Join us on a profound journey into Paul’s teachings where we explore the beautifully humbling conclusion that faith is a divine gift. Through an insightful discussion, we uncover how boasting is eliminated, and faith is shown to be a miraculous gift from God rather than a human achievement. This episode challenges the perception that faith can be earned, presenting instead a vision of faith that is universally accessible to all, regardless of race or creed.
So Paul is about to come to a conclusion in regard to his wonderfully rich passage about Jesus being our righteousness and Jesus justifying us freely by his grace, God justifying us freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ, because Christ is the propitiation, that is, the one who took God’s judgment upon himself. All of that now is going to be brought to a conclusion. And what do you think the conclusion is? Well, this is it. Where is boasting, then? Whoa! That’s an odd conclusion. What is there to boast about? But it gives you a clear indication of what this all implies, doesn’t it? It implies humility, a sense of awe at the kindness and the grace and the love and mercy of God, that there is no pride left at all for humanity. And look, it’s hard to detect pride. We don’t really know when we’re being proud. Because it’s so subtle, it’s like a hidden miasma in the air. We simply find it very, very difficult to perceive that we’re walking about in our own self-importance, that we think we’re better than other people. that we don’t really need Jesus, who is to be the one who takes our judgment and our sins upon himself. Why would we need that? Well, when you ask that question, why do we need Jesus? Then you know you’re proud. Why do I need Jesus to take the judgment for my sins? Then you know that your sins, you think, don’t need any judgment. Do you see what I’m saying? Where is boasting then? What a conclusion. You see, what makes Christianity and the faith in Christ so incredibly beautiful is that Christians have become like children, not in a servile and demeaning way, but in an innocent way, a beautiful, thankful way of being God’s children. We’re very proud, to put it in another way, to be God’s children. We’re so thankful. that he has been kind to us and merciful. Where is boasting then? It is excluded, Paul says in verse 27, by what law? That is not the law of God, but by what principle? And what does he say? Of works? No, but by the law or the principle of faith. Now this tells you something else. Faith, if it is nothing to be proud of, and is the fact and the presence of faith eliminates boasting, then that means that faith does not come from human beings. Otherwise, you would have something to boast about, wouldn’t you? Your faith. Now that is so curious, because Paul’s following words are these, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Justified by faith. You know what that proves, don’t you? If we are justified by faith, it means that faith comes from God. How can I make that conclusion? Because of what he says earlier on in verse 24, being justified freely by his grace. If then I am declared innocent freely by God’s grace, and faith is also a means by which I am justified, then faith also comes freely from God and his grace. This is one of the clearest, most obvious demonstrations that faith is a gift from God and does not come from the will. So, you say, so what? Well, I’ll tell you so what. It should lead you and me to say, thank you, Lord, for giving me trust in you. Thank you, Father, for giving me faith to believe in you. Lord God, in all the troubles and disappointments and sorrows and griefs I’ve been through in my life, it’s a miracle, Lord, that I still have faith. And God says, yes, it is a miracle because I gave you that miracle. God gives us the gift to believe. How sweet and beautiful is that? I mean, our sins can overwhelm us, can’t they? Our shortcomings, all the history of our lives can be so overwhelming that it can make us think, we are not Christians, we have no right to believe in God. We shouldn’t be fooling ourselves as we are. And then you realize, but I believe. And that faith is a miracle. It is a miracle from God that I believe in spite of all that has gone on in my life. I believe that Jesus took my judgment so that I am freed from guilt and shame and fear. I believe that Jesus has brought me access to the Father so that I can come to God without any fear that I will be rejected. I believe that Christ is my resurrection. I will be with him in eternity. And he is my resurrection now, so that I live his spirit life, that is the resurrected life, even now on this earth. I believe that Jesus is my righteousness. I have none of my own, but I thank him that he is my righteousness. You see, all this belief would be impossible to the rational mind. It’s a miracle. It’s a miracle of faith. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith, notice this, apart from the deeds of the law. You see, if faith were ours, that is, if faith were generated by human beings, then it would be a deed of the law. But it is all deeds of the law are excluded, and therefore faith cannot be part of the law by a deed of our works. Or is God, Paul says, now this is the next semi-conclusion he makes, and it is again unexpected conclusion. Or is God the God of the Jews only? That’s what he comes to the next semi-conclusion with. Verse 29, Or is he the God of the Jews only? Do you see what the implication of this is? it is implying that faith is universal. That is that faith, God intends to give faith to everybody because God is not the God of the Jews only. Is he not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, verse 29. Now you see this universality of faith we saw also in verse 23. Let’s look at verses 22 and 23 again. Well, let’s look at, get verse 21 first. “…but now the righteousness of God, apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ…” to all and on all who believe, for there is no difference. Now notice out the parallels. To those who believe because there’s no difference. And that’s verse 22. And now verse 29. Verse 28 and 29. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, or is God the God of the Jews only? You see, with what Paul follows up with when mentioning faith, that there’s no difference, all human beings are the same, and therefore faith is for everyone. And verse 29, it’s by faith, because is God the God of the Jews only? No, he’s the God of everyone. So we are seeing something astonishing about faith. It is a gift of God, and it is not for the elite. It is not for the limited few. It is for everyone because there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and God is not the God of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. While we have a great message here, a great message of how expansive is God’s plan, God’s plan is not limited to the few who exercise that faith, for he is the God of everything. Gentiles as well as Jews, and there is no difference among all humanity because all have sinned. And that means, therefore, that God is going to work faith in everybody. And that faith is a gift from God. We conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Now, when I was a young Christian, not so young, maybe in my 30s, This verse, verse 28, was dynamite for me, because I had never seen faith without the law. Faith had to include the law. Faith in Christ was a means to the law. I belonged, then, to a legalistic church that believed that the only people that would be saved would be those who finally complied in every detail with the law of God. that Jesus came merely as a means by which to bring me in obedience to the law. I had failed in my Christian life in the past, and Jesus died for my sins in the past, but now his Spirit was going to give me power to be perfectly obedient to him, at least before I died, so that then I could be justified by having complied completely with the law of God. I know, I know it’s an upside, crazy doctrine, but I believed it, and it tormented me. Yes, it tormented me for years, years and years. But then came this verse like a flash of lightning. It wasn’t isolated, mind you. I went to Andrews University. I listened to Dr. Hans La Rondel, who had a class in the Book of Romans. The class was so full, I’m almost sure, it contravened the fire laws because there were students all standing up in the aisles because there were no seats left and sitting in the aisles and even between the aisles. preacher, teacher, Larondel, he taught us the book of Romans. And when we came to this verse, well, of course, we came to it before, the truth before this verse, but this was one of the verses that was like a bolt of lightning. We are justified by faith. I, personally, before God, am declared innocent by faith without the deeds of the law. Now, some of you, though, will not find peace even yet because you will say, yes, Colin, but it says we’re justified by faith. But my faith isn’t good enough. My faith isn’t complete enough. My faith isn’t whole enough and sincere enough and surrendered enough and dedicated enough. Listen to me. Bring all the verses together. You are justified by faith, but you are also justified by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So this verse really reads, we are justified by Jesus Christ in whom we have faith. Have you got it? Swallow it. Thank you for joining me today. Colin Cook here and How It Happens. Can I ask you earnestly to think of a donation? I know many of you have been planning to send a donation to this ministry for weeks, some of you for years. I know I’m a procrastinator too. But I’ll tell you how to end procrastination. You know how to do it? Do it now. 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