For example there is Paul’s comment about the “law of faith.” I suppose that this could be very confusing to some people who might hear it for the first time – perhaps a Jew who was raised in the Laws of Moses or a Catholic steeped in other kinds of laws. In the shadow of the “law of works,” what should I make of the “law of faith”? What rules and regulations are there in regard to this new kind of law? Are there any penalties for breaking this law? Does it mean that I must believe in a literal six-day creation or I can’t become a child of God? Must I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin before the Lord will consider forgiving me of my sin? And what if I believe something wrong about the virgin herself? Are there degrees of faith, and what if I fall short of a passing grade? What if I have doubts? I do have doubts. Are there rules of faith that I must follow before God will save my soul? Can you see how some people might be hurt by confusion about this terminology? These kinds of questions push me into a topical message about the “law of faith” – and faith in general.
The word “law” is simple enough – at least as far as the Greek lexicon, or dictionary, is concerned. The Greek word is translated only one way – so that doesn’t help us very much – but it is used in a variety of ways. For example, the singular word “law” is used to describe all the laws given to Israel through Moses. The singular word is used generically for the plural – strange. And then the word is used to describe the days when Israel was under the rule of the rules of Moses. There was the period of time called “the Law,” and then there came the period of Grace. The word “law” describes a certain portion of the Bible, in contrast to “the prophets” or “the writings.” But the way that Paul uses the word here in Romans 3:27 is as a synonym for “principle” or “formula.” “Where is boasting? It is excluded. By what (principle)? of works? Nay: but by the (principle) of faith.” It might be helpful to leave out the word “law” entirely, because it doesn’t hurt the meaning of the verse if we read it with our eyes opened. “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By works? Nay: but because of faith.”
We can see the importance of this subject by counting the number of times that Paul refers to it in this context. Verse 21 – “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is BY FAITH of Jesus Christ unto all and upon ALL THEM THAT BELIEVE.” Verse 24 – “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 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; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him WHICH BELIEVETH IN JESUS. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the LAW OF FAITH. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified BY FAITH without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision BY FAITH, and uncircumcision THROUGH FAITH. Do we then make void the law through FAITH? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. Verse 3 – “What saith the scripture? Abraham BELIEVED God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but BELIEVETH on him that justifieth the ungodly, HIS FAITH is counted for righteousness.” I count at least a dozen references to faith in the context of these sixteen verses.
One might say that the slogan of Christianity is: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” While that is absolutely true, the term “slogan” is not necessarily the best one to use. Marketing and advertizing people know the importance of a good slogan or tag line. But those things come, and they go, and there isn’t necessarily much truth required in them. They only need to be catchy or memorable and repeated ten thousand times to be useful. Faith is not a slogan, it is a deeply rooted principle laying close to the epicenter of Bible Christianity. The person who doesn’t have it is not a child of God, while the person with it is.
But the subject of Biblical faith has been as much abused as the person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. “His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men,” and it still is. He was beaten bloody; there was blood and bruises and skin torn from His face. His eyes were swollen – His whole face was swollen. “He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.” Just as the Savior was beaten almost beyond recognition, faith in Saviour has likewise been abused.
There are imitation faiths – counterfeits – that lazy church-goers can’t distinguish from the genuine. It is sort of like the sculptures of Alceo Dossena. This Italian man was a very good stonemason and sculptor, but rather than using his talent to create original art, he made copies of ancient classics for which he was paid an average of $200.00. Then one of his fakes was sold to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for thousands of dollars. When he found out that dealers were selling his works as originals, he sued. He won his law suit for $66,000, and went on to make and market “genuine imitations.” Isn’t it appropriate that he was a Roman Catholic? The Catholics have been marketing genuine imitation faith for centuries.
Why was Paul so adamant about the “law of faith”? Since he doesn’t expand on it right here, let’s make a topical study of the subject. There are principles involved – eternal, God-designed principles or “laws” governing faith.
Do you see the word “marvelled”? It is simple enough, meaning “to admire, or to look with wonder at something.” When people looked at Christ they often marveled, admired and wondered. “Never man spake like this man” – because He was no mere man – He was God incarnate. Nicodemus admitted, “No man can do the works that thou doest except God be with him.” The disciples more than anyone else “marveled” at the Lord Jesus, because they knew Him best. But that word is used only twice by Jesus – it is impossible to surprise deity. And yet there it is – Jesus marveled, and in both cases it had reference to people’s faith. The Lord Jesus said it about the faith of the Centurion. And then in Mark 6:6 Jesus marveled at the lack of faith of the people of Nazareth.
Isn’t it true that everyone wants to be accepted by his peers – the kids of our own age. Unfortunately a great many children, young and old, sometimes do the wrong things to gain that acceptance. They swear and swagger in order to impress. They say that they smoke and drink, and sometimes they actually do. They will steal, bully or cheat just to be able to say that some other little thief or bully is their friend. Unfortunately, the only people that people impress by acting like fools are other fools. If you have to resort to stupidity or sin in order to win the friendship of others, those who have morals and sense will despise you. If you want to draw the best to yourself, you must be your best. If you want the respect of the righteous, you must be righteous.
Now clearly, the only way to be free from sin is through the merits and ministry of the Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is imperative that we evoke the interest of Him. And what is it that catches the eye of the Saviour? For example, do we ever find the Lord commending a person for his baptism? Where do you hear Him praising someone for his 200,000 “Hail Marys”? Has he ever admired a shrine in someone’s front yard with its plastic statue of Mary? The closest thing that we have to that was on the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter said, “Let us build here three tabernacles, one for thee and two others for Moses and Elijah.” It is safe to say that neither Jesus nor His Father in heaven were pleased. We praise children for childish things – but from grown men we expect more.
There is only one thing that the Lord praises in sinners – faith. Don’t waste your breath bemoaning your sins, thinking that will impress Christ – He knows better. Repentance of sin is a necessary partner to faith, but what the Lord is looking for is faith and trust in Him for deliverance.
Faith honors the Lord and secures His praise.
This woman wanted something from the Lord – the healing of her daughter. The farther I travel down the road of life, the more I am convinced of something – The problems of this world, each and every one of them, are somehow connected to sin. All the social bandaids in the Johnson and Johnson medicine cabinet are condemned to failure. And so are the ones in the Obama/Clinton/McCain medicine chest as well. The only solution to life’s problems is the solution to sin that is found in Christ Jesus.
This woman came to the right place and wanted action from the Lord. But we notice that He was not interested in helping her – or so it seemed. That fact needs to be recognized. She was an alien. She was an alien to God as we all are as well as being a foreigner to Israel. She was one of those who “at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” God owes us nothing; God owes you absolutely nothing. He created our father, Adam, who chose sin over fellowship with the Lord. And we have been choosing sin almost incessantly every day since. God owes us nothing but His wrath.
Yet this woman was asking something from the Lord anyway. She might have tried many things to get the healing that her daughter needed. She might have tried bribery – it certainly works with some people. Some wicked women might have tried seduction. She might have tried to steal something in order to help her child. There could been any number of things she might have attempted. But it was her faith that spurred the Lord to action on her behalf. It was great faith, because we see that it stood the test of the Lord’s delay.
And what was the action that she received? What all of us need – Grace. As I say, her daughter’s problem was rooted in sin. And the only solution for sin is the mercy and grace of God. We remember that salvation comes by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves.
A few times in the last couple of weeks, in looking for the weather, I have caught a little bit of the news. I have seen crowds of people screaming the praises of their favorite political candidates. Some of those people have displayed almost idolatrous worship of their chosen people. They look much like many did when the Beetles first came over here from England. But I have to admit that not one of the front-runners has a place in my affections. Furthermore there is not a popular singer or a movie star whom I adore. But still there are quite a few people there – down in the depths of my heart. Judy Lynn Price has been there for well over forty years. And Sahalie has been there for more than a 140 days. My children are there, and so are you.
Isn’t true that we own and hold the key to our hearts. We determine who gets to come through that door, and who has to stay outside. Once some people get in there they are imprisoned, and they will never get away. Others, I suppose, can get kicked out – but the choice is ours – not theirs. And yet I know that everyone of those people who reside in my heart are sinners, just like me. More and more with every passing week, I can see the sinful depravity of my little grand-daughter. And although I have love for those residents of my heart, it’s not quite the same as that which I have for my Saviour.
Christ Jesus dwells in there along with all my other loved ones, but He is there by faith. It’s not that I don’t love the Lord Jesus, because I most certainly do. He who has been forgiven much, usually loves much as well. But there is a sense in which Jesus refuses to enter just any heart. And in this case, He holds His own key. He has never said that if he finds enough love in someone, He will make some sort of royal entry. This is because even human love is tainted by sin. That is easy prove by asking yourself if you’ve every loved things which the Lord hates. Have you ever loved drunkenness and brawling, deceit and theft? Even human love is tainted by sin, until Christ cleanses it with his blood. No, the Lord doesn’t look for love before He enters a human heart – the key is faith.
And the Bible says that as He enters the believer, the believer enters Christ. Which comes first? It all depends on your point of view, and how much the Lord allows you to see. Actually, it is the Lord who loves first, touches first, saves and joins with us. But practically speaking, “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons God, even to them that believe on his name.”
Western California knows that it sits upon a fault-line which could drop into the ocean at the Lord’s command. In 1989 San Francisco was hit by a large earthquake while much of the world watched on because it was already watching a World Series which was being played there. It was as if the Lord wanted the whole world to see what He could do. The areas of San Francisco and Oakland which were most devastated were those places where there was no bed-rock. Large portions of those cities have been stolen from the Oakland Bay by dumping dirt and trash into the water and then building upon the rubble. In fact much of that rubble came from the earthquake which destroyed the city in 1906. Most of the homes that were destroyed by the tremors had no deep foundations. Really tall and important buildings can go to the expense of digging deeply enough to reach solid rock, but most of the houses in those cities don’t have that luxury. Our lives are like buildings – they need bed-rock; they need foundations. Faith is the only way to get down to the bedrock of Christ. Churches can only furnish people with shovels and the tools with which to dig. But morality can’t work, nor can obedience to the law. Faith is the only thing that reaches down to the bed-rock of Christ.
Not only does faith secure Jesus’ praise; move the Lord to action; swing open doors and sink to the bedrock…
This scripture, like many others that we might use, brings us back to Romans 3. I have my own righteousness, but it is the most corrupt, foul and useless variety – hated and rejected by God. And all my appeals to the law are futile, because we know that “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
The Bible says that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. There is a sense in which holiness and the term “righteousness” are closely related. We might say that the Bible teaches that without the right kind of righteousness no man shall see the Lord. But, all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags before the holy God. We must, we must, find a righteousness that can cover our sinfulness before the Lord’s holy eyes. And clearly that righteousness is only found in Jesus Christ the Saviour. “He is made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.” But these things are found in Him and not us.
How can I ever receive these gifts of grace? The answer is found in faith, which is simply believing what God has promised and done. As Paul tells us in the next chapter, there is no earning of grace, for then the gift becomes a debt. There is no buying grace, working for it, embezzling it, or stealing it. But it can be received as a gift. Faith seizes the gift of God. We can “be found in him, not having (our) own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” Is that how the Lord finds you this morning?
Come kneel before the cross; come kneel in faith before the Christ. Trust Him to deliver you from your sins. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”