Posted on 08/31/2002 8:55:01 PM PDT by streetpreacher
Faith alone
The remedy for paralyzed sinners, fallen saints, and provincial cowardice
By John Piper
GOD DID HIS MOST DEADLY WORK TO DESTROY hopelessness and futility and provincial cowardice. He gave up His Son to torture and death. A perfect life, a perfect death, and the decisive work was done.
But millions are numb to hope because of the God-belittling things they have done and how ugly they have become. They don't lift lofty arguments against God's truth; they shrug and feel irretrievably outside. They don't defy God consciously; they default to cake and television. Except for the periodic rush of sex and sport and cinema, life yawns. There is no passion for significance. For many, no passion at all.
There is a Christian version of this paralysis. The decision has been made to trust Christ. The shoot of hope and joy has sprung up. The long battle against sin has begun. But the defeats are many, and the plant begins to wither. Clouds and gathering darkness hamper vision. The problem is not perplexing doctrine or evolutionary assaults or threats of persecution. The problem is falling down too many times. Gradually the fatal feeling creeps in: The fight is futile; it isn't worth it.
Along with this hopelessness and futility, especially since 9/11, provincial cowardice captures many Christian minds. They fear that it may sound conceited to call every people group in the world to trust Christ or perish. It seems too global. Too sweeping. Too universal. To say it takes their breath away. And, worse, it brings down the wrath of the tolerant. What could be more arrogant than to think that the infinite variety of need in all the cultural groups of the world could be met by a single Savior!
It is astonishing that the biblical gospel of justification by faith alone answers these three human failures: the hopelessness of unbelievers, the feeling of futility from falling down, and the fear of making global claims for Christ.
To the numb and listless sinner, feeling beyond all hope of godliness, the Bible says, "To the one who does not work but trusts Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness" (Romans 4:5). God justifies the "ungodly." This truth is meant to break the back of hopelessness.
The connection between the sinner and the Savior is trust, not improvement of behavior. That comes later. It's this order that gives hope. "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law" (Romans 3:28). The basis of this wild and wonderful hope (the ungodly justified) is "Christ for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4, literal translation). Through faith alone God counts the ungodly as righteous because of Christ. "For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Let all who are paralyzed by the weight of sin and the powerlessness to change turn in here.
To the fallen saint, who knows the darkness is self-inflicted and feels the futility of looking for hope from a frowning Judge, the Bible gives a shocking example of gutsy guilt. It pictures God's failed prophet beneath a righteous frown, bearing his chastisement with broken-hearted boldness. "Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light" (Micah 7:8-9). This is courageous contrition. Gutsy guilt. The saint has fallen. The darkness of God's indignation is on him. He does not blow it off, but waits. And he throws in the face of his accuser the confidence that his indignant Judge will plead his cause and execute justice for (not against) him. This is the application of justification to the fallen saint. Broken-hearted, gutsy guilt.
For the squeamish fellow afraid of making global claims for Christ, the biblical teaching on justification explodes his little world. It says: The deepest problem to be solved is the same for every human being, because every human is a descendant of Adam. And the problem to be solved is that "by one man's disobedience many were made sinners." "One trespass led to condemnation for all men." The only solution to this universal condemnation is a "second Adam" who provides "the free gift of righteousness" to all who hear the gospel and believe (Romans 5:17-19). Therefore Christ, the second Adam, the giver of righteousness, is the only global Savior.
Embrace as your treasure the gift of justification. There is no part of your life where it is not immeasurably precious.
That about sums it up....
What is that? The Gospel according to Fat Albert?
Luke 13:3: Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Matthew 10:32 Whoso confesses me before men, him will I also confess before my father which is in heaven.
Acts 22:16 And why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptised, and wash away thy sins.
I don't get this. Is this meant to be a disagreement with the article... cos' I don't see it?
The possiblity of being saved by faith alone [through Grace] is not alien to the Catholic faith. For instance, if a man repents seconds before his death, what real works can he do? So, yes, there is the small possibility that one can be saved by faith alone (through Grace)
For the average Christian living the average life, however, they cannot be saved without works. That flies in the face of of the last judgement. Christians are expected to feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the imprisioned, and so many works. How many of us actually do that? Probably very few.
I've been a member of several protestant Churches (Evangelical bible churches, ELCA Lutheran, Calvary Chapel, Four Square). I've heard this all before. I've seen very little of it actually happen.
So either very few have faith in these Churches, or in fact, they fail to realize that God does expect them to actually lift a finger and do some work. God rarely lights a fire under your butt to get you to move. You have to be conscious of your responsibilities and act on it.
I've seen people who practice feel good christianity. You know, the praise and worship, the crying while sining, raising hands, altar calls, sharing 10 minutes before worship talking. But I haven't seen very many people who worship this way actually do any works. Shouldn't I be able to see their faith by their works? What happend to all that faith that is supposed to inspiring works? NOT! Don't get me wrong, the average Catholic doesn't lift a finger also
It's really time for protestants to come face to face with the fact that most of protestantism is based upon the theology of men (and some cases women) and the distortion of the Faith.
Most protestants don't have a real clue as to how their belief systems have been influenced and ORGANIZED (take that, those of you who think your Church isn't organized) by man. Luthor, Zwillig, Clavin, were all men who wrapped scripture in their ORGANIZED system of theology -- and fooled the world!
Most people who do have a clue tend to go back to the more catholic like churches if not the Catholic church itself (Lutheran, Anglican, Orthodox).
It's inescapeable. The more you study the history of the faith, the origin of the Bible, the political forces behind the reformation (ohhh, yea. Big influence of man right there.), and early Christianity, it's hard to stay in the evangelical or fundamentalist camp. You can't do it and be mentally honest. But heck, you can just look at the life of Mother Theresa and see a simple faith there also.
This is long, and well, if I had to sum it all up, it's just like the abortion problem. It's easier to say "choice" then to explain why it's wrong, that yes it's human etc. Same here. It's easier to say "Saved by faith" than to discuss how protestantism came about, the influence of man, the early Church, the role of works, the Grace of God. It's easy to be ignorant, harder to be informed
"Seek the Truth, and it shall set you free." Staying protestant is a matter of remaining ignorant.
WFTR
Bill
Like I said, it's by Grace we are saved. Through Faith and Works -- in most instances (Many repent on their death bed without a chance to put principles of Christianity into action.).
>>(or at least involved in the process of salvation)
This is a statement with some legs, so to speak. Salvation is assured, but at the same time it's a lifelong process. We can be sure that if we die in God's grace we are saved -- God isn't a liar. However, if we die say, while in the act of having relations with another man's wife, we die outside of His Grace and are not saved. (Sin itself is a rejection of the Grace of God).
>>works are done in response to a person being saved,
First of all, believing that you are saved doesn't actually mean you are "saved" long term. You can always reject the Grace of God at a later point. YOu can always "backslide" and live a life of serious sin.
Secondly, I would say that works ARE NOT done in response to "being saved". If they were, our neighborhoods would be different places. Can works be done in response to faith? Yes. The thing is that you and I have a choice to make, and we quite often fail to live out our faith.
Think of the average "saved" christian. When they pass up the bum begging for money, do they ask him if they need food? Nope. They choose to walk by. They don't give him money cause he'll drink it up, but they forget he is still probably hungry.
When was the last time they visited the imprisioned? When was the last time they went to a homeless shelter to feed people? Yet, they would say that they are saved and that their faith makes them do works.
The real problem, IMO, lies with the understanding of what the Faith is. If your belief is that you are saved by faith alone not through works, what part of this belief gives incentive to do works? If you are not accountable for feeding the poor, visiting the imprisioned, and clothing the naked, then,heck, all those works are just optional. Yet Christ at the final judgment rejects this type of faith.
If your understanding of the Faith is that you need to accept God's *Grace* through faith and works, then there is plenty of incentive to do works. You then have the incentive to live out your christianity with fear and trembling. Every time you pass that bum you know you are accountable. (For many people cry "Lord Lord" but did not clothe or feed Him--paraphrased)
Now, will works save you on their own? Nope. Faith without works is dead, and works without faith are equally dead. A humanist can do works all their life but still go to hell for rejecting God. A christian in serious sin can work all they want and still end up in hell.
>>Sad to see you so upset at other Christians,you must have had some bad experiences.
First of all, I never had any bad experiences. The people at these Churches were very nice. They were fun, mostly my age, and just good hearted people.
Second, I'm not upset at them. If I'm upset, it's at the fact that these good people are being sold a cheap faith and a feel good half Gospel. But thanks to Luther, Calvin, and Zwillig the true Faith of Christ is distorted. There is no one Faith anymore. Now we have multiple faiths which contradict one another. (How can abortion or homosexuality be ok in one church yet a sinful in another? This is one of the great fruits of Protestanism).
Catholics don't collect brownie points for works -- Bhuddists do! Those do collect works have a big misunderstanding of the role of works.
This passage is probably why Luther wanted to remove the "epistle of straw" (book of James) from the New Testament -- it contradicts salvation by faith alone.
>>Faith enables grace. Grace enables salvation. Faith without works is dead. If your acts don't follow as a consequence of your faith what does that say about your faith.
It says either two things. 1. your understanding of the Faith doesn't include works (which is not biblical) or 2. Your faith is dead. The end result is the same though, a dead faith.
>>Abraham was justified as righteous according to his faith. But were there no acts which Abraham did which indicated his faith. I dare say not; he was willing to sacrifice his only son.
Abraham is so abused by those who preach faith alone. The mere act (a work) of offering his son was based upon his understanding of Faith. It is a work, not in the classic sense, but it is a response to his belief in that one must obey God, whatever the cost. Works are responses to faith, not outflowings of faith. More often than not, your faith will make you do works only if your faith requires that you do them.
I know that I phrased that statement of mine wrong, because I do care about Catholics and have quite a few "die-hard" Catholic friends that I respect a lot. I happen to be Missouri-Synod Lutheran and there are quite a few things that Lutherans and Catholics have in common, such as infant baptism and the rejection of Decision Theology (which Fundamentalists and many other Evangelicals believe in).
That being said, there are a few teachings in Catholicism that I find to be contrary to God's Word, such as the belief that Mary was without win, that doing good works saves us from hell,
"For the average Christian living the average life, however, they cannot be saved without works. That flies in the face of of the last judgement. Christians are expected to feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the imprisioned, and so many works. How many of us actually do that? Probably very few."
Of course Christians should do good works--but out of our love and devotion to God, and not because our salvation is at stake. There is nothing in the Bible that states Christians have to do good works in order to be saved. Indeed, there are numerous passages in the Bible that would directly contradict the belief that good works save us.
"It's really time for protestants to come face to face with the fact that most of protestantism is based upon the theology of men (and some cases women) and the distortion of the Faith."
You forget to address that fact that much of Catholicism is based upon Church tradition and official statements/documents made by the Vatican over many years.
"Most protestants don't have a real clue as to how their belief systems have been influenced and ORGANIZED (take that, those of you who think your Church isn't organized) by man. Luthor, Zwillig, Clavin, were all men who wrapped scripture in their ORGANIZED system of theology -- and fooled the world!"
Most Evangelical Protestants have a good handle of their theology and certainly do not believe that their figurehead, whether it be Luther, Calvin, etc. were perfect people. Protestants would not be heralding these great leaders if their teachings in any way contradicted God's Word.
And as for Protestants not knowing anything about grace or redemption, that just goes to show how much you misunderstand Protestantism.
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