V
… then we have to talk. If you believe that salvation can be lost, then we have to talk. If you think that anything you do in “righteousness” preserves your salvation, then we have to talk.
We have to talk because you, brother or sister, are wrong.
If you adhere to any of these teachings, then you do not understand grace. If you don’t understand grace, then you do not understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you do not understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then you may not even be saved.
If anyone believes these tenets, they are essentially practicing a man-made religion. Though you may claim the name of Jesus Christ, though you may know Scripture, and though you think you are able to use that Scripture to support what you believe, you are not led by the Holy Spirit.
Sin makes us thick-headed, unable or unwilling to accept certain truths, particularly when our place of worship fails to give even minimal attention to what the Bible actually teaches, or worse, misrepresents -- either knowingly or unknowingly -- what the word of God says. All these doctrines come from men. They are not taught in the Bible, no matter how insistent your teachers or you are that you can support your views biblically.
Consider this very carefully: All belief systems except biblical Christianity encourage us to believe that we contribute to our salvation, even if they deceitfully assert otherwise. That is precisely what many of the modern denominations do, preaching a Christ who demands we “help Him out” in providing our salvation, through our so-called good deeds and adherence to a set of rules.
We may not call these rules “The Law” as the Israelites called what Moses received from God on Sinai, but we nonetheless are Lawkeepers if we believe anything we do gets us saved or keeps us saved. If you go to a church that teaches these things, you are not in a biblically sound church. They are teaching you to believe in a works-based salvation, even if the leadership or you deny that is the case.
In short, if you have to “do” anything to be saved beyond believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, you are practicing a works-based salvation.
Saving grace is unmerited. The very meaning of the Greek word cavrisma (charisma) is “in favor in which one receives without merit of his own.” It is absolutely necessary that grace be unmerited, as Paul wrote.
Paul goes on to assert that we are saved apart from the Law, absent of “doing” and must be dependent on believing – faith alone, through the grace of God alone, for salvation.
Look carefully at these verses. Paul clearly states in v. 21 that “apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been manifested.” Where is it manifested? “Through faith in Jesus Christ” that righteousness is manifested in the believer! It could not be any more plainly stated, but many miss the obvious in that statement.
We have no righteousness of our own. We never have. We never will, either joined to or separate from Christ. He must manifest His righteousness in us through our faith in Him, being honored by the Father through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit who affirms our salvation as the down payment Paul says He is, toward our redemption, in Ephesians 1:13, 14.
Often ignored are the last few words of v. 22 flowing into the rest of the passage. Look at those words closely: “for there is no distinction.” What is Paul saying there?
He makes plain that there is no difference of nation, age, sex, nor of state and condition, in Christ. There is no respect to be had for persons or works. Nor is there any difference with respect to weak or strong believers. The righteousness is equally applied to one as to another, and one is as much justified by it in the sight of God as another.
In short, behavior is irrelevant. You can cite all the verses and passages you want that you claim “prove” behavior is mandatory for salvation, but in doing so, you make a liar of God, Who inspired Paul to write these great promises in his letter to the Roman church.
That makes v. 23 a difficult pill for those who practice a works-based salvation to swallow, because in light of the end of v. 22, it is obvious Paul writes not of nonbelievers, but of believers who sin. For, going on in v. 24, he says that those who have sinned – a phrase in the aorist tense in the Greek, meaning ongoing, continuing sin emanating from a single event, which is the fall of Adam – are seen as spotless, blameless, without blemish when they have believed in Jesus Christ.
We are justified not by anything we do, but by our faith in Jesus Christ. The Greek word is dikaioo (dikaioo), meaning “render righteous.” Rendering us righteous is a command of the Father, not something we actually are or can be. It is what God considers us to be, because we have been redeemed by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is said to have been “publicly displayed, in v. 25, “as a propitiation … “ That’s a confusing word for some, but it is best understood as an appeasement, or expiation, which means to make amends and reparations for wrongdoing.
In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament done by Jewish scholars in the third century B.C., the word is used to describe the cover of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, The Ark lid was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim – a lamb without blemish – on the annual Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
That was the rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they was merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim. God, by this ceremony, was appeased and the sins of the nation of Israel expiated. Hence the lid on the Ark is known as ‘the expiation,” the propitiatory.
In calling Christ the “propitiation” then, God, through Paul, is saying that by the death of Christ, He is appeased regarding all sin. When we become believers in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, our sin is set aside, ignored by God. Do not be confused by the word “previously” in v. 25.
There is no doubt all the sin of the believer – past, present, future – is covered in Christ’s blood, as indicated by the phrase “His righteousness at the present time.” As another aorist tense verb, this shows that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for all sin for all time, dependent only upon faith through the grace of God.
And once we are justified – rendered righteous – by the power of God due to our faith in Him, who is strong enough to overcome that power? No man, that is for certain. Man can no more undo the declaration of righteousness granted him at the moment of faith than he can undo the declaration of God to bring the universe into existence.
We have no merit, even as believers, before a Holy and Righteous God. In His mercy, however, He has chosen to write on our hearts, as believers, a faith based on the effectual sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. As the lamb on the altar of Yom Kippur provided atonement, though only on a temporary basis, for sin, the blood atonement of Christ provides us with saving grace that cannot be revoked.
When we, as the sheep following the Shepherd, come to the realization of the overwhelming weight of love required to accomplish this on our behalf when we did not deserve it, we ultimately come to the conclusion that such love must be reciprocated.
But what can we do for the All Powerful and Loving God who not only spoke the universe into existence, but spoke us into eternal life upon the moment we confessed to being helpless sinners in need of a Savior?
Nothing more and nothing less than the love He generates in us, reflected back to Him through the love of Himself, and others: Our wife, our children, our family, our church, our coworkers, even strangers on the street. “Obedience,” as Paul said, is based in faith.
Obedience is faith. Obedience is love. If you make it anything else, you do not know the Gospel. Your salvation is in question. Correct that as soon as possible.
We have to talk because you, brother or sister, are wrong.
If you adhere to any of these teachings, then you do not understand grace. If you don’t understand grace, then you do not understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you do not understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then you may not even be saved.
If anyone believes these tenets, they are essentially practicing a man-made religion. Though you may claim the name of Jesus Christ, though you may know Scripture, and though you think you are able to use that Scripture to support what you believe, you are not led by the Holy Spirit.
Sin makes us thick-headed, unable or unwilling to accept certain truths, particularly when our place of worship fails to give even minimal attention to what the Bible actually teaches, or worse, misrepresents -- either knowingly or unknowingly -- what the word of God says. All these doctrines come from men. They are not taught in the Bible, no matter how insistent your teachers or you are that you can support your views biblically.
Consider this very carefully: All belief systems except biblical Christianity encourage us to believe that we contribute to our salvation, even if they deceitfully assert otherwise. That is precisely what many of the modern denominations do, preaching a Christ who demands we “help Him out” in providing our salvation, through our so-called good deeds and adherence to a set of rules.
We may not call these rules “The Law” as the Israelites called what Moses received from God on Sinai, but we nonetheless are Lawkeepers if we believe anything we do gets us saved or keeps us saved. If you go to a church that teaches these things, you are not in a biblically sound church. They are teaching you to believe in a works-based salvation, even if the leadership or you deny that is the case.
In short, if you have to “do” anything to be saved beyond believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, you are practicing a works-based salvation.
Saving grace is unmerited. The very meaning of the Greek word cavrisma (charisma) is “in favor in which one receives without merit of his own.” It is absolutely necessary that grace be unmerited, as Paul wrote.
Romans 3, NASB
19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;
20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;
20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
Paul goes on to assert that we are saved apart from the Law, absent of “doing” and must be dependent on believing – faith alone, through the grace of God alone, for salvation.
Romans 3
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Look carefully at these verses. Paul clearly states in v. 21 that “apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been manifested.” Where is it manifested? “Through faith in Jesus Christ” that righteousness is manifested in the believer! It could not be any more plainly stated, but many miss the obvious in that statement.
We have no righteousness of our own. We never have. We never will, either joined to or separate from Christ. He must manifest His righteousness in us through our faith in Him, being honored by the Father through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit who affirms our salvation as the down payment Paul says He is, toward our redemption, in Ephesians 1:13, 14.
Often ignored are the last few words of v. 22 flowing into the rest of the passage. Look at those words closely: “for there is no distinction.” What is Paul saying there?
He makes plain that there is no difference of nation, age, sex, nor of state and condition, in Christ. There is no respect to be had for persons or works. Nor is there any difference with respect to weak or strong believers. The righteousness is equally applied to one as to another, and one is as much justified by it in the sight of God as another.
In short, behavior is irrelevant. You can cite all the verses and passages you want that you claim “prove” behavior is mandatory for salvation, but in doing so, you make a liar of God, Who inspired Paul to write these great promises in his letter to the Roman church.
That makes v. 23 a difficult pill for those who practice a works-based salvation to swallow, because in light of the end of v. 22, it is obvious Paul writes not of nonbelievers, but of believers who sin. For, going on in v. 24, he says that those who have sinned – a phrase in the aorist tense in the Greek, meaning ongoing, continuing sin emanating from a single event, which is the fall of Adam – are seen as spotless, blameless, without blemish when they have believed in Jesus Christ.
We are justified not by anything we do, but by our faith in Jesus Christ. The Greek word is dikaioo (dikaioo), meaning “render righteous.” Rendering us righteous is a command of the Father, not something we actually are or can be. It is what God considers us to be, because we have been redeemed by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is said to have been “publicly displayed, in v. 25, “as a propitiation … “ That’s a confusing word for some, but it is best understood as an appeasement, or expiation, which means to make amends and reparations for wrongdoing.
In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament done by Jewish scholars in the third century B.C., the word is used to describe the cover of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, The Ark lid was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim – a lamb without blemish – on the annual Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
That was the rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they was merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim. God, by this ceremony, was appeased and the sins of the nation of Israel expiated. Hence the lid on the Ark is known as ‘the expiation,” the propitiatory.
In calling Christ the “propitiation” then, God, through Paul, is saying that by the death of Christ, He is appeased regarding all sin. When we become believers in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, our sin is set aside, ignored by God. Do not be confused by the word “previously” in v. 25.
There is no doubt all the sin of the believer – past, present, future – is covered in Christ’s blood, as indicated by the phrase “His righteousness at the present time.” As another aorist tense verb, this shows that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for all sin for all time, dependent only upon faith through the grace of God.
And once we are justified – rendered righteous – by the power of God due to our faith in Him, who is strong enough to overcome that power? No man, that is for certain. Man can no more undo the declaration of righteousness granted him at the moment of faith than he can undo the declaration of God to bring the universe into existence.
We have no merit, even as believers, before a Holy and Righteous God. In His mercy, however, He has chosen to write on our hearts, as believers, a faith based on the effectual sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. As the lamb on the altar of Yom Kippur provided atonement, though only on a temporary basis, for sin, the blood atonement of Christ provides us with saving grace that cannot be revoked.
When we, as the sheep following the Shepherd, come to the realization of the overwhelming weight of love required to accomplish this on our behalf when we did not deserve it, we ultimately come to the conclusion that such love must be reciprocated.
But what can we do for the All Powerful and Loving God who not only spoke the universe into existence, but spoke us into eternal life upon the moment we confessed to being helpless sinners in need of a Savior?
Nothing more and nothing less than the love He generates in us, reflected back to Him through the love of Himself, and others: Our wife, our children, our family, our church, our coworkers, even strangers on the street. “Obedience,” as Paul said, is based in faith.
Romans 1
1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus …
5 … through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake …
1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus …
5 … through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake …
Obedience is faith. Obedience is love. If you make it anything else, you do not know the Gospel. Your salvation is in question. Correct that as soon as possible.
