As we note in the epistle to the Galatians, the biggest problem facing the first-century ecclesia was the transition from the Mosaic covenant to the covenant of grace through faith One of the countless fingerprints of scripture’s divine authorship is that all the discussion on this topic (mainly by Paul) is so educational for us, even though we don’t have the specific challenge of justification by law versus justification by faith Or do we?
The basic question came down to this The Judaizers claimed one was saved by the works of the law If one dutifully kept the law, he would commend himself to God and would “live” By the word “live,” did the Jews assume earthly longevity or eternal life as its meaning? If they interpreted that by keeping the law they could earn eternal life, they were wrong because they, like us, could only be saved by faith in the promises made to Abraham I suggest we have as much confusion about this point in our own way as the Jews had with their perspective Let’s consider for a few minutes how God’s plan of salvation works
No salvation by law
We all fully understand Christ is our portal to salvation How was this accomplished? Why was it that the veil in the temple was rent apart upon the Lord’s death, thereby making the way to the holy of holies (immortality) available to all?
The Judaisers said that one who scrupulously follows the law is worthy of salvation and that is, in fact, what Christ did Yet he was cursed by the law when he hung on the stake (Gal 3 10-14) Without attempting an elaborate discussion of this passage, since Christ’s perfect record was marred by a legal technicality of the law, his unsullied obedience could not be the only factor in his salvation By an obscure law, “cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Gal 3 14), Christ fell under the condemnation of the law Moreover, although he was sinless, he was born with a mortal nature with its inclination to sin (Gal 4:4).
Indeed, no physical act — even of heroic proportions—can reverse the state into which man is born, Christ included Our death-stricken, sinfully inclined nature became our plight as a consequence of the Edenic transgression and, quite deservedly, has been with us all ever since (Rom 5:12) No amount of sinlessness can reverse this state into which man is born, Christ included Otherwise, babies who die would be assured eternal life.
The law a good teacher
The law, however, was very valuable for our instruction It showed the hopelessness of trying to achieve salvation on our own It revealed our nature is all too easily associated with defilement and that we are related to a death process which is in evidence all around us Like cancer, the flesh can be controlled with treatment (keemo), but it cannot be destroyed, until this mortal puts on immortality.
The law pointed out mankind stood in need of God’s grace The entire intent of creation was that God might be glorified by His creatures Isn’t it a tragedy that a sparrow does a better job of glorifying its Creator than most people? Brute beasts follow their instincts m an orderly fashion, but the imagination of men’s hearts runs wildly after their own pursuits Only one man, the Lord Jesus, lived a sinless life Although his sinlessness was imperative to God’s plan for our salvation, we have demonstrated that the picture was not complete — something was still missing.
We can liken the plan of salvation to an exquisite tapestry of gorgeous colors of countless hues and tints which, woven together, produce the desired appealing effect But without the judicious placement of black threads, the tapestry lacks sharpness, clarity and focus The black threads are not pretty, but very necessary And so the picture of man’s redemption required the same black threads, when in the darkest hour of human history, the sinless Son of God was put to death at the hands of evil men.
The law stated the problem Man, on his own, was without hope Had God failed? Would His creation ever glorify His holiness? What was so wonderful about the law is that it was the perfect “lead m,” as it were, to part two of God’s plan of redemption The Judaisers had it backwards They thought the law was the solution when, m fact, the law stated the problem and Christ provided the solution.
The promises the key
The completed picture must include belief in the promises of God Galatians 3 clearly makes this point God promised to Abraham, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 22 18) In Acts 3 26 the “blessing” is clearly the forgiveness of sins “God sent [Jesus] to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities” Galatians leaves us m no doubt as to who the promised seed was, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your seed,’ who is Christ” (Gal 3:16)
The climactic step in God’s plan could now be taken God had provided the perfect lamb, Jesus, who, though bearing our nature was sinless and unblemished, a fit and perfect sacrifice for sin All things center in Jesus He was the son of promise, he was the promise made flesh, he lived and died m perfect belief of the promises and he rose through the blood of the everlasting covenant (Gen 3 15, Gal 4 4, Heb 12 2, John 16 32,17 4,5, Heb 13:20)
The wonder of it all is that we can become sons and daughters of the promises made to Abraham through baptism “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” With baptism comes the forgiveness of sins, the great blessing promised to Abraham.
The Lord himself benefited
Though Christ’s obedience made him eminently acceptable to God, there was no law or rule that forced God’s hand to act Even a perfect life of 33 years did not justly deserve immortality “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants, we have done what was our duty to do” (Lk 17 10) God determined to save men (including Christ) by means of His grace through faith m His promises.
God was not forced to raise Christ because of his sinless life, He wanted to raise Christ to provide the seed through whom others would be blessed Christ’s perfect life was important because it made it possible for God to fulfill His plan, but it did not require God to raise him to immortality (The grave “could not hold” the Messiah because God’s word required he not be in the grave long enough to see corruption )
What is our emphasis in this line of reasoning? The way to salvation is not earned by anyone, it is a free gift from God for which we should be eternally thankful “But the free gift is not like the offense For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many” (Rom 5 15 NKJV) It is God whom we worship and praise for His great mercy and goodness It was God who created man to share m His bounty, it was God who worked out a plan for man’s redemption when he transgressed, it was God who sent His beloved and only begotten Son to save mankind and it was God who raised him from the dead through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
Obedience still required
What is the implication for us of these wonderful things? The Judaizers quickly picked up on a so called logical rebuttal “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Rom 6:1 NKJV) Paul provides some powerful exhortation If we died to sin, how can we continue to live in sin? Verse 4 likens our new walk now to Christ’s glorified body and reasons that if we have been united with him in his death, we should also behave as befits his resurrection If the “old man” was crucified in baptism, and the sinful body washed away, how can we continue to be a slave of sin? For, Paul rounds off his thought, “He who has died has been freed from sin”
God’s plan was that we may enter the Christ-vessel, but these powerful words from Romans show it is not a “free ride” Much personal effort is involved in being “dead to sin” and “freed from sin” God has done His part marvelously, now it is our turn to do our part knowing that He will help us in the way.
Keep the joy before us
Even that is not the full answer What can motivate us to remain steadfast to the end? What can help us to treat each other with kindness, forgive our enemies, work hard in the ecclesia, bring up our children the right way? The answer is having faith (believing) in the promises of God, making the kingdom a living vision every day of our lives That’s what kept Jesus going He never faltered in his trust in God “Who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross ” (Heb 12 2 NKJV)
In summary, right actions are a symptom of right faith If someone has a severe disease, the symptoms will probably show We can’t say we believe in God’s plan and have nothing to show for it James sums it up with eloquent brevity “But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (2 18 NKJV)
Our Lord Jesus took this to the highest level He fully knew his Father, therefore he fully believed Him, he fully loved his Father, therefore he fully kept His commandments Let us follow his perfect example, striving to walk in his footsteps, endeavoring to crucify the works of the flesh and live for the hope of the kingdom.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One