“Sola Fide” Faith Alone - Cameron Jungles - Wed, PM - October 23, 2013

“Sola Fide” Faith Alone
(Eastside Baptist/Wed PM/October 23, 2013)
 
Roman Catholic Distortions
Ø  Distortion
of the meaning of justification
Ø  Distortion
of the role of faith
Ø  Distortion
of the place of good works in relationship to justification and faith
 
What is Justification?
Ø  A legal
term that means to declare one “acquitted” or “innocent” in relationship to the
law.
Ø  Justification
has to do with legal standing; it is the opposite of condemnation.
 
What is Justification?
Ø  Justification
means to “declare” one righteous, not to “make” one righteous.
Ø  A person
could theoretically be justified on the basis of their own innocence or
righteousness.
§  The
problem is we are not innocent or righteous.
 
As it is written: "There is no one
righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who
seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is
no one who does good, not even one." (Rom. 3:10-12, NIV)
 
What is Justification?
Ø  R.C.
teaching suggests that we can actually become righteous and so be justified.
Ø  Scripture
teaches that our righteous deeds are as filthy rags and cannot earn standing
with God.
 
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isa. 64:6, NIV)
 
…a person is not justified by the works of the
law, but by faith in Jesus Christ…because by the works of the law no one will
be justified. (Gal. 2:16, NIV)
 
What is Justification?
Ø  So, in
order to be justified we need a righteousness that comes from outside
ourselves.
Ø  In
Christ Alone: Christ’s perfect life of righteousness is credited to us; our
guilt is credited to him.
§  Through
Faith
 
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in
God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become
conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has
been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness
is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no
difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,
through the shedding of his blood--to be received by faith. He did this to
demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins
committed beforehand unpunished–he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at
the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have
faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law?
The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we
maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
(Rom. 3:20–28, NIV)
 
there is only one God, who will justify the
circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. (Rom. 3:30,
NIV)
 
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put
confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the
people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to
the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness
based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss
for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of
the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost
all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in
him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that
which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God on the
basis of faith. (Phil. 3:4–9, NIV)
 
Christ, Grace, & Faith
Ø  The source
of our justification is the grace of God alone.
Ø  The ground
of our justification is the work of Christ alone.
Ø  The means
of our justification is faith alone.
 
What is Saving Faith?
Ø  Saving
Faith is a gift of God’s grace, merited by Christ’s work, and effected by the
new birth.
Ø  Saving
Faith involves 3 key components:
§  Knowledge
§  Assent
§  Commitment
 
Faith Involves Knowledge
Ø  In
distinction from the Roman Catholic church that taught “implicit faith.”
Ø  “Faith
comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about
Christ.” (Rom. 10:17, NIV)
Ø  Faith
engages the intellect.
 
Faith Involves Assent
Ø  Moves
beyond understanding to a personal acknowledgement and acceptance of those
truth claims.
Ø  Many
have an intellectual understanding of the gospel but are not converted.
Ø  Faith
engages the emotions.
 
Faith Involves Commitment
Ø  Moves
beyond knowledge of facts and acceptance of those facts to personal reliance
and commitment.
Ø  A
repentant faith that yields one’s whole self to Christ and relies on his work
alone for salvation.
Ø  Faith
engages the will.
 
Faith and Good Works
Ø  Good
works do not earn justification; good works flow from justification.
Ø  Good
works provide evidence of the work of regeneration and the presence of saving
faith.
Ø  The
distinction is crucial to the gospel!
 
For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so
that no one can boast.For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do
good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:8–10, NIV)
 
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if
someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? (Jas.
2:14, NIV)
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not
accompanied by action, is dead. (Jas. 2:17, NIV)
But someone will say, "You have faith; I
have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my
faith by my deeds. (Jas. 2:18, NIV)
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the
demons believe that--and shudder. (Jas. 2:19, NIV)
As the body without the spirit is dead, so
faith without deeds is dead. (Jas. 2:26, NIV)
 
Avoiding Two Errors
Ø  Faith
must not be combined with good works (or the church’s sacraments) as the means
for earning justification.
Ø  Faith
must not be reduced to mere intellectual assent without an accompanying
repentance and commitment to Christ.

“Sola Gratia” Grace Alone Cameron Jungles Wed, PM - October 16, 2013

“Sola Gratia” Grace Alone (Eastside Baptist/Wed
PM/October 16, 2013)
 
Brief Historical Background
Ø  Development
of centralized  church authority and
accumulation of church traditions
Ø  Led
to corruptions of the biblical gospel of salvation
Ø  Sacramental
theology and the merits of human good works
 
Grace in R.C. Teaching
Ø  Grace
is absolutely necessary for salvation.
Ø  Grace
works in cooperation with human responsibility.
Ø  Grace
is mediated through the church and its sacraments.
 
Reformers on Grace
Ø  Grace
is absolutely necessary and sufficient for salvation.
Ø  Grace
is monergistic (God working alone), not synergistic (God working with human
cooperation).
Ø  Grace
comes directly from God
 
Grace Alone
Ø  The
Depth of Human Sinfulness
Ø  The
Judgment of God
Ø  Human
Spiritual Inability
Ø  God’s
Freedom & Efficient Grace
 
Depth of Human Sinfulness
Ø  Sin:
not just individual acts but a complete state of rebellion against our Holy
God.
Ø  Sin
is fundamentally a rejection of God’s rule and a desire for self-rule.
Ø  Spurning
of the glory of God.
 
As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even
one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have
turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does
good, not even one." (Rom. 3:10–12, NIV)
 
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Rom. 3:23, NIV)
 
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as
God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish
hearts were darkened. (Rom. 1:21, NIV)
 
They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the
name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and
glorify him. (Rev. 16:9, NIV)
 
Judgment of God
Ø  Based
on God’s Holiness, Righteousness, and Justice.
Ø  Every
human being is worthy of eternal judgment because of sin.
Ø  There
will be a final reckoning day, no excuses accepted.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be
gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right
and the goats on his left."Then the King will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom
prepared for you since the creation of the world. (Matthew 25:31–34)
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from
me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels. (Matt. 25:41, NIV)
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life." (Matt. 25:46, NIV)
 
Human Spiritual Inability
Ø  No
one seeks God (Rom 3:11).
Ø  Our
sinfulness permeates every aspect of our being, including our minds and wills.
Ø  We
may understand the truths of the gospel, but will naturally reject it because
our sinful mind will not desire it.
 
Human Spiritual Inability
Ø  Only
God’s grace of regeneration enables our minds to desire and embrace the gospel.
Ø  “Revealed
by my father in heaven.” (Matt 16:17)
Ø  “Must
be born again.” (Jn 3:3)
 
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws
him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (Jn. 6:44, ESV)
 
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no
one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matt. 11:27, ESV)
 
God’s Freedom and Grace
Ø  God
is free to be sovereign in the dispensing of his grace.
Ø  God
is not bound to apply a human sense of fairness.
Ø  God
is bound only by his own holiness, justice, and desire to show love and mercy.
 
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in
Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and
blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship
through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will–to the praise of
his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with
the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and
understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his
good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the
times reach their fulfillment--to bring unity to all things in heaven and on
earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined
according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the
purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in
Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in
Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When
you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who
is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are
God's possession--to the praise of his glory. (Eph. 1:3–14, NIV)
 
God’s Freedom and Grace
Ø  God
the Father: electing
Ø  God
the Son: redeeming
Ø  God
the Spirit: effectually calling
Ø  God
bestows his effectual grace out of the goodness of his own will, not based on
anything in us—past, present, or future.
 
Implications
Ø  Grace
is not: “God helps those who help themselves.”
Ø  Grace
is a free gift of God’s love that alone accomplishes our salvation through the
redeeming work of the son, and the regeneration of the Spirit.

“Solus Christus” - Christ Alone - Cameron Jungles - 10-9-2013 PM

“Solus Christus” - Christ AloneBrief Historical Background Development of centralized church authority and accumulation of church traditions  Led to corruptions of the biblical gospel of salvation Sacramental theology and the merits of human good worksRoman Catholic Justification Begun in baptism Regeneration through baptism Original Sin forgiven Christ’s merits mediated through sacrament – producing an indelible mark on the soul. Maintained and Progressed by: Church Sacraments (Penance) Meritorious Good Works co-operating with faith. Not forensic and final, but experiential and progressive On the basis of the work of Christ, plus: Church Sacraments Faith co-operating w/ good works Merits of the SaintsReformers on Justification Sinners are justified (declared righteous and forgiven before God) on the basis of the work of Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone. Christ’s work alone is the basis. By grace alone - not in co-operation with human effort. Through faith alone – good works are the fruit of justification, not the maintenance or increase of it. Justification is forensic and final, not experiential and progressive.Basics of Solus Christus No Human Merit – whether our own or those before or after us – can contribute in any way to our justification. Only Jesus Christ – through his sinless life, sacrificial death, and resurrection – can earn our justification. Christ’s merits are not mediated through the Church’s sacraments.The Obedience of Christ “Through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” (Rom 5:19) Both Christ’s law keeping obedience and his suffering obedience are necessary for our salvation and provide the sole basis for our justification.The Obedience of Christ By grace through faith… Our sin and its penalty is imputed to Christ, which he bore on the cross. His obedience is imputed to us, declaring us righteous. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21)The Obedience of Christ Satisfied the demands of God’s justice and righteousness Propitiated God’s holy anger against sin Sacrificially expiated our guilt Vicariously bore our penalty Reconciled us to God Redeemed us from sin to GodGod presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood--to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished– he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.  (Rom. 3:25-26, NIV)He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 Jn. 2:2, ESV)Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isa. 53:4-6, NIV)The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn. 1:29, NIV)Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Heb. 9:26, NIV)"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed.”(1 Pet. 2:24, NIV)God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Co. 5:21, NIV)For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. (1 Pet. 3:18, NIV)And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him– (Col. 1:21-22, NET)For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Pet. 1:18-19, NIV)Implications The cross of Christ is the focal point of the Christian gospel. Nothing can be added to what Christ has accomplished. No ritual or sacrament No human merit (past, present or future/yours or another’s) Any addition to Christ’s work is a distortion of the gospel. Good works are the fruit of justification; they do not maintain it or add to it. The cross of Christ will be an offense to an unbelieving world.For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Co. 1:18, NIV)May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal. 6:14, NIV)

The Five Solas - Cameron Jungles - 10-2-2013 PM

“The Five Solas”Brief Historical Background Progressive development of church authority Church authority came to be recognized as equal to the Bible. Church authority essentially trumped the Bible’s authority. Church authority and developing traditions led to distortion of biblical teaching, loss of the true gospel, and increasing abuse of church power. Reformation was the response.5 Guiding Principles Sola Scriptura Solus Christus Sola Gratia Sola Fide Soli Deo Gloria“Sola Scriptura”Scripture AloneAll Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16-17, NIV)What is sola scriptura? Belgic Confession, 1561 Westminster Confession, 1647 London Baptist Confession, 1689 Philadelphia Confession, 1742 New Hampshire Baptist Confession, 1833What is sola scriptura? The Bible alone is God’s true, inerrant Word and is the sole authority for faith and practice and is completely sufficient for the knowledge of salvation, growth in the Christian life, and guidance in the will of God.Key elements of sola scriptura Necessity Revelation Truthfulness Authority Canon Sufficiency ClarityChallenges to sola scriptura The world’s “-isms” Postmodern relativism Pragmatism Other academic disciplines “Morality” by majority Cultural myths Church tradition “churchy familiarity” Hearing without obedience Personal spiritual experiences Bad hermeneuticsWhere do we go from here?Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. (Eph. 2:19-20, NIV)Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. (1 Tim. 3:14-15, NIV)For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. (Rom. 1:16, NIV)For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Pet. 1:23, NIV)All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16-17, NIV)