The Significance of our Faith Part IV - Responding to the Sovereignty of God

Note: This is the fourth and final part in this series on Significance of Faith in the Christian life and salvation process.

It is widely stated and believed that we serve a sovereign God; but if you think about that, what exactly does that mean?  Without going through a theological diatribe on the meaning of sovereignty and the many ways in which God is sovereign, suffice it to say that God being sovereign means that he has supreme independence and is not accountable to anyone but himself.  It furthermore means that he has the power and the capability to do whatever he desires without having to answer for any of his actions.

That raises an important question. How can we trust in a God who is sovereign?  How can we be sure that he will not do something arbitrary or vicarious or capricious?  Sure, we can trust in the fact that he is supposed to be a loving and kind God who only has our best interests at stake, but then we read Paul’s description of God’s sovereignty in Romans chapter 9 and literally our faith can be shaken at the core.

Romans chapter 9 takes the concept of God’s sovereignty into a very controversial area of Christian theology known as predestination and election.  There are numerous and various views on predestination and election that I will not go into in this article because that is not really the intent of this post.  However, it is almost impossible to read Romans chapter 9 and not come away with the distinct impression that sometimes God’s actions can seem somewhat arbitrary.

Think about it.  God sovereignly chose the nation of Israel – beginning with Abraham – to be the bearer of his covenant and ultimately to bring forth his messiah.  Why Israel?  Israel was repeatedly unfaithful to God. Why start with Abraham?  Abraham had not done anything to earn merit in God’s eyes for this great honor.  He was the son of an idol maker and an idol worshipper, but God chose him above all other men in the world at that time.  Then, God chose his son Isaac – not his firstborn Ishmael by the servant girl and not the many sons that Abraham bore after Isaac (and yes, read Genesis 25:1-5…Abraham ended up having a bunch of other kids after Isaac).  Why Isaac – other than the fact that he was the promised son?  Then there is Jacob – the deceiver and theif – the second born.  He was chosen over Esau the first born.  Why?  Because that is what God decided?  What was God thinking when he made these choices?  Only he knows.

To take the faith-shaking discussion further, Paul then discusses others whom God, in his sovereignty, has outright rejected – such as Pharoah.  That just seems wrong – until you realize that God did not reject Pharoah until after Pharoah had first rejected God – not once, but twice.  Still, it seems a bit frightening to imagine being rejected by God, though – especially when we find Paul basically telling us that God’s sovereignty does not excuse us from anything.   What if God prepared some vessels for wrath?  Who are we to argue with the Sovereign?  What if God prepared some vessels for glory?  Can the clay argue with the potter?  It is certainly enough to make your head spin…

…until you get to the end of Romans 9 and then go further into Romans 10.

You see it is most certainly true that God is sovereign to do whatever he chooses to do and we have no say so in the matter.  That means he is sovereign to save or to condemn at his own pleasure.  However, what we find out at the end of Romans 9 is what God actually DID DO in his sovereignty.  You see, in God’s sovereignty, he decided that he would call the elect based on faith (Romans 9:24-29) – not just the Jews who believed, but gentiles as well.  Furthermore, God decided in his sovereignty that he would reject and condemn those who did not have faith (Romans 9:30-33) – not just the heathen gentiles, but the unbelieving Jews as well.  In other words, God’s sovereign choice of election is based on faith – not on some arbitrary or capricious choice of his own.  Thus we see, moving into Romans 10, the significance of our faith in dealing with God’s sovereignty.

Romans 10 gives us the method by which God accepts our faith and includes us into the elect.  If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we shall be saved.  This is a promise from God.  The thing about God’s sovereignty is that it will never be in conflict with his character, and his character is such that all of his promises will be kept.  We do not have to worry about the seemingly arbitrary or apparently capricious actions of God as it relates to our salvation because he has given to us exactly what we need to ensure our salvation.  Furthermore, he has promised us that in receiving salvation by faith we will be included among the elect.

But how did we get there?  Did we arrive at our faith by some irresistible force of God or by our own free will choice? Should that even matter?  Obviously it does matter to some because the answer to those questions is the basis upon which much of the theological controversy exists.  However, I find that God has made it very clear in Romans chapters 8-10 that we have placed much too much emphasis on trying to understand God’s actions in salvation (as identified in Romans 8:29-30) and not nearly enough emphasis on what our responsibilities are to carrying out God’s plan for salvation (as identified in Romans 10:13-15).

Clearly, God’s hand in salvation is supreme.  His perspective and his participation is clearly established in Romans 8:29-30 – for those he foreknew he predestined; those he predestined he called; those he called he justified; and those he justified he will glorify.  We can spend ages (and we have) debating exactly what that means and may never be able to come to an agreement. Quite frankly, I believe God has intentionally left just enough mystery on this one because I think he wants us to accept by faith his work in salvation instead of trying to force his work into some theological construct of our own design.

By contrast, we should instead be focusing on man’s responsibility in the salvation process as equally and as clearly established in Romans 10:13-15 – Our salvation comes when we confess Jesus; that confession comes as a result of calling on the name of the Lord; how can anyone call unless they first believe; how can they believe unless they hear; how can they hear unless someone preaches; and how can someone preach unless someone is sent?  While understanding God’s role in salvation requires faith, man’s responsibility in the salvation process is merely a matter of obedience.  Send someone to preach so that the lost can hear, believe, call upon the name of the Lord, and thus be saved.

So where does God’s Perspective meet Man’s Responsibility?   They meet at the call.  God calls on us.  We respond and call on him.  See picture below:

		Confession
Foreknowledge	Predestination	Calling	Justification	Glorification
		Believing
		Hearing
		Preaching
		Sending

Therein lays the significance of our faith with respect to dealing with and responding to God’s sovereignty.  If we will simply be obedient to his commands to spread the gospel, then we can have faith that he will carry out his promise to call those he has sovereignly foreknown and predestined (whatever that may mean) to be saved.

The Significance of our Faith - Part III: Pursuing a Holy Life

Do you ever struggle with doing the right thing? I know that I certainly do.  In fact, I had an issue today where I had to admit that I had reacted in the flesh.  It wasn’t what I said, per se, that was wrong, but rather my attitude and my delivery.  I ended up having to apologize, and in the end my point – which was extremely valid – was essentially lost.  You may not like to admit it – and unless you are a psychopath you probably will admit it - but everyone struggles with doing the right thing sometimes.  Fortunately, we have the gift of God’s grace.

You have most likely heard of the phrase “God’s grace is sufficient.”  Romans 5:20-21 says

“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Do you know what that means? Essentially, the more we sin, the more grace and forgiveness we receive in return.  This is an astounding promise.  No matter how badly we fail, God is there to pick us up and forgive us.  The problem with this promise, however, is that some people use it as an excuse to quit trying to be good.  Some people say it gives us a license to sin or a free pass to do whatever we want, because – after all – God will forgive us.  Perhaps you do not do this overtly, but I wonder how many of us fall into this trap subconsciously.   That is why this beautiful promise comes with such a stern warning – stated twice, in fact, in Romans 6.

Romans 6:1 says “What shall we say, then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means…”

Likewise, Romans 6:15 says “What then” Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?  By no means!”

The reality is that because God’s grace is sufficient, we are obligated to strive with all our might to live out the Holy life that God intended - not for salvation's sake, but for the sake of the Holy name of Jesus Christ.  Romans chapter 6 gives us three reasons why we have this obligation.  First, we are dead to sin.   The Sin Nature that used to control us may still exist in our flesh, but its power has been put to death.  Its only power over us is the power we choose to allow it to have in our lives.  Second, we are baptized into Christ.  That means we have identified ourselves with Christ and so are obligated to live according to his established plan.  It would be a fallacy to identify yourself with any cause and not strive to represent the values and ideals of that cause.  The same is true with Christianity. When we identify with Christ, we obligate ourselves to represent him faithfully.  Finally, we are crucified with Christ.  Our Old Self has been killed.  It is dead.  We have been born again.  We are new creatures in Christ.  In other words, we are not the same person we were before, so we ought to no longer be acting like that person.  Instead, we ought to act as the new person we are – made in the image of Christ.

Here’s the thing.  If you haven’t been changed by Jesus so that you are a different person – a person striving to be LIKE Christ – then you are not saved.  Likewise, if your desires have not changed so that you want to live like Jesus, then you are not saved.  Grace is a wonderful thing, but it is NOT fire insurance.  Salvation is not a get out of hell free card.  You can’t just “ask Jesus into your heart” and then go on with your lives the same as you always did before.  Being a Christian means FOLLOWING Jesus.  This is what we call being HOLY.

Jesus paved the way for grace by faith through his death on the cross.  However, in the three years leading up to that death, he taught us principles for how we should live our lives.  Jesus taught us what it means to be Holy.  As Christians, we are then obligated to live Holy lives.  Lives that are different from the world.  Lives that are an imitation of Jesus and that live out the principles he taught.

This takes us back to the question at the beginning of this post.  Do you have trouble living a Holy life?  If the answer is yes, the problem could be one of two things.  One: you might not be saved.  If you are not saved, there is no way you can live a Holy life.  In fact, it is not just a struggle, it is impossible.  On the other hand, the second reason may be that you are saved.  You see, even for those of us who are saved, living a Holy life can still be a struggle.  In case you missed that: we all still struggle to be Holy. Anyone who claims that living Holy is not a struggle is either (a) a liar, or (b) just exposing their ignorance and perhaps their lost condition.

So what is the difference between the one who is not saved and the one who is when it comes to living Holy lives?  The difference is the level of frustration.  The unsaved person doesn’t generally think twice about the way he lives.  In fact, the unsaved person may be perfectly content with the way he lives – especially if (a) he is comparing himself to Christians or (b) if he has deluded himself because he is relying on religious ritual instead of faith for his righteousness.  In fact, in his own self-righteousness he may even consider himself Holy.  As such, he is perfectly content where he is.  The saved person, however, knows that he is wretched, knows he is supposed to be Holy, and is frustrated by the paradox.  This is precisely the paradox that the Aspostle Paul describes in Romans 7:14-25 when he laments his desire to be holy in contrast to the weakness of his flesh.

Fortunately there is a solution.  As Paul says right after that in Romans 7:25 – Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  The solution is that we have the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:1-4 says: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Our flesh truly is weak, but we have something better.  Jesus already accomplished what our flesh could not accomplish and then he gave us the Holy Spirit to help us overcome our fleshly weakness.  The Holy Spirit gives us the power to live Holy lives even though in our flesh it is difficult.  We just have to be willing to live by the Spirit instead of living by the flesh.  That is where faith comes in.  Our faith is so much more than belief.  We cannot just “believe in Jesus” and let that be the end of it.  Even after our “faith in Jesus” saves us, we must continue to live by faith in order to live the Holy life we are obligated to live.  So how do we do that?

Fortunately, Romans 8 gives us some insight into what it means to live by the Spirit instead of living by the flesh.  First, the Spirit desires the things of the Spirit.  This is in reference most likely to the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 – namely, love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.  By contrast, the flesh desires the things of the flesh, which are found in Galatians 5:19-21 – namely, sexual immorality, impurity, debaucher, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissentions, factions, envy, drukenness, orgies, and the like.  So the question is… which of these two lists more accurately characterizes your life?

Similarly, the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace.  In other words, the Spirit controlled person is one who is content, peaceful, desiring good things towards others.  By contrast, the mindset of the flesh is death and destruction.  The thoughts of those controlled by the flesh are dominated by discontentment, anger, bitterness – all things negative.  Again, how would you assess yourself?

Finally, the one controlled by the Spirit has an attitude about God that says she will trust God in all things and obey God at all times – whereas the one controlled by the flesh is often angry at God and frequently disobedient to his commands.  One last time, which of these more closely describes you?

As a Christian, you are SAVED by grace – through faith.  That means NOTHING you can do in your own strength can save you.  You must trust God for your salvation.  However, once you become a Christian, you should be moving away from a life controlled by the flesh and towards a life controlled by the Spirit.  This requires faith.  Faith that God's grace is sufficient.

Sure, sometimes you will mess up.  Like I said at the beginning, I had to deal with this in my own life even today.  It is a part of the human condition.  But our striving and our goal should be for Holiness.  And here’s the best news of all - and it is the real meaning of the phrase “God’s grace is sufficient” - we have complete security in Christ!

The remainder of Romans chapter 8 goes into full on defense against any argument of Satan that our failings in any way make us unworthy of Christ or disqualified from receiving grace.  There is none who can condemn us except Jesus Christ himself and, as it says in Romans 8:34, he is actually the one who is arguing in our favor before the Heavenly Father.  The only one who can condemn us is on our side!  That's FANTASTIC!   So if that’s the case, what do we have to worry about? As it says in verses 35-39, there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus!

This gives us tremendous freedom.  Not freedom to sin, but rather freedom not to worry.  We are free to pursue a relationship with God and a life of holiness without the concern of any consequences to our slip-ups.  We can focus on living and not worrying about being judged.  We can forgive ourselves because we know we are forgiven.  We can pursue holiness without fear.

The Significance of Our Faith Part II - Why Do We Need God's Righteousness?

Why do we need God’s righteousness?  Why does Christianity stand apart all other religions – whose goal is to earn favor with whatever deity they have established – in that God claims to give us his righteousness instead of us working towards righteousness?  Didn’t God give us the law? Don’t we have the 10 commandments to obey?  More importantly, why does it even matter?  After all, God is love is he not?   He is a God of forgiveness, slow to anger and pouring out mercy.

Unfortunately, there is an aspect to God’s character that we often forget about.  We read about it in verses like these.

“Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord, who strikes.” Ez 7:8-9 (ESV)

“I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.” Is 13:11 (ESV)

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh—“ Jer 9:25 (ESV)

“For behold, the Lord will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury,  and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the Lord shall be many.” Is 66:15-16

These are some fairly scary verses about God – and there are many like them in scripture.  In reading them, we do not conjure up pictures of a loving and doting grandfather.  Instead, we imagine a mighty warrior yielding lightning – ready to strike.  If we take them seriously, then we can begin to understand the proverb that says “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”   The truth is… God will pour out his wrath.

God will pour out his wrath on the unrighteous.  In Romans 1:19-20, Paul tells us how God has revealed himself to us so that we are without excuse.  We can make excuses, but even the person who has never crossed the threshold into a church or heard the name of Jesus knows God.  Yes, even the staunchest atheist knows God, but rejects him so soundly that he fights tooth and nail to stamp out his very existence – and therein lays our problem.

Man has chosen to reject God outright.  Romans 1:21 tells us that first and foremost, man refuses to give God glory.  Instead, in Romans 1:22-23, we find that man has exchanged God’s glory for man-made things.  We have created gods of our own creation – in our own likeness.  God does not have a preeminent place in our lives anymore.  That place of godhead is often filled by other things such as wealth, power, even family.   Yes, even the atheist has a god – his science and his reason. 

Man has proven time and time again that his desire is to forsake God and pursue his own selfish pleasures. So in his wrath, God has given man exactly what he desires.  How does this demonstrate God’s wrath?  Because in so doing, man is no longer under God’s protection nor is he under God’s loving, caring, divine influence.  By pursuing his own desires, man is actually leading himself down the path of destruction.  As such, beginning in Romans 1:24 we find that God has given him over to his sexual desires, then given him over to sexual perversions, then finally given him over to perverse thinking so that he no longer distinguishes good from evil.  At the end of the day, Rom 1:32 reminds us that man knows to do right, but chooses to do wrong.  For this, God will bring forth his destructive wrath – both here on earth and for all eternity in Hell.

Of course you may be thinking: “That’s great, but that is not me.  I am a good person.  I keep the 10 commandments (to the best of my ability).  I do good things.  Sure, I’m not perfect – nobody is – but my ledger is clearly in the black.  I certainly have not reached the point of utter depravity you mention here.  I know the difference between right and wrong and, generally, choose the right.”

Unfortunately, while it may offend your human sense of fair play, God has made it clear that not only will he pour out his wrath on the unrighteous, but he will also pour out his wrath on those who consider themselves “righteous.”  You see, in Romans 2:1, we find out that those of us who claim to be “righteous” do the same things as the unrighteous.  When you think about it, you have to admit it is true.  You believe in God.  You may even choose to follow God.  But when it comes down to it, most of the time you are more concerned with yourself than you are with God.  And if you really think about the 10 commandments, you will have to admit that you have broken far more of them than you want to admit – especially if you consider Jesus’ interpretation of them in the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew 5-7!   The fact is, we are ALL lawbreakers (Romans 2:21-22).

Actually, the lawbreaking for those of us who claim to be “righteous” may actually be worse than those who open reject God.  Romans 2:23 says that we dishonor God when we claim to follow him and yet still break his commands.  Romans 2:24 says that as a result, the world blasphemes God.  Yes, it is true – some people will reject God because of you and me.  They will look at us, see how we claim to be righteous, see how we really are no more righteous than they are, will call us hypocrites, and then will turn and walk away.  We are in just as bad a condition as the “unrighteous.”

God will pour out his wrath on ALL men.  We are ALL under the curse of sin (Romans 3:9) because there is truly none who are righteous in God’s eyes (Romans 3:10-18).  We may do everything we can to be “righteous” but the conclusion is this: we can never be righteous enough!

THANKFULLY, there is a solution.  Thankfully, we do not have to depend upon our own righteousness because God has made a way for us to receive HIS righteousness.  Romans 3:21-22 says:

“BUT NOW the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” (NIV) [emphasis added]

BUT NOW… perhaps the two greatest words in the bible.  All the evil… all the unrighteousness… all the failed attempts to appease God… all the useless religiousity… are wiped away by those two beautiful words.  Nothing I could do could bring me righteousness, BUT NOW God gives me his righteousness.

Of course, those two words still do not negate God’s wrath.  God’s righteousness is not just freely given to everyone.  To begin with, it is only available to those who place their faith in Jesus Christ. Those who still actively and openly reject God will still experience the full force of God’s wrath. 

Even for those who choose to receive Christ by faith, God’s wrath is still manifest. In reality, no one has been truly spared from God’s wrath.  It is just that for some, God’s wrath was not poured out on them, but on their substitute, Jesus Christ. 

Jesus Christ received the full force of God’s wrath for my sins – and for yours. It is not in God’s nature to leave sin unpunished.  That is why the cross of Jesus Christ is a demonstration of both LOVE and JUSTICE.  

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom 5:8 (ESV)

God is love… and the death of Jesus Christ on the cross – as a substitute for the wrath we deserve – is a demonstration of that love.  But that sacrifice was also a demonstration of his justice:

“Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” Rom 3:24-25

A just God cannot just overlook those sins.  They MUST be punished. That punishment was simply poured out on Jesus Christ instead of us. 

How can a loving God also be a just God?  Those two concepts seem irreconcilable to man – but not to God.  By pouring out his wrath on Jesus Christ as a substitutionary sacrifice, God could give us his righteousness and so forego pouring out his wrath on us.  It is a perfect demonstration of love and justice. Ultimately, THAT is why we need God’s righteousness.