In our last five studies we not only realized how sinful we are and
how impossible it is to save ourselves, but we also discovered that God’s
love for us sinners is infinite and unconditional, which He demonstrated
by the death of His Son on the cross. As a result, God has obtained for
all mankind salvation full and complete in Christ’s holy history. This
is what makes the gospel fantastic or incredible good news! Now, in this
study, we are going to answer a question, which may be in your mind: how
can this wonderful salvation become mine? In other words, what must I do
to be saved?
Because God created mankind with a free will, He will not force on anyone
the gift of salvation He has accomplished for all humanity in Christ. While
it is true that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, the fact is only those who believe will not perish but have
eternal life. The good news of the gospel demands a human response in
order to make Christ’s accomplished salvation for all mankind individually
effective. According to the Bible, that human response is described by the
word faith. Thus, when we combine the good news of salvation, which
God has obtained for all humanity in Christ, with our individual faith response,
we have this wonderful truth called Justification by Faith. Let us
see what the Bible has to teach about this wonderful truth.
1. What great commission did Jesus give His disciples before He returned
to heaven?
Mark 16:15 ______________________________________________________
2. What did He say would happen to: (a) those who believed the gospel
and were baptized, and (b) those who did not believe the gospel?
| Mark 16:16 |
(a) ________________________________________________ |
|
(b) ________________________________________________ |
Note: The only reason anyone is lost is because of a deliberate
and persistent rejection of the gospel. God does not blame us for being
sinners, since we are born sinful, but He does hold us responsible if we
deliberately and ultimately reject His gift of salvation in Christ (see
also John 3:18,36).
3. What did Jesus say will happen to those who believe in God and
Jesus whom He sent to save the world?
John 5:24 ______________________________________________________
4. How does the apostle Paul describe this salvation that is received
by faith apart from our law keeping?
Romans 3:28 ______________________________________________________
Note: In the Bible, Justification by faith is God’s way of
saving sinners in contrast to salvation by works of the law, which is man’s
way of saving himself.
5. Will anyone be saved by keeping the law?
Galatians 2:16 ______________________________________________________
6. What part does the law play when it comes to our justification
by faith?
Galatians 3:24 ______________________________________________________
Note: The Greek word Paul used for “school master,”
“tutor,” or “guardian” was
pedagogai. This was
an entrusted slave who was responsible to take his master’s children
to their private tutor. So also, Paul says, while the law itself does not
save us, one of its functions is to bring us sinners to Christ so that we
may be justified by faith.
7. What does the judge do when a person is found righteous or not
guilty in a court case?
Deuteronomy 25:1 ______________________________________________________
Note: The word “justify” or “justification”
is a legal term and is applied only to those who are found righteous or
not guilty. It is the very opposite of “condemnation,” which is
the verdict for sinners or those who are found guilty.
8. What is the first thing that one must have in order to have faith
in Jesus?
Romans 10:17 ______________________________________________________
Note: A knowledge of the gospel is the first prerequisite to have
saving faith. It is for this reason Jesus said, “you will know the
truth and the truth will set you free.” By “truth” He meant
the truth about Himself (John 8:32,36; see also John 17:3). It is this truth
we covered in lessons 3 and 4.
9. What is the second thing that one must do to make salvation effective?
John 6:40 ______________________________________________________
Note: Having a knowledge of the gospel is not enough, one has
to believe or accept it. The Jewish nation of Paul’s day heard the
gospel but not all of them believed it. Those who refused to believe will
be lost (see Romans 10:16,18). Jesus made it clear that only those who believe
in Him will be saved (see John 3:18; 5:24; 11:25).
10. Belief in the gospel involves more than merely a mental assent
to truth. What is the third requirement to have genuine faith that saves?
Romans 6:17 ______________________________________________________
Note: The Bible is clear that true saving faith is more than a
belief or mere mental assent to the gospel. According to James, the devils
believe but certainly do not possess saving faith (see James 2:19). Faith
requires a
heart obedience to the gospel (see Romans 1:5; Galatians
5:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 5:9; 1 Peter 4:17). Just as faith is a
heart obedience to the truth of the gospel, unbelief is a deliberate rejection
of, or disobeying the gospel. Therefore, we are saved by faith and lost
by unbelief.
11. What does it mean to obey the gospel?
______________________________________________________________
Note: Keep in mind, the gospel is what God did to you in Christ (Lesson 3).
By joining us to Christ in the incarnation,
God made it possible for Christ to re-write our history so that by his perfect
life and His sacrificial death we stand complete in Him (Colossians 2:10).
To obey the gospel therefore means that we surrender our wills to this truth
and accept Christ’s life as our life and His death as our death. Such
faith obedience means we must confess with Paul, “I have been crucified
with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now
live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20). Since Christ is the same “yesterday,
today, and forever,” He will produce in the believers, that perfect
life that He lived (see John 14:12). The good works produced will be in
harmony with the law of God and while they do not save us, they are the
evidence or fruits of salvation (Galatians 5:22,23).
12. What clear statement does the Old Testament make concerning the
just—those who have accepted the righteousness of Christ?
Habbakuk 2:4 ______________________________________________________
13. In contrast to the Jews, how did the Gentiles obtain righteousness?
Romans 9:30 ______________________________________________________
14. In spite of much effort on their part, why did Israel fail to
attain to the righteousness that saves?
Romans 9:31,32 ______________________________________________________
15. What did it cost the apostle Paul, who was a Jew and a Pharisee
before his conversion, to obtain the righteousness of God that comes by
faith?
Philippians 3:7-9 ______________________________________________________
Note: It is impossible to be saved by faith in Christ and still
hold on to our own righteousness. We are saved by justification by faith
alone and nothing else. While we are not saved by faith plus works, genuine
justification by faith always produces works as evidence of our salvation
(see Ephesians 2:8-10).
16. What happens when a believer tries to add works of the law as
a contribution towards justification by faith?
Galatians 5:4 ______________________________________________________
Note: Any believer who has tried to add his or her own good works
as a contribution to their salvation, will forfeit salvation altogether.
By accepting the righteousness of Christ, we must admit our own total depravity.
Thus we cannot add our own good works which falsely implies our being good.
The gospel will not allow salvation partly of Christ and partly of us. Salvation
is totally through Christ’s righteousness alone.
17. Since we are saved by grace alone, through faith in Christ’s
righteousness, does this mean that we can live as we please, since our works
do not count towards our salvation?
Galatians 5:13,14 ______________________________________________________
18. Why is it that salvation by grace alone, through justification
by faith, does not give us the license to sin?
Romans 6:1,2 ______________________________________________________
Note: If faith means we have obeyed the gospel from the heart,
then it means we must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive unto God,
since that is what is true of Christ (see verses 10 &11). And since
God is the source of righteousness in Christ, it is through our faith obedience
that we choose that righteousness.
19. What other reason does Paul give why believers, who are justified
by faith, cannot condone sinning?
Romans 6:15-18 ______________________________________________________
Note: Sin and righteousness belong to opposite camps. When we
obey the gospel we are not only saying good-bye to death, the wages of sin,
but also to sin itself. In exchange we have chosen a life of righteousness.
This is the true meaning of repentance. However, this does not mean we will
not fall in our Christian walk. But it does mean we have chosen to live
a life of righteousness in our minds.
20. What happens when a true Christian, who has turned from sin, falls
and commits a sin?
1 John 2:1 ______________________________________________________
Note: A Christian does not become unjustified or lost every time
he or she falls. Yes, every sin we commit, no matter how small, contributed
to the death of Christ. That is why a true believer will hate sin for what
it did to their beloved Saviour. Such a person will confess that sin, based
on a heart appreciation for Christ and not based on fear of punishment.
21. What is the immediate blessing that comes to those justified by
faith?
Romans 5:1 ______________________________________________________
Note: This peace for those who have been justified by faith is
expressed by Paul in the present continuous tense. This means that as long
as we are believers in Christ and stand under the umbrella of justification
by faith, we continue to have peace with God. But note, this peace is a
vertical peace between us sinners and our Holy God. We may not have peace
in the world we live in, but our hearts rejoice because we have a future
hope that the world cannot take away from us, as long as we believe.
22. Besides peace, what two other blessings do those who have been
justified by faith have access to?
| Romans 5:2 |
(i) ________________________________________________ |
|
(ii) ________________________________________________ |
Note: Access to God’s grace here means the power or strength
of God which makes it possible for believers to live the Christian life
and fulfill God’s purpose for them. While the primary meaning of grace
is God’s wonderful gift of salvation to sinful man, something we do
not deserve, grace also means God’s power or strength which he makes
available to those who are justified by faith (see 1 Cor. 15:9,10; 2 Cor
12:7-9). Such grace makes it possible for us to manifest the love of God.
This is the hope of true Christianity, since sin has robbed us of it (see
Romans 3:23; 2 Cor. 3:17,18).