Notes on Romans form a Message Preached by J Stewart Gillespie on:



Romans Chapter 5 Verses 1 to 5: 'Life's Problems'




vs 1: "therefore" - old preachers used to say: "wherever you see a 'therefore' ask what is it 'therefore'?
It is a conjunction of course - joins us to what has gone before
Back to justification: here is another deep doctrine with very practical consequences: Relationship:

1. Relationship Established by Faith (5:1)
2. Relationship Evidenced by Peace (5:1)
3. Relationship Enjoyed in Grace (5:2)
4. Relationship Experienced in the Problems of Life (5:3-5)

Recall as we worked through together Justification by Faith we traced the beginnings of the doctrine in OT:

1. Justification by Faith is Nothing New
   Righteousness (3:21) apart from the law - saw that in Lots rescue from Sodom and Gomorrah and in the rescue of Rahab from Jericho
   Redemption (3:24) - could trace the origins of redemption back to the nation of Israels release from Egypt in Exodus 12, under the blood of the passover lamb and following the death of the firstborn.
   Propitiation (3:25) - we were able to see pictures of this great truth back in the great day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 and perhaps even further back in the covering for Noah's Ark, pitched within and without with pitch
2. Justification by Faith is Faith in a Person:
   Those justified in OT days did not have the knowledge of spiritual truths that we do:
   "For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things]which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." (Matt13:17)
   "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;" (Heb2:3)
3. Justification by Faith is a Full Salvation:
   Righteousness Credited (4:1-5)
   Sin Cleansed (4:6-8)
4. Justification by Faith is by Faith Alone
   Abraham: no strength
   Abraham: no circumcision
   Abraham: no covenant
5. Justification by Faith is the Beginning not the End
   Past Promises
   Present Power
   Future Prospect
   Justification by faith looks forward
   That salvation experience which for some began many years ago was the beginning of an experience of God that lasts into eternity
   The world has a saying: 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life'
   For the believer: Justification by faith is the beginning of the rest of eternity!

It has a purpose it has a goal:

1. Relationship Established in Faith (5:1)
2. Relationship Evidenced by Peace (5:1)
   Peace established between the soul and God
   Sin forgiven and cleansed
   "perfect love casteth out fear" (1John4:18)
   The troubled conscience is satisfied with Gods solution (Rom4:6-9)
   A soul who enjoys experientially:
   The 4 X blessedness
   The 3 X Forgiveness
   The 2 X Negative
   The single justification
   By that we have "peace"
   By that one sacrifice God is satisfied:
   Propitiation:
   God satisfied
   Man Justified
   by Christ Crucified
   So I have peace with God
   Justification by faith is different from:
   meditation (peace with self)
   intoxication
   medication
   isolation
   They may give a transient sense of peace but not with God
   Now that peace has broken out there is a relationship with God to be enjoyed
   Relationship Enjoyed in Grace
   "The grace wherein we stand"
   There are 4 rivers out of Eden
   "There is a river the streams thereof make glad the city of God" (Psalm 46)
   Our position: the gospel of the grace of God
   God has had His streams of Grace in the past:
   Grace to David (Rom4:7-8)
   Grace to Abraham (Rom4)
   Grace in Jobs day (Job 9:2; 25:4)
   Grace to the child (Rom5:18; Matt 18, Matt 19, Luke 18)
   Gods Glory - everything that He is
   Everything that makes God to be God
   2 Co3:18 - A Glory Reflected
   1 Jo 3:2 - A Glory Perfected
3. Relationship Experienced in Problems:
   "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;" (Rom5:3)

Before we look at this section there are 3 questions we should be clear about:

1. Who is it that can rejoice in tribulations?
2. What are the tribulations?
3. Do all tribulations always and inevitably bring about patience, experience and hope?

Who is it that can rejoice in tribulations?

We notice that this section does not present general truth for all people
It is not stated here as an inevitability that in the life of all people tribulation and difficulty always brings about patience and experience and hope.
There are many people who experience difficulties and disappointments in life and just become hard, cold, bitter, resentful and cynical about life.
This section begins with justification by faith in verse 1 and ends with the Spirit indwelling in verse 5 and so this section and the truth of this section can really only be claimed by the believer.

What are the tribulations?

Some would note that tribulation in the NT usually has to to do with persecution for our faith in Christ
Do these truths then only apply to those problems of life that arise because of our faith in Christ?
I think not!
The God who is in control of tribulations and trial that comes because of our faith in Christ is the God who is also in control of every aspect of our life!
We need not restrict Gods sovereignty and Gods purpose to those adversities that come about as a direct result of following Christ.
One of the examples we will look at of Gods dealing in Grace in adversity with His people is that of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo in the fiery furnace, that testing, due to their faith in and faithfulness to Christ was used by God for the good and for His Glory!
But we could equally consider the example of Jonah, not in the furnace but in the water, his trial was not because of faithfulness to God but nonetheless in the Sovereign hand of God that trial ultimately was for his good, for Gods Glory and for the blessing of others!
Be wary about attempting to restrict the grace of God in His purposes in your life!

Do all tribulations always and inevitably bring about patience, experience and hope?

I was asked this question recently after speaking on this section of Romans.
The questioner had in mind Heb 12:11 "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."
Indeed we would have to recognise that whilst "tribulation worketh patience and patience experience and experience hope" that this is not the inevitable result of all trial and testing
I can harden my heart against the chastening hand of the Lord, as the people of Israel did long ago in the wilderness and adamantly refused to be softened and moulded by Gods hand in my life.
"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;" (Rom5:3)
That is: the soul who is able to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God is able to rejoice in tribulations also!
How can the soul who rejoices in the "hope of the Glory of God" also rejoice in tribulations?
Here is the totally amazing truth:

Tribulation in the life of the believer is under the sovereign hand of God!
Tribulation in the life of the believer works to the same end as his justification!
Tribulation / trial / trouble / difficulty all bring the believer closer to his hope (5:4,5)

That which is promised in justification is proven in tribulation!

God promises me Himself, His Glory and His a relationship with Him eternally
God promises me resemblance to His Son eternally!
These are the bold promises of Justification by Faith
In Tribulation the reality of that relationship which I depend upon eternally is experienced in time!
How do I know that I can depend upon Him for eternity?
Because I have just depended upon Him to get me through this day and He hasn't let me down!
Justification allows me to Rejoice in Hope
Tribulation, in part allows me to Realise that Hope
What is:
Promised in Trust
is
Proven in Trial
How do I know that salvation actually works?
Is it just pie in the sky when I die?
Do I need to wait until eternity to see if all of this is actually real? If all of this actually works?
No! Because in the practical problems of life God draws me into the experience of His Glory that awaits me in eternity!
"The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts" (5:5)
"Hope maketh not ashamed" (5:5)
I trusted Him for time and for eternity and He has not disappointed me!
I experienced His grace and His love and a little foretaste of His Glory and that in the trials of life!
We've put this to the test and it has worked!
"patience, experience; and experience, hope"
"experience": character / proof - from the word for testing
Through the temporary and transient testing of tribulation the value and reality of our eternal hope is proven and established as real and dependable!
"tribulation worketh patience;" (Rom5:3)

Oh great that is just what I need - patience!

• I'm a really impatient person
• Terrible at waiting in queues
• I get really irritated when the bus is late
• Hate to be left hanging on

Sorry to disappoint but these verses are not really thinking so much about patience as a general personality trait but rather:

• Patience with a Purpose
• Patience with a Cause
• Patience to wait on the Glory of God
• Patience to bear up under the pressures and problems of life knowing that because of the experience of God which I am enjoying the fulfilment of my hope is certain
• This is endurance that flows out of the enjoyment of the special help and presence of God in the difficulties of the Christian experience

The bus doesn't turn up, you get fed up and go home
If someone tells you - ah the bus is running late today - it will be in 15 mins - well you wait, you hang on
Why? Because you have hope, the hope that it will come, delayed it may be but you have a token that the bus will soon appear around the corner
You now have a reason to be patient
This is patience with a purpose, patience with a prospect, patience with a hope.
“And patience, experience; and experience, hope:” (Rom 5:4)
“experience”: “δοκιμή” : proof, trial, test

Proof of what?

1. Proof that I am real? Not in doubt in this section which opens with the assumption that we are dealing with genuine believers (5:1) and clses with the same (5:5)
2. Proof that God is real? Hardly in question here
3. Proof that salvation by justification by faith does actually work? It is this later issue that Paul has been busy defending in chp 4 against the Jewish critic.
   These trials are proof that salvation does actually work!
   Consider the experience of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo in Daniel chp 3. What did this experience in the fiery furnace prove?
   That they were real? They wouldn't have been in the furnace if they weren't!
   That God was real? That wasn't in doubt – that was why they had taken the stand!
   That salvation actually worked? That God rewarded and honoured the simple trusting faith of the believer who rested in obedience in His promises no mater what the cost? (Dan 3:25)
   “Hope” : because we have had a foretaste of Gods Glory in our experience!

Notes from a mesage preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie on: Romans Chapter 5 Verses 1 to 5: Grace and Glory Romans chp 5 deals with some of the great questions that the Word of God throws up:

1. The Problem of Evil
2. The Purpose in creation and the fall of man
3. The Suffering and death of the innocent
4. Trouble and trials in the life of the believer
5. The Destiny of Children

Saw some of the great themes of Romans 5:

1. The Sovereignty of God – Gods Power
2. The Sufficiency or Superabundance of Gods Grace – Gods Plan
3. The Sin of man – Gods Purpose
4. The Sovereignty of God – Gods Power

God is in control! Gods grace / plan of salvation is not:

• A Response
• A Reaction
• A Reflex

to mans problems / plight but Gods plan of salvation is:

The Reason

behind all of the problems!

A week or so ago the cars hand brake broke and so I took it to the garage to get it fixed. Human reasoning says I got the handbrake fixed because it was broken! Romans 5 reasoning says the handbrake was broken so that it could be fixed!

A couple of days ago I got fed up with the loft looking a mess and so I tidied it. Human reasoning says that because the loft was a mess I tidied it but Romans 5 reasoning says that the loft was a mess so that it could be tidied!

ie. the solution precedes the problem in Romans 5! The reason for the problem is that the solution, Gods plan of salvation may be brought into action! We may well question that kind of reasoning, for after all what is the point of something being broken simply that it mught be fixed or in something being a mess that it might be tidied? What is the purpose in Adams sin and the fall and the great work of salvation simply so that God should bring us back to where we started in the garden of Eden? The answer of course is that God in the out working of His plan and purpose does not bring us bac to where we started at all, He takes us beyond where we have ever been before! God takes us in the closing chapter of His book in the final analysis not to Eden but to a place:

• Where there is no tree of knowledge of good and evil
• Where there is no serpent
• Where nought that defileth shall enter there in
• Where sin and earth and tears have been abolished eternally!
• He has moved us from enjoying the “streams” (Ps 46:4) from being in a place through which the river flows through in 4 branches (Gen2:10) to the very source of that river Himself (Rev22:1).
• In so doing He brings us to Himself!

In Adam we were His by Creation In Christ we are His by Redemption

In Adam we are His by right In Christ we are His by choice

In Adam we are His by creatorial power In Christ we are His by sacrificial passion

Gods great work of salvation has changed our relationship with Him.

Gods great work of salvation has changed our resemblance to Him:

1. “faith” (5:1)
2. “hope” (5:4,5)
3. “love” (5:5)

now marks His people in a way that Adam was never marked by them simply by virtue of His creation.

1. “faith” (5:1) – Adam had faith to believe in God as his creator of course! No doubts or questions here about the possibility of evolution or aliens from outer space seeding earth with the germ of life! But when it came to trusting God implicitly over His motives and instructions Adam failed (Gen3:4,5). As Gods redeemed people we know that He can be completely trusted over all aspects of life, time and eternity, past and present and future for we know Him as the God who “spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all...” we can trust Him with a faith unclouded and unquestioned.
2. “hope” (5:4,5) – Our hope is a keener, fresher and realer hope than Adam ever had: we can look back at the problems of life, the plan of salvation, the plight of man, knowing that the God who has been sufficient for all of that will be sufficient likewise for the future. This hope, our hope is founded upon concrete experience of a real and living Saviour.
3. “love” (5:5) – As NT believers we are privileged to learn more of Gods love in 1 verse of scripture than Adam had opportunity to learn in the whole of His 950 years: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1Jn 4:10)

These 3 abiding qualities mark Gods people right the way through the Word of God: 1Co 13:13; 1Thess1:3; 1Thess3:10-13; 1Peter1:7; 2Peter 1:5-7. The Sufficiency or Superabundance of Gods Grace – Gods Plan

Gods Grace is the Pathway to Gods Glory:

1. Gods Glory Mocked (Rom1:23)
2. Gods Glory Missed (Rom3:23)
3. Gods Glory Mine (Rom5:2)

The Sin of man – What was Gods Purpose in allowing man the opportunity to sin in the garden of Eden?

The problem of evil:

This greatest of Theological problems arises out of the answer to a set of straightforward questios:

1. Did God create everything? - Yes – He is Creator!
2. Did God create the garden of Eden, Adam, the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the serpent? - Surely
3. Did God know what was going to happen? - certainly He is omniscient

Why did God allow it to happen? God did not permit all of this to happen simply to get us back to where we started – there would be no point in that at all! By the problems of life and Gods plan of salvation He takes us beyond where we have ever been before! We no longer simply belong to Adam, we now belong to Christ

Gods Purpose Preceeds mans Problem:

1. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom5:6)
2. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
3. “when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,”
4. “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.” (Rom5:14) – Adam was but the shadow and Christ the Substance, Adam but the figure and Christ the fullness!

Gods Purpose Precedes mans Problem! Gods purpose worked out over 6000 years, 66 books, 40 prophets and 1 supreme sacrifice – that of His Son was purposed ever before mans problem arose and does not simply take us back to the beginning again!

In Genesis 1 we were His by Design

In Rev 22 I am His by Desire – I am His and He is mine! Not because I have to be but because I want to be and because He wants me to be too!

I have chosen Him over this world, the flesh and the Devil

He has chosen me even at the cost of His own blood!

Does God bring me back to where we went wrong! Not a bit of it!

https://graceinchrist.org/romans

Notes on the Epistle to the Romans from a message preached by J Stewart Gillespie on: Romans Chapter 5 Verse 14: 'The Bibles Biggest Problem'

1. Representation as a Problem and a Power (v12,15-19)
2. Relationship as a Pattern (v11,12,17)
3. Death as a Product (v12)
4. Sin as a Principle: “sin entered...” (5:12)
5. Adam as a Picture: “who is the figure...” (5:14)

Adam as a Picture: “who is the figure...” (5:14)

Sometime ago I was asked by one of my boys, one of the most basic and perplexing questions which can be asked concerning Gods revelation of His plan of redemption in the scripture, a question which recurs from time to time and which is very rarely ever answered.

The question or series of questions go like this:

1. Did God make Adam and Eve and the garden of Eden? – Answer Yes – God is Creator.
2. Did God know what was going to happen when He made Adam and Eve in the garden? - Answer Yes – God is Omniscient.
3. Why did God make the tree of knowledge of good and evil and why did He let the serpent in? - Hard question –
4. Is He really all knowing and is He really all powerful?
5. If God allowed Adam and Eve to fall, for sin to enter into the world and then by the work of Christ God saved them what exactly is the point to it all? Are we not just back where we started?

I have referred to this as the Bible's biggest problem. It is sometimes referred to as the Problem of Evil! The problem lies in this, if I claim that God is creator and if I claim that God is omniscient and that God is omnipotent then at some point then at the very least God allowed evil to enter in with the full knowledge of the consequences of that sin entering into the world! Furthermore it may well seem that the production of a plan of salvation is either admission of failure on the part of God or an indicator that His universe is somehow out of control and needs a rescue package to bring it back. Worse still sometimes our gospel preaching can almost indicate that! If there is one chapter of the Bible which would tackle this question head on I would believe that it would be Romans chapter 5 and the answers are quite surprising! In Romans chapter 5 Paul will take 3 areas of human experience that appear to have gone wrong and are out of control:

1. The Problems of Life (5:1-5)
2. The Plan of Salvation (5:6-11)
3. The Plight of Humanity (5:12-21)

In these 3 areas of 'life gone wrong' we will discover that:

• God is in control – we need not compromise on Gods omnipotence nor on His omniscience.
• God does not react to the problem God pre-empts the problem
• Gods purpose in the problem is not to bring as back to the beginning again, Gods purpose is not to permit a problem simply to solve a problem as the question inferred but God has a glorious purpose in all of lifes problems from the microcosm of every day life in vs 1 to 5 to the macrocosm of the plight of the whole of humanity in vs 12 to 21.
• Salvation does not take us back to Eden, it takes us beyond Eden. Eden was a wonderful place – from it flowed out 4 rivers. God does not take me back to Eden, in salvation He takes me beyond Eden to the source of that water that flowed through Edens paradise: “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.” (Psa 46:4-5) Revelation closes, and your problems dear believer will conclude, not with man back in Edens garden but with redeemed humanity at the very source of that river that flowed through Eden and in a paradise where there is no serpent and where there is no tree of knowledge of good and evil and where there is nought that defileth that enters therein, and you know what – we don't want that kind of version of freedom anymore, that version of freedom that leaves man the slave of sin and of self and of Satan we want the kind of freedom which renders man forever the willing servant of God.

It took God 6 days to create the universe as you and I know it and understand it. On the 5th day He created man in His own image – 5 days to make natural man – Adam. It has taken God over 6000 years, about 40 prophets, 66 books, the global preaching of the gospel message ….. Bibles, over 300 prophecies concerning the perosn of Christ, the careful orderinga nd appointing of human history, and supremely above all of that, the death of His Son on the Cross at Calvary, it has cost God all of that, why? To get us back to what we were? No! Not a bit of it!

• It took God 5 days to make natural man
• It has taken the mighty work of Christ and the plan and purposes of redemption to make spiritual man!

“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (1Co 15:45)

You have pictures of it of course with Jacob and Esau:

The earth could produce an Esau (Gen 25:25ff) but only the workings of the Spirit of God could produce a Jacob: “And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” (Gen 48:15-16)

Having passed through the experiences of Romans 5:

1. The Problems of Life (5:1-5)
2. The Plan of Salvation (5:6-11)
3. The Plight of Humanity (5:12-21)

Humanity is not what it once was! Just as Gods dealings in the life of Jacob did anything but bring him back to what he originally had been! If Gods work simply took humanity back to what it had been there would have been no point to redemption, nor to the work of Christ nor to the total revelation of God from genesis to Revelation! Whilst my first concern in the problems of life is so often to get back to where I once was: to the peace I once enjoyed, to the paradise of Eden, that is the last thing in Gods agenda, God desires to take me beyond where I have ever been before, beyond His paradise to His Presence and to His Person and to have a Passion for Him as I have never had before. For all is for His Glory (Rom5:2,21) even when that Glory is achieved at the cost of the death of His Son on the cross at Calvary. It took God 5 days to produce Adam, but it has taken God 6000 years and the mighty work of Christ, His revelations in scripture, His work in us by His Spirit to produce Spiritual men, men fashioned not after Adam but after Christ! What sets such an individual apart? It strikes me that after all of Gods dealings with us and after His work of redemption and salvation, the scriptures consistently testify that we have, since the fall of Adam and the redemption in Christ we have gained in those 6000 years of turmoil and tragedy something that Adam never had.

We often refer to it as resemblance – resemblance to Christ that is.

Specifically 3 abiding features of Christ likeness seem to be to imprinted into the character of the believer as a result of all of this mighty work of Christ. Let us not miss the import of this, that what we are saying is that the reason that God has done all that He has done is produce in me:

1. Faith – (5:1,2) – faith - A faith unlike Adams faith, for this is a faith that is prepared to trust God completely, to take Him at His word, to trust Him even where I cannot trace Him, and to trust His plans and His purposes completely, unquestioningly, not because I am brain washed but because I know that He is completely trustworthy, even when Satan would infer doubts to the contrary, I trust Him! That kind of implicit trust has been bought by the blood of His Son: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:32).
2. Love – (5:5) – love – a love for God like Adam never had! We love Him, not only as creator but as redeemer.
3. Hope – (5:4) – hope – unlike any hope that Adam might have had! For we have seen that no matter how trying our circumstances and how difficult the way, hope that is in Him is never, NEVER, disappointed!

These 3 Christ like features that stamp the man or woman who has passed through Christ's mighty work of redemption, echo and recur throughout the NT scriptures and elsewhere, as features of Gods work, performed in time by the work of Christ and the activity of the Holy Spirit, that are eternal and enduring and which we will take with us into eternity:

1. First prayer of 1 Thessalonians: “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father” (1Th 1:3)
2. Second prayer of 1 Thessalonians: 1 Thess 3:10 Faith (3:12) Love (3:13) Hope (3:13)
3. What endures after all service is finished (1 Co 13:3) ? After all sacrifice has been made (1 Co 13:3)? After all spiritual gifts have been used (1 Co 13:1-2, 1 Co 12; 1 Co 14) – faith, love and hope (1 Co 13:13).
4. In 1 Peter 1:7 – the “trial of your faith” produces a product of far greater value than of gold, a faith of enduring and of eternal worth
5. In 2 Peter 1 the “knowledge” of God in relationship brings about resemblance to Christ beginning with faith (2Peter1:5) and ending in Love (2 Peter1:7)
6. In Romans 5: Faith (5:1,2); Love (5:5,8) and Hope (5:4).

If these features are not seen in my life then God has done nothing in my life! Is that His work and His purpose complete? Not quite, for having equipped us with a faith deeper than Adam ever had and a love for Him deeper than Adam could have experienced and a Hope that went beyond Eden's boundaries, God has equipped us, through the trials and difficulties of life with a joy and rejoicing in His Glory like Adam never knew (Rom 5:2) God delights to reveal His Glory in all that He does The only way that God can reveal the fullness of His sufficiency is against the background of the depths of man's greatest need. The only way by which God can reveal the depths of His love is in the fullness of His giving.

So it is that at the beginning of Romans 5 the believer can not only

1. “rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (5:2) but the believer can also
2. “rejoice in tribulation” (5:3)

because that tribulation works to the same end – it brings us to a practical experience of that Glory we hope for: “because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (5:5) In that experience of trial and tribulation God forges into us those very marks of His Glorious character: faith, love (5:5) and hope (5:4) The reality of our salvation is experienced in the trial: “δοκιμή” (5:4) - “experience” or “proof” - our salvation is real and we experience that through the tribulation.

1. Gods purposes are sovereign over the Problems of Life
2. Gods purposes are also sovereign in the Plan of Salvation (5:6-11)

His plan of Salvation was constructed not as a reaction to our problems but pre-empting our problems:

1. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom 5:6)
2. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8)
3. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Rom 5:10)

Gods purposes are also sovereign in the Plight of Man (5:12-21):

Here is a very important statement of scripture, easily missed: “who is the figure of Him that was to come” (v14b) Gods work in Christ was not a reaction to Adams failure! Adams sin set the scene for Gods salvation in Christ! In other words God didn't save us because of Adam's fall! Adam fell that God might save us! Adam was the “figure”, the “type” of the person of Christ, ie. Adam was the lesser and Christ the greater, cf. Heb 9:9,23 – the tabernacle fashioned after the reality in heaven. Sometimes we get the question back to front: Is Christ up to dealing with Adams problem? Actually Adam is only a 'type' – a lesser shadow of one who performs a greater work (5:14). Gods work is far greater than this! Gods plan and purposes preceded our problem Adam and his failure was foundational to Christ and His triumph! This is a different way of looking at my problems and man's plight than they reasoning I might apply!

Recently the car hand brake broke, so I took it to the garage to get it fixed. Human logic and order says I fixed the car because it was broken. The order and logic of Romans 5 goes somewhat different, the breaks were broken that they might be fixed and so that I might discover the character of the mechanic as the one who fixes!

The purpose lies not in problem but in the process of solving the problem! The solution precedes the problem! The Glory of Christ was the reason for Adams failure! The Glory of Christ and His work were not simply a reaction to Adams failure!

https://graceinchrist.org/romans

Notes on Romans from a Message Preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie on: Romans Chapter 4 Verses 13 to 25: Justification by Faith: Is the Beginning Not the End Justification by faith begins a life of faith It takes us beyond what we can grasp here and now It is a way of looking at the world, of understanding our life, of dealing with problems, of living for Christ in a world hostile to faith in principle and hostile to Christ in Person There is a great danger and a great temptation in the life of the believer once the great truth of justification by faith is grasped to look upon salvation as something which is now passed and is in the past, and now I can get on with my life as I please. We can then become connoisseurs of ministry, enjoying the meetings and preaching but going away unaffected and unchallenged by the Word of God, because we’ve already done salvation! We’re saved now and so that’s the end of the matter! Justification by faith is not the end of the matter it is the beginning of the matter! The Gospel is:

1. A hope which I embrace
2. A relationship which I enjoy
3. A reality which I live for

• The Scope of Gods promises (4:13-14)
• The Certainty of Gods Promises (4:15-16)
• Our Standing in Gods Promises (4:17)
• The Seed and the Substance of Gods Promises (4:16-18)
• The Strength of Gods Promises (4:19-20)

The Scope of Gods promises (4:13-14)

“Heir of the world” (v13) At a time in Abraham’s life when he did not even possess the land under his tent God promised him everything under the sky! Might say that property was not Abraham’s strong point! Herds and oxen and cattle yes (Gen12:16) but property no By the end of his life all that he owned of the land God had promised was the grave in which he had buried Sarah. Here is a consistent theme of Gods dealings in grace with men:

• When God will choose a man to go before Pharoah He chooses Moses: “10And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. 11And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? 12Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say” (Ex4:10-12)
• When God will choose a man to face the Midianites, he will choose Gideon, a farmer and not a soldier, “15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. 16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.” (Judges 6:15-16)
• When God would choose a man to lead and rule a nation He would choose a Shepherd boy “6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him. 7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. 11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep” (1 Sam 16:6-11)
• When Christ would call 12 disciples He would call fishermen not theologians!
• When God chose an evangelist for the gentile world, who better to chose than a man totally opposed to the gospel, a persecutor of Christ! Run that one past me again! Ah well you say God didn’t really chose him for that calling, he converted him to that calling: “15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace”

The promise of God to Abraham “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Romans 4:13; cf. Gen 22:17-18, massively outstripped the experience of Abraham up until that point. Why is Abraham described as “our Father” (Rom4:1,12,16) and why are believers even today referred to as the “children of Abraham” (Gal3:7) Was he the first man ever to have faith? No, ever before Abraham exercised faith there were men like Abel, Enoch and Noah, all recognised for their faith! What was so distinctive about Abraham? Was it not the quality of the faith which he exercised? “Who against hope believed in hope,” Romans 4:18. Faced with so many obstacles, so much to contradict the convictions of faith, so many problems in opposition to Gods promises Abraham believed and he kept on believing! Abraham allowed his expectation to go beyond his experience! Abraham’s vision extended beyond the horizon of natural experience! “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world” (Romans 4:13) – how much of the world do you have? Well the ground under my tent! “Father of many nations” (4:17) – up until age 86 how many children do you have? Approximately? Give or take 1 or 2? Approximately 0! What about your wife? Aged 76 and never had any children! Then in the next 13 years, up until aged 99 years – 1 son to a slave girl! Do you ever think the Devil whispered in his ear: ‘get real Abraham’ or ‘come on Abraham, face reality,’ or ‘face the facts Abraham’ or ‘is it not about time you started to take things into your own hands Abraham’? On more than one occasion that was precisely what did happen: Consider the tension with Sarah his wife: “And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife” (Gen 16:3) – 10 years she had waited, was that long enough? Had Sarah had enough after 10 years? Had there been tension there between Sarah and Abraham for 10 long years? Consider the temptation presented to Abraham by the King of Sodom (Gen 14:21-23), that would increase Abrahams inheritance a bit wouldn’t it? It would give him a start? Consider the testing of Abraham (Gen 22) – just when he begins to make progress with Gods promises, he has a son, now he is to take that boy and offer him on the altar! Surely God is mocking you now Abraham. Abraham was a man whose faith could not be shaken, whose trust in his God could not be broken. Abraham allowed his expectation to go beyond his experience! By faith Abraham attained the unattainable! Faith takes the handbrake off of God’s inheritance. If works could never have earned the inheritance that Abraham gained what about the believers inheritance in 1 Peter 1:4-5? How could works ever earn an inheritance like this? The believer’s inheritance: “ἄφθαρτος” – incorruptible – used of the character of God: Rom1:23; 1 Tim1:17 “ἀμίαντος” – undefiled “ἀμάραντος” – fadeth not away The believers inheritance in 1 Peter chp 1 is “ready to be revealed” (1:5), that which is revealed in 1 Peter 1:7 is the person of Christ! If a man could never earn the inheritance of the world how could anyone ever earn Christ as his inheritance? Two great truths in 1 Peter chapter 1, the opening chapter of an epistle that has so much to say regarding the trials and testing and turmoil of the Christian experience and the “trial of your faith” to believers going through the fiery furnace of affliction as did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo of old:

1. 1 Peter 1:18 – I belong to Christ because He has bought me, He has purchased me, ‘I am redeemed and I know it full well’
2. 1 Peter 1:4 – Christ belongs to me! ‘I am His and He is mine forever’! Our inheritance is “in Christ” (Eph1:3,11,14) , our inheritance is an “eternal inheritance” (Heb9:15)

Two great truths in 1 Peter chapter 1, the opening chapter of an epistle that has so much to say If God desires me to enjoy Christ and to have an inheritance in Him, this is truly something that would never be possible by works. Some things you could work for in life: new watch, maybe new car, perhaps eventually pay off the house! There are some things, it doesn’t matter how much I might work for them I could never earn them: Buckingham Palace, the Taj Mahal! When preaching the gospel we often point out that Gods standard is too high to reach (Rom 3:23) and so it is. In chapter 4 we see that Gods salvation is too great to Deserve It was faith and it inly could be faith that would bring Abraham into a salvation of:

• Infinite potential
• Limitless possibility
• Eternal prospect
• Unimaginable power
• Unbreakable promises

Works could never earn a salvation of this magnitude! Gods salvation was too great to earn!

The Certainty of Gods Promises (4:15-16)

The fulfilment of Gods promises are certain – for they rest upon Him and not upon us. Not upon our works but upon faith in Him If the fulfilment of Gods promises in salvation rested upon us neither David nor Abraham would have gained salvation! To gain such an inheritance could only ever be on the basis of faith No amount of good work or self effort could ever have brought Abraham into an inheritance of the world!

Our Standing in Gods Promises (4:17)

The Seed and the Substance of Gods Promises (4:16-18)

The promises given to Abraham did not germinate and come to fulfilment until much later on, many of them, not until after his death. 1st Isaac, then Jacob, then Jacob's 12 boys and then 12 tribes by those 12 boys after 430 years of captivity in Egypt and then about 2000 years after that the birth of the promised seed in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. The fufillment and germination of Gods promises went beyond the limit of a lifetime: "many nations" (4:17) "many nations" (4:18)

The Strength of Gods Promises (4:19-20)

The power, not mine, God was able to work even with a dead man (4:19)! God’s strength brings life from the dead! God’s strength brings liberty from our own liability! We can all make excuses, God looks for great expectations rather than great excuses! Because Gods promises are fulfilled by Gods power the Glory is all of God: "giving Glory to God." (4:20)

https://graceinchrist.org/romans

Notes on Romans from a message preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie on: Romans Chapter 4 Verses 1 to 8: Justification by Faith is A Full Salvation

1. Righteousness is Credited (4:1-5)
2. Sin is Cleansed (4:6-8)

2 Errors of Mark 10:17-31:

1. Salvation is Deserved: “what shall I do that I may inherit...” (10:17); “all these have I observed” (10:20)
2. Salvation makes no Demands: salvation ultimately makes the demand of discipleship (Mk8:34), implicit in saving faith is that I see the need for salvation and implicit in this is repentance from the way I was going. Faith in Christ means turning away from sin, Satan and self.

Often emphasis the 2 sides to a sinner coming to Christ: repentance and faith:

1. “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Act 20:21)
2. “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,” (Heb 6:1)

“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mar 1:15)

They are of course part and parcel of the same thing

1. Repentance: “μετανοέω” - a change of mind:
2. Turning to Christ in faith is Turning form sin

Repentance from sin is implicit in faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ One of the reasons that justification by faith alone does not mean I can be saved and still live as I please! Right from the start faith in Christ demands and implies repentance from sin!

Justification by Faith is a Full Salvation: 2 Aspects to this Full Salvation: answering to to faith and repentance Pervading Judaism and there in Mark chapter 10 was the idea that when it comes to salvation you get what you deserve Abraham was often presented as an example of this – he got what he deserved: served God from age 3 years kept the law before it was written The 1st of 7 men responsible for bring the Shekinah glory into the tabernacle Only righteous man in his generation Abraham's path to salvation was very different form the way many Jews imagined it to be:

• Called out not from perfection to follow God but form idolatry: “And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.” (Jos 24:2-3)
• At times marked by incomplete obedience (Gen11:31; 12:5), not until Terah dies does Abraham fully obey the commandment of God and move out of Haran! Is it possible that Abrahams disobedience resulted in the death of Terah to bring Abraham to obedience? It is a feature of Abrahams life that: Abraham's obedience brings blessings to multitudes and Abraham's disobedience brings problems to those around him (cf. Pharaoh in Gen 12)
• At times imperfect faith was: Gen 12:10 doubted Gods ability to meet his need in famine conditions; he went down to Egypt. A minor matter? A reasonable decision? One made without consulting the Lord! Reasonable, rational, responsible but but not guided by the Lord. Did it matter? from that he gained flocks from the flocks strife developed between Abraham and Lot, the strife resulted in the separation of Abraham and Lot as a consequence Lot went down towards Sodom as a result Lots daughters were born and brought up in Sodom as a consequence of this Lot when he was rescued from Sodom was alone in a cave with 2 girls educated and indoctrinated in the ways of Sodom. the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughters resulted in the Moabites and the Ammonites (Gen 19:37). It was the Moabites and the Ammonites who oppressed Israel for years and it would be Ammonite and Moabite wives that Solomon would one day take to himself, they would bring in idolatry to the nation of Israel and ultimately the removal of the Kingdom (1Kings11:1ff). In other words that simple step of 'minor' disobedience ultimately was responsible for the greatest attack that Abraham's descendants experienced on gaining and enjoying the promises of Gods covenant with Abraham! How important to be obedient in every step for Christ! Not only that but in Egypt Abraham gained a servant girl Hagar from whom came Ishmael and the Arab nations and Islam, who to this very day hate and attack Israel! It is so often the small, the apparently inconsequential decisions of life that have huge consequences for the future. The path and the journey through life takes a lifetime of decisions and directions and determination and walking yet the briefest of decisions at one of lifes crossroads can profoundly change the direction of life forever! There may only be a few steps of a difference between turning right and left but they completely change my direction. The difference between faithfulness and failure may only be the difference of 2 or 3 footsteps. A simple, sensible but not spiritual decision to move from famine to food can spell disaster in the longer term.
• At times interrupted communion (Gen12:8; 13:4) – no altar in Egypt?
• At time inadequate appreciation of Gods purpose (Gen15:2)
• At times impatience with Gods timing and Gods methods (Gen16:1-5) – Abraham knew it was wrong (Gen16:5)
• An incomplete appreciation of the power and ability of God (Gen 17:17-18)

So was Abraham saved because he was perfect?

Was Abraham justified by works? (Rom4:2) Abraham was justified by faith (Gen15:6)

Was God indebted to justify Abraham (Rom4:4)? Did Abraham get what he deserved? If righteousness was reckoned as it was earned then the righteousness reckoned to Abraham would have been an imperfect righteousness, for Abrahams works were imperfect.

Sin is Cleansed (4:6-8) If Abraham got more than he might have expected then David received less than he might justly have deserved – a full salvation! In 2 Sam 24:1, 10-16 – 3 days of pestilance were cut to 1 day! Was God just in saying 3 days of pestilence as a punishement (24:13)? Surely God is just! So what do we say when instead of going for 3 days of pestilence God gives 1 day and then stops destroying Jerusalem? If one is justice then the other is surely grace! The pestilence was stayed by the grace of God (2 Sam24:16) and that in response to the repentance of the sinner (2 Sam24:17) Cf. also: “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” (2Sa 12:13) Why should David die? “The soul that sinneth it shall die” (Ezek 18:4,20) David had broken the commandments:

• Thou shalt not kill – Uriah
• Thou shalt not commit adultery
• Thou shalt not steal
• Thou shalt not covet
• Thou shalt not bear false witness
• He caused the heathen to blaspheme

David desired and pursued Bathsheba The punishment for any 1 broken law was death David broke 7 commandments

For defrauding his brother of offspring God slew Onan (Gen38) was God righteous? For raping Dinah God allowed the men of Shechem to be slain – was God righteous? God said: “thou shalt not suffer a murderer to live” was God righteous?

By the righteous standard of the law David ought to have been put to death. So what is 2 Sam 12:13 all about? Grace! Not only that but the law would have condemned Bathsheba to death too but not only is she allowed to live but from Bathsheba comes Solomon, wait for the punch line: “and the Lord loved him” called his name “Jedidiah” : “Loved of the Lord”

So David can speak of:

• A 4 fold blessedness (Rom4:6-9)
• A triple forgiveness: (Rom4:7,8)
• A double negative (Rom4:8)
• A single justification

A triple forgiveness: (Rom4:7,8) “Forgiven” (4:7) : 863 : “aphiemi” – to send forth / to send away, to dismiss: to remove the sins from someone Used of a debt cancelled (Matt18:27, 32, 35) – forgiveness is not merely the suspension of a payment, a payment holiday where the debt remains but we can stop paying it up, forgiveness means the debt is removed, it is cancelled 'I can forgive but I can't forget' often has harboured within it a grudge pointing to no forgiveness at all! Forgiveness is not the shell around the nut of bitter resentment! Gods people must be a forgiving people because Gods people are a forgiven people! Forgiveness removes presence of the debt Forgiveness removes the power of that sin (Matt9:2,6; Mk2:5,7,9) “aphiemi” – used of the Lord sending away the multitude (Mk4:36) “aphiemi” – used in “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” (Mat 4:11) That's good the Lord has “forgiven” my sin but He still knows about it! “who's sins are covered” : “ἐπικαλύπτω” - a double word 'epi' and 'kalupto' – covered over! Well they are forgiven – put away and they are covered over – not seen by God but what about if God brings that covering off? Will they not come back to haunt me? What if God changes His mind? “will not impute sin” - double negative – “will not ever impute sin” - “will not at all impute sin” “impute”: “λογίζομαι” : to credit or to reckon Sin is cancelled – a debt removed and forgiven Sin is covered Sin is never credited again It is possible to be saved and then to be determined to live under a constant cloud of oppression and guilt for past sin – that is not honouring to Christ! The man sick of the palsy had to take up his bed and walk The man of the Gaderenes had to leave the grave yard, go and tell and go and show. Paul had to “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” (Acts9:6) God has purchased a people at great cost to enjoy a full salvation Righteousness Credited and Sin cleansed.

https://graceinchrist.org/romans

Notes on Romans from a message preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie:



Romans Chapter 4 Verses 1 to 5: 'Justification by Faith : Is by Faith Alone'

1. Justification by Faith is Nothing New
2. Justification by Faith is Faith in the Person of Christ
3. Justification by Faith : Is by Faith Alone
4. Justification by Faith: Is by Faith Alone

In all that has been said so far there is one obvious objection: that salvation seems to come too cheap, too easy, goes contrary to human intuition that so great and valuable a possession as eternal life and forgiveness should come so easily, after all is it not the case that the greater the value of a commodity, the higher the price and the higher the price the longer and harder we have to work to pay for it?
Perhaps too in a sense the whole idea of justification by faith offends our human sense of justice, can it really be the case that a person can be a terrible sinner and yet can have their sins simply forgiven, they can go free from the court of heaven and be declared not guilty by the Judge of the universe Himself? Is such a thing feasible? Is such a suggestion even fair?
The example is often given what about the church going, clean living, hard working woman who does her best all of her life and yet does not trust Christ for salvation can it really be that she is lost and yet the thief or criminal or murderer who confesses, repents and believes goes to heaven?
Surely the clean living, church going, hard working life of the respectable counts for something? Is that not just as good as the faith of the criminal?
Is it not faith plus something else?
In this section we have the Great Objection, and as Paul faces this kind of objection Paul name the hard working, respectable, religiously minded and respectable kind of individual that the Jew would have in mind: Abraham himself, the father of the nation of Israel!
Paul brings to our attention one of the most remarkable and influential characters in history, I say that not only as a Christian but it is evident today even from the political sphere. Abraham gave rise not only to the nation of Israel but the faith and salvation story of Abraham underpins the Christian gospel and from Abraham came not only Isaac the forefather of the nation of Israel but so too Ishmael and from him the Arab nations.
Christianity, Judaism and even Islam all claim links to this remarkable character.
He was for the Jew the very epitome of morality, piety and godliness – surely Abraham proves that you only get to heaven if you earn it?
Jewish tradition built up Abraham even beyond his noble character in scripture.

According to the Rabbis and Jewish tradition Abraham:
Was the 1st of 7 men who by their own merits brought back the Shekinah – the cloud of the presence of God into the tabernacle!
Was the only righteous man of his generation
Began to serve God from age 3 years
Even before the law was written he had managed to fulfil it!
If anyone ever contributed anything to their salvation it was surely Abraham!
It was of course not only in Jewish circles in days gone by that this question was asked, it is still very much with us today.
In the past a great source of confusion came from Roman Catholicism which teaches that faith and works together save
Perhaps the greatest source of confusion today however would come not so much from Roman Catholicism but rather from the Charismatic movement – salvation is faith plus some kind of dubious experience, supposedly spiritual in nature, an experience such as speaking in tongues or being slain in the spirit. The confusion that is being sown is real and serious. It is tragic to hear people tell you they are saved, to ask how they were saved and hear a story about someone putting their hands on them, a warm feeling coming all over them and giving them the Holy Spirit! This is not salvation!
It maybe perspiration but its not salvation!
Is salvation by faith, plus something else?
Is salvation available by alternate means altogether, come to that, so often teachings which begin as faith + something else end up just with the something else and drop the faith altogether.

When faith alone is watered down to faith and works, faith and works very quickly becomes watered down even further to works alone, we'll go along to our church and that will do us! Christ and His Word and His salvation becomes an embarrassment. We are left with a dead and barren and shallow thing, the religious state of Judaism in the days of the Lord Jesus: “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” (Mat 15:8)
Not only did Luther and the reformers need to take a stand in their day that salvation was by faith alone so too do we in our day, the confusion still abounds.
So what about Abraham, if ever anyone could have added anything to his salvation it must have been Abraham.

In vs1 we are confronted with the greatness of this great man.
The fact that he was a great man could hardly be disputed, gave rise to the nation of Israel, a nation with whom God had tremendous dealings, brought them out of Egypt by 10 plagues, brought them in as promised into their land, spoke to them by the prophets and fulfilled His promises and prophecies, in particular in bringing forth Christ.
It seems evident that this man had something
God spoke with him, he spoke to God and with Abraham God made His covenant, here was a man who had a relationship with God!
How did that relationship come to be? Why was Abraham great?
Was Abraham a great man and thus he had a relationship with God?
Did a relationship with God make Abraham a great man?
“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?” (Rom 4:1)
Abraham was particularly remarkable because of what Abraham found “as pertaining to the flesh”
Some commentators will interpret that verse as “our father pertaining to the flesh” - the trouble is this isn't true, Abraham is not our father according to the flesh, neither was he the physical father of those to whom Paul was writing – these people were mainly gentiles – non Jews (Rom1:13)
One of the truly remarkable features of Abraham that makes him the subject of this chapter was the fact that he unquestionably had a relationship with God and that relationship with God was evident in His life.
One of the objections we sometimes hear to the great doctrine of justification by faith is that it is too easy and that you can say you believe and then live as you please and still go to heaven!
When we speak of true biblical faith, real faith is faith that brings me into a relationship with God.
Real faith, biblical faith is relationship faith: (Heb11:1ff; Rom4:5).
Real saving faith brings a real relationship with the Saviour and a real relationship with the Saviour brings the evidence of that relationship in my life.
So often there can be a profession without any reality.
Sadly we do often here of claims that folks are saved, on the basis of a profession of faith made many years before but with no real evidence in the life ever to back up such a claim.
This was not the case with Abraham.
We cannot judge a mans heart: “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2Ti 2:19)
As men and women met the the Lord Jesus down below, how did they know that He was the Son of God?
Most of them did not sit down with the OT scriptures and work it out from first principles! Some of them knew nothing about the OT scriptures: the Syrophenician woman, the Roman Centurion – gentiles by nationality!
They knew that He was the Son of God because of His:

1. Words and His Works
2. Miracles and His Ministry: 7 sign miracles of Johns gospel, marked him apart as having authority over the creation – he is the creator.
3. His life and His death (the centurion and the thief on the cross)

There was no mistaking that here was a man marked by the very character of God, His relationship with the Father was evident in His life:

• “I and My Father are one” (John10:31)
• “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.” (Joh 10:37-38)
• “But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.” (Joh 5:36)
• The relationship of Christ to The Father was unique as John 10:31.

The principle does however flow down to the believer:

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (Joh 17:20-23).

Is that not something that ought to be evident?
The essence of Christianity is a relationship with God through Christ and such a relationship must be evident in the life of the believer!
Abraham is presented as an undeniable example of a man with a relationship with God because God did such a mighty work in him, in particular, in his “flesh”.
I wonder if people were looking for the big answers to the big questions, if they were looking to get in touch with God would they see it in me?
Would they come to me?
Is the reality of relationship evident in my life?
Faith is fruitful! As it was in the case of Abraham.
“Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” (Luke 3:8)
The law works wrath (v15) and faith brings fruit (v13)
The reality of that relationship with God was stamped on Abraham's “flesh”, in what way?

1. Circumcision (4:9-12) – Gods covenant promise
2. Covenant (4:13, 17, 18) – The fulfilment of that covenant promise – He did indeed become the father of a great nation
3. Children (4:19) – 100 years of age and Sarah 99! “Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.” (Heb 11:12) – no question about Abraham's fruitfulness.

In a most remarkable way this mans very flesh was marked by the power of God!
He bore the scars, he saw the seed and one day from his line came the Saviour!
A life truly touched by the finger of God!
But was any of his undeniable greatness due to himself?
Was Abraham a great man:

1. Because of what he did
2. Because of what God did in him?

The contrast is the contrast between:

1. Salvation by works: I do it and give it to God
2. Salvation by Grace through faith: God does it and gives it to me.

Was Abraham great by virtue of:

1. The Power of his own flesh?
2. The Privilege of the covenant?
3. The Product of his own effort?

The Power of his own flesh?
He was dead (4:19)

The Privilege of the covenant?
He was uncircumcised (4:10)
Abraham was not waving about in the air the terms of a religious privilege or birth or merit that he had earned or even that he had been born into, he didn't even have it at the point God credited him as righteous!

The Product of his own effort?
Consider the works done and the promises fulfilled in Abraham (4:13, 17, 18), many of them were fulfilled in Abraham after His death, in particular the bringing forth of the nation of Israel, not immediately from Abraham but through Isaac and then Jacob and Jacobs 12 sons, eventually maturing into a might nation of over 3 million people coming up out of Egypt!
From that nation the person of Christ!
Did Abraham have anything to contribute here?
This was not an empire that Abraham built! It was after he had died!
Why was Abraham great?
Not by virtue of the work done by him but by virtue of the work done in him!
The greatness that became Abraham's in “the flesh” (4:1) was received from God, it had to be.
Abraham's greatness, and Abraham's salvation was:

1. Constructed in Grace (4:10)
2. Consisted of Grace (4:17,19)
3. Concluded in Grace (4:17,18) even after his death

How then did it commence?
It would seem strange that a mighty work done by God in the life of Abraham Constructed in Grace (4:10) which Consisted of Grace (4:17,19) and which Concluded in Grace (4:17,18) somehow commenced in self effort and works!
For the whole work to have commenced with Abrahams self effort would detract from everything that God was doing in his life!
It would give Abraham room to boast: “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.” (Rom 4:2).
Yet it is an established principle of Gods word that in the work of salvation only God can boast, it is all of Him and for His glory (Isa 40:5ff).
In all that we can observe in the life of Abraham God has moved out with and beyond the principle of giving a man simply what he deserves!
God has consistently moved according to the principle of grace!
For God to commence such a work and out pouring of Divine grace by virtue of the works of Abraham, or on the basis that Abraham deserved it would surely undermine the grace and Glory of the work which God was doing.
It would be like starting a wedding with a funeral dirge
Commencing a funeral with a wedding march
Starting a meeting of weight watchers with a fish supper and bottle of irn bru.
All of Abraham's greatness was a greatness granted by grace!
Abraham's greatness, and Abraham's salvation was:

1. Commenced in Grace (4:3)
2. Constructed in Grace (4:10)
3. Consisted of Grace (4:17,19)
4. Concluded in Grace (4:17,18) even after his death

It was all of grace!
It is not really the subject of Romans chp 4 but if salvation commences with Grace it continues with grace and if I get into a rut spiritually I will only get out of that rut by seeking His grace and His help and not by self effort!
Justification is by Faith alone, man can add nothing!
Not even Abraham added anything to his salvation!

From a message preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie on:

Romans Chp 3 Vs 21 – 31; 4: 1-12 Justification by Faith – Is Trusting The Person of Christ


3 Key Words:


Righteousness (v21) – a “righteousness apart from the law” - we considered Gods righteous Standard in chapters 1 – 3 and in this transitional verse we noted a Righteousness from God that is able to bring salvation rather than damnation, justification rather than condemnation. We found an example of a righteousness of God that saves in the book of Joshua, in Rahab the Harlot saved on the basis of righteousness! Gods Righteousness is not only a standard but it also becomes a standing by faith in Christ.




Redemption (v24) – for that we went to the book of Exodus and to the Passover, we found a 7 fold redemption in Exodus chp 6, God would release His people from their Burden and from their Bondage to draw us to Himself. We saw the key words of Release, Removal, Redemption, Relationship and Responsibility! They were brought out of Egypt by a “mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deut26:8) and led out by a little lamb! We asked the people of Israel, how was it that you were brought out of Egypt and we heard their reply: 'it depends on which way that you look at it!' From the perspective of the Jew they were led out under the blood of the lamb, from the perspective of the Egyptian they came out under the blood of the firstborn! How often we must be humbled: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Isa 55:8), “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” (1Pe 5:6). We say our redemption prefigured in Exodus brought out under the blood of the lamb and brought out under the blood of the first-born! (1 Peter1:18-19)




Propitiation (v25) – We went to the book of Leviticus and to the 16th chapter to see this truth prefigured in the OT in the blood stained 'mercy seat.' Propitiation deals with the problem of sin by the power of the blood at the place of mercy. The priest came in with a purity imputed, the white linen covered him before the presence of God. Propitiation has 3 aspects: God ward it is God satisfied, Man ward it is man justified and Christ ward its is Christ crucified. As simple as I could make it and as deep as I knew it! God satisfied, man justified and Christ crucified!

We have learned an important lesson:

1. Righteousness apart from the law we saw it in Joshua
2. Redemption by blood we saw it in Exodus
3. Propitiation – we saw it in Leviticus
   

You and I have discovered that the roots of our salvation go deep, very deep into the OT scriptures!

In fact they go even deeper than that:

1. Righteousness apart from the law, a righteousness of God that saves we will see goes back even beyond the book of Joshua, in Romans 4 we will see that it goes back to at least Abraham in Genesis chp 15!
2. Redemption – whilst so clearly seen in Exodus, the first mention of redemption is in fact in the book of Genesis: “The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” (Gen 48:16). Interestingly this is a redemption from evil!
3. Propitiation – we saw it in Leviticus, but again we could go back much further than that! The first mention of the Hebrew word for atonement goes back to Noah and His ark – pitched within and without with pitch (Gen6:14)! Possibly we could go back even further still to the garden of Eden: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Gen 3:21)

There are many links here with the outworking of the great purposes of God from generations gone by!
There is more to your salvation and mine than you ever understood the day you were saved!
Salvation does not consist in understanding a process but resting in a person!
This of course is exceedingly important!
If the way of salvation was new it would be extremely suspect! Either God has had no interest in the world up until the past 2000 years, or God is not righteous in His dealings with men excluding much of human history from salvation or this means of salvation is completely fabricated!

James Montgomery Boice sees the significance of this: “All this is proof of Christianity's timeless validity. If Christianity were merely something founded by Jesus Christ some 2000 years ago it might be interesting but it would have no more ultimate claim upon us than the dogmas of any other human religion”

If the roots of our salvation go deep into the OT scriptures then, all of this raises the very interesting question of wither or not it was possible for men and women to be saved before the death of the Lord Jesus Christ? Did salvation begin with us?
We must acknowledge that there are many things that were unclear, incompletely apprehended by the OT believers, suggested by OT texts and made explicitly clear in the NT:

• Job : “Then Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.” (Job 9:1-3) – Jobs understanding of the means of justification by faith seems at least at the beginning of the book of Job to be incomplete. Yet God describes Job at the very beginning of the book: “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” (Job 1:8)
• Abraham: called in Gen 12, a relationship with God in existence in chp 13 with the erection of an Altar at Hebron, called “Abraham of the most High God” in chp 14 by Melchezedek and yet Abrahams question at the beginning of chapter 15 indicates an incomplete understanding of Divine purpose: “What wilt thou give me seeing I go childless?” (15:2)
• Isaac: in a covenant relationship (26:24) yet in Genesis 27 he seems ready to bless the wrong boy, the one through whom Christ would not come!
  The prophets: 1 Peter 1:10 – their understanding was incomplete, there was a need to search, a need to enquire and a need to seek further revelation.
• Daniel – clearly a man of God from the beginning of the book of Daniel: Dan2:47; 4:18; 5:14; 6:3, 10, 16, 22, 26 and in Dan 9:23 “thou art greatly beloved” and yet it is not until Dan 9:24ff that we have the revelation of the details of the coming of Christ and His death for sin (9:24) and Gods plan of salvation!

Add to all of this the quite clear and explicit statements in the NT that certain aspects of Gods plan of salvation were deliberately hidden from past generations as mysteries, many of them fundamental to our appreciation of the Gospel:

1. Mystery of the Gospel (Rom 16:25; Eph 6:19)
2. Mystery of the Cross of Christ (1 Co2:7)
3. Mystery of the Rapture (1Co15:51)
4. Mystery of His Will (Eph 1:7-10) - All things in Christ
5. Mystery of Christ (Eph 3:3,4;Col 4:3 ) – the Gentiles fellow heirs and of the same body.
6. Mystery of Christ and the Church (Eph5:32)
7. Mystery of Christ in you the hope of Glory (Col 1:26,27)
8. Mystery of Godliness (1 Tim 3:16)

Consider also that the OT peoples had the “parable” (Heb9:9) and had a “shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things” (Heb10:1) and we begin to see that many of these OT saints could not have had the fullness of the appreciation of the Person and Work of Christ which is possible for us!


This is perhaps most clearly stated in Heb 2:2-3 “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;” (Heb 2:3). It is quite clear that the message of the Gospel of Gods free grace and saving power “began” to be preached in the fashion which you and I are familiar with only with the advent of Christ Himself!


This of course is already strongly implied in: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” (Rom 3:25)


Where does that leave us then practically?

Romans Chp 1 told us that mankind with only the testimony of creation stands condemned if they reject that testimony to Gods eternal Power and Godhead.

Romans chp 2 tells us that man with conscience and the testimony to the righteousness of God stands condemned and

Romans chapter 2 tells us that man with the OT covenant stands condemned for falling short of the standards they profess to hold dear!

So here we are today with the testimony of :

1. Creation,
2. Conscience
3. Covenant
4. Christ in the New Testament scriptures as well as the preaching and teaching of those OT scriptures!

What a tremendous privilege and what an awesome responsibility!

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; “ (Heb 2:1-3)

There must well have been aspects to the work of salvation that some of these OT believers did not appreciate, that seems clear!

Yet the roots of salvation go deep into those OT scriptures!
In Romans chp 4 we find specific mention of 2 prominent OT characters who found that salvation!
Furthermore it is clear form the gospels that many others in the OT were saved by the work of Christ:

• Elijah and Moses on the mount of transfiguration
• “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. “ (Luk 13:28)

We must acknowledge that there are many things that were unclear to them, incompletely apprehended by the OT believers, yet the scriptures are clear many of them were saved!
How is this possible?
They may not have fully understood Gods Plan of Salvation or the Process of Salvation but they did trust in the Person who was able to justify and save them.
These OT saints depended upon the same:

1. Person – Christ
2. Principle – Justification by Faith
3. Prospect – Salvation and Eternal Life

Not only do the roots of our salvation go deep into the OT scriptures but so too the Saviour.

These OT saints all depended upon Christ for Justification:

1. Moses: “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” (Heb 11:26); Deut 32:2-4; 15-18; 1 Co10:1-4 “that rock was Christ” (1Co11:1-4).
2. Abraham: Gal3:8, 16 – the Gospel of the future blessing in Christ; John 8:56.
3. David: Psalm 110:1; Heb 1:13; Matt 22:41-46: Davids Lord was Christ! Acts 2:25, 29-32
4. Jacob: Gen 28:12-13; John 1:41 – Jacobs ladder, his connection between heaven and earth, was Christ!
5. Daniel: Daniel 10:5-18; 8:15; 10:9-10, 16; Rev 1:13-17 – Daniel encountered the same person as did John!
6. Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego in the fiery furnace (Dan 3:25-26) who will protect them in the flames? Surely the God whom they serve, the “Son of God”.
7. Prophets: Moved by the Spirit of Christ (1Peter1:11)

These OT saints all depended upon Christ for Justification!
Justification then we would conclude from the pattern of the OT scriptures came when these OT believers exerted faith in a Person, the Person of Christ, rather than Faith in a Process or faith in their understanding of a process!
Some did not understand the process but they benefited from it by faith in the Person!
Salvation came when they exercised faith in the justifier: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Rom 4:5)
This is the same means by which you and I are justified and saved in the NT:

1. “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Act 20:21)
2. “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2Ti 1:12)
3. “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luk 23:42-43)
4. “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.” (1Pe 2:6)
5. “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Mat 18:6) – were these little ones saved? Certainly: “he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.” (1Pe 2:6) – did they understand propitiation, redemption and justification by faith?
6. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”(Joh 5:24)
7. “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”(Joh 6:40)
8. “Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.” (Joh 12:44-46)
9. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Joh 3:16) – spoken to Nicodemus before the death and sufferings and resurrection of Christ!
10. Consider also: Luke 8:48; Acts 20:21; Acts 26:18; Acts 8:37; 13:39; 16:31; Col 2:5-7; 2 Tim 3:15; Heb 6:1; 12:2; James 2:1; 1 Peter 1:21; Rev 14:21.

Justification comes by faith in the person of Christ rather than from my understanding of the work of Christ – God doesn't save us because we are smart enough to be able to work it all out!
God does not save me because I have faith that the process of justification that it is good, true and right! Job for example didn't even understand the process!
God does not save by virtue of the fact that I have a sufficiently strong grasp or a deep enough appreciation of the truth concerning the person and work of Christ!
God doesn't save you once you become a 'mature' Christian, God saves whilst you are “yet without strength” but willing to exercise faith, that is to trust and depend upon Christ for salvation.
Neither does He save by my participation in the activities of Christianity, my knowledge of the Bible!

Consider the following scriptures:

1. 1 Co13:1-2 – My knowledge of spiritual truths and my confidence in those spiritual truths as dependable Divinely revealed facts, of itself does not profit, there must be “love” the product of a relationship with Christ personally (Gal 5:22; John 13:34-35; John 15:9, 12; 1 John4:7) – knowledge of the process is of no profit without knowledge of the person!
2. 2 Co 3:6 - “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” (2Co 3:6) – facts and the appreciation and understanding of them alone does not save!

Derek Tidball: The Message of the Cross: The Bible Speaks Today
“The object of our faith makes all the difference. Only faith in Christ enables us to appropriate justification personally. To have faith in Him requires us to relinquish faith in anything else or anyone else as the hope of our salvation. It is to trust in Him entirely and exclusively.” (p197)

John Stott:
“Faith is the eye that looks to Christ, the hand that lays hold of Him, the mouth that drinks the water of life. And the more clearly we see the absolute adequacy of Jesus Christ's Divine – Human Person and sin-bearing death the more incongruous does it appear that anybody could suppose that we have anything to offer. That is why justification by faith alone, to quote Cranmer again, 'advances the true Glory of Christ and beats down the vain glory of man.”

Philip Graham Ryken: The Message of Salvation: The Bible Speaks Today:
“Faith is merely the instrument of our justification, the channel by which we receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is often described as the empty hand that reaches out to receive the gift of Gods righteousness.” (p202)

JC Ryle:
“True faith....is but laying hold of a Saviour's hand, leaning on a husbands arm and receiving a physicians medicine. It brings with it nothing to Christ but a sinful man's soul. It gives nothing, contributes nothing, pays nothing, performs nothing. It only receives, takes, accepts, grasps and embraces the glorious gift of justification which Christ bestows”

Philip Graham Ryken: The Message of Salvation: The Bible Speaks Today:
“it is not faith itself (or even the doctrine of justification by faith) that saves us. Rather it is Christ who saves us and faith is simply that way that we appropriate Christ.” (p202)

What do we mean by Faith?

“Faith is believing that Christ is what He is said to be and that He will do what He has promised to do and then to expect this of Him.” (CH Spurgeon)

“knowledge...belief...trust” (CH Spurgeon)

“awareness...assent...commitment” (Lloyd Jones)

1. Know it
2. Accept it
3. Rest in it

C Gordon Olson: 'Beyond Calvinism and Arminianism'
“Faith has to be more than mere profession, more than intellectual assent to certain propositions about the gospel. It is the appropriation or receiving of Christ into the life, which means trust in the person and work of the Divine Messiah (John 1:12). The essence of Evangelicalism is a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. Nothing less will do.” (p287)

Dr. Norman Geisler: Systematic Theology: Vol 3 Sin Salvation
“In short, faith (belief) implies trust in, commitment to, obedience to and hope (confidence) in its object. As applied to faith in Jesus, the implications for saving faith are clear: It is the kind of belief that has trust and confidence in Christ for salvation and thereby implies a commitment to follow and obey Him.” (p518)

As a consequence of the means and source of salvation, to grow as a Christian means to develop and grow in in Christ! Our salvation begins with faith in Christ as the source and supplier of salvation and thus to grow as a Christian is to grow in our relationship with Christ and our appreciation of Christ!
If our salvation were to be rooted in works then to grow as a Christian would mean to grow in works!
If our salvation were rooted in the knowledge of facts then to grow as a Christian would primarily mean going on an intensive college course or training school!
You can tell a lot about what a Christian is depending upon for their salvation by their approach to Christian maturity!
Christian maturity thus lies in a deepening relationship with Christ, often referred to as the 'knowledge' of Christ, a word and idea first used in scripture within the context of a relationship, that of Adam and Eve:
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2Pe 3:18)
“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,” (2Pe 1:2)
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Pe 1:5-8)
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:” (Eph 1:17)
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” (Php 3:8)
Salvation comes not from my understanding of a principle or a process but rather on the basis of the work completed by Christ (Rom3:25) by means of faith He becomes my Saviour the moment I trust Him (Rom 3:28)

All who have ever been saved have been saved by the same means:

1. Saved by the same person – Christ
2. Resting in the same principle – Justification by Faith
3. Looking for the same prospect – salvation
4. Saved by the same power – the blood of Christ
5. All on the basis of the same propitiation.

“To say that we are justified “through Christ” points to His historical death; to say that we are justified “in Christ” points to the personal relationship with Him which by faith we now enjoy. This simple fact makes it impossible for us to think of justification as a purely external transaction; it cannot be isolated from our union with Christ and all the benefits which this brings.” (John Stott)

Does all of this mean then that the details of the gospel don't matter?
Just so long as I believe in Jesus?

Not quite! For faith is:

1. Defined by Gods Word (Rom1:2; 3:21; 10:17, 20; 1Peter1:11)
2. Born of Gods Word (1Peter 1:23)
3. Sustained by Gods Word (1 Peter 2:1)

The common thread in justification by faith is that it was always faith in Christ and in His ability to make the sinner right!
My faith must be in the real Christ of God and not in a figment of my imagination.
The faith I exercise is faith in the Christ of Gods revealed Word.

John Wesley:
“In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death. I began to pray with all my might for those who had in a more especial manner despitefully used me and persecuted me. I then testified openly to all there what I now first felt in my heart.” - The conversion of John Wesley aged 35 years!