Faith and Works

As part of the Religion Saves and Nine Other Misconceptions sermon series, I answered Question #4 on February 10: "If salvation is by faith alone (Romans 3:28), then why are there so many verses that say or imply the opposite, namely that salvation is by works (James 2:24, Matthew 6:15 & 7:21, Galatians 5:19-21)." I began by briefly examining what Jesus has done for us by dying on the cross for our sins and rising for our new life. Jesus' justifying work for us The big idea here is justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, not human works.

• We are "justified by his grace" (Titus 3:7).

• "[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" (Gal. 2:16).

• "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 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" (Rom. 3:20-25).

Jesus' regenerating work in us This doctrine is incredibly important because it explains the source of the new life we have as Christians. Sadly, some have so focused on justification that they have failed to articulate regeneration. In justification, our status before God is established; in regeneration, we are given a new life that begins with a fundamental transformation at the deepest levels of our person. In the Old Testament regeneration is spoken of as a new heart given to us by God.

• "I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart" (Jer. 24:7).

• "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules" (Ezek. 36:26-27).

In the New Testament, regeneration is spoken of in terms of a new birth, or being born again. This terminology begins with Jesus talking to Nicodemus in John 3, and is picked up elsewhere in places such as Ephesians 2:1-5 and Colossians 2:13. The summary is that we are born physically alive but spiritually dead and most be born again spiritually to have a new heart and new life with Jesus. There are ten aspects of God's regenerating work in the new heart of those who are born again as Christians to a thoroughly new life:

1. New Master
   "Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
2. New creation
   "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17).
3. New identity
   ". . . you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator" (Col 3:9-10).
4. New mind
   "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation" (1 Pet. 2:2).
5. New desires
   "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do" (Gal. 5:16-17).
6. New emotions
   "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7).
7. New community
   ". . . that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3).
8. New power
   "So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Rom. 8:12-13).
9. New freedom
   "We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin" (Rom. 6:6).
10. New life
    ". . . the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

Jesus' Sanctifying Work Through Us James 2 clarifies the relationship between faith and works: good works are what we are saved to rather than what we are saved by. In addition, Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Paul's order of salvation is that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone to then do good works, which God has prepared for us to do. Thus, Christianity is different than any other religion in that it teaches that we are saved to and not by our own good works (e.g., morality, spirituality). In conclusion, the doctrine of regeneration is far superior to religion because it shows that God changes our hearts so that we want to live new lives; furthermore, He empowers the desires of our hearts to live new lives that are marked by freedom, passion, joy, and contentment. Religion and its emphasis on what we must do so that God will love us is offensive to the gospel of grace. God loves us first and gives us a heart that loves Him back so that out of our new heart, the totality of our lives can be transformed to live for His glory and our joy. We do this not because we have to, but because we get to, thanks to the death and resurrection of Jesus.