I’ve entitled my message this morning “Saved by Faith Alone! Really???” because shockingly that’s precisely the attitude of most self-described Christians in America today.
An October 2020 survey of self-described Christians in America by Arizona Christian University revealed the 52% of self-described Christians in America accept a “works-oriented” view of how they can be right with God and go to heaven. Yes, more than half of the people who say they are Christians in America believe that being right with God and going to heaven is based on their good works. Only 46% of professing Christians in America believe that being right with God and getting to heaven is a matter of faith, rather than works, or as the survey put it, a matter of confessing their sins and accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.
This shocking trend appears even among those professing Christians who attend churches whose doctrinal statements, whose official positions on the subject, claim that faith alone in Christ results in salvation. Among professing Pentecostals, 46% said salvation was a matter of good works, among those who attended mainline denomination churches, 44% said the same. And among those attending evangelical churches like our own, a whopping 41% claimed that good works were the way to be right with God!
This is a stunning result when you consider that Jesus Himself, and the entire New Testament deny that our good works are the means to salvation, and repeatedly affirm that heaven, and salvation, are dependent upon faith, and faith alone in Jesus Christ as the one who saves us from our sin.
And this is nowhere more evident than in Paul’s letter to the Romans, widely considered to be the single greatest exposition and explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ found in the Bible. The Apostle Paul devotes the Book of Romans especially to this one teaching; that the righteousness of God—that is a right-standing with God that results in heaven and salvation—is not available through good works, or the works of the Law, but is only available through faith in Jesus Christ.
He does so especially beginning in Romans 3 and continues to defend the teaching that a right-standing with God comes exclusively through faith in Jesus Christ through chapter 4. He writes emphatically because he expects religious people, especially, self-righteous Jews, to doubt that this could possibly be so. And his theme for the rest of chapter 3 and four is established in verses 21-23: “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Paul’s point is simply this: You can’t be right with God through good works, because of your sin. You can only be right with God through faith in Jesus.
As we saw last week, in verses 22-26, Paul then explains precisely what Jesus did to obtain our right-standing with God. He offered Himself as the only atoning sacrifice for our sins through His death on the cross. Christ paid the penalty for our sins so we wouldn’t have to. He makes us right, and through faith in what He did, rather than what we can do, we can be right with God.
Beginning in verse 27 he begins to answer the objections of those who doubt this conclusion. He’s an expert at this. He was a self-righteous religious Jew, even a Pharisee Himself, who believed keeping the Law was needed for a right relationship with God at one time. And by this point, Paul has preached this teaching that being right with God is through faith, rather than works, in some of the biggest synagogues in the Middle Est, Asia Minor and now Europe. He has faced repeated questions and hostilities from Jews who have struggled with and even rejected this teaching. And so he is an expert at answering their objections.
The objections He’s going to answer in Romans 3 and 4 that we have time to cover this morning are the following:
1. Now wait a minute. You mean we can’t claim any credit for earning a right relationship with God at all?
2. Don’t we Jews have a privileged relationship with God over the Gentiles? Aren’t we superior to the Gentiles?
3. Aren’t you nullifying the Law of God by saying faith, rather than the works of the Law, are needed to be right with God.
4. What about all the Old Testament saints, like Abraham, Moses and David. Weren’t they made right by keeping the Law?
Paul answers these questions in order beginning in verse 27. The objection is, “Can’t we claim any credit for earning a right relationship for ourselves with God at all?” Paul puts that question this way, “Where then is boasting?” In other words, what about the person who wants to brag about his relationship with God, who wants to say that he deserves a right relationship with God because he keeps the law, or is a good person, or does good works. Paul’s imaginary objector is saying in effect, the clear implications of your Gospel Paul, is that I have nothing at all to do with earning my salvation. That it’s all based on what Jesus has done for me. So you really mean to say I can take no pride whatsoever in gaining a right relationship with God?”
And Paul’s answer is “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Verse 27 again, “Where then is boasting. It is excluded.” There is absolutely no place for it in the Christian life. How so? Rest of verse 27: “By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.” And then Paul repeats the assertion he has already made in verses 21 through 23, in verse 28: “For we maintain that a man is justified, or declared right with God, by faith apart from the works of the Law.” Paul is not moved from the major point of this letter, or the New Testament, one iota. The works of the Law, keeping the 10 Commandments, does not even partially earn a right-standing with God for anyone. It is not confidence or faith in what you can do to earn God’s approval; it is rather faith in Jesus, or confidence in what Jesus has done for us to earn a right-standing with God. Those who have such an objection need to do the same kind of faith transfer the Paul had to accomplish. They had to transfer their faith from keeping the Law, or from their good works, to Jesus’ good work on the cross accomplished for them if they were to be right with God and go to heaven.
The point: Reject all pride & confidence in your good works—you’re a sinner who can only be saved by faith. This is the good news: Reject all pride & confidence in your good works—you’re a sinner who can only be saved by faith.
Now through the years I’ve noticed a characteristic of churches that teach legalism—that good works are at least in part necessary for a right-standing with God. Many of the people who are leaders in these churches are consumed with self-righteous pride. They see themselves as superior to others, even in their own church. They tend to look down on others. And there is also a great deal of hypocrisy because no one can live up to the standards they even set for themselves. People in churches who teach that a right-standing with God comes through works are often infected with the same sort of deadly attitudes that characterized the Pharisees, whom Jesus condemned—pride, self-righteousness and hypocrisy. The humbling truth about every human being on the planet is that we are all sinners who can only be saved by grace through faith in Jesus. Though true believers are not immune from pride and self-righteousness, understanding and believing the true Gospel is very humbling. We are simply all sinners in need of a Savior, and if we boast in anything or anyone, it’s in the Lord Jesus and what He did for us when He died for our sins on the cross.
Second question from the Jew who objects to this teaching: Don’t we Jews have a special relationship with God? Aren’t we superior to the Gentiles! Your Gospel makes it sound like we are sinners just like everyone else. And your Gospel seems to say we’ve got to get saved just like anyone else. Again, if this is so, what’s so special about being Jewish.
Paul’s answer. Reject all prejudice—your people, and every kind of people, are saved by faith alone. Verse 29: “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised by faith.”
In other words, you got that right. Jews and Gentiles are alike both guilty of sin. Neither group can save themselves through their good works. So Jews and Gentiles alike can only be saved through faith in Jesus, whether circumcised or uncircumcised.
Again, the Jews suffered from a potentially ethnocentric bias that they hoed would exempt them from having to accept the Gospel of Jesus. No, God is an impartial judge of all men. God is the God of Jews and Gentiles, and all stand before Him as sinners who need a savior in order to be right with God. Salvation is by faith in Jesus whether you are a Jew or a Gentile.
How does this apply to us Gentiles? Well, aside from the obvious, we might think of ourselves and our group of people with an ethnocentric bias. We might think that since we’re Baptist, or part of a Bible Church, or a fundamentalist, or an evangelical, or perhaps even Roman Catholic that that in itself qualifies us as special, an above the Gospel. Nope, Paul speaks the principle well. We are all on the same soiled ground before God, we’re all sinners. If we’re going to be right with God and saved, we’re going to be saved in the same way, through faith in Jesus, and through faith alone. After all, isn’t this what Jesus repeatedly said? Isn’t this what Jesus said in John 6:47: He who believes has eternal life” He didn’t say “He who keeps the law” or “He who does His best” has eternal life. He who believes has eternal life.
Objection #3: If we’re not saved by keeping the Law, doesn’t this nullify the Law? Isn’t that why the Law was given—to show us how we can earn a right-standing with God? Paul has actually already answered this question previously, but he addresses it here again. Verse 31: “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be?! On the contrary, we establish the Law.”
How so? Well, obviously, no one can perfectly keep the Law. And that’s the standard. As James 2:10 puts it, “If you keep the whole Law, and stumble in one point, you have become guilty of all.” If someone could be made right with God through the Law despite not keeping the Law, that, in fact, would be nullifying the Law. That would establish that Law-keeping is not important in being right with God.
So, how does faith in Jesus establish the Law? We put our faith in Jesus, who fulfilled or perfectly kept the Law in our place. It’s because of His righteousness we are considered righteous. His righteousness is reckoned to our account, while our sin was reckoned to His. That’s why He died on the cross—our sin had been reckoned to His account.
As Jesus Himself put it in Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
And so Paul’s point is this: Remember, through faith, Christ fulfilled the Law for you. Thus, the Law and its righteousness is established through faith in Jesus. It is not nullified, as it would have been had anyone been able to be right with God without keeping the Law perfectly.
Now we come to the big question that troubles a lot of us. It was a question I had as a young believer. Weren’t the Jews in the Old Testament saved by keeping the Law? The Jew would ask the question this way, “Weren’t our forefathers in the Scriptures made right with God through the works of the Law.”
And Paul’s answer is going to surprise them. He’s going to say in chapter 4, as a matter of fact they weren’t. And I’m going to prove it to you. He says this, “Recognize everyone, in the Old Testament and the new, were always saved by faith. Recognize everyone, in the Old Testament or the New, were always saved by faith.
Paul uses an ingenious argument. He’s going to use the examples of the two Jewish heroes of the Old Testament, Abraham and David. Abraham received the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant—the promises in which the Jews rejoiced and that were the very foundation for the confidence in their relationship with God. David received the promises of the coming Kingdom of God and that the Jewish Messiah would rule the world and deliver them from all their enemies. The Jews hoped in and rejoiced in these promises as well. Obviously, these two men were examples, even the forefather of all Jews who had a right relationship with God. If Paul could demonstrate from the Scriptures that their right relationship with God came on the basis of faith, rather than the works of the Law, the self-righteous religious Jew’s objections could be totally defeated.
Romans 4:1: “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found. For if Abraham was justified (or declared right with God) by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.” It’s almost as though Paul begins to entertain the possibility that Abraham might have been declared right before God because of His works, and then when He thinks of God and His absolute holiness, he has to immediately reject this notion. No, he has nothing to boast about before God, because even Abraham’s works were not good enough.
And then Paul pulls out of the Old Testament Scriptures the absolute proof text that demonstrates that Abraham was declared righteous by faith, and not by his works. It’s Genesis 15:6. Romans 4:3: “For what does the Scripture, (the Word of God) say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to Him as righteousness.”
Whoa!!! There it is! There is the absolute proof that Abraham, the progenitor and father of the Jewish race and faith, did not earn his righteousness through his good works. No, that righteousness was credited to Him apart from His works. It was credited to His account, imputed to Him, even though He didn’t deserve it. Faith was the one and only necessary ingredient for God to consider even Abraham, the example for all Jews, to be right before Him! Wow! What a zinger!
Paul emphasizes the spiritual lesson taught here in verses 4 and 5; “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.” His point: Abraham did not earn his right-standing with God through his good works. No, he did not work for his right-standing with God. God credited righteousness to his account on the basis of faith, and not works. Just as he has done with every Old Testament saint.
And now he proves the same point with respect to the great and revered King David. Verse 6; “Just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.”
Now he’s going to quote David from Psalm 32:1-2. Psalm 32:1-2 is David’s testimony of how God forgave his great sin in the affair with Bathsheba. Remember the severity of David’s sin. He clearly broke God’s law in the most grievous fashion. He coveted another man’s wife, breaking the 10th commandment. He then committed adultery with her, breaking yet another commandment. And then He murdered her husband, as part of the cover-up, breaking yet another of the 10 commandments. And his cover-up, of course, was a deliberate deception, a lie, yet another sin. He was a law-breaker extraordinaire. But because he confessed and repented of His sin, in faith, he, as a prophet of God, claims God’s forgiveness as a blessing. Psalm 32:1-2: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” How was David then, accounted as right before God? Because he kept the Law? No way! He was a horrific lawbreaker. He was accounted right with God apart from the works of the law. He was accounted right with God by His faith that God would forgive him, as well as others, when he confessed His sin and repented!
The Apostle then counters yet another objection that a Jew might have—again about the issue of circumcision. They would pose it in this way: But what about circumcision? Wasn’t that required to be considered part of the people of God, to be right with God? It’s a fair question. His answer again is brilliant and to the point. It so happens that God’s declaration that Abraham was righteous because of His faith occurs in Genesis 15:6. It was until Genesis 17:10, years later, that God introduced the covenant of circumcision to Abraham. And so Paul can write about the faith that was credited to Abraham in verses 9-12: Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” Now then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who following he steps of the faith of our faither Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.”
Case settled!!!!! A right-standing with God does not come by works. It does not come by circumcision. It does not come by ritual or religion. It comes by faith in Jesus. It has always come through faith for all who have believed in a God who forgives and mercifully declares those who believe righteous. O.T. saints and N.T. saints are saved by faith in God’s grace, now announced by Jesus Christ, a salvation accomplished by His work, and not ours.
Now as clearly as this stated, I am stunned and appalled that so many in Bible-believing churches could still claim that a right-standing with God comes through their good works.
I hope you’re not one of them.
So I’m going to ask you to tell me what you believe this morning out loud. Does a right-standing with God come through works? Yes or no. If not, then what does it come by:
Yes, Faith, Faith alone in Jesus. Really! It is written!
