Tag: Faith

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The Unity of the Evangelical Protestant Church on the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone

There’s no question that the variety of churches can be a bit dizzying. How did we get so many denominations? It’s a long story!

What’s easy to miss is the amazing unity that exists on the most important doctrines of the faith. There is a surprising amount of unity on what the Bible teaches about who God is, who man is, what his problem is, and how he comes to eternal salvation.

One of the key points of agreement is in the doctrine of justification by faith alone. What this means is that whatever we have done or however much we have failed, God forgives us and accepts us a free gift received by faith alone without any of our obedience, merits, or works. We also teach that good works are the fruit of this justification, but we always emphasize that our free acceptance is the root and the good works are fruit of that acceptance.

Here are a few examples from some of the historic documents of evangelical churches for your edification:

Wesleyan: We believe that justification is the judicial act of God whereby a person is accounted righteous, granted full pardon of all sin, delivered from guilt, completely released from the penalty of sins committed, by the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by faith alone, not on the basis of works.

Augsburg (Lutheran): Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Rom. 3 and 4. . . . Furthermore, it is taught on our part that it is necessary to do good works, not that we should trust to merit grace by them, but because it is the will of God. It is only by faith that forgiveness of sins is apprehended, and that, for nothing. And because through faith the Holy Ghost is received, hearts are renewed and endowed with new affections, so as to be able to bring forth good works (Art. 20). Continue reading “The Unity of the Evangelical Protestant Church on the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone”

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Enjoying a Relationship with God Forever – A Summary of the Christian Faith

What is Christianity all about? Why are people so interested in it? Why do people give their lives for it? Why do more than a billion people follow it? Here is my brief summary of the main points of the Christian faith and its significance.

God
When we talk about the Christian faith, we begin and end with God Himself. Most people of the world believe there is a God, and that is the standpoint from which we begin.

When we think about God, we know that He is far greater than us. He made the earth and the heavens in all their splendor and variety. He made the complexity of our cells and the vast expanse of the universe. He’s far greater than we could imagine.

He is also good. We see this in the beauty of the universe, in the amazing provision this world offers us, and the way we can enjoy so many good things in this world. God has made this world so we can know Him and experience good things.

God is also holy. This means that He is pure in every way. He wants us to be pure. We all have a sense of right and wrong that we did not invent and that we cannot just dismiss. This is our conscience. We all have a sense that right and wrong is not just a preference or something convenient for us. Instead, it comes from our Creator, requires us to do right, and points us to the holiness of God.

Humans
When we think about humans, one thing we know about them is that they are created for God and to connect with God. They can know who God is. Within us all is a sense that we can pray. We also have a sense of God’s commands and that we are to live before Him. We are created to connect with God. Continue reading “Enjoying a Relationship with God Forever – A Summary of the Christian Faith”

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Justification and Sanctification: God’s Gifts to Faith

The goal of grace is to re-engage humanity in service to the glory of God and the life of the human community. To do this, the human pride that seeks to make ourselves or our nations the center of the universe must be shattered. This requires a humble acceptance of God’s verdict and our sinfulness and a reception of His offer of security, love, and forgiveness. This acceptance frees us from the burden of anxiety and so releases us for the adventure of love.

Here we consider this same event from God’s perspective. God offers power and grace, sanctification and justification, as the solution to human pride and misery. From God’s standpoint, the gifts given to faith are justification and sanctification. This is grace shown to man and power working in man. It is forgiveness and transformation, a new status and a new character. God forgives, and He transforms. For Niebuhr, it is important to see that God does both, and that these are two distinct gifts.

Justification
When someone believes in Christ, they achieve a perfect righteousness. However, this righteousness is not theirs internally. It is only theirs by imputation. “The Christ who is apprehended by faith, i.e., to whom the soul is obedient in principle, ‘imputes’ his righteousness to it. It is not an actual possession except ‘by faith’” (The Nature & Destiny of Man, 2.103). “Impute” means to consider, to think, to reckon. God counts the righteousness of Christ as ours, so that God sees us as if we had never sinned nor been a sinner, indeed, as if we had accomplished what Christ Himself did. Continue reading “Justification and Sanctification: God’s Gifts to Faith”

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What Does It Mean to Eat and Drink to the Glory of God?

For instance, a person then eats and drinks to the glory of God, when, confessing himself unworthy to enjoy this life and the conveniencies of it, he praises that bountiful favour of God, which abundantly bestows all things upon him, and above all admires that immense love of the Lord Jesus, who willingly was destitute of all the dainties of life, and submitted to drink vinegar and gall, that his people, through the favour of God, might eat the fat and drink the sweet: when also he does not delight so much in the creatures and the gifts of providence, as in the Creator himself and the giver; tasting to his unspeakable pleasure, how sweet the Lord is: when he sincerely proposes faithfully to employ his life, which is lengthened out by these means, and all his faculties, which are thus continually refreshed, to the service of God, who gave and preserves them: when, in fine, he rises in meditation, from the delights of this natural life, to the almost unspeakable pleasures of a future and heavenly life; and having a prelibation of them in thought and faith, with a grateful heart tunes up a song of love to God: “Lord, if thou doest such things in this dark dungeon, what wilt thou not do for us, when admitted into thy palace of light!” — Herman Witsius, The Economy of the Covenants, 3.7.99

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The Glory of the Children of Light

[Listen to an audio version here]

The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece. Greece, a place of such wonder, beauty, and glorious history. From this place burst forth such a level of creative thinking about all subjects that the world continues to stand in awe of it. It inspires politicians, architects, artists, philosophers, and theologians to this day. It is the foundation of much of our own civilization. Lord Byron, the great English poet, who died in the cause of Greek independence, said, “Fair Greece! sad relic of departed worth! Immortal, though no more! Though fallen, great!” (Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto 2.73).

Even in Paul’s day, people would have looked at Greece in the same way. When the Romans conquered it, they took the Greek philosophers and teachers as tutors for their children and imbibed all they could of Greek culture and philosophy. For Christian theologians, the writings of the Greeks have been a conversation partner in a somewhat tumultuous relationship, sometimes wanting to throw them out and then going back to them again, seeing their value.

The Greeks themselves are today a Christian people, in the broad sense of that term. That is part of the story of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. In Acts 16, Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia, calling him over to Europe. He crossed the Hellespont and went into Europe. He entered the Roman colony of Philippi and met a woman named Lydia. She and her companions became the first church in Europe.

Paul and the Thessalonian Church
From there, Paul made his way to the capitol city of the region, Thessalonika. Today, the Greeks call it Thessaloniki. If you go to Greece, you can visit this ancient city. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue and told the people that Jesus was the promised Messiah or Christ. Several responded positively. “Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women” (Acts 17:4).

Others were not as enthusiastic. In fact, they were downright hostile. They gathered a mob that searched for Paul and his associate Silas. They didn’t find him, so they took a man named Jason and brought him before the authorities. Here’s what they said, “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus” (Acts 17:6b–7). The authorities made Jason pay bond, and then they let him go. Continue reading “The Glory of the Children of Light”

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