WEEK 3 How Can a Person Be Right With God?

Transcription

1 WEEK 3 How Can a Person Be Right With God? What? Luther the Monk o At the age of 21, Martin Luther became a monk in the order of the Augustinians o He would prove to be incredibly devout o Some would say that his behavior bordered on the compulsive o He would devote himself to: the renunciation of self-will, the scant diet, rough clothing, vigils by night and labors by day, mortification of the flesh, the reproach of poverty, the shame of begging, and the distastefulness of cloistered existence. Roland H Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther o His inordinate devotion to the cloistered life was driven by a need to merit salvation o One of the prayers prayed over each novice was as follows: Bless thou thy servant. Hear, O Lord, our heartful pleas and deign to confer they blessing on this they servant, whom in thy holy name we have clad in the habit of a monk, that he may continue with they help faithful in thy Church and merit eternal life through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen. o Martin Luther would later say of himself: I was a good monk, and I kept the rules of my order so strictly that I may say that if ever a monk got to heaven by his monkery it was I. All my brothers in the monastery who knew me will bear me out. If I had kept on any longer, I should have killed myself with vigils, prayers, reading, and other work. Roland H Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther o The question plaguing Martin Luther was, How perfect do you have to be to get to heaven? - This was the battle waging war within him - In the monastery, the path to salvation was difficult, but not impossible

2 - It did require a great deal of merit The monks were reminded that purgatory existed for those who not bad enough for hell or good enough for heaven. God was portrayed as angry and merciful, vengeful and forgiving. But if one followed the teachings of the church and took advantage of its many means of grace, one could reasonably hope that a merciful God would receive the penitent. All that anyone could do as they approached death was to appeal to Mary, asking that God would show some leniency and saving grace. Luther was terror stricken at the thought of Christ as judge. He sought to lay hold of every means of grace that was available to him. He knew that he could never get to heaven without the merit of Christ, but he also believed that he had to earn such merit. Erwin W. Lutzer, Rescuing the Gospel - Luther fasted so much that his friends feared for his life - He practiced vigils and prayers to excess - He slept without blankets to mortify the flesh - He went begging to learn humiliation - His problem was that he could not satisfy God According to the Roman Church, in order to be declared just or right with God, you must first be sanctified to the point that you exhibit a righteousness that is acceptable to God. o According to Roman Catholic teaching, justification takes place primarily through the use of the seven sacraments of the church - Baptism - Anointing of the sick - Confirmation - Holy Orders - Eucharist - Marriage - Penance The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rights by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the grace proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Penance was a huge issue for Luther - The fear of unconfessed in plagued him - He confessed regularly and repeatedly - He knew that unconfessed sin would rob him of grace Ken Miller Presented by MOMENTUM, a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, TX

3 Sins to be forgiven must be confessed. to be confessed they must be recognized and remembered. If they are not recognized and remembers, they cannot be confessed. If they are not confessed, they cannot be forgiven. Roland H Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther - Luther realized his whole nature was corrupt - He had sins he wasn t even aware of to confess - He was obsessed with the image of Christ as judge - How could he love a God he dreaded and feared? Is it not against all natural reason that God out of his mere whim deserts men, hardens them, damns them, as if he delighted in sins and in such torments of the wretched for eternity, he who is said to be of such mercy and goodness? This appears iniquitous and intolerable to God, by which many have been offended in all ages. And who would not be? I was myself more than once driven to the very abyss of despair so that I wished I had never been created. Love God? I hated him! Roland H Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther o Luther found the answer in Scripture He began teaching a course on Romans He ran across the following passage: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith. Romans 1:16-17 ESV - That last phrase petrified him - It was God s perfect righteousness that condemned unrighteous, sinful men - But he wrestled with what it meant to for the righteous to live by faith He ran across more verses: Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Romans 4:3 ESV Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness Romans 4:5 ESV Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2 ESV 2017 Ken Miller Presented by MOMENTUM, a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, TX 3

4 - Luther had rediscovered the gospel The righteousness of God was not a characteristic to be feared, but a gift to be received through Christ Through Christ, God provided a righteousness we could never have achieved on our own Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. Erwin W. Lutzer, Rescuing the Gospel - This was a life-changing moment for Luther When he came to understand the gospel, he realized that Jesus made a perfect payment for all of his sins and that if he received that gift, he would be declared righteous until the day of his death. Erwin W. Lutzer, Rescuing the Gospel o The Roman Church taught that justification required: - Faith plus works - Grace plus merit - Jesus plus inherent righteousness o But Luther found that Scripture taught something different For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Romans 3:28 ESV but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. Romans 5:8-9 ESV - The reformers rediscovered the joy of justification based on FAITH ALONE For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV o The Catholic Response: The Council of Trent 1546 Having, therefore, been thus justified, and made the friends and domestics of God, advancing from virtue to virtue, they are renewed, as the Apostle says, day by day; that is, by mortifying the members of their own flesh, and by presenting them as instruments of justice unto sanctification, they, through the observance of the commandments of God and of the Church, faith co-operating with good works, increase in that justice which they have received through the grace of Christ, and are still further justified, as it is written; He that is just, let him be justified still; and again, Be not afraid to be justified even to death; and also, Ken Miller Presented by MOMENTUM, a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, TX

5 Do you see that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. And this increase of justification holy Church begs, when she prays, "Give unto us, O Lord, increase of faith, hope, and charity." Session VI Wherefore, no one ought to flatter himself up with faith alone, fancying that by faith alone he is made an heir, and will obtain an inheritance CANON XII.-If any one saith, that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ's sake; or, that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified; let him be anathema. CANON XXIV.-If any one saith, that the justice received is not preserved and also increased before God through good works; but that the said works are merely the fruits and signs of Justification obtained, but not a cause of the increase thereof; let him be anathema. - But the apostle Paul would have a different opinion: But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8-9 ESV For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 2 Corinthians 11:4 ESV So what? o So much hinges on this doctrine - Salvation - Eternal security - Assurance of salvation - The sufficiency of Christ JUSTIFICATION By faith in Christ, our sins are complete forgiven 2017 Ken Miller Presented by MOMENTUM, a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, TX 5

6 God not only forgives our sin, He removes it from us. But the problem is, now we have a clean slate, but we are missing the one thing we need to be made right with Him: righteousness. A lack of sin is not enough to make us right with God. Sinless is not the requirement, righteousness is. God replaces our sin with the righteousness of Christ. At the cross, Christ took on our sin and we were imputed His righteousness. - We are declared righteous by God - We are not inherently righteous - The Roman Church taught that you must BECOME righteous to be fully seen as just before God Righteousness must be inherent within the person; God must examine his life and find righteousness there. If a person dies in mortal sin, he goes to hell. If the person dies with any sin, with any imperfection or blemish on his soul, he cannot be admitted into heaven but must first go through the purging fires of purgatory, where his impurities are cleansed away until such time as righteousness is truly inherent in him. R. C. Sproul, Are We Together? Ken Miller Presented by MOMENTUM, a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, TX

7 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 ESV - If you died today, you would stand before God as righteous because of the righteousness of Christ 2017 Ken Miller Presented by MOMENTUM, a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, TX 7

8

9 HOMEWORK: WEEK 4 WHAT IS WRONG WITH US? As we prepare for week four in our study of the Reformation, we are going to deal with a topic that was, and still is, very controversial within the church. It pertains to the condition of man as a result of the fall. There had been much debate regarding this topic leading up to the period of the Reformation. There was one school of thought that taught that man was inherently good and capable of doing righteous acts. This was known as Pelagianism, named for its primary proponent, Pelagius. Pelagius was a Roman who lived in the 5th-Century, and who proposed that there was no such thing as original sin. Adam and Eve s sin in the garden impacted only themselves. And he also taught that man is totally free to do good or evil, apart from any need for the grace of God. Pelagianism was eventually condemned as heresy by the church, but it continued to have tremendous influence on theological thought. Since the Reformation ultimately dealt with the topic of how sinful man gets right with a holy God, the topic of sin and man s need for salvation is essential. Take a few minutes to consider what you think about the condition of man. Would you tend to agree with Pelagius, that man is inherently good and capable of doing righteous acts? Or would you tend to see man as sinful and totally incapable of doing righteous acts? Write down your thoughts. Now, read Romans 5: What does this passage seem to teach about the concept of original sin and how does it impact you today? 2017 Ken Miller Presented by MOMENTUM, a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, TX

10 2 Read the following quote from the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, and write down how what he says differs from what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans: We become righteous by doing righteous deeds. Aristotle, The Nichomachean Ethics Erasmus and Luther would have an ongoing debate regarding man s free will and the concept of total depravity. Erasmus would define free will as a power of the human will by which a man can apply himself to the things which lead to eternal salvation, or turn away from them. But Luther would argue, with Paul, that man is incapable of doing anything good that would lead to salvation. Why do you think this argument came to a head during the Reformation? Read the following passage and write down what they about the degree of man s sinfulness: Isaiah 64:6 Romans 3:9-12. Psalms 14:1-3. Just for your own benefit, read the following quote from the CCBC doctrinal statement: We believe that man was originally created in the image and after the likeness of God, and that he fell through sin, and, as a consequence of his sin, lost his spiritual life, becoming dead in trespasses and sins, and that he became subject to the power of the devil. We also believe that this spiritual death, or total depravity of human nature, has been transmitted to the entire human race of man, the Man Christ Jesus alone being excepted; and hence that every child of Adam is born into the world with a nature which not only possesses no spark of divine life, but is essentially and unchangeably bad apart from divine grace (Gen. 1:26; 2:17; 6:5; Pss. 14:1 3; 51:5; Jer. 17:9; John 3:6; 5:40; 6:35; Rom. 3:10 19; 8:6 7; Eph. 2:1 3; 1 Tim. 5:6; 1 John 3:8). Read the attached article by John Piper on the topic of total depravity Ken Miller Presented by MOMENTUM, a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, TX

11 Total Depravity John Piper & Bethlehem Baptist Church Staff 1998 MINNEAPOLIS, MN-- When we speak of man's depravity we mean man's natural condition apart from any grace exerted by God to restrain or transform man. There is no doubt that man could perform more evil acts toward his fellow man than he does. But if he is restrained from performing more evil acts by motives that are not owing to his glad submission to God, then even his "virtue" is evil in the sight of God. Romans 14:23 says, "Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." This is a radical indictment of all natural "virtue" that does not flow from a heart humbly relying on God's grace. The terrible condition of man's heart will never be recognized by people who assess it only in relation to other men. Romans 14:23 makes plain that depravity is our condition in relation to God primarily, and only secondarily in relation to man. Unless we start here we will never grasp the totality of our natural depravity. Man's depravity is total in at least four senses. (1) Our rebellion against God is total. Apart from the grace of God there is no delight in the holiness of God, and there is no glad submission to the sovereign authority of God. Of course, totally depraved men can be very religious and very philanthropic. They can pray and give alms and fast, as Jesus said (Matthew 6:1-18). But their very religion is rebellion against the rights of their Creator, if it does not come from a childlike heart of trust in the free grace of God. Religion is one of the chief ways that man conceals his unwillingness to forsake self-reliance and bank all his hopes on the unmerited mercy of God (Luke 18:9-14; Colossians 2:20-23). The totality of our rebellion is seen in Romans 3:9-10 and 18. "I have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, as it is written: None is righteous, no not one; no one seeks for God...There is no fear of God before their eyes." It is a myth that man in his natural state is genuinely seeking God. Men do seek God. But they do not seek him for who he is. They seek him in a pinch as one who might preserve them from death or enhance their worldly enjoyments. Apart from conversion, no one comes to the light of God. Some do come to the light. But listen to what John 3:20-21 says about them. "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God."

12 Yes, there are those who come to the light -- namely those whose deeds are the work of God. "Wrought in God" means worked by God. Apart from this gracious work of God all men hate the light of God and will not come to him lest their evil be exposed -- this is total rebellion. "No one seeks for God...There is no fear of God before their eyes!" (2) In his total rebellion, everything man does is sin. In Romans 14:23 Paul says, "Whatever is not from faith is sin." Therefore, if all men are in total rebellion, everything they do is the product of rebellion and cannot be an honor to God, but only part of their sinful rebellion. If a king teaches his subjects how to fight well and then those subjects rebel against their king and use the very skill he taught them to resist him, then even those skills become evil. Thus, man does many things which he can only do because he is created in the image of God and which in the service of God could be praised. But in the service of man's self-justifying rebellion, these very things are sinful. In Romans 7:18 Paul says, "I know that no good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh." This is a radical confession of the truth that in our rebellion nothing we think or feel is good. It is all part of our rebellion. The fact that Paul qualifies his depravity with the words, "that is, in my flesh," shows that he is willing to affirm the good of anything that the Spirit of God produces in him (Romans 15:18). "Flesh" refers to man in his natural state apart from the work of God's Spirit. So what Paul is saying in Romans 7:18 is that apart from the work of God's Spirit all we think and feel and do is not good. NOTE: We recognize that the word "good" has a broad range of meanings. We will have to use it in a restricted sense to refer to many actions of fallen people which in relation are in fact not good. For example, we will have to say that it is good that most unbelievers do not kill and that some unbelievers perform acts of benevolence. What we mean when we call such actions good is that they more or less conform to the external pattern of life that God has commanded in Scripture. However, such outward conformity to the revealed will of God is not righteousness in relation to God. It is not done out of reliance on him or for his glory. He is not trusted for the resources, though he gives them all. Nor is his honor exalted, even though that's his will in all things (1 Corinthians 10:31). Therefore, even these "good" acts are part of our rebellion and are not "good" in the sense that really counts in the end -- in relation to God. (3) Man's inability to submit to God and do good is total. Picking up on the term "flesh" above (man apart from the grace of God) we find Paul declaring it to be totally enslaved to rebellion. Romans 8:7-8 says, "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

13 The "mind of the flesh" is the mind of man apart from the indwelling Spirit of God ("You are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really dwells in you," Romans 8:9). So natural man has a mindset that does not and cannot submit to God. Man cannot reform himself. Ephesians 2:1 says that we Christians were all once "dead in trespasses and sins." The point of deadness is that we were incapable of any life with God. Our hearts were like a stone toward God (Ephesians 4:18; Ezekiel 36:26). Our hearts were blind and incapable of seeing the glory of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). We were totally unable to reform ourselves. (4) Our rebellion is totally deserving of eternal punishment. Ephesians 2:3 goes on to say that in our deadness we were "children of wrath." That is, we were under God's wrath because of the corruption of our hearts that made us as good as dead before God. The reality of hell is God's clear indictment of the infiniteness of our guilt. If our corruption were not deserving of an eternal punishment God would be unjust to threaten us with a punishment so severe as eternal torment. But the Scriptures teach that God is just in condemning unbelievers to eternal hell (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Matthew 5:29f; 10:28; 13:49f; 18:8f; 25:46; Revelation 14:9-11; 20:10). Therefore, to the extent that hell is a total sentence of condemnation, to that extent must we think of ourselves as totally blameworthy apart from the saving grace of God. In summary, total depravity means that our rebellion against God is total, everything we do in this rebellion is sin, our inability to submit to God or reform ourselves is total, and we are therefore totally deserving of eternal punishment.