Sola Fide: Here We Stand

Photo by André on Unsplash
​
Today, we are going to be talking about the only thing which separates true Christianity from every other religion or approach to God and life. That concept is faith alone. 
‌
Faith alone is a humility boosting doctrine. Indeed, Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 that it is so that we would not boast. Reminding ourselves that we are only going to heaven because of the work of someone else is humiliating. This is why every other religion that is man made doesn’t like this concept. Every other religion says you have to do something to convince God to like you!
‌
Faith alone is also a God glorifying doctrine. God doesn’t need help saving us or need help being convinced to save us. It is His work that He has already done that saves us. He gets all the glory, all the praise, all the recognition that He is the important one here.
We access grace alone through faith alone
‌
In our passage today, it is pretty straightforward as to what Paul wants to communicate. To give us some context, Paul brings up the fact that he had to correct Peter at a dinner one time. Peter was eating with Gentiles because Jesus had lifted that wall of separation (see
Acts 10 and Ephesians 3). Notably, Peter was the first person to be told that! He had a whole vision about it! But when he saw some Jews who still wanted to observe the old law as well as trust Jesus, Peter felt the pressure from the legalists and left the Gentiles behind. Paul gets after him in verse 14. In other words, Paul reminds Peter that he doesn’t keep his place before God by keeping the law, so if he doesn’t need to do that, why would he make the Gentiles live that way?
‌
Our passage picks up from there with Paul teaching explicitly what was summed up in verse 14. Even those who by birth had the law, that is not how they were justified. Law keeping did nothing to make themselves acceptable before God. This is the point that Paul will hammer again and again throughout his writings not just in this letter. In one long sentence, Paul points out that it is not the adherence to the law that justifies, but faith in Jesus Christ.
‌
Let’s break this down so we can be sure to understand how we are accepted by God.
‌
Let’s define faith by first realizing what it is not.
‌
Faith is not the same thing as the power of belief. There is this old secular Proverb that says, “If you believe you can or you believe you can’t, you’re right.” In other words, just believing something makes it so. Mind over matter. It’s just not true.
‌
I know this because I have toddlers. They believe in the power of belief harder than any of us can imagine.
‌
My daughter when she was just learning to crawl always believed that the bed was longer than it was. She would confidently and full of faith, crawl to the edge of the bed. Only a couple times did she exercise this faith faster than daddy could react. Despite her great faith, gravity still asserted itself.
‌
It is no less true in matters of the soul. It doesn’t matter how sincere you are in your belief. What is important is what or Who you believing in.
‌
This is why Jesus’ name shows up so much in our short passage. We have our faith in Jesus, the Son of God. And that is the only name that saves. Our age wants to say that the important thing is to be sincere in your belief, so what does it matter if you say God’s name is Allah or Brahmin? Just like gravity ruled my toddler when she crawled off the bed, eternal life has rules, a gravity if you will. Who you trust is the difference between heaven and hell (see John 14:6).

Now, we have been talking about having faith in someone, but we haven’t really spelled out what faith is, really. We too often get confused about what faith is versus what it does.
‌
We confessed a great definition of faith from the Heidelberg Catechism:
‌
“True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in Scripture; it is also a wholehearted trust, which the Holy Spirit creates in me by the gospel, that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also, forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation. These are gifts of sheer grace, granted solely by Christ’s merit.”
‌
We can’t go over every line here, but I do want you to see that there are two dimensions of faith here at work. The first is knowing something, and the second is trusting something.
‌
Let’s start with the knowing something. As one scholar points to  2 Corinthians 4:13–14 to show this: “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.” (Nijay K. Gupta)
‌
We know what the Bible says about Jesus how He died and rose again and calls us to turn from sin and follow Him. The thief on the cross recognized this. He knew that Jesus was Who He claimed to be and knew that this wasn’t the end for Jesus (“remember me when you come into your kingdom”). Jesus promised him that he would be with Him in paradise.
‌
So if you ever come up on someone whose got three minutes to live, that’s what they need to know.
1 Corinthians 15:3–4 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” They need to know they are sinners, they have a savior that they need to believe in.
‌
If you have more time with them, the Apostle’s Creed which we say most every week here for a reason, is the best distillation of the foundational doctrines of our faith. That’s what you need to know.
‌
Notice so far, there is nothing that you have done yet. It is only affirming what is obviously revealed to you. We don’t give people points for acknowledging gravity. It is. You can be foolish and ignore it, but one doesn’t see you as some master sage just for realizing what is there.
‌
Now, is that all there is to faith? Is it just stuff to know?
‌
Not at all!  James 2:19 tells us this! “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” That word “believe” is the verb form of “faith.” We “believe” “have faith that” God is one (one God, three persons), but that knowledge alone doesn’t save you. That isn’t all there is to faith. You can memorize the Westminster standards, you can ace every theological quiz there is, but that isn’t all there is to faith or spiritual maturity. There is something more that our catechism gets at “a wholehearted trust.”
‌
What does a wholehearted trust look like? The catechism points to Abraham. God told him that He was going to bless him with children, and Abraham believed God. He trusted God.
‌
What did that look like? It looked like knowing what God said, trusting that God was trustworthy, and acted accordingly. One theologian put it this way:
‌
“If a doctor assures me that I will be regaining my health, and if this assurance is to put me at ease, I must first have a reasonable trust that he means it and does not have an untrustworthy character; further, the conviction that his statement contains the truth; and finally, the complete peace of mind that results. However difficult it may be to analyze this last element precisely, it is in any case something special.” (Vos)
‌
That is what faith is. It is a trust that what Jesus said is true and is true of me. That is the faith that justifies, that declares me righteous. Jesus said to come to me and I will give you rest, so come and find rest! Trust Him! Wholeheartedly.
‌
When I moved into my house, I found some old termite activity. Always a comforting discovery! I got the termites poisoned well enough, but would the wood hold up long-term? I didn’t know who to trust to give me an evaluation that didn’t have either a financial interest attached or enough experience. That is, until I thought of Keith and Jim Saturday. These guys are the masters of all things wood and building. They looked at it and said, “Yep, that’s old, but the problem is solved now, and your joists are in great shape despite the minor nibbling of the termites.
‌
I found relief. Why? Because I trusted their character, what they were saying, and I believed it, resulting in lower blood pressure. So thanks, Gentlemen.
‌
Do you have that with Jesus? Do you trust Him such that when you think about death you are not worried about what happens after? Obviously, we aren’t looking forward to the process of dying, but are you assured of where you are going after? If not, why not?
‌
It might be because your faith isn’t being acted out.
‌
Remember how I said there is what faith is and what it does? Faith is that wholehearted trust, but what it does is produce obedience to Christ. It is the faith that saves, not what it produces, obedience. But if there is no obedience, then you don’t have an obedience problem, you have a faith problem. Your faith is dead (James 2:20)! If you say, “Oh, yes, I completely trust Jesus, but not enough to actually make a difference in my life” then I’ve got news for you, you don’t trust Jesus. Faith will ALWAYS produce repentance (turning from sin) and good works.
‌
Let’s say that Jim and Keith told me that my floor joists are fine, but I needed to install a dehumidifier to make sure they stayed that way. If I walk away from the conversation still nervous about my joists and refuse to install the dehumidifier, it would be pretty obvious that I don’t actually trust them, wouldn’t it?
‌
Why would we think Jesus is any different? Now in my illustration of Keith and Jim, as wonderful as those men are, they didn’t create me. They didn’t die for my sins. They don’t sustain my every breath. Jesus did and does. He did for you.
‌
Why don’t you trust Him? Do you just not want to give up that sin? Do you secretly think that hell simply doesn’t exist? Do you think God is only making suggestions, and He’s not serious? He is. God is not mocked, y’all. Don’t play fast and loose with the Almighty. If that’s you here this morning, then this is your warning. God doesn’t threaten. He warns.
‌
Now, maybe you’re here today saying, I want to trust Jesus, but I just can’t for some reason. My heart resists that call. I know what this will mean for my life, and I just can’t make myself do it.
‌
There’s one aspect of that statement in which you are right. You can’t produce faith in yourself, and a sinful heart does resist God’s call. There is nothing in you that can raise yourself from the spiritual dead (Ephesians 2:1-10).

‌Faith is a gift, sovereignly yet freely, given. If you want to trust Christ but find you can’t, then get on your knees this afternoon in the quiet of room and humbly request it. God is gracious and merciful and stands ready like the Father of the prodigal to run to you, throw His arms around you, and welcome you into His joy! Know and believe that the gospel is for you!
‌
The very fact that you would consider this is a very positive sign that God is already after you. Don’t delay. Put your wholehearted trust in Christ. Believe everything He says, place your eternal fate in His hands, and be comforted. You will then have the faith that Jesus promised in our passage that will access complete forgiveness of your sin by God’s grace.
‌
That’s why we say by grace through faith. Grace is what makes this whole thing possible, and we access that grace through faith, not works. If works got us favor, then it wouldn’t be grace anymore, would it? But grace isn’t just floating out there for everyone automatically. It is for those who access it through the gift of faith.
‌
And what you will see right alongside that is the abandonment of your sin. To turn to Christ is to turn from sin. You can’t serve two masters. To wholeheartedly believe Christ is to leave behind your sin. That’s what it means to repent. Your repentance will never be perfect, your faith will be weak at times, that is why it is the object of your faith, Christ Himself who will save you.
‌
So as you go home today, continue to trust Christ. Ask God to grow your wholehearted trust in Him not just for greater obedience, but for greater enjoyment of Him.
‌


‌
Nijay K. Gupta, “Faith,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
‌
Geerhardus Vos, Reformed Dogmatics, ed. Richard B. Gaffin Jr., trans. Richard B. Gaffin Jr., vol. 4 (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012–2016), 79.
‌


‌