Justification By Faith Alone

”Justification by Faith Alone” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Introduct ion: When you put in your 40 hours and get paid, you don’t thank your employer for his gift, it is earned. You are receiving what you earned. Paul says the workman is worthy of his wages. If he paid you when you didn’t work, then you would be thankful. The salvation which God provides His people is purely gratuitous. If we had earned it, we could thank ourselves and not God. We would have room to boast. But we did not earn it; we could never earn it. Rather, He gives it to us freely by His grace. What I want you to see this morning is that salvation, in order to be by grace alone, must also be by faith alone.

I.

Salvation is by the Grace of God.

A.

Context. 1. Vv. 8-10 confirm the preceding statement that we own our salvation solely to the grace of God. . 2. Remember, we were dead but God made us alive.

B.

3.

He wished to display the riches of His grace toward us in Christ.

3.

Paul again emphasizes that salvation from the just wrath of God is purely of His free grace apart from works.

Grace is the Unmerited Love of God to You. 1. When you get what you deserve, we call that justice. 2. When you don’t get what you deserve, we call that mercy. 3. When you get what you don’t deserve, but rather deserve the opposite, we call that grace. 4. Grace is God’s unmerited favor given to undeserving sinners who have merited God’s wrath. 5. It is gratuitous, unearned by us.

C.

And Because It Is By Grace, It Cannot Be By Works . 1. Grace and works are mutually exclusive categories. 2. You cannot perform any meritorious works. 3.

Because of this, you may not claim credit . a. No one may merit perfect righteousness by his works. b. If you did, there would be room to boast.

4. For this reason Paul says, ”Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord” ( 1 Cor. 1: 31 1. 1

D. Although You Did Not Merit It, Yet this Grace is Merited. 1.

Christ merited this salvation for His people. a. The conditions of perfect righteousness had to be fulfilled before grace could be given. b. Christ, as the federal head of the new humanity, merited that righteousness by His atoning life and death.

2.

It cost Him all, but it is free to you. a. It is His merit, His righteousness, His good standing before the Father that is given to you. b. Your salvation was accomplished by Christ nearly 2000 years ago. c. It is a completed task, therefore Christ said ” I t is d.

finished. ” This is why, though we do not yet possess the fullness of

that salvation, we have been saved [perfect tense) 3.

Because you did nothing to merit it, it is called the gift of God.

11.

Because It Is by Grace, It Is Fitting That It Is Through Faith Alone.

A.

All Historic Branches of the Christian Church Believe This. 1.

Any group which attributes salvation purely to works is sub-Christ ian. a. b.

Pelagians, taught that man could merit salvation apart from the grace of God entirely. This is also inevitable in any cult. (il Jehovah’s Witnesses: through their organization and teaching. (iil Mormons: through being a good mormon and being married in the temple. (iiil Christian Science: through freeing yourself of the illusion of evil in the world.

c. Of course they err in the fundamentals as well. (il Jehovah’s witnesses deny the deity of Christ. (iil UPC’s deny the Trinity. (iiil Mormons deny monotheism. B.

But Not That It is Accomplished Through Faith Alone. 1.

They agree that it is by grace alone, but not all have a consistent formulation which attributes it to faith alone. a.

They differ widely as to how that grace is acquired.

b.

Roman Catholics believe that prevenient grace is communicated through the sacraments. 2

Grace is first received in baptism. It is added to by receiving the sacraments. They cooperate with the grace of God and earn congruent merit. (ivl A person may supererogate: go beyond what is required . (vl If he earns sufficient merit, he is justified. (vil So besides God’s grace, there is room for man’s cooperation, which is meritorious.

(il (iil (iiil

c. Wesleyans also believe in prevenient grace. (il All men born dead because of Adam’s sin. (iil But God makes all ”alive” in Christ. (iiil Each receives sufficient grace to respond to the gospe1. (ivl But only those who respond are actually saved. (vl Here too, we see man’s addition to salvation. d.

Lutherans also leave room for the work of man. (il They try to circumvent the problem by attributing to the Word the power to save. (iil When the gospel is preached, God works with His full power to bring men to faith. (iiil Only those who do not resist are saved. (ivl But man must cooperate by not resisting.

e. General Arminian belief leaves room for man’s work. (il Man has a remnant of ability left after the Fall. (iil Man is dead, but is seriously ill, mortally wounded. (iiil God offers him salvation, he uses what little strength he has left to receive the cure. (ivl Man is able to come savingly to Christ apart from God’s grace. 2.

In order for salvation to be by grace a l o n e , it must be by faith a l one. a. b. c. d. e.

C.

Each of the systems left room for man’s work. It required God’s grace, yet included man’s works. But Scripture says it is through faith a p a r t from works. The correct view, therefore, must exclude any works. Salvation is by g r a c e . (il If it could be earned it would not be a gift. (iil Christ earns it, and we receive it as a gift.

Faith is the Alone Instrument of Justification. 1.

Faith is not the ground of our salvation. a. The text does not say, ”Because o f f a i t h . ” b. Rather it says, ”Through f a i t h . ” c. We are not counted righteous on the basis of our faith.

2. Faith looks away from self and to another for salvation.

a.

Faith by its very nature excludes merit.

b. c. d. 3.

It is believing and trusting someone outside yourself to save you. If salvation comes through faith, it is purely of grace. If of works, then it is a debt due .

Hence Reformation cry: sola gratia, sola fide, soli Deo gl ori a. a. sola gratia: By grace alone. b. sola fide: By faith alone. c. soli Deo gloria: To God alone be the glory.

D. Works Cannot Precede Faith, But They Must Follow [v.

10).

There are no meritorious works save Christ’s. 2. Good works are not the ground of your salvation, but they are the necessary fruit. a. These works must follow justification. (il We are His poiema, His work of art, His masterpiece. (iil You show that you are by the works you perform. (iiil Those who continue in sin show they are not. (ivl Paul repudiates good works as the ground of salvation. (vl He also wholeheartedly insists on the necessity of good works as the fruit of salvation. 1.

b.

They are the purpose of your recreation in Christ. 1 : 4 tells us that God chose us in order that we might be holy. (iil Here, it is that we might walk in good works. (iiil In Christ we are new creatures, created for good deeds <Titus 2:14>. (ivl All of our good works are the fruit of our regeneration in Christ [Calvin 2 1 : 2 2 9 l .

(il

Conclusion: 1. Salvation is wholly of God. It is an act of His grace. 2. You did not earned it, you did nothing to contribute to it. 3 . The Lord saved you by making you a new creation. 4. He saved you that you might walk in newness of life. a. If your life is not characterized by good works, you have reason to doubt your conversion. b. If your life does, then you may thank God and draw some measure of assurance. 5. Let us all stir ourselves up to a greater measure of good works for the Lord’s glory, out of thankfulness for mercy received. 6. Amen. Let us pray.

4