A Faith That Saves

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.

-Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)

    According to Charles Spurgeon, the grace of God is the fountain-head of salvation. Remember that salvation is a gift from God that is given freely (Romans 6:23). It cannot be earned, rather, it is offered to sinners out of the grace of God who is compassionate, abounding in love, merciful, and full of goodness. If grace is the fountain, then faith is the channel by which the flood of grace flows down like a stream that refreshes thirsty men.

     Spurgeon further explains how grace and faith operate in salvation:

By faith all things become possible to us; yet the power is not in the faith, but in the God upon whom faith relies. Grace is the powerful engine, and faith is the chain by which the carriage of the soul is attached to the great motive power.

    We do not muster saving faith by our own efforts. Faith is not visualizing that we are saved, restored, and healed. Faith is wholly leaning to the all-powerful, mighty God and His promises. It takes hold of the righteousness of Jesus Christ so that we are made righteous. It appropriates the sacrifice of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. It touches the Great Physician for healing. Spurgeon writes,"Faith is believing that Christ is what He said to be, and that He will do what He has promised to do, then to expect this of Him." The power is not in our faith, but comes from the object of our faith which is God! Therefore, we can never boast that our human effort is needed in our salvation.

How Can God Be Loving and Just at the Same Time?

    For many people, the gospel is summarized in this famous verse :

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 (ESV)

    Without a doubt, the gospel is a testimony of God's immeasurable love for us. However, our understanding of the gospel is incomplete if we stop here. Is God's love such that, through Jesus, He takes away our guilt by sweeping our sins under the rug and remembering them no more? Is this the kind of love that lets bygones be bygones? Surely God knows that we're not perfect. If He truly loved us, He must forgive us and accept us for who we are. After all, wasn't it Jesus who said to forgive seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22)?

    Most people prefer to believe God in this way, but we know that something isn't right with this argument. God is love (1 John 4:8) but it does not mean that in His loving, He waves away the sins that men have committed. Genocide, racism, rape, murder, sexual immorality, child abuse, covetousness, and deceit cannot just be simply swept under the rug. It would be unfair and unjust, most especially if these sins were committed against us or against people that we love. I will never simply forgive a man who would molest my children. Instead, I would pursue justice and life imprisonment for that criminal. I'd cry out to God that I have been offended and pray that God would punish that man.

   In the shocking scandal with Bathsheba, King David committed adultery and murder. He used his authority to conceal his affair by having Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, set up to be killed in battle. He got outed by the prophet Nathan. David repented and his confession to God is recorded in Psalm 51.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 

- Psalm 51:3-4 (ESV)

When we sin, it is God that is offended ultimately. Now, not only is God the offended party, He is also the judge. David correctly confesses that God is right to mete out justice, declare a guilty verdict, and sentence us according to what we deserve.

    So how then does the God of justice love? Can God be just and loving at the same time or are they mutually exclusive? The answer is found in Romans.

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. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over  former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. - Romans 3: 22b-26 (ESV)

    First of all, this passage clearly declares that all of us are guilty because of our sins. None of us can justify ourselves before God. We can argue our case before the Judge by listing out all the good works that we have done in this life for surely they must be worth rewarding and they must certainly outweigh all our bad deeds. The verdict is still guilty (James 2:10). Christianity is realistic in describing the human nature. All men are sinners.

    But remember that the gospel is good news! It addresses this problem. In this same verse, we see that God, in His grace, makes us right with Him through faith in Jesus Christ. The shedding of His blood is the sacrifice that atones our guilt and redeems us from slavery to sin. Propitiation is the act that renders God propitious or favorable to us. It the act that appeases God's wrath that is directed at us because we are sinners. We cannot turn away God's wrath through our good works. There is nothing in us that we can offer as a propitiation. Only God can. This is all God's doing. The righteous and holy Judge sent His Son to be the propitiation for sinners. Through the cross, our sins are cancelled and the wrath of God is turned aside at the same time.

    Why would God do this? The latter part of this verse reveals the answer. God has been patient by holding back judgment on the sins of men who had lived before He set in motion the events of Jesus birth, death on the cross, and resurrection. By holding back the punishment that their sins so deserved, it does not mean that He overlooked them nor that He swept them under the rug. He held them accountable to their sins just as we are held accountable today. The blood that Jesus shed also paid for their sins. Through the cross, God showed that He is just and is the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus Christ. This is how a just God loves! In his loving, he demonstrates that He is just. Likewise, His perfect righteousness demonstrates that He is love.

    In conclusion, when we mash up John 3:16 and Romans 3:22-26, we see that God is both just and loving at the same time. It is demonstrated in the gospel. Thank you God, for loving us by giving your Son Jesus Christ. The blood that Jesus shed on the cross is the perfect sacrifice which turns away Your wrath from us. Through the cross, we are made righteous in Your eyes. God is just. Through the cross, You demonstrate Your love. God is love.

What is the gospel?

    It's good to be able to find time to write again. My 2 month hiatus from blogging was due to a variety of reasons, mainly personal and work circumstances that needed my full attention. But I missed writing! It was the means by which I could fully internalize the wonderfuls truths in the Bible.

    For several weeks now, I've been meeting regularly with friends to answer a basic question about the Christian faith. What is the gospel? As it turned out, we still had a lot to learn! I've blogged about the gospel in the past  and made these sweeping statements :

1. All our problems in life stem from our failure to apply the gospel.

2. Spiritual poverty in so much of our Christian experience is the result of inadequate understanding of the gospel’s depths.

   I believe in these statements even more so now! If we do not understand what God has done for us then we will live the Christian life always working to get God's approval when, in fact, we already have God's favor through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  If we do not understand the significance of Jesus Christ's death on the cross, His resurrection, and His ascension, then we miss the message of the gospel and our confession of faith becomes questionable. For how can we live like Christians if we do not know the object of our faith and the substance of what we believe?

   First of all, the gospel means "good news". At the core of the Christian faith is this "good news" about what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. The gospel is not about getting enlightenment, wisdom, knowledge, purpose, and meaning in life. It is not about learning the secret to healthy, successful, prosperous, and stress-free living. The gospel is first of all, the announcing of an event that happened 2,000 years ago. God became flesh and dwelled among human beings. His name is Jesus and He lived, preached, healed, and taught about the coming of the kingdom of God. He ate with sinners and rebuked the religious elite who were moralists and insisted on having a legalistic approach to religion.These religious elite arrested Jesus and brought him to trial, eventually leading to his death on the cross. On the third day, Jesus rose again and over 500 witnessess testified to seeing and fellowshipping with Him. His ascension into heaven was witnessed by many and He promised that He would return and reign over the new heaven and the new earth. The historical events surrounding Jesus were all determined by God since the beginning of time. He left pointers for us in the Old Testament,through the Law of Moses and through the foretelling of many prophets. He brought it to pass just like He said He would.

   This good news addresses our biggest problem:sin. Our sin separates us from God who is Holy and Righteous.The gospel is God's grace to sinners by granting them righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. God loved us so much that He gave His Son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. As Jesus hung on the cross, He took upon the sins of men and paid the price that we could never pay on our own. He took upon Himself the punishment that we deserved. The righteousness of Christ becomes the righteousness of those who believe so that the guilty are now declared just. And there's more. When we receive the gospel, we are transformed by the Holy Spirit, so that now we are no longer enslaved to sin but now enslaved to righteousness.We are able to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God.

   This is the essence of the gospel. It is big! It is radical change that only God is able to do!