisaism, in the words, “Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself.” Hosea 10:1. In their professed service to God, the Jews were really working for self. Their righteousness was the fruit of their own efforts to keep the law according to their own ideas and for their own selfish benefit.Hence it could be no better than they were.In their endeavor to make themselves holy, they were trying to bring a clean thing out of an unclean. The law of God is as holy as He is holy, as perfect as He is perfect. It presents to men the righteousness of God. It is impossible for man, of himself, to keep this law; for the nature of man is depraved, deformed, and wholly unlike the character of God. The works of the selfish heart are “as an unclean thing;” and “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6. MB 54.1
If you are "saved" or "justified", live a righteous life.
Don't be a hypocrite and hide behind the cloak of sin. We sin everyday and that doesn't mean we give up and continue our sinful lives. Ask God for forgiveness, repent and God can help us overcome our sinfulness.
God wants to see that effort to live a righteous life and not hide behind Jesus righteousness.
Faithfulness is about walking in the truth and not in darkness of the human heart (3 John 1:3). Truth is the Word of God. Truth is His Righteousness (Matt 6:33). Truth is obedience. What's the point of truth if there is no obedience.
But does faith promote sin?
i need answers please...
The story of the adulterous woman in John 8:11 ended with Jesus saying "Go now and leave your life of sin."
Heb 10:38 My righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.
Yes if you shrink back to the days of your wild and sinful life, living according to your own desires rather than the word of God, that is not real faith.
Matt 3:4 It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.