The connection between faith and righteousness

Romans 4:1-8; 12/15/2024; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang

 Introduction

          Although faith is the breakthrough of the New Testament, Paul still strives to draw a thread of grace from the Old Testament.  In the testimony of Abraham, faith is a simple motivation and unconditional acceptance of the risks and challenges of life.  Let’s look at the first point:

The core of faith

Since it is a motive, it must be connected with the fruits of faith.  First, what was gained according to flesh?  What is flesh?  The flesh is the steps that run counter to the spirit, the traces that go against God. Flesh is essentially the life of Adam, or the value system that continues the life of Adam’s old self.  Under this principle, it doesn’t matter who it is, not even Abraham.  What Paul means is that everyone must face the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.  If Abraham relied solely on God’s choice of him,  then Paul would ask: “What did our ancestors gain through the flesh?”  When we decided to pray and believe in the Lord, we seemed to have entered a big spiritual family.  The same proposition is before us, “What can we gain according to flesh?”        

Secondly, there is nothing to brag about.  We boast because we seem to think we have something to boast about, right?  When people complete something, they will inevitably have a sense of expectation to see how others evaluate themselves, right?  Especially when you get recognition or praise from others, you will feel happy in your heart, right?  This actually gives rise to the so-called temptation of “something to boast about”, which is often hidden deep in the heart and not easily revealed to others.  The essence of this “boast” is that the beginning of our justification by works emerges.  Especially when we are still expecting others to say a few words of what we desire in our hearts, we have already fallen into the trap.  Of course, it is not easy to realize that we have nothing to boast about before God.        

Finally, faith is accounted for righteousness.  It’s a difficult question, right?  It is our nature to be praised or to boast, but it is really difficult to live without boasting before God.  What to do?  At this time, Paul also quoted scriptures.  He said: “What does the scripture say? It says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”   What does it mean to be “accounted” to him as righteousness?  The word “count” in the original language means to keep accounts, which means that Abraham’s faith was remembered by God and deposited into the ledger.  In the kingdom of God, once a person’s faith is credited to God’s account, it is credited as righteousness.  Of course, faith itself is not righteousness, nor is it a worthy act.  However, faith is the source of righteousness and the basis for justification by faith.  Let’s look at the second point: 

 The connection of faith

For faith to be connected to God’s righteousness, there needs to be grace as a bridge.  So, what is the nature of grace?  The core of grace is that you get it for free without paying the price.  First, the origin of grace.  Grace is provided for the forgiveness of sins. Why?  Because salvation is by grace, and of course by faith.  So, what is not called grace?  Paul said, “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.”  No matter what we do, once we feel that we deserve it, we are far away from God’s grace.  Once you leave God’s grace, you will lose whatever you have gained.  Since it is grace, you cannot rely on what you have.  Therefore, if a person wants to gain life, he must first give up his life.  It is the life of the old self, the life of Adam, the life of inevitable destruction.       

Second, justify the sinner.  Paul said, “But to him who does not work but believes in God who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”  What does that mean?  God’s great saving work is to justify sinners.  From God’s perspective, the rhythm of justifying sinners began when He sent Christ Jesus to become flesh, sacrifice his life on the cross, and rise from the dead three days later.  When a sinner is saved,  the angels and hosts in heaven cheer and praise God’s grace.  It may be difficult for the world to understand why God justifies sinners.  What’s so great about it?  The core of it is that because people are unworthy and full of sins, how can they be called righteous?   Even Satan doesn’t understand, jumping up and down to accuse God’s children!  But it’s no use!       

Lastly, faith accounted for righteousness.  Being counted righteous by God is a unilateral act of God.  This is our salvation.  It is entirely a matter of grace and is not something anyone can boast about.  There is only one thing people should do, and that is to believe!  Whom to believe? Believe in God!  What kind of God do you believe in?  Paul said very carefully that it is faith, and faith alone, in God who justifies the ungodly.   We are justified by God, not earned by ourselves.  Only in this case will man’s faith be counted as righteousness by God.  Therefore, justifying sinners is not only an act of God, but also the content of man’s belief.  Of course, faith is not just knowing, but loving the Lord our God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength!  To put it more vividly, it means to believe in God.  Let’s look at the third point: 

The essence of faith

When it comes to the reality of life, the essence of faith is that people want to be blessed in the presence of God.  First, blessed are those who are justified by God. Connecting faith with blessing is a great revelation in the New Testament.  Especially in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talked about eight conditions of blessed people.  No matter what kind of blessing it is, it must be based on faith.  Why should we say that the poor in spirit are blessed, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.  If you want to get the kingdom of heaven, you must first believe that there is a kingdom of heaven!   Blessed are the pure in heart because they will see God.  Likewise, anyone who comes before God must first believe that there is God!   And you must only believe in God who justifies sinners, right?  On the contrary, what if people don’t believe it?  Then it would be impossible to understand the guidance of the Holy Spirit, let alone believe that Christ came in the flesh, and he would not be a blessed person.        

Second, blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven.  David had a deep understanding of God’s forgiveness.  After he and Bathsheba slept together, he went even further and indirectly killed Bathsheba’s husband Uriah on the battlefield.  The prophet Nathan came to rebuke him, and he repented!  David said to God in prayer:     “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.  (Psalm 51:4)”  The reason why David became a man who pleased God was because he was devoted to God wholeheartedly and without any reservation.  We can easily see from the Psalms written by David that he was dedicated, unique, and first to God. 

Lastly, blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.  Frankly speaking, are there any people in the world who have no sin, or who have never sinned?  However, if God calls us righteous, it means that our sins are not counted as sins.  The Bible says, this person is blessed!  Remember Nathanael?  There was quite a bit of criticism and discussion about Jesus being a Nazarene.  However, Jesus said that he was a man in whom there was no deceit.  All of a sudden, I was also confused.  Originally, in the eyes of people, Nathanael was an insignificant person with no merit,  but because of Christ’s declaration, Nathanael became a blessed person throughout the ages. Maybe some of us will ask: Why?  Is it okay to just rely on the Lord to not count anyone guilty?  In fact, because we believe in Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven and God does not consider us guilty!

Conclusion

Well, thank the Lord!  The connection between faith and righteousness is whether the core of faith shows justification by faith, whether the connection of faith is connected with grace, and the essence of faith is whether our life is blessed.        

Let us pray……

1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 

2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 

3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 

4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 

5 And to the one who does not work but believes in  him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 

6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”