The Divine Conjunction Series

D. The response: our faith

We accept this atoning sacrifice, Christ, “by faith”. Now we’re back full-circle, to the fact that it isn’t by us doing things to prove we are good enough for God that we are made right with Him; it is by faith by trust in Jesus. We place our trust in Him, not in anything else—our good works, our church membership, our moral living; nothing else—and on that basis, we stand before God justified, as though we had never sinned.

Further, there is nothing meritorious about faith; it’s not like God contributes grace, and we contribute faith. The value of faith is not in itself, but solely in its object, Jesus. There are some Bible teachers who would tell us to “have faith in our faith”; that’s a wholly misguided and unscriptural teaching, for Christ is the object of faith, not faith itself. John Stott paints this word picture for us: “faith is the eye that looks to him, the hand that receives his free gift, the mouth that drinks the living water.” And it’s not the depth or even the quality of faith that is the issue, but rather the Object. I remember having this conversation with a dying friend a few years back, a man who professed faith in Christ but who doubted the strength and consistency of his faith. I told him that he needn’t worry about how good or how strong his faith was, but that he concern himself with how good and how strong Christ was. Our response is faith. Finally, note the great news about that faith in Christ:

IV. God’s righteousness is available to everyone who believes

Everyone who believes. Nobody is excluded on the basis of what he has done; nobody’s sins have rendered her beyond the pale, unable to be saved. The murderer? “Everyone who believes.” The child molester? “Everyone who believes.” The self-righteous prude? “Everyone who believes.” The continual failure? “Everyone who believes.” The winner? The loser? The ugly? The beautiful? “Everyone who believes.” Nothing earns it; nothing disqualifies from it, except for a lack of belief in the Christ Who died on the cross and rose again. It doesn’t matter who you are; what matters is Who Christ is. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done; all that matters is what Christ has done. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been; it only matters where Christ has been. He’s been to Calvary, died there, and then beat death. It doesn’t matter what you’ve said; what matters is what He said, and He said, “come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” God’s righteousness is available to everyone who believes—and it’s available to you, right now.

Table Talk

Romans 9:33 and Galatians 5:11 speak of the cross of Christ, and of Christ Himself, as being a “stumbling stone” and an “offense”. The Greek word is “skandalon”, from which we get our word “scandal”. The gospel of the cross of Christ, Paul is saying, is “scandalous”. Looking back at what we’ve said today, in what ways is this true?