Sola Fide

Sola Fide

We are preaching on the five Solas of the Reformation not because we are interested in history but because these issues are just as relevant and urgent today as then. One of the central issues during the Reformation was on what basis God declares sinners justified or righteous. Today we will look at the doctrine of Sola Fide, which is a Latin phrase meaning “Faith Alone”. The Roman church taught then and still teaches that God works to produce or infuse righteousness in believers which results in good works and it is based in part on those works that God justifies sinners. The Reformers, however, insisted that sinners are justified through faith alone. Martin Luther even said that Sola Fide is the article upon which the Church stands or falls. What he meant was that if you lose the doctrine of justification by faith alone, you lose the gospel, and if you don’t have the gospel, the church has no reason to exist.  Sola Fide is what makes the Gospel good news.

If you are a Christian this morning, I want you to close your eyes and reflect carefully upon this past week. I want you to think about your behavior this week. Were your words honorable and wholesome? How about your thoughts? Were they pure or were there times when they were unworthy of a child of God? Be honest with yourself.

Now, I want to ask you a question. Are you confident that God is pleased with you and that you stand justified before Him?

If we understand Sola Fide, two truths should come immediately to our minds. First, that even as believers, if our justification before God is dependent upon our own righteousness then not only are we not justified, but we stand condemned and are  going to hell. That is true of me and that is true of you.

But, praise God, for the second truth. That is that if we are united to Christ through faith then yes, we can stand with confidence, having been declared justified and perfectly righteous before God! If you believe, then through faith you are in Christ and He is in you and therefore it is not your works that testify on your behalf, but Christ’s. When God the Father looks upon you, He sees the perfect obedience of His Son and declares you, who are in Christ, to be righteous. Believers stand justified not based upon any righteousness of our own but based upon a righteousness that God Himself has provided for us.

Our good deeds, while important in other ways, contribute absolutely nothing to God’s verdict that we are innocent and accepted. We add nothing to the perfect work of Christ and our acceptance is based upon our union with Christ through faith, and nothing else. Brothers and sisters, the doctrine that sinners are justified by faith and faith alone is the heart of the Gospel. I pray to God right now in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that if you come to understand any doctrine that it would be this one.

It is the burden of my heart this morning that every person leaves here today with a clear understanding of this one vital truth, that God justifies sinners through their faith in Christ alone. That is the main point of the sermon. God justifies sinners through their faith in Christ alone.

Faith in Christ is not just necessary, it is sufficient. So, if you are toying with the idea that you have any righteousness of your own, no matter how small, that contributes to your acceptance by God, I pray that you would be so convicted by the Word of God this morning that you would repent of your attempts at self-righteousness and trust instead on Christ alone. 

I also pray this morning if you are a believer and are struggling with your assurance, joy, or confidence that you would be so encouraged by the Word of God today that your burdens would fall away as you come to better understand this Gospel truth. After all, who is able to bring an accusation against you before God when it is God who justifies you?

In the Gospels there is only one example of Jesus declaring a sinner to be justified. What I want to do today is to use this parable as an illustration of what the Bible says about justification by faith alone. We find this in Luke chapter 18 beginning at verse 9.

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Notice in verse 9 that Jesus tells this story to those who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous”. These people thought they were good enough to earn God’s approval. Their heroes were the pharisees who they saw as the best examples of righteous living. The pharisees followed the strictest religious standards. They made quite a production of their prayers, fasting, tithing, and other religious acts. In fact, they often exceeded what the Law required to make sure they never violated any commandment. If a pharisee was unable to be declared righteous based upon their obedience, then no person could be.

The tax collector on the other hand was in a profession that made it almost impossible to be faithful to the Law. For one thing, he was an agent of an oppressive pagan government whose leader claimed to be God. Second, the Roman tax system essentially functioned on extortion and theft. Tax collectors were incentivized to swindle, steal, and take advantage of others. It would be very difficult to see how any righteous person could ever work as a Roman tax collector.

Virtually every first century listener would have expected the pharisee to be the hero of the story, but shockingly Jesus flips this on its head. In the end it is the repulsive tax collector that ends up being justified and the upstanding pharisee isn’t. So, what is happening here?

There is no question that the outward obedience of the pharisee far surpassed that of the tax collector. The tax collector has no works whatsoever whereas the pharisee seems to have done many things exceedingly well. After all, he had never extorted anyone or committed adultery. He fasted twice a week and paid tithes on all of his income. Notice in verse 11 that he even gives God credit for his outstanding obedience. We could say he thanks God for his infused righteousness.

What then is the logic of a justification where it is the sinner with no works that is declared to be righteous while the religious person with many works is left in his sin?

The first observation we should make is that both men were sinners. The pharisee was trusting in his own works and he undoubtedly had many, but God’s standard of righteousness is perfect sinlessness. In Matthew 5:20 Jesus says, “I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Later in that same chapter Jesus says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Think about that. We were created to bear the image of God and that is the standard by which we are measured. We are to be perfect as God is perfect.

If perfection is the standard, then a single sin disqualifies us no matter how many other good things we do. A few months ago, I was making omelets and I realized that one of the eggs I had cracked into the bowl was bad. No matter how many good eggs I added it would not make up for the rottenness that was already present. Once corruption enters, we cannot get rid of it by adding more good stuff on top of it.

That is the way it is with sin. Justification is actually a legal term. It is a verdict rendered in God’s courtroom. To be justified means to be declared to be innocent of any violation of God’s Laws and to have right standing before Him. Crimes, which are what sins are, ultimately cannot be erased by following the rest of the laws. 

Can you imagine what would happen if you went to the Allegheny County Courthouse and told a judge that you had murdered someone in the past but have now turned your life around and were perfectly law abiding. Do you think they would say, “good job, glad you figured it out, you are free to go?”  No way, they would lock you up!. In the same way God won’t ignore our past crimes simply because there were other crimes we did not commit? It doesn’t even work that way in Allegheny County let alone with a holy God.

Good works can never justify anyone who has ever sinned. The pharisee greatly underestimated the holiness of God and foolishly trusted in his own works to make him acceptable in God’s sight. He took pride in the very Law that was designed to show him his lack of righteousness. Rather than humbling himself, he completely misunderstood the role works played in his relationship with God. The commandments were never intended as a path to justification.

In Galatians 2:16 the apostle Paul says, “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”

He goes on in chapter three to add, “For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.” But he concludes, “...the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.” The purpose of the Law was to show us that our righteousness does not measure up and that we need Jesus. The law points to Jesus.

The Pharisee completely missed the point and was like one of those the apostle Paul describes in Romans 10:1-4 when he says “they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

We can therefore see that there is no hope of being accepted by God based on our works. Even the most disciplined attempt at obtaining righteousness through our own goodness will always fall short. If we are to be justified it must be based on a righteousness that does not come from us.

The second thing we should notice is that justification is an instantaneous declaration by God. Verse 14 says he “went down to his house justified”. It is likely that this tax collector changed a lot of things in his life after this day but that isn’t why he was justified. He is declared just based upon his faith alone. He is justified without any works to show for himself. He knew that he had nothing to offer that would be worthy of God’s reward. He simply threw himself on the mercy of the court, admitted his sins, asked for forgiveness, and his hope in God. That is what a prayer of faith looks like. He is repentant and is trusting entirely in God’s promises to provide salvation rather than in himself. He knows that it is not merit, but mercy that he needs. His hope is entirely in God.

His justification is instant. He doesn’t perform any sacrifices or penance. No works of charity or love, he isn’t even baptized yet. He prays a prayer of faithful repentance and is declared to be justified without having done anything. This is in stark contrast to the Pharisee who, rather than seeking the righteousness God promises, tries to offer up his own. The result is that the man who accepts God’s mercy is justified and the one who tries to earn it is condemned. As Martin Luther said, “He is not righteous who does much, but he who, without work, believes much in Christ. The law says, do this, and it is never done. Grace says, believe in this, and everything is already done.”

Sadly, most people believe that they will go to heaven because they are good people. They do not realize that a sinner trusting in their own goodness is actually offensive to God. Isaiah says, “our righteous deeds are like filthy rags”. It is not just that our attempts to establish our own righteousness are insufficient, they are actually repulsive in the light of true holiness. It is kind of like an extreme version of the tissue test. You know that test where you hold up a super-clean white tissue to your teeth to see how white they are? When you look in the mirror and are only looking at yourself your teeth probably look nice and white, but when you look at them compared to something that is perfectly white what happens? Not so good, right?

So, the tax collector is instantly proclaimed to be justified before God without reference to anything but his faith. But how does this work? Since God cannot lie and is perfectly holy, how can he look at this tax collector, or you and me, and say that we are innocent and righteous when even we know we have sinned?

The answer is found in the Gospel truth of our union with Christ through faith. God, knowing that the solution to the problem of sin could never come from sinners, came to live under the Law as one of us. Jesus came and lived a holy life. He fulfilled every requirement of righteousness under the Law. Then, without any guilt of His own, he was crucified on a cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all those who would put their faith in Him. He died and was buried but three days later He rose again and then ascended into heaven proving that payment for those sins had been accepted. Jesus satisfied the punishment for sins so that we would not have to. You just have to accept this by faith.

But how does the perfection of Jesus and His death and resurrection help me? In most cases, when I fail at something it does not comfort me to know that someone else did it perfectly, right? But the Gospel isn’t just someone else’s story. Believing in Jesus isn’t just thinking about Him. Through faith we are connected with Him in a special way. As believers we are crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20), buried with Christ (Col. 2:12), baptized into Christ and his death (Rom. 6:3); Christ is formed in us (Gal. 4:19) and dwells in our hearts (Eph. 3:17); Christ is in us (2 Cor. 13:5) and we are in Him (1 Cor. 1:30).

His life and ours are connected. His life is now part of ours, and ours His. Believers, our sins really were paid for on the cross. Through Jesus we truly do possess righteousness before God. It is not a righteousness that originated in us, but it is really ours through faith. The apostle Paul describes it this way in Philippians 3:8-9,

“For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith”

It is like what happens when two people get married and merge their finances. All the husband’s debts become those of his wife and her credit becomes his. When we say that justification is by faith alone, we mean that we stand before God based on the goodness of Jesus alone. We do not, cannot, and need not add anything. It is Christ's righteousness that is imputed to us. That means that something Jesus earned is credited to our account because we are connected. You might say we have a joint account! 

Justification is a declaration that the believer has been credited with the righteousness of Christ through faith. The letter to the Romans is the most thorough presentation of the Gospel in the Bible. We can see how important justification by faith alone is to the Gospel by looking at a few examples of how it is presented there.

(Romans 3:23-28) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness … so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”

(Romans 4:1-6) “What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works.” 

(Romans 5:1) “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(Romans 5:18-19) “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

Our main point that God justifies sinners through their faith in Christ alone is central to a proper understanding of the Gospel. There are so many today who live with a false confidence that they are going to heaven because they are good people. What a tragedy that so many will be in hell because they did not receive the free gift of God’s own righteousness by simply believing in Jesus. 

Also, there are many believers who live defeated and anxious lives because they know that God is holy, they see the sin in their lives, and they are discouraged and weakened by that. If that is you, please come after to see me or one of the other elders. We want you to understand what it means to have peace with God through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That is why I am preaching this message. Your joy and assurance was paid in full on the Cross and you can rest in Christ.

If, however, good works play no role in justification, then does it matter how we live? Yes, of course it matters. The scripture is clear that we will give an account for how we live and without holiness nobody will see the Lord. How then is Sola Fide connected to holiness? Again, it comes back to our union with Christ through faith. In 1 Corinthians 1:30 Paul says,

 “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Paul says in Jesus we not only have righteousness but also sanctification and redemption. If we are united to Christ through faith, we have all of Him and everything that comes with that. Therefore, we cannot claim to have the justification that comes from Christ without also receiving the other things that come with being connected with Him. It is like having a coin, if you have heads, you also have tails. You cannot have the whole without all the parts.

Therefore, if we have Christ through faith, we must also have His Spirit which produces good works. Final salvation involves more than just justification. Having been justified, believers are being Sanctified, and will be Glorified. We are justified without works, but not ultimately saved apart from them. As Luther said, “the faith that alone justifies is never alone.” Works are not the basis of justification, but do accompany it. Acts of love and charity are not optional for believers. Those whom God justifies, he also sanctifies.

That is why James says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” James goes on to show that the fruit of a true and living faith are works of love. You could say, we are not saved by works but for them. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10) and Jesus said “you will know them by their fruits.” (Mt. 7:20)

Brothers and sisters, there is a day coming where every person will stand in judgment before the throne of Almighty God. If your planned defense is that you are good enough I’m afraid you don’t know God or yourself. I urge you to come to your senses and accept by faith the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on your behalf. 

And if you are a believer this morning who is discouraged I want to encourage you. God’s acceptance of you isn’t based on what you have or have not done. It doesn’t depend upon how much religion you have or theology you know. All that matters is if you are trusting in Christ. If so, you are free and equipped to pursue holiness with confidence and without any shame. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

500 years ago, Martin Luther risked his life to point the church back to a biblical understanding of justification. The need is just as urgent and relevant today as it was then. I will leave you this morning with the words of Clement of Rome who wrote them over 1400 years before the Reformation.

All, therefore, were highly honored, and made great, not through themselves or their own works, or for the righteous deeds they did, but through the operation of His will. And we, too, being called by His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, or by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have done in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Clement 32:3-4)