The Solas of the Reformation

8/14/2019 The Solas of the Reformation

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The Solas of theReformation

The Core Doctrines of

Protestantism

By

Nathan Brummel


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Contents

Preface..5

Chapter 1

Sola Scriptura:The Formal Principle.7

Chapter 2

Sola Fide: The Material Principle.17

Chapter 3

Sola Gratia: Grace So Amazing...29

Chapter 4

Solus Christus: Jesus, a Complete Savior.43

Chapter 5

Soli Deo Gloria: Glorifying God Alone in All Things.51


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Preface

The Protestant Reformation was used by God to reform His

church. Protestants have affirmed that the doctrine and life of the

church has to be constantly reformed in light of the truth of Scripture.

The core doctrines of the Reformation are what all Protestants

confess.The core doctrines of Protestantism need to be defended

today as well as developed in relationship to contemporary challenges

to the faith.

The first core doctrine is the truth that Gods Word is the

final authority in doctrine and life. Many Protestants today claim that

the Bible is riddled with errors and is only infallible with respect to

some vague redemptive message. The second core doctrine of

Protestantism is the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Todayecumenical theologians are challenging the value of the

Reformations understanding of justification. The Reformation was arecovery of the truth that salvation is a free gift of God.

The spread of religious pluralism needs that we need to

affirm afresh that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. This truth

was expressed at the time of the Reformation with the motto solus

Christus.

Scripture Alone (sola Scriptura) means that the inerrantScriptures are the sole source of truth that can bind the conscience.

Christ Alone (solus Christus) means that salvation is fully

accomplished by Jesus Christ and Him alone. Grace Alone (sola

Gratia) means that we are rescued from spiritual death by the grace of

God alone and not by any human merit. Faith Alone (sola Fide)

means that we are justified by faith alone, apart from works. To God

Alone be Glory (Soli Deo Gloria) was the final motto of the

Reformers: God is a sovereign Savior who alone deserves glory.


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Sola Scriptura:

The Formal Principle

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hastbeen assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that

from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able tomake thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for

doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all

good works.

II Timothy 3:14-17

At the time of the Reformation, the authority of the Scriptures

became a real issue. Luther did not realize how dangerous it was to

question the authority of the pope. He, assuming that the Scriptures

were the final authority, had nailed his 95 theses against indulgences

on the church door. At the Leipzig debate in late 1519, Luther was

cornered into admitting that the key issue between him and those whosupported indulgences was one of authority. The question was Didthe pope have a right to issue indulgences? Luthers debating

opponent was John Eck, a professor at the University of Ingolstadt.

Luther admitted that the Bible was the only infallible source of truth

and that popes and councils could err. He stated what became the


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formal principle of the Reformationthat all doctrine and life must

be normed by the Scriptures. Sometimes Luther would wonder

whether he was right in taking a stand against the teachings of the

Catholic Church. Perhaps something you believe is widely

challenged. Here was Luthers comfortand here is your comfort. Ifwhat we believe is taught in the Scriptures, then we are safe. If we

confess what the Scriptures confess, we believe the truthand can

believe in what we do with a good conscience.

The Only Rule of Faith

The Holy Scriptures are the only rule of faith. For men to

know the gospel of Christ and the will of God, it is necessary for Godto reveal Himself. What we learn from the creation is something

about the power and wisdom of God. Unless God reveals Himself

authoritativelyby His Holy Spirit, we are left to our own resources

to ferret out what is truth. Then we would need to depend on the

reasoning of philosophers, or creators of false religionswho engage

in a dark exchange. Maybe we should be dependent on the scientists

who cannot explain ultimate meaning and purpose.

The Scriptures are our final authority in all matters of

doctrine and life. What great usefulness they have! Because they are

the Word of Godthey are profitable for developing doctrine and

teaching how to live. We may not adopt, at random, any belief or

practice brought before us. We must distinguish between the word of

men and the Word of God. The Apostle Paul writes that, from the

time he was a child, Timothy had followed this rule of faith. His

grandmother and mother had read and explained the Scriptures fromhis earliest years. The Apostle Paul states that all Scripture is

profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in

righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly

furnished unto all good works (II Timothy 3:16b, 17).

Paul sketches the tremendous usefulness of this only rule of

faith. This only rule is beneficial, productive, and sufficient. Here is

found all that man needs to be taught and to learn to make him wise

for salvation; here and nowhere else! It is the rule by which everyreligious lie, falsehood, or fiction is refuted. It has authority for

doctrine and practice. Scripture is the indispensable instrument for the

teacher. It is useful for teaching true doctrine and for reprooffor

warnings about errors in doctrine. It is useful for correction. Not only

must the sinner be warned to leave the wrong path, but also he can be


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directed to the right path through the Scriptures. Scripture straightens

us out. It is useful for instruction in righteousness. The Scriptures are

normative for training. They not only reveal the doctrine of

redemption in Christ, but also Gods holy willHis moral will for

His people.Since the Scriptures are the only rule of how to live, the man

of God, who hears and obeys Scripture, will be perfect. In this

context, perfect means blamelessone who has nothing defective.

A person, who is capable and proficient in whatever they are called to

be or do, is complete.Jesus taught that the traditions of the elders must be rejected

because they contradict or undercut the Word of God. The Apostle

Paul warns against the sources of authority among pagans. Bewarelest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the

tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after

Christ (Colossians 2:8). Such is the authority of the truth found in

the Scriptures, that Paul rejects even the testimony of an angel. Butthough we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto

you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed

(Galatians 1:8). If any man teaches other than what Paul teaches as

the rule of faith in his epistles, he is accursed. (Gal. 1:9) The gospel

taught by Paul does not have a human origin. But I certify you,brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the

revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:11,12).The Apocrypha is not a rule of faith. The Belgic Confession

rightly states that the Apocrypha cannot confirm any point of faith

much less detract from the authority of the other sacred books. Thebeliever immediately perceives that the Scriptures are the Word of

God. The Bible is self-authenticated. The Holy Spirit works the

genuineness of Scripture. (Article 4 of Belgic Confession)

Luther said: The Bible is alive, it speaks to me it has feet, itruns after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me. The sixty-six books of

the Bible, by their teaching, immediately attest to the heart of all

Spirit-indwell people as being the living oracles of God. Therefore,

believers are filled with a deep reverence whenever they hear thevoice of Godaddressing them from Holy Writ.

Is the Bible enough for us to know what God wants us to

believe or do? The Scriptures are sufficient to make Timothy wise

unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (II Timothy3:15). God could have revealed more but He revealed what was


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sufficient. We will learn much more in Paradise. The Scriptures are

sufficient in the sense that they are comprehensive. Scripture is

sufficient to meet all spiritual needs of Gods people. The Psalmist

testifies: The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the

testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple (Psalm119:7). Since it is sufficient it is evil to add to it. For I testify untoevery man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any

man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues

that are written in this book (Rev. 22:18). If people, who claim to be

prophets today, really received special revelations from God, they

would carry the same divine authority as the Bible. Such prophets

therefore, have a view that considers Scripture as either incomplete or

inadequate. The Belgic Confession states that the Bible reveals whatis necessary for us to know in this life, to His glory and our

salvation (Art. 2). The Belgic Confession adds: whatsoever man

ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein (Article

7).

The Scriptures are perspicuous. The Bible is so clear that

little children can understand it. God meant for His children to be able

to read Genesis 1 and learn about how He created the world. He had

the apostles record the New Testament Scripture in Koine Greek, the

common Greek of ordinary people. Scripture is so clear that Tyndale

wanted to translate it into idiomatic English so that the plowboy could

read and understand it. The reason why the Bible should be translated

into the common language is because Scripture is the simple, clear

Word of God. In a mere eleven weeks, in Wartburg Castle, Luther

translated the New Testament into colloquial German! The Roman

Catholic leaders had not wanted the Bible in German. One bishop wasafraid that women might read it! Luther wanted the translation to be

simple that children and maids could understand it.

Some things in Scripture are difficult to understand, but even

uneducated believers and children readily understand all that is

necessary for salvation and a godly life. Our problem, as Christians, is

not that we don't understand most of what we read, but we don't

celebrate as we ought or obey like we should.

Under Luthers leadership, Sola Scriptura became arallying cry of the Reformation. Let us illustrate Luthers

commitment to the Scriptures as the sole rule of faith by looking at

his writing on the issue of monastic vows. The Roman Catholic

Church placed Christian tradition, papal rulings, and decisions of

Councils on par with the Bible as a source of doctrine. At the Diet of


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Worms, Luther made his famous statement: Here I stand, I can do noother, so help me God. The reason why he would no t recant the

teaching in his books, as the Emperor demanded, was because his

conscience was captive to the authority of the Bible. Luther said: A

simple layman armed with Scripture is to be believed above a pope orcardinal without it. The books of the theologians are fallible. Beforehis death, Dr. Luther wrote more than 60,000 pages, yet he hoped that

all my books would disappear and the Holy Scriptures alone be

read.

At the Diet of Worms, Luther was by imperial edict named aconvicted heretic and the citizens of the Empire were commanded

not to harbor him. But Elector Frederick, Luthers prince, kidnapped

Luther and hid him at Wartburg castle. Luther let his hair and beardgrow and dressed like a knight. He was called Knight George.

In Wartburg Castle, Luther was forced to face the issue of the

vows of the monks and priests. Back in Wittenberg, monks were

leaving the monasteries and wedding bells were starting to ring.

Should Luther keep the vows that he had made when he became a

monk to be celibate? What advice should he give to monks and

priests who were wondering if they needed to keep the vows they

made? Luther wrote an important work entitled: The Judgment of

Martin Luther on Monastic Vows. Roman Catholic Church teachingssaid that a man who wanted to be a monk or priest must take a vow of

celibacy, poverty, and obedience. Let us see how the issue of

authority affected how Martin Luther dealt with the matter of vows.

Inventions of Men versus the Teaching of Scripture

Luther responded that such vows run counter to the Word of

God! The first thing that Luther says when he gets to his subject is

this: There is no doubt that the monastic vow is in itself a most

dangerous thing because it is without the authority and example of

Scripture. It is purely a most pernicious invention of men no

different from all the other inventions of men. Luther uses the clarity

of Scripture as an argument against monastic vows: The Scriptures

clearly compel us to condemn whatever is only a matter of rules,statutes, orders, schools of thought, and, in addition, whatever falls

short of, or is contrary to, or goes beyond Christ, even if these things

had been handed over by angels from heaven or confirmed by mighty

miracles. Since the Bible teaches office-bearers could marry and thatmarrying is a matter of free choice, then a church that forbids it


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disobeys the gospel. We read of the Apostle Paul asserting his right to

marry and we read that Peter had a wife. When the Bible gives the

qualifications for office-bearers, it never requires a vow of celibacy or

poverty. It was the Gnostics who created this belief in an exclusive

group of Christians. Luther believed that these vows, with nofoundation in the Word, were to be rejected.

Jerome, an early church father, agreed with the Roman

Catholic Church, in this matter of monastic vows. He implied that a

person who does not marry his virgin has extra merits in the sight of

God. Luther accused Jerome of making divisions among the peopleof God by implying one who remains single is holier than one who

marries. Luther argued that Christians were not bound by sinful vows

that stood in the way of godly living.Second, Luther taught that such required vows were contrary

to the commandments of God. Vows of obedience to an abbot were

evil because they denied the authority of parents over their children.

In taking ones vows, a monk was called to transfer his obediencefrom parents to a superior. Such a vow allows one to reject the

authority of the father in the sphere of the family.

The Scriptures also teach that human traditions may not stand

in the way of a son providing for his needy parentslike claiming

Corbinthat he had given gifts to the temple instead. The result oftaking monastic vows means that a son no longer needs to take care of

a father who comes to poverty. Luther also neglected his parents in

his early years of being a monk, but later he saw his error and

apologized to his father.

Third, Luther argued that required monastic vows were

against evangelical freedom. Evangelical freedom is a freedom ofconscience which liberates the conscience from works. The Pope

destroyed the freedom of Christians and did not teach about freedom.

Luther quoted Jesus: But in vain they do worship me, teaching for

doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:9). He defendsthe freedom of the conscience of the Christian: The conscience

belongs to Christ and Christ to the conscience, and no one intrudes

into the secret bedchamber of this spouse and his brideand so, if

you vow to take up the religious life, and if you live with men of likemind, with a clear conscience that in monasticism you seek nothing to

your advantage in your relationship with God [but because it is the

best life for you], then in that case you are neither wrong to take

vows, nor wrong to live in this way. Yet, the Roman CatholicChurch demanded a vow of monks and office-bearers not to marry.


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wind blows and bears a sailboat on his course, so the Bible writers

were borne along by the Holy Spirit.

John Calvin wrote: The Law and the Prophets are not a

doctrine delivered according to the will and pleasure of men, but

dictated by the Holy Spirit. Peter also wrote: Knowing this first,that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation (II

Peter 1:20). The word translated interpretation refers to something

that is released, sent out, or sent forth. In this verse, the Greek noun is

a genitive of source, indicating origin. In other words, no message of

Scripture was originated and sent forth by mens own will.The Holy Spirit did not suppress the personality of the human

writers; but equipped and prepared each writer. The idea is not that

men were inspired in the sense that we talk about a person withmusical genius like Mozart. Rather, God so directed the Apostle

Pauland exercised His providence in his life and so filled him with

the Holy Spirit that certain letters he wrote were inspired Scripture.

The Holy Spirit, the Primary Author, suggested to the mind of the

human writer the very language and words that would be the most

appropriate vehicle for revealing Gods truth. God made the mind and

heart of man, and His Spirit knows how to guide them. He filled the

minds of the prophets and apostles with light and guided them in

word and thought.

All Scripture is inspired, not just part of it. Some, wrongly,try to translate this: Every God- breathed Scripture is also useful.

This leaves open the possibility that there is other Scripture that is not

inspired and therefore not useful. This idea opens up the possibility

that some Scripture is not inspired by God. The problem with this

rendering is that the Bible would then be worthless as a reliable guideto divine truth. We could not figure out what was inspired and what

was not. John Calvin rightly said: We must not pick and cull the

Scriptures to please our own fancy, but must receive the whole

without exception.

The Bible is verbally inspired. The very words in the Greek

and Hebrew were inspired. The thought cannot be separated from the

words, which are its vehicles. Luther believed that the Scriptures were

verbally inspired. For this reason Luther, as a biblical expositor, caredabout the minutiae details of grammar in the Scriptures. In fact his

Reformation discovery of justification by faith alone grew out of his

careful analysis of the grammar and meaning of a Greek word for

righteousness in Romans 1:17. His statements show his belief inverbal inspiration and inerrancy:


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"We must regard every tittle and letter of the Bible as more

important than the whole world and tremble before it as

before God himself."

"The Holy Scripture is Gods Word, written, and so to say,

in-lettered."

"The Bible is Gods Word written, presented in letters, as

Christ is the eternal Word presented in human nature."

Since the Scriptures are inspired, they are inerrant. The

doctrine of verbal inspiration leads directly into the doctrine ofinerrancy. If the Scriptures are all verbally inspiredthey will be true

and right on whatever issue they address. Luther wrote: The

Scriptures have never erred. Only the Scriptures are the infallible

rule of faith. The Scriptures alone are inerrant.

Jesus taught inerrancy when He said the Scriptures could not

be broken. During a debate on blasphemy with the Jews, Jesus quoted

from the Old Testament and gave them a reason to wrestle with

words. In John 10:34-35, he said: Is it not written in your law, I said,

Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God

came, and the scripture cannot be broken. He was referring to Psalm

82:6 and pointing out that the Scriptures do not err. The idea of the

Psalmist was that the judges were like gods because they exercised

the authority of God in the civil realm. But the key issue is that Jesus

believed that the Old Testament Scriptures could not be broken.

Nothing could be alleged against them. They were the Word of God.The Belgic Confession, in line with Jesus, states that nothing can be

alleged against the Scriptures and that Christians must believe

without any doubt, all things contained in them (Article 4).

The Scriptures are therefore, absolutely incomparable. No

other book, library, or anything else in the world, is able to make a

lost sinner wise for salvation. This awesome view of the Scriptures

places Holy Scripture on an entirely different plain than any human

writings or ecclesiastical decisions.

Read the Scriptures

Children of the Reformation must submit to the teachings of

Scripture. Before we submit to it we need to read it and hear it


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preached. If you believe that the Bible is Gods very Wordstudy it,

meditate upon it, and obey it. What does it gain you if you believe

that the Bible is Gods Word and yet do not listen to God speak in His

Word? In the West where there is a multiplicity of Biblesthere is a

growing ignorance of the doctrines and stories in Scripture. We mustread the Bible with reverence. Calvin said: We owe to the Scripturethe same reverence which we owe to God; because it has proceeded

from him alone, and has nothing belonging to man mixed with it.

The Scriptures must be studied in our homes and taught to

our children.

Church members, filled with the Spirit, must meditate upon

the Scriptures in Bible studies.

The Bible is a trustworthy source of encouragement. It isGods authoritative means of encouraging and sustaining us. When

Luther learned that his father had died, he took the Psalms with him

into a room where he cried so hard he was not himself the next day.

The Scriptures were his strength and nourishment.

Search the Scripturesfor this rule of faith will teach you

that Christ alone is Savior. Paul wrote that the Scriptures are able to

make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus(vs. 15b). The faith of Christ is the sum of the Scriptures. Paul points

out how the Old Testament Scriptures predicted the coming of

Christeverything in the Scriptures culminated in Christ. The New

Testament is the revelation of the incarnation, ministry, death,

resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures teach that

the sinner is justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ.

Cherish the Christ Crucified revealed in the Scriptures and do not add

human commandments as requirements that must be satisfied to besaved.

Whenever human commandments are brought forward, you

must ward them off with this shield; Scripture is profitable. If we

believe that the Scriptures are the only rule of faith, we must develop

our doctrines from the Scriptures. When we have a disagreement with

another Christian we must go back to the Bible. We need to hold to

principles that are firmly grounded in the Rule of Faith. Every

doctrine that we hold must come straight out of the Bible or belogically deduced from other teachings. This is the way for the church

to live in the peace, joy, and what Luther called evangelicalfreedom.


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2Sola Fide:

The Material PrincipleKnowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by

the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that

we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of

the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Galatians 2:16

Justification by Faith Alone

One of the battle cries of the Reformation was Sola Fide.This has been called the material principle of the Reformation.

It was Martin Luthers rediscovery of the Scriptural doctrine

of justification by faith that opened the eyes of the Reformers to the

heart of the gospel of grace.

God uses His Word to protect and reform the church. One

Scripture that God used powerfully to reform a church fallen into

great heresy was Romans 1:17, which reads: For therein is therighteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The

just shall live by faith. The Medieval Church taught that faith plusworks justified the sinner; and that this justification is an ongoing

matter. God used Romans 1:17 to shake the very foundations of an

apostate church; and to shake the whole continent of Europe

religiously, socially, and politically. God brought about a great

Reformation in the 16th

century when He opened the eyes of Martin

Luther to understand the meaning of this text. God used Luthersteaching, of the truths in Romans 1:17, to bring about reform in the

churcha return to the teaching of the apostles.

This verse is a revelation of the heart of the gospel. Merle

DAubigne wrote: This powerful text had a mysterious influence onthe life of Luther. It was a creative sentence both for the reformer and


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for the Reformation. It was in these words God then said, Let therebe light! And there was light. Romans 1:17 deals with the nature of

the gospel. It deals with the revelation of the righteousness of God.

Things do not get any bigger or more important than this. If you think

that you have more important or bigger issues in your life, you aredeluded.

Since we are speaking about high and holy matters, exactness

in language and terminology is necessary.

Righteousness Credited

The gospel reveals that God has credited His righteousness to

usbelievers. Luther, at first, hated this verse because he thought that

the revelation of Gods righteousness was more bad news. He thoughtthat this referred to Gods condemning righteousness. The

righteousness of God does not mean righteousness as an attribute of

Gods being. It is true that God is righteous. Everything that God does

is righteous. He always acts in line with perfect justice. Righteousness

means conformity to Gods law and Gods demands. If Christ was

merely a revelation of the holiness and justice of God and no more,He would be the most terrifying and alarming news that we could

ever discover.

It is no wonder that Martin Luther, as a Roman Catholic

monk and lecturer in theology, hated this verse when he

misinterpreted the righteousness of God to be His holiness and

justice. God demands righteousness from us. But we do not have it to

give. So we are guilty, condemned and perishing. Seeing the

righteousness of God as Gods standard of judgment drove Luther todespair.

At least Luther was honest with himself about his sinfulness.

Many men die thinking that they can bring their own righteousness to

God. Most people do not even think they need to strive, like Luther,

to accomplish various spiritual feats in order to be righteous before

God. They suppose that the way they are living right now is simply

enough to get them into Heaven. Luther felt the need to perform more

and more good works to become justified. He slept in the cold and atelittle until his body looked like a skeleton. He made pilgrimages and

felt the need to make penance for his sins.

The doctrine of justification in the Roman Catholic Church

gave Luther torment and fear. He was convinced that he had failed to

meet Gods holy standard. By bitter experience, he knew that he


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could not be justified by works because he knew the sinfulness of his

heart; and the purity of God.

When Luther was giving lectures on the Epistle to the

Romans, he came to Romans 1:17 and spent much time meditating on

the meaning of these words. He was on a quest for inner peaceforpeace with God! He writes: I laboured diligently and anxiously as to

how to understand Pauls word in Romans 1:17, where he says: 'the

righteousness of God is revealed' in the gospel. I sought long and

knocked anxiously, for the expression: 'the righteousness of God'

blocked the way." He thought this was a description of the character

of God, and added: I saw it and I wished always that God had not

made the gospel known, because this fuller revelation of the

righteousness of God seemed to make me utterly hopeless andhelpless, and I did not know what to do with myself; the

'righteousness of God' blocked the way."

The first positive thing we can say is that the gospel of Jesus

is as much concerned about righteousness as the law was. The gospel

of Jesus Christ is as insistent upon mans righteousness, in the

presence of God, as the law ever was. The gospel does not do away

with the law. It is not because Gods righteousness was easily

satisfiedno, it took the death of Christ. God required an infinitely

hurtful consequence for His SonChrist had to pay for all of oursins. He suffered Hell-like punishments in our place before Godsjustice was, strictly speaking, satisfied.

Our ultimate problem, as sinners, is the righteous wrath of

God. Gods wrath separates the sinner from Him and casts him into

Hell. The gospel is mainly the good news that God Himself has

rescued us from the wrath of God.It is true that God demands a righteousness that we do not

have. But that is not the gospel. The gospel is that God gives to elect

sinners the righteousness that He demands. The gospel is that God has

intervened and supplied us with a righteousness that is not our own.

As Luther wrestled with Romans 1:17, he came to understand

that Paul was writing about a righteousness that God gives to

believers. Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience.

Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul at [Romans 1:17], mostardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted. At last, by the mercy

of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the

words, namely, In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is

written: He who through faith is righteous shall live. There I began to


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understand [that] the righteousness of God isrighteousness withwhich [the] merciful God justifies us by faith.

God credits His righteousness to man. The quote from the

Old Testament shows that Paul does not have in mind mainly that

God is Himself righteous, but that He imputes or credits Hisrighteousness to man so that man can be just.

What we cannot provide on our own, God imputes to us so

that we are forgiven and acquitted before Him. We get a right

standing with God even though we have no righteousness of our own.

We get acquitting in Gods courtroom even though we are, inourselves, guilty. God has pronounced us righteous with His own

righteousness. The gospel reveals that Jesus purchased a declaration

of our right standing before God. It is now possible for sinful sons ofAdam to stand sinless before God!

The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel. It is a

righteousness that is imputed to believers. The gospel reveals that

God justifies us so that we are able to stand in His presence. The

righteousness of God is what enables you to stand before God, now

and in the Day of Judgment. The central purpose of the incarnation

was that God might enable us to stand with righteousness in the

presence of God. This is the righteousness of God.

The righteousness of Christ is called the righteousness of God

to emphasize the quality of this righteousness. It is a perfect, divine

righteousness. It is a God-righteousness. So, this righteousness

stands in contrast to any man-righteousness on the part of a sinner. It

is a righteousness that the Son of God earned and merited for us. The

Lord Jesus satisfied the law of God on our behalf, perfectly and in

every sense. The gospel announces that God sent Jesus to be sin forus. It is a righteousness from outside ofourselves. Luther said: For

God does not want to save us by our own but by an extraneous

righteousness, one that does not originate in ourselves but comes to us

from beyond ourselves, which does not arise on earth but comes from

heaven. God puts to our account the righteousness of Christ. God

cancels all our debts because Christ paid them. Positively, He puts all

the perfection and righteousness of Christ to my account.

As we grasp these doctrines, we come to see what good newsthe gospel is. As the hymn says: Jesus, thy blood and righteousness

My beauty are, my glorious dress.Luther came to understand that the righteousness of God is

not Gods retributive justice but the righteousness freely imputed to

the sinner by Gods sovereign grace, on the basis of Christs


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substitutionary atonement. The Bible became a book of light and joy

to him. Luther, at once, ran through the Scriptures with ecstasy,

seeing everywhere how this righteousness opened salvation to him.

Revealed through Faith Alone

God gives the righteousness of Christ to us freely, for

nothing, without money and without price. He justifies us in spite of

the fact that we have done no works to earn it.

The Apostle Paul tells us that this righteousness becomes ours

from faith to faith. The contrast is between faitha gift of God,

and works by which a man merits. Faith stands in contradiction to

everything that is meritorious in man. When you trust in Christ you

receive an undeserved justification. The best news in the world to

people who know they are sinners and God is holy is that Christ was

sacrificed for His people and that sinners are reckoned righteous

through faith. You can notice the importance of faith in verses 16 and

17 where, within the space of two verses, the Apostle mentions the

idea of faith four times. Obviously, this is a vitally important concept.

Faith involves spiritual sight. Faith is true belief about whoChrist is. Faith is trust in Jesus Christ for forgiveness. Paul does not

mean that faith is some kind of a lighter demand that God now

makes of uslighter than the law, that is. Faith is simply theinstrument by which we receive the righteousness of God.

Our faith does not constitute our righteousness. Our faith

does not justify us. It is the righteousness of Christ that is the grounds

of our justificationand the source is the Sovereign mercy of God in

giving us the free gift of grace. It is nothing but the blood and merit ofChrist that justifies us. It is through faith in Christ that the

righteousness of Christ comes to us. Paul speaks of the

instrumentality of faith. The righteousness of God is revealedefficiently made known unto justificationonly through faith.

Trusting, believing faith in Christ is the channel by which

justification becomes ours.

It is possible for sinful sons of Adam to be free from the

frustration of trying to earn righteousness and Heaven.Why does Paul speak of faith to faith? (OUT OF FAITH

AND INTO FAITH) He means that it is faith from beginning to end.

The combination is rhetorical. It is intended to emphasize that faith

and nothing but faith can put us into right relationship with God.


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From start to finish, this righteousness is by faith alone. That faith is

Gods gift. It is all a matter of sovereign grace, not of works.

Martin Luther tells us that it was the quotation from

Habakkuk that gave him liberty: As it is written, The just shall live

by faith. That was the actual phrase that opened his eyes. Luther hadbeen trying to work a righteousness according to the law. But now, he

grasped that Christians were righteous by faith. The point in

Habakkuk is that faith is the key to ones relationship to God. Thosewho are righteous by faith shall livethey shall go on living through

all eternity.

So Luther saw the righteousness of God is not referring to the

attribute of Godit is the righteousness that God credits to believers.

What a transformation occurred! From a miserable, legalistic, bead-counting monk who fasted to merit salvation, he became a herald of

the gospel of free grace. We are justified by faith through the mercy

of God alone.

Being justified by faith, we want to live grateful lives. Luther

said that the Christian was, at the same time, just and sinner. This

simultaneous condition refers to how the sinner is counted just

because of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, while he

remains, in himself, a sinner. His legal state is innocent. His actual

condition is sinner and saint. Before his discovery, Luther thought

that he had to be perfectly holy before he could be righteous. Luther

did not mean that the sinner, who is still a sinner, is an unchanged

person. The Holy Spirit, who gives the gift of faith, also sanctifies the

believer. Christians inevitably strive for and achieve a level of

practical righteousness.

When the Bible demands you to do something, do not think:I must do this to take away my guilt and to get forgiveness and right

standing with God. Rather think: I will obey God because He has

removed my guilt and given me the gift of the righteousness of God.

Forensic Justification

Paul makes it ever so clear, in Galatians 2:16, that the

believer is justified by faith alone: Knowing that a man is notjustified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even

we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the

faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of

the law shall no flesh be justified. In fact, he teaches thatjustification has to do with one's legal status. Justification is a forensic


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actthe legal act by which the Judge declares the inmate innocent.

Protestants say that the Bible teaches that justification is a forensic or

legal actin distinction from sanctification. Sanctification is the truth

that the Spirit makes justified believers actually holy. Justification is

given as a legal pronouncement, and not as a reference to peopleactually becoming more holy.

The word forensic is not as well known in Christian circles,

as it should be. It is not a term that is foreign to ordinary language,

but is often used in the newspaper or on T.V. in reference to criminal

investigations and trials. Forensic evidence is evidence that will be

presented at a trial. When the term forensic is used with respect to

the doctrine of justification, it has to do with a legal or judicial matter

involving some type of declaration. The doctrine of justificationinvolves a legal matter of the highest magnitude. It involves a matter

of judgment before the supreme tribunal of God. The most basic issue

we face is how we hope to survive a judgment before the court of an

absolutely holy and absolutely just God. God is a just Judge.

Perhaps the most important fact revealed in Holy Scripture is

the one which men most presumptuously ignore, the fact that God is

just; justice and truth are the habitation of His throne. It is notpossible for us to understand the grace of God or the cross apart from

the justice of God. Because the Lord our God is just, He must deal

with men upon the grounds of strict justice. The justice of God is the

rectitude and righteousness of His character that compels Him to deal

with all of His creatures in strict accordance with their desserts.

Because God is just, the only way He can save a guilty sinner is if He

can make the sinner guiltless and sinless in the eyes of His own law

and justice. This act of Gods matchless grace, by which He declaresmen to be guiltless, is what the Apostle Paul calls justification.

Every believer, in Jesus Christ, is truly justified and perfectly

righteous in the sight of God.

Simultaneously Just and a Sinner

Now we have laid the groundwork for appreciating an

important Latin phrase, coined by Martin Luther: Simul Justus EtPeccator. This Latin phrase means: At the same time just and

sinner. Luthers famous statement gets to the heart of the issueregarding forensic justification. This simultaneous condition refers to

how the sinner is counted just forensically, by virtue of the imputation

of the righteousness of Christ, while he remains in himself a sinner.


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Before his Reformational discovery, Luther thought he had to be

actually holy before he could be righteous. We too, can think that

God considers us guilty because we still are such sinners. Luther did

not mean that the sinner, who is still a sinner, is an unchanged person.

He does believe that such a justified man is being sanctified. Butwhile man continues to sinhe is reckoned perfectly righteous by

God. This is Scriptural: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on

him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness

(Romans 4:5).

In this context, Luther made a statement that Scott Hahn, a

Roman Catholic defender, has jumped all over. Luther had a very

graphic way of expressing truths. He said that he could commit

adultery several times a day and still be justified by faith alone. ButLuther has a powerful way of expressing his convictions, which,

when taken literally, are not only horribly anti-Christian, but also

anti-Martin Luther. He wrote two dissertations against

Antinomianism. This statement, cited by Hahn, was just an

inexcusable but unforgettable way of Luthers trying to say that his

works, or his morality, were not the foundation of justification by

faith alone. Another Catholic writer says correctly: Luther nevermeant that a habitual adulterer, murderer, liar, could be justified by

faith alone. Otherwise, he would not have opposed Karlstadt,

Agricola, and other easy- believers of his time. Even Thomas

Aquinas teaches the justificatio impii, that is, the justification of the

impious!

To emphasize that this righteousness was not an actual

righteousness that we possess, but the imputed righteousness of

Christ, Luther called it an alien righteousness. It is iustitia extranosa righteousness from outside of ourselves.

Roman Catholics claim that justification by faith alone is a

legal fiction. In doing this, Rome declares the Biblical Gospel a

legal fiction. We contend that there is nothing fictional about

imputation! God imputed our sins to Christ. Christs righteousness is

imputed to us. We need a righteousness that is greater than whatever

righteousness inheres in us. For this reason, Luther insisted that the

righteousness, by which we are justified, is a righteousness that is"extra nos"outside of or apart from us that is imputed to us. It

is ajustitia alienum, an alien righteousness, a righteousness given by

another in our behalf. Our righteousness remains as filthy rags. We

must be adorned and cloaked by Christs righteousnessthat alonecan cover the nakedness of our sin.


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Faith the Sole Instrument

The motto of the Reformationsola fidemeans that the

elect sinneris justified by faith alone. Faith is the sole instrument ofjustification.

In Galatians 2, the Apostle Paul takes issue with Peter and

Barnabas who gave in to Judaizing radicals. Under peer pressure from

Pharisaical Christians who came from James, Peter and Barnabas

started observing Jewish dietary laws again. They would not eat with

Gentiles. Paul discusses how Judaizers wanted Titus to be

circumcised. Paul makes very clear, in verse 16, that a man is not

justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.Lets look at each part in this phrase sola fide by faith

alone. First, lets look at the little word by. By means that faith

is the means or instrument by which we are justified. We are not

justified on account of our faith. The Bible never says that. What it

says is that we are justified by faith. Faith is the instrument or means

of justification. The word instrument unfortunately sounds very

mechanical. However, this means is itself the saving work of the Holy

Spirit through the Word by which a sinner is brought into a living,

personal relationship with God. Dr. Joel Beeke rightly points out that

a condition generally denotes a meritorious quality for the sake ofwhich a benefit is conferred. He says: Though faith is the means

through which God works salvation, faith is not and cannot be a

human condition. If faith were the conditional (i.e. meritorious)

ground of justification, salvation by human merit would be

introduced. It would subvert the gospel by reducing it to simply onemore version of justification by works (Gal. 4:21-5:12).

The great question of the ages is: how is this justification

accomplished? How can a man be justified with God? Or how can

he be clean that is born of a woman? Job 25:4. Find the answer tothat question and you will have learned the gospel. If you have not

found the answer to that question, you do not yet know the gospel.

The answer is that we are justified by faith alone.

What is faith? What is the meaning of this word faith in the phrase by faith alone? Faith is, first of all, trust in Christ. The

Heidelberg Catechism teaches that faith is knowledge and an assured

confidence. John Gerstner has made an acrostic out of the word:

FAITH stands for Forsaking all I Trust Him. He has another


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acrostic for the Greek word for faith: PISTISPolluted I surrender

to Jesus Savior.

What does it mean that we are justified by faith alone? What

does the word alone in the phrase by faith alone teach? The word

alone means that we are justified only by faithand not by anyother means. Paul writes: Therefore we conclude that a man is

justified by faith without the deeds of the law(Romans 3:28). The

Reformed Faith can be illustrated by Faith (LEADS TO)

justification + works. The Catholic error is: Faith + Works

Justification. A caricature of Protestants is the following:

FaithJustificationWorks. But we are not justified by a faith that

is alone. Most Roman Catholic theologians incorrectly identify

Reformation doctrine with Antinomianism. Antinomianism is theheresy that justified Christians do not need to obey the Ten

Commandments.

If we Protestants taught that a sinner could be saved without

becoming godly, we would be teaching an absolute, damning lie.

Jesus saves His people not only from the guilt of sin, but also from

the dominating power of sin. Our Savior is called Jesus for He

saves His people from their sins, not in them. We can never say too

often: Justification is by faith alone, but NOT by the faith that is

alone. Justification is by a working faith. Justification with God isapart from the meritof works. That does not mean that justification is

apart from the existence of works. Christianity teaches justification

apart from the merit of works.

Easy-believism teaches justification apart from the existence

of works. Easy-believism is a view where a person claims to

acknowledge Jesus as Savior but will not acknowledge Him as Lord.It is the position that Dietrich Bonhoeffer critiqued as propounding

cheap grace.

We are justified on the basis of Christs works alone. We

believe in justification by worksin one sense. Justification is

ultimately by worksthe works of Jesus Christ. His active and

passive righteousness is the basis for our justification. Justification is

by worksthe works of Jesus Christ!

How important is this doctrine ofsola fide? Why make a bigdeal about it? Martin Luther called it the article that determines

whether the church is standing or falling. What did Luther mean by

that? He meant that the true church would confess justification by

faith alone. The church that denies or compromises this truthis thefalse church. This issue is very serious. The Roman Catholic position


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is wicked. It is the doctrine of the Pharisees. The Apostle Paul calls

the heresy of the Judaizers, in supposing that justification is by faith

and works, another gospel. If any man preach any other gospel

unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed (Galatians

1:9). Paul here curses those who teach justification by faith andworks. He says that Christians who buy into these doctrines are

bewitched. Paul teaches that if you try to be justified by being

circumcisedChrist shall profit you nothing! Ye are fallen from

grace!

Believing sola fide is so important because it involves

believing the gospel. This issue deals with the heart of the gospel. The

gospel is that we are saved by gracethat we are justified by faith

alone. To deny this is to blaspheme the cross of Jesus. Paul concludesby saying: But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of

our Lord Jesus Christ. John Richard Neuhausa leading Roman

Catholic and the editor of First Things magazine claims that

confessional Protestants are nit-picking over the compromising

documentEvangelicals and Catholics Together. We agree with R.C.

Sproul when he responded that the truth of forensic justification is not

a nit. It is the heart of the gospel.

A Pathway into Paradise

When Luther discovered the meaning of Romans 1:17, it was

the hap piest day of his life. He testified: Here I felt that I was

altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open

gates. What a happy day it was when Luther discovered that God's

righteousness refers to Gods verdict that the believer is righteousbecause of the cross of Jesus. Luthers joy is yours, as you trust in thesame Christ. By a judicial verdict, God has found believers innocent.

Have you learned the sum of Gods Gospel from this text?We Christians have a righteousness not our ownand one impossible

for us to have ever attained. All of our own righteousnesses are not

righteousnesses at all, but only filthy rags.

The peace that transcends all understanding now filled

Luthers mind and heart. His quest for inner peace was ended. He didnot have to do anything to be justified. He felt like a prisoner who is

declared innocent and righteous by the Judge of heaven and earth.

Does the fact that you have known for many years that God

has acquitted you, leave you without a response of joy? Consider your

dying momentsand how suddenly the doctrine of your justification,


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by grace alone, through faith alone, will rise up like a mighty

mountain of comfort!

I pray that you would find, in this verse, a pathway into

paradise.

Another time Luther said: As I had formerly hated theexpression the righteousness of God I now began to regard it as my

dearest and most comforting word; so that this expression of Pauls

became to me in very truth a Gate to Paradise. Is there anything

more important than being reconciled to our God?

Every day we need to feed on the wonderful gospel truth that

God gives us the righteousness we need. You live by an alien

righteousness. You are righteous not because of your performance,

but because of Christs. You need to trust in Christ as Savior and asthe One whose righteousness alone with avail you before God.

Since we are reconciled to God, we can dwell in loving

relationship with God. John Calvin wrote: In order to be loved by

God, we must first become righteous, since he regards

unrighteousness with hatred. By faith, we know that Gods

countenance smiles towards us. The more we understand the gospel,

the more we behold Gods favor more clearly.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote: And we cannot deal with

this without reminding ourselves that it was when he came to

understand this that Martin Luther truly became a Christian. It was

the understanding of this phrase that really produced the Protestant

Reformation. So there is a sense in which we can say that if we as

Protestants do not truly understand the 17th

verse of the 1st

chapter of

this Epistle, we are unworthy of the name of Protestantindeed, it is

even doubtful whether we are Christian at all. There is no more vitalverse in the whole of Scripture than this 17thverse.

Have you appropriated this great text? Do you trust in Christ

alone for righteousness? Are you assured that you can survive a

judgment in the court of an absolutely holy and just God? Then

celebrate the revelation of the righteousness of God from faith to

faith.


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3

Sola Gratia:Grace So

AmazingIsaiah 35:4-6

"Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold,

your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he

will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame manleap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness

shall waters break out, and streams in the desert."

A Favorite Hymn

The song Amazing Grace! is one of the best-loved andmost widely known hymns sung by Christians world-wide. Probably,

more Christians have memorized the stanzas of this hymn than any

other. The music and the words combine to express the wonder of

amazing grace. How precious and profound and exuberant are the

famous lines of the opening stanza:

Amazing grace! how sweet the soundThat saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.


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What power stanza six has to revive the Christians hope andput the brevity of life in perspective and the awesome glory of an

eternity spent in praise:

When weve been there ten thousand years,Bright shining as the sun,

Weve no less days to sing Gods praise

Than when weve first begun.

This hymn is indeed a precious song, attractive and

meaningful because of the truths it confesses.

The third sola of the Reformation was sola gratia, which

means by grace alone. This motto reflected the fact that theReformers had a deep understanding that salvation was not because of

human merit but because of divine grace. The salvation of elect

sinners is undeserved. Grace is amazing because it is unexpected that

God would sacrifice His only begotten Son to save enemies! Grace is

unexpected because it is undeserved.

There is rich theology in the six stanzas of Amazing Grace.

We want to draw the nectar out of this delectable flower. The

Psalmist said that Gods word was sweeter to him than honey from

the honeycomb. Certainly the truths in this hymn are sweeter than

honey to the believer. This is a song that leads us to savor God in all

His grace.

What is striking about this hymn is its brutal honesty about

our fallenness and natural depravity. Other hymns might emphasize

just the positive, but this is precisely the diamond of Divine grace.

This grace, in contrast to the blackness of our former blindness andlostness, gives impact to this song.

What exactly are we singing when we take this famous hymn

upon our lips? Unfortunately, even unconverted men and women

singers add this hymn to their repertoire. This is hypocrisy. If you

have not experienced the grim reality of spiritual blindness and

lostness and have not experienced the wonder of Divine grace, this is

not a song that should come from your lips.

We live in a day when evangelicals are singing many songsthat do not contain either good or rich theology. What is the biblical

truth that John Newton expressed through his own experience in this

hymn?


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The Author

The author of this hymn, the former slave ship captain, John

Newton understood by long experience the depravity of fallen man

because he had tasted his own depravity and sinfulness for many longyears. A rebel against God, he left England for Africa where he was

involved in the brutal slave trade.

John Newton was born in London on July 24, 1725. He was

the son of a commander of a merchant ship that sailed the

Mediterranean. He learned about the Bible from his mother but she

died when he was still a child. Later, he turned his back on the faith of

his mother. In 1744, Newton was pressed into service on a British

man-of-war ship. Finding the conditions on board intolerable, he fledthe ship, but he was recaptured, brutally flogged and demoted from

midshipman to common seaman.

He asked to be exchanged into service on an African slave

ship. This took him to Africa where he became the servant of a slave

trader, who, with his wife, brutally abused him. In 1748, he escaped

and became a captain of his own slave-ship.

Before his conversion in 1748, John Newton lived an

adventure-filled life along the African coast. He wrote about his

experiences in his autobiography entitled An Authentic Narrative.

During a violent storm, he wrote in his journal that all seemed lost

and that the ship would certainly sink. As he wrote, he cried out:

Lord, have mercy upon us! Alone in his cabin, he reflected on whathe had prayed and began to believe that God had used the storm to

turn his attention to Him. Later he referred to this as the moment of

his Great Deliverance.Slowly, God began to work in Newtons life. He learned

Latin while still plying the slave trade; but being transformed by the

gospel, he became one of the early influential evangelicals in England

who opposed slavery. He worked with men like William Wilberforce

to outlaw slavery in the British domains.

When sickness made sailing impossible, he began to study

Hebrew and Greek and became friends with George Whitefield, a

famous Calvinist preacher. In middle age, Newton was ordained aminister in the Church of England and accepted the curacy of Olney

in Buckinghamshire.

Gods sovereign grace took hold of John Newton and this

wicked sailor was transformed into a preacher of the Holy Gospel of

Jesus Christ.


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As a minister in the Church of England in the 1700s, John

Newton, penned this song in 1779. He was devoted to the doctrines of

grace believed, confessed, and taught by John Calvin, the great

Protestant reformer in Geneva, Switzerland.

Newton and Calvin stood in a long line of preachers who,going back to the great bishop of Hippo, St. Augustine, believed in

the sovereignty of God in salvation.

At the turn of the 5th

century, Augustine of Hippo took issue

with a British monk named Pelagius, who denied the reality of

original sin. He did not think that man was born sinful and argued the

reason why children sin is that they learn from the example of their

parents. Augustine responded by pointing the church to Scripture,

which teaches that babies are born in sin. King David wrote in Psalm51:5: Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother

conceive me. Augustine developed the idea of original sin and

pollution. In this fallen world, men are born in sin. That is why we

need to become new creatures through the new birth.

The great Reformation of the 16th

century began in 1517

when Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk in Wittenberg, Germany

nailed 95 thesis on the door of the Castle Church. His 95 theses were

directed against the evil of indulgences. Roman Catholic leaders were

claiming that if you paid money for a piece of paper that granted you

forgiveness for all of your sins, when you died you would not need to

burn for millions of years in Purgatory, but could go straight to

Heaven.

Martin Luther saw that the idea that one could buy salvation

for money was entirely contrary to the message of grace in the Bible.

In his book entitled The Bondage of the Will, he developed whatScripture says about our lostness. Since our wills are in bondage to

the Devil, we cannot by ourselves choose for the good. By ourselves,

we would never believe in Jesus Christ. Martin Luther read

Augustines ancient writings and came to see that Augustine thoughtquite differently about how one was saved than his contemporary

Roman Catholics.

John Calvin picked up where Martin Luther left off and

clearly developed in his famous Institutes of the Christian Religionwhat Scripture teaches about salvation.

Christians, in the Dutch Reformed churches long ago,

expressed the doctrines of grace in the acronym: TULIP.

TTotal DepravityUUnconditional Election


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LLimited Atonement

IIrresistible Grace

PPerseverance of the Saints

Through his own profound experience, John Newtondiscovered what holy ministers and theologians like Augustine,

Luther, and Calvin had taught, was the teaching of Scripture. In line

with his own experience, John Newton preached TULIP and these

truths are fleshed out in Christian experience in Amazing Grace!

Since the early 17th

century, there have been confessing

Christians who denied the doctrines of Calvinism. They are called

Arminians, after the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius. Arminius

denied Total Depravity, affirming that fallen man still retained a freewill and could do the good work of choosing Christ. He claimed that

election to salvation was conditional on God foreseeing faith in a

man. He claimed that Jesus died for the sins of every man who ever

lived. He believed that, while the Spirit was trying to work in the

hearts of all men who heard the gospel, His grace was resistible.

Arminianism leaves open the door that a true Christian might, by his

free will, choose to fall away from Christ and perish.

I Once Was Blind

John Newton admitted: I Once was Blind. Are you aware

of the fact that you once were blind? The natural state of every fallen

man is that he is blind as a bat!

Matthew 20:30 tells us that there were two blind beggars:

And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side. Together, theblind leading the blind, these two men wandered the Jericho road. The

name of the second man is unknown. Apparently, Bartimaeus was the

more prominent of the two. In the first century, blind Bartimaeus, the

son of Timaeus, had no hope to live a productive life. No one would

give him a job. There was no Braille system, so he couldn't get an

education. As a result, this poor man was reduced to beggary. He was

dependent upon the mercy of travelers for food and clothing. He was

absolutely helpless. His condition was wretched.The Good Shepherd, Jesus was also walking along the Jericho road,

teaching and looking for two of His lost sheep. One of them was

Bartimaeus. Blind Bartimaeus had a tremendous desire to be healed

by Jesus. As soon as he discovers who is passing by, he cries out to

Jesus for mercy. He confesses that Jesus is the son of David. He


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believes that Jesus can heal his blindness and by this fact, he reveals

his faith in Jesus. He believes that this Jewish Man in His early 30s is

none other than the long-awaited Messiah. He must have known the

ancient Messianic prophecy, in Isaiah 35:4-6:

"Say to them that are of fearful heart, Be strong, fear not:

behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a

recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the

blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be

unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the

tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters

break out, and streams in the desert."

Bartimaeus cries out repeatedly, Jesus, thou son of David,

have mercy on me. This blind mans desire for sight is such (and his

faith in Jesus is such) that he cries to Jesus for mercy. His desire to

experience the mercy of Jesus is so great that he is willing to be a fool

for Christ. He starts yelling and crying out at the top of his voice.

Since he cannot identify Jesus by sight he needs to rely on Jesus

hearing him.

He is willing to go against public opinion and risk the wrath

of the multitude to be heard by Jesus. Mark 10:48 tells us: And manyrebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out the more

a great deal. He makes a scene. The people in the crowd try to quiet

him because he is embarrassing to respectable company. They believe

that this great prophet Jesus has more important things to do than be

bothered by dirty, unclean, smelly blind beggars. Jesus interest must

lie with the respectable crowd of synagogue goers.It is the glory of Jesus Christ that He is not a respecter of

persons. Jesus stops and asks for Bartimaeus to be brought to Him.

The bystanders cheer up Bartimaeus when they can tell him that Jesus

has asked for him. Mark 10:49 reads: Be of good comfort, rise; hecalleth thee.

Since Jesus is not a respecter of persons, He saves the lowly

as well as the mighty. In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote that most of the

time Jesus saves the poor and humble. Since Jesus is not a respecterof persons, in His eyes the attitudes of men do not count. Society

looked down on blind Bartimaeus, but Jesus loved him. Society looks

down on inmates in the jails and penitentiaries, but Jesus loves His

elect inmates.


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Jesus asks Bartimaeus: What wilt thou that I should do untothee? (Mark 10:51) His response is: Lord, that I might receive my

sight. (Mark 10:51) To the crowd this is an amazingly impossible

request. Since ancient times, what prophet had ever given a blind man

sight? Not one.Jesus response was compassionate: And Jesus being moved

with compassion (Matthew 20:34). What a blessed Savior, who is so

compassionate towards His own in their blindness and misery!

Jesus says to him: Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee

whole(Mark 10:52). Notice the importance of faith. Faith is seeing.This man might be blind, but already he sees in the way that is most

important of all. His eyes have been opened. The Father has drawn

him to Christ. It is far better to be physically blind and be able to seewho Jesus is, than to have 20/20 vision and have the honor of being a

fighter pilot and crash and burn with spiritual blindness.

Jesus reaches over and touches Bartimaeus eyes. His

powerful Divine touch, mixed with His omnipotent words, opens

Bartimaeus eyes. Glorious moment!

These could have been his words:

Amazing grace how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found!

The truths of TULIP are all revealed in this wonderful Bible

story.

These hymn words can be ours too!

There is evidence in my life that I once was blind. I still donot have 20/20 vision of spiritual things. This is because I still have

an old man, who is unable to discern any spiritual things. He is legally

blind and can see no traces of light. Because of my old man, my

vision is limited, even though I am a Christian.

My old man functions like blinders on a horse. Blinders were

placed on horses so that they would not shy on bridges or from other

carriages. I have blind spots in theology. I have blind spots about my

weaknesses. I have blind spots about the pervading influence of sin inmy life. I have secret faults about which I am clueless. I am blind to

how often I dishonor God by simply ignoring Him. I am blind to the

spiritual needs of others. I am blind about how badly others need to

be loved by me. I do not see clearly enough for it to impact me, as


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strongly as it should, that unbelievers around me are on the broad path

that leads to Hell!

I have limited vision of who God is. I know that God is love,

but I hardly comprehend the love of Christ shown to me on the cross.

I have hardly a notion about the love that is going to overflow andswamp and delight me in Heaven, a Paradise of love. I know that God

is a consuming fire, but from how easily I sin, it is evident that I do

not have the fear of God that I should. I cry out Abba, Father at

times, yet I hardly see and experience the reality that the Mighty

Creator is my Abba.

Even with the spectacles of the Holy Spirit, by whom I can

understand and interpret and apply Scripture, my understanding of

Scripture is so limited. I do see, but only through a glass darkly! I livein hope of the day of my complete healing when I will see as I am

seen. I will see Jesus Christ face to face in all the clarity of His power,

glory and love. But until that day I still grope.

Our Natural BlindnessTotal Depravity

My present limited blindness is evidence of a natural

blindness that was more serious than words can express. I was

conceived and born blindin sin.John Newton degraded his body by sins of the flesh. He

committed fornication. He degraded other men who also had the

image of God, by treating African slaves like beasts. He was a racist.

He jammed brutalized captives into the hulls of slave ships. He was

foul-mouthed and vocal in his antagonism to the Christian faith.

Jesus means for us to understand that the blindness ofBartimaeus is a picture of our natural blindness. Jesus miracles

taught truths about the kingdom of heaven.

John Newton uses a parallel phrase to teach the same reality:

I once was lost. This is a terrible lostness. I was totally unable tofind my way back to my Creator against whom I rebelled. I was as

lost and helpless as the sheep in the Parable of the Lost Sheep. The

only way that the sheep can be recovered is by the Shepherd. The

Shepherd goes out to seek and to find the lost sheep. That is whatJesus Christ needed to do with me. I was helplessly and hopelessly

lost. I was exposed to the great enemy of sheep, the lion. The Devil,

like a roaring lion, was seeking to devour me, and apart from my

mighty Shepherd, the greater David, I would have perished.


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Calvinists call this reality of our blindness and lostness TotalDepravity. The idea is not that humans are totally depraved in the

sense that they degenerate into irrational, crazy demonsalthough

there are some men like Hitler and Stalin who stun the mind by their

irrational, demonic wickedness. But the idea is that we are dead insin. We are always and only able to sin. The Bible says that whatever

is not done out of faith is sin. We are unable to raise ourselves from

our spiritual grave. Like Lazarus in his tomb, we wait for the call of

the Son of God to raise us from the dead.

The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1: "And you hath he

quickened; who were dead in trespasses and sins." That is the

dreadful reality of our natural condition. We were spiritually dead.

Arminians teach that fallen man has a free will in the sensethat he still has the power to choose to believe in Christ and become a

Christian. According to the Arminians, fallen man is not totally dead,

he is just sick. Jesus teaches differently in John 6:44: "No man can

come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I

will raise him up at the last day."

Being drawn to Jesus is believing in Him. Jesus makes clear

that no fallen man can come to Jesus in faith, unless the Father drags

him. The word draw is the same one that is used in the Gospel

accounts for fishermen dragging in their nets. It is only Sovereigngrace that makes it possible for any naturally dead sinner to believe in

Jesus.

Imagine, for a moment, that you jumped off the roof of my

house. You would fall some twenty feet and its possible that you

could twist your ankle or break a leg; but you probably would not die.

Now, imagine that you jumped off of the top of the Sears Toweryou would be graveyard dead! Would it not be folly for me to come

up to you and tell you that you had the power to do something? It is

the same folly to believe that dead sinners can, by themselves, choose

Christ. No, we are dead in trespasses and sin. The reason why anyone

believes in Jesus is because of the mighty grace of God. Faith is a

gift.

It is the grim reality of my natural depravity that makes my

heart want to sing about the wonder of grace! Grace is the glitteringdiamond against the black velvet backdrop of my natural blindness.

Apart from grace I would be trapped in my sin and guilt. Because of

my sinfulness I certainly do not deserve to be saved. I deserve

everlasting separation from God in the Lake of Fire.

I once was blind, but now I see!


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How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed!

Do you see? I see Jesus Christ as my one and only and

greatest hope. I see him hanging, suffering, and dying on the crossfor my blindness and blind sins. I see the empty grave on Easter

morning. I see the gaping mouths and popped out eyes of the disciples

on Easter night as the Crucified One suddenly appears in their midst. I

see Jesus with hands uplifted ascending into the clouds. I see that the

great load of my sins has been atoned for because of the cross.

Limited Atonement

The reason why I see is not found in myself. The basis for my

seeing is found in the atonement of Jesus. Jesus was my substitute.

He paid the penalty for my sins. I believe because I am one of the

sheep for whom Jesus died. In John 10:11, Jesus teaches that He came

to die for His sheep: "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd

giveth his life for the sheep."

Jesus goes on to clarify who these sheep are. Jesus did not die

for all men head for head. He tells the Pharisees why they do not

believe in Him in John 10:26-27: "But ye believe not, because ye are

not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I

know them, and they follow me."

On His cross, Jesus died for the sins of His sheep. That is

why we call the atonement a Definite or Limited Atonement. Christ

paid for the sins of a definite number of people. He died for His elect

sheep. This was prophesied in Matthew 1:21: Thou shalt call hisname Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. Jesus came

to save His elect people from their sins. To claim, like the Arminians,

that Jesus died on the cross for all men, is to undermine the very

reality of the atonement. If Jesus paid for the sins of all men, there

can be no possible reason why any man would ever go to Hell. But

the reason why there is a Hell, and the reason why many will enter

Hell by the broad road, is because Christ did not die for them. They

were not His sheep.

Unconditional Election

Why are some Gods sheep and not others? The answer isfound in sovereign election. God chose me in Jesus Christ from


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before the foundation of the world. That is the doctrine of

unconditional election. God did not choose me because of anything

good in myself. That is why election is unconditional. God did not

choose some people conditional on seeing good deeds or actions on

their part. My election was unconditional. When I was yet a sinner,Christ died for me. God did not choose me because I was holy. He

chose me in order to make me holy.

The Apostle Paul tells the Ephesian Christians that the

reason they are Christians is because God eternally chose them to be

His children: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the

foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame

before him. In love having predestinated us unto the adoption of

children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure ofhis will" (Ephesians 1:4,5).

You might think that it would be unjust for God to elect some

and reprobate others. Arminians claim that the reason why someone is

a Christian is because they choose to believe in Jesus by their own

free will. They claim that it would be unfair for God to elect Jacob

and reprobate his twin brother Esau.

Yet, the Apostle Paul writes that God loved Jacob and hated

Esau (Romans 9:13). Mere men have no right to set themselves up in

judgment against the Sovereign God. We may not question why God

has chosen some and not others. If you are a Christian, be humbled by

the doctrine of election. You did not deserve to be saved any more

than the multitude of men who are already perishing in Hell. The

doctrine of election is a humbling doctrine. It is a doctrine that gives

God all of the glory in salvation.The Apostle Paul takes issue with anyone who takes issue

with God: Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?

(Romans 9:20) Responding to the perennial objection that it would be

unjust for God to elect some and reprobate others, the Apostle Paul

writes to the Romans, in chapter 9:14-16: "What shall we say then? Is

there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I

will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have

compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of himthat willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."

The Apostle Paul explicitly says that becoming saved is not

the result of any exertion or willing by man. It is the result of God

exercising His right to show mercy to whom He will show mercy.


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God is the Potter, says the Apostle Paul, and we are the clay.

He is Sovereign and in His awesome sovereignty has elected some

people to be vessels unto honor, and others to be vessels of wrath

prepared for destruction. (Romans 9:20-23)

Irresistible Grace

My spiritual sight is a miracle of grace! The grace of the Holy

Spirit is irresistible. Could Bartimaeus have resisted the power of the

Holy Spirit when He gave him physical sight? When the Holy Spirit

blows like a mighty wind in the heart of a man to give him the new

birth, can any man resist Him? In John 3:8, Jesus spoke of the

Sovereignty of the Holy Spirit in the new birth: "The wind blowethwhere it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell

whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of

the Spirit."

Jesus is explaining how anyone is born again. It is not

because a person, by a supposed free will, chooses to believe in

Christ. It is because the Mighty and Invisible Holy Spirit blows into

their lives and recreates them. He then convicts the elect sinner of his

sins and gives him spiritual sight so he can look to the cross of

Calvary for forgiveness.

John Newton places an accent on the powerful grace of the

Holy Spirit in stanza 2:

Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appearThe hour I first believed!

Newton pictures grace as a power. Grace is a power that

enabled his heart to fear a holy God. Grace was a power that took

away his fears. By placing the accent on grace as the means by which

he came to fear God and the way by which he experienced the

assurance of salvation, He is honoring God the Holy Spirit. In other

words, God the Holy Spirit did these things by His Almighty power.The Bible teaches that the reason why someone becomes a

Christian is because the Holy Spirit opens his or her heart. About

Lydia of Thyatira, we are told in Acts 16:14: Whose heart the Lord

opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.


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The Perseverance of the Saints

I do not know what the future holds. But I do know this:

Thro many dangers, toils, and snares,I have already come;

Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

John Newton places an emphasis on grace. Grace is like a

power that has enabled me to come safely this far, and not backslide

from the faith. Grace is the power to bring me to my Heavenly home.

This is the sovereign grace of God.Because of Christs undying, unshakable love for His sheep,

nothing will ever separate us from Him. Jesus says in John 10:28-29:

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither

shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave

them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of

my Fathers hand."

This is the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. God

will preserve His saints. Nothing can separate them from His love.

Christ has purchased His elect sheep by His blood, and no devilish

lion can rip them out of his hands.

What a comforting doctrine it is to know that Grace will lead

me home.How precious it is to know that God will always care for me.

Listen to these triumphant words of Newton:

The Lord has promised good to me,

His Word my hope secures;

He will my shield and portion be,

As long as life endures.

I can face the future. If God is my shield, how can assaults of

the devil, the sinful world, or my old flesh succeed? I am safe in the

arms of the everlasting God!The doctrines of Total Depravity, Unconditional Election,

Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and the Perseverance of the

Saints, were the truths John Newton believed. In Amazing Grace!

he celebrates the wonder of the grace of God. Have you also been

wonderstruck by grace so amazing?


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attacks of September 11, 2001. Inclusivism is the idea that the various

world religions are all ways back to God. But the very name of the

Savior, Jesus, points to Jesus of Nazareth as the only and the

complete and the exclusive Savior of sinners. Jesus alone is Savior.

This is the rich implication of the motto Solus Christus for our day.No salvation exists in the false prophets of pagan religions. Salvation

is found only in the name of Jesus Christ.

Since the error of inclusivism poses a danger to missionary

motivation, we will examine what the Bible teaches about the

exclusivity of salvation in Jesus Christ.

The majority of mankind considers Christ lightly. He is

treated merely as a Jewish Rabbi who was a great prophet. The

Hindus happily add Jesus to their pantheon. Little do they considerhow blasphemous it is to compare the Son of God incarnate with

idols.

Christ may not be dealt with so lightly. The Bible teaches that

the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity is the Creator,

the Sustainer, and the goal of the creation. Paul writes about Jesus, in

Colossians 1:16-17: "For by him were all things created, tha

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The Solas of the Reformation