Turn with me, if you would, to
Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4. The title of
this Bible study is Paul, James, Faith, and Works. Paul, James, Faith, and Works. Some may understand what that
title means. Some may have never seen this
before. Before we get into our text, I want to say that the Apostle
Paul, as we go through Romans and we see what he's saying,
and I am only by God's grace repeating what is written in
this word. I'm just saying what God inspired
Paul to write. And as we read what he says,
I want us to make it clear. I want us to understand that
the Apostle Paul, was not against believers desiring and striving
for what the scripture calls good works. He was not against
that. He, he is, he is really laying
it out here to the Romans, but he was not against believers
desiring and striving for good works. He just, by the inspiration
and the commandment of God stressed the fact that they had no role
in a sinner's salvation. Before you can move on, that
has to be understood. They are not the starting requirement
for salvation. Good works. They are not the ending requirement
for salvation. And this is critical that we
understand because I know a lot of people right now who some
believe good works start the work of salvation. And some believe
good works finish out the work of salvation. And we need to
know the truth of this matter. This is a critical thing. Christ
saved his people without any contribution from man's flesh. That's the truth of the matter.
The scripture says, he by himself purged our sins. Now, what does that do to and
in a sinner? Is there an evidence that can
be seen in the ones that Christ purged? Is there an evidence
of justification? That's a word that we're gonna
look at this morning. Is there an evidence of being
saved? I wanna give you the answer, and then we'll see why it's the
answer. In Romans 3, the apostle Paul
slayed the flesh. He said, there is none righteous,
no, not one. He said, all have sinned and
come short of the glory of God. He said, man has never been able
to keep the law. Therefore man is not justified
through keeping the law. If you look at Romans three,
verse 26, it says 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? No, but
by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Faith, faith is the answer. Faith is the answer. What is
the evidence? of being saved, of being justified
before God, faith in Christ. Verse 29 says, 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, the Jews, by faith, and the uncircumcision,
the Gentiles, through faith. So faith, faith, faith is the
answer. Circumcision came through Abraham
and it represented the saved people. That's what it represented. It represented the fact that
God had a particular people he had chosen to save. And God said,
it's Abraham and his spiritual seed. Now in chapter four, the question
is asked, how did this come to Abraham, this promise, this salvation? What evidenced Abraham being
justified before God? Chapter four, verse one, it says,
what shall we say then that Abraham, our father, as pertaining to
the flesh, hath found? Abraham was circumcised. He was
the first one to be circumcised. Is that what evidenced him being
justified before God, that deed? Is that how people could know
he was saved? Should that prove to us that
he was circumcised? Should that prove to us that
God chose to save him and Christ redeemed him and the Spirit called
him? The answer is no. He just told us in chapter 3
verse 28, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith
without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only,
those that have been circumcised? 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 the uncircumcision through faith. That deed was not justification
and that deed was not the evidence of justification. God has mercy
on the uncircumcised too. So chapter four, verse one, it
says, what shall we say then that Abraham, our father as pertaining
to the flesh hath found for if Abraham were justified by works,
he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. If what took
place in his flesh was the evidence, then he would have something
to glory in before men. You know, he could say, well, you
haven't been circumcised. Oh, I've been circumcised. If
that deed was the evidence, then he could glory before men. But
Paul said, let me make it clear, he could not glory before God. On the outside, he may appear
to be doing everything right before men. And I want to bring
this up into today's mindset. The works of man, the deeds of
a fine Christian person. He may be doing everything on
the outside, It may appear that he's doing
everything right before man, but God looks on the inside. Everything that pertains to men
and women concerning God is on the inside. When God does a work,
he does work on the inside. Does it show through? Yes. but
it's on the inside. God looks on the heart. He looks
on the inside. Verse one says, what shall we
say then that Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath
found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof the
glory, but not before God. For what sayeth the scripture?
And that's always the answer. What does the scripture say?
It says in verse three, Abraham believed God and it was counted
unto him for righteousness. Counted means acknowledged. He
believed God and it was acknowledged by God that he was righteous. It's perfection, that holiness,
that justification. That belief, and this is so evident
to me now after studying this, that belief, that faith, that
belief, cannot be seen by men. You put a name up there. Throw
up a name. Is that man saved? I don't know.
We'll find out down the road. Come back and ask in 30 years.
Come back and ask in 50 years. I don't know. He says, oh yeah,
I have faith. But true faith is something that
only God can see. It's between a person and God.
I mean true faith. And we'll get to that in just
a minute. So verse four says, now to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. If a man works for
something and then he gets what he was working for, you can't
call it grace. That's a debt that was owed to
him. If he worked for it, it was owed to him. But God says
salvation is by grace. Verse 5, But to him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith
is counted for righteousness. And we just read past this one
line, if we could get a hold of it. But to him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. You know, that's what believers
believe. They believe God justifies the ungodly. I don't think God's
gonna justify me because I'm not holy enough yet. That's not
how it works. God justifies the ungodly. And to him that believes that,
his faith is counted for righteousness. What he's establishing is, we
are not justified by works at all. Not at all. No piece of the puzzle. No part
of salvation involves man's works. Turn with me to Romans 11. Romans 11 verse five. Even so
then at this present time also there is a remnant according
to the election of grace and if by grace then it is no more
of works otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works,
then it is no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. What he's saying is it's one
or the other. It's one or the other. It cannot
be both, which is what the natural mind thinks it is. Well, yeah,
it's grace and works. You gotta mix the two. Does God's
grace play a role? Sure it does. But I still have
to work for it. It's not a possibility. They
cannot be mixed. It's one or the other. And Paul
said, I'll tell you which one it is. It's grace. Salvation,
meaning justification before God is by grace. Through faith. That's the evidence
that is saying. Not of works, lest any man should
boast, he said, Abraham, was justified by faith. All right,
now turn with me, if you would, to James chapter two. James two. Verse 21, was not Abraham our father justified
by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
James says, wasn't it ultimately his works that justified him? Wasn't his works our evidence? It would appear that Paul and
James are contradicting each other. They are not. They are not. They are saying
the exact same thing. I want to show you one verse
of scripture that will completely clarify this for us. This is
the clarifying verse right here. And then I want us to see why
it's so important that we know and we are settled on what justifies
us before God. So critical. What the evidence
of that justification before God is. Hold your place. We're
going to come back to James and go with me to John 6. John 6, Paul said, Abraham was
justified by faith. James said, Abraham was justified
by works. Listen to what our Lord says
about it. John 6, verse 28. Then said they unto him, what
shall we do that we might work the works of God. Jesus answered
and said unto them, this is the work of God. that you believe
on him whom he hath sent." We want to work the works of God. We want to do works, God's works
that are required of us. What are the works that we need
to do to satisfy you? He said, this is the work of
God. Believe on him whom he hath sent. Paul said, Abraham was
justified by believing on Christ whom the father had sent. James
said, Abraham was justified by doing the work of God. Well,
what is the work of God, James? Believe on him whom he had sent. They're saying the same thing.
Sinners are evidenced. Their evidence of justification
before God is faith on Christ. Faith on Christ. Our Lord said
right here, believe on him. Believe on Him. And that's what
James is talking about in James 2. Go with me back to James 2.
I know this is tedious, but I don't know of a more critical thing
for us to understand, really. He's saying there is a difference
in believing in and believing on. In verse 17, he said, Faith,
if it does not have the work with it, It's dead. Even so, faith, if it has not
works, is dead. Being alone. Verse 18. Yea, a
man may say thou hast faith and I have works. Show me thy faith
without thy works and I will show thee my faith by my works. Men say, oh yeah, I believe Christ. Yeah. Sure do. I trust Christ. Absolutely. God's grace. Yep. And then they turn right
around and lean on the arm of the flesh. That's what they do. They say, yes, Christ did it
alone. Christ on the cross. Absolutely.
He died and put away sin. And then they reach for their
works to help him. They say he died on the cross
to save you. Now you need to save you. James said, Abraham trusted God
and he trusted God. I mean he trusted God. Verse 19, Thou believest that
there is one God. Thou doest well. The devils also
believe and tremble. Devils literally believe in Christ. They literally actually believe
in Christ, but they don't believe on Christ. That makes the faith
that they have in Him dead. It is not saving, life-giving
faith. People all over this world and
people all over this town believe in Him, and they do. They do. There is a faith there. They
believe in Him, but they don't believe on Him. That makes the
faith that they have dead. The object of faith believes
in Christ. The work of faith believes on
Christ. That's the difference. The object
of faith says, I know whom I have believed. The work of faith says,
and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've
committed unto him against that day. Verse 20 right here in James
2, it says, but wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without
works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified
by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Somebody will say, yeah, but
he didn't actually offer him. Wasn't he justified by works
when he offered him? Somebody will say, but he didn't
even plunge the knife into him. He never physically offered Him. That's true. But by faith, He
had already committed to it in His heart. It was done in Abraham. He believed in Christ so much. He cast his trust on Christ so
much. The Scripture says, in Hebrews,
He was convinced God was able to raise His Son from the dead,
if that's what He purposed to do. That's the work of faith. That is the work. It's not just
believing in Christ, it's believing on Christ. Trusting His work. Trusting His ability. There's
a difference. We know we should. Lord, help me to do it. Help
me to do it. Verse 23, and the scripture was
fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God and it was imputed
unto him for righteousness and he was called the friend of God.
You see then how that by works a man is justified and not by
faith only. The work of faith is, here's
the work of faith. The work of faith is taking a
stand against our works. That's the work of faith. The
work of faith is laboring to enter into that rest. That's
the work of faith. Totally, totally looking to Him. I mean, this is something only
God can see. We can tell each other, yeah,
I'm trusting. I'm just trusting the Lord. Well, only God knows
if I really am. And if I really am, then He gave
that ability to me. It's not a work, but that's the
work. Casting it all on Him. Now, when
we look to good works to be the evidence of salvation, all right,
when we look to the actual things, if we look to, well, Abraham
took his son up there and he did the actual thing. When we
look to good works to be the evidence. And I started this
by saying, Paul was not against good works. I'm not against good
works. But when we look to good works
to be the evidence of salvation, these are the kind of things
that will come from it. We will weigh each other's salvation
by what we see in each other's flesh. And that's what happens. That's that real critical, judgmental,
self-righteous, prideful attitude that comes into a congregation
That is looking to good works. Self-examination is what the
scripture calls for, not each other examination, but that's
what will come if we're looking for good works. We'll weigh each
other's salvation by what we see in the flesh. We will write
off brethren as not being brethren when in reality they are brethren. We will either set ourselves
up for a fall because we're so lifted up with pride in what
we see in our flesh, or we will sink into absolute
despair because of what we see in our flesh, if we're looking
to the works. Either way, the law is the determining
factor again. In claiming that we have all
gotten away from the law, we'll come full circle right back around
to the law. That's all we'll do. We'll end up looking to the
law again for our assurance. If the law in my flesh is the
evidence of justification, then I am going to look to the law
for assurance. And in the process, I will stop
looking to Christ. If I look to the law, I will
stop looking to Christ. If my works become my assurance,
then it means Christ is not my assurance. If I can't rest, if
I cannot find rest until I see the finished work in my flesh,
then it means I'm not resting in the finished work of Christ's
flesh. Years ago, now this is why it's so important. so important
to me. Years ago, there was a man that
I had some dealings with, and he said he believed in Calvinism. T-U-L-I-P, that outline that
the scripture sets forth, total depravity. That's what we are,
sinners. Unconditional election, that's
what God the Father did. Limited atonement, that's what
Christ did. He died for those people exactly that the Father
chose. Irresistible grace, that's who the Spirit calls, all of
those people, and they're coming. Perseverance of the saints. Christ is going to keep them,
they're gonna make it. T-U-L-I-P, TULIP, Calvinism,
all right? He said he believed in Calvinism.
I said I believed in Calvinism. He said he believed in good works.
He believed in God's people doing and obeying the good commandments
that God has given to us in His law. I said I believed in good works.
I do. Somebody will ask me, do you
think God's people ought to act like God's people? Yes, I do.
I think God's people ought to straighten up and fly right.
I really do. Alright, well he said he believed
in Calvinism, I said I believed in Calvinism. He said he believed
in good works, I said I believed in good works. And we had to
part ways. We could not come together in
agreement. I wanted to so badly, I feel
like he did too. But we just flat could not come
together in fellowship and agreement. And the reason is because He
held to the good works that He thought He saw in His flesh to
be the evidence of His salvation. Therefore, that was His hope
before God. All I had was the blood of Jesus
Christ. That's all I had. He would fire
scriptures at me. He kept firing scriptures at
me like Ephesians 2.10. We are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works that God hath before ordained
we should walk in them. The only thing I could say in
response every time was, Amen. That's how I responded every
time. Amen. Am I against God's holy
law, the good works? God forbid. God forbid, I establish
that the law must be kept. But if my hope and my assurance
is dependent on what I see in my flesh, if it's dependent on
what's rolling around in my mind and issuing out of my heart,
I'm a goner. I hate that. I do. I hate that. But I have to say, I don't have
good works to lean on. I don't have any. I wish I did. There is a war within me. There is a new man in here. I
believe that there is, that desires perfect holiness in the flesh. But how to perform that which
is good, I find not. If I'm honest, I have to say,
oh wretched man that I am. And if you're honest, you have
to say the same thing. There may be times that we can put
on a good show for each other. We may appear to be accomplishing
some things in men's eyes, but not in God's eyes. Never in God's
eyes. Before God, all we have is the
blood of Christ. That's all we have. Thank God. Before God, that's all we need. That's all we need. And that
was my plea to this fellow. And we just could not come to
agreement with that. But that's all we have. That's
all we have. And that's all we need. This
is that struggle. This is that inner desire. This is what it all boils down
to. I've read this to you many times. John Newton wrote, "'Tis
a point I long to know, oft it causes anxious thought. Do I
love the Lord or no? Am I His or am I not? If I love,
why am I thus? Why this dull and lifeless frame? Hardly sure can they out there
be worse who have never heard His name. Could my heart so hard
remain? Prayer a task and burden prove? Every trifle give me pain. If I knew a Savior's love, if
I was saved, would I still be struggling with this? When I
turn my eyes within, all is dark and vain and wild, filled with
unbelief and sin. Can I deem myself a child? If
I pray or hear or read, sin is mixed with all I do. You who
love the Lord indeed, tell me, is it thus with you? Yet I mourn
my stubborn will, find my sin a grief and thrall. Should I
grieve at what I feel if I did not love at all? I hate what
I see in myself. Could I joy his saints to meet? Choose the ways I once abhorred? Find at times the promise sweet,
if I did not love the Lord? All right, now here's faith.
Lord, decide this doubtful case. I'm gonna cast it all on you.
Lord, decide this doubtful case, thou who art the people's son. Sense upon thy work of grace,
if indeed it be begun, let me love thee more and more. If I
love it all, I pray, if I have not loved before, help me to
begin today. Help me. Faith in the blood of
Christ, that's the evidence. That is the evidence. That true
faith will, it will produce a desire for good works. It will, but
at no point will a child of God take his eyes off of the blood
of Christ for his assurance, at no point. All right, now,
with that faith, okay, with that evidence, let's all straighten
up and fly right, okay? All right, you're all dismissed.