Justification, Part 6

Driving home: So then when the scripture says we are justified by faith, it does not mean that there is something in the faith which justifies us. It is simply the means by which we come in to possession of the righteousness of Jesus …

A beggar kept alive by begging illustrates that begging is the instrumental means to receive food, but the food itself is what sustains life. Similarly, faith is the instrumental means to receive Christ's righteousness, but Christ's righteousness is what justifies.

Here's a man sitting out on Bloomfield Avenue destitute of any means of income and he's begging. Day after day he sits there and he begs, not money, but food. And you could say of that man, if people are kind enough to give him a loaf of bread, to throw him a carrot once in a while, you could be accurate in saying that man is kept alive by his begging.

13:32 - 13:56 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He addresses why faith, and no other grace like love or repentance, is chosen as the sole instrumental means. The two reasons given are that faith is uniquely receptive and that…

The beggar reaching out his hand to receive bread illustrates that faith is the receptive grace. The hand is not superior to other body parts, but it is the specific member that receives what is offered, just as faith receives Christ.

When he reaches out his hand to receive the bread offered, he's fed by his hand. We don't demean the other members of his body, but he's not fed by. He's fed by his foot. The foot has its function.

27:00 - 27:12 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Christ who is both God and man, Christ who has never sinned and whose holiness is perfect, Christ the Almighty and Eternal, taking to Himself by His mutual ring of faith, His marriage ring of faith, all the sins of the b…

A quotation from Luther describes faith as a 'marriage ring' that unites the soul with Christ, leading to an exchange where Christ takes the believer's sins and gives His perfect righteousness, illustrating the intimacy and blessed consequences of union with Christ.

And secondly, it is that grace by which we are united to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me quote from a servant of Christ in bygone days who quotes from Luther on this very concept of union with Christ and it's beautiful. Others very well represent the office of faith when they say that by means of it, a union is formed between Christ and believers. Thus, Luther says, quote, Faith unites the soul with Christ as a spouse with her husband.

31:19 - 31:53 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He clarifies that the strength of one's faith is not the basis of justification, but the object of faith (Christ). Using Dabney's analogy of a healing machine, he illustrates that…

Two men with different ailments approach a healing machine. One runs with vigor and touches it forcefully, the other hobbles slowly and barely touches it. Both are equally healed because the virtue is in the machine, not the strength of their contact. This illustrates that justification depends on Christ, the object of faith, not the strength of one's faith.

Some of you big ones as well as you younger ones. He says, imagine that in a certain community there was an unusual piece of equipment. It had unusual powers. It gave out a kind of electrical energy that had power to cure disease.

55:14 - 55:32 Read in full sermon

The point: If troubled by the weakness of your faith, stop looking at the strength of your hand and look at the object of your faith: the Lord Jesus Christ.

Reference to John Bunyan's characters like Mr. Weak Faith, Mr. Ready to Halt, and Mr. Feeble Mind from 'Pilgrim's Progress' illustrates that even those with weak faith are on the road to the Celestial City, emphasizing that the genuineness of faith, not its strength, is what matters.

Weak faith, strong faith, he that believeth. That's the issue. Now, granted, the man who has strong faith may enjoy his healthy state more, but he's no more healthy. And Bunyan understood this, didn't he?

59:10 - 59:29 Read in full sermon