THE MATERIAL PRINCIPLE OF
EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY
A
Study By
Gary Ray Branscome
"But
now the righteousness of God without the law is revealed… For Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to every one who believes”. // “
If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no
light in them.” (Romans
we interpret the Bible in the light of what it says
about our justification. For example: When we come to the words, “the
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God,” we read those words with the
understanding that it is the forgiveness we have in Christ, not works, that
makes us righteous (1Corinthians 6:9, 1John 1:7). Furthermore, because the
Bible clearly tells us that we are “justified by faith,” we are not reading our
own ideas into the text when we interpret Scripture in that way, but are
allowing Scripture to interpret itself.
[Note: Since Scripture was written to bring us to
faith in Christ, that is the way God intended for it to be interpreted. John
Once we understand what it means to be justified by faith,
it becomes obvious that the law was never intended to make us righteous, but
was instead intended to show us our sin and need for a Savior (Romans 3:10-20
and 5:20). True righteousness comes to us through faith in Christ. That
knowledge is known in theology as THE P
Romans
3:19-22- Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under
the law: so that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore no flesh will ever be justified in God’s sight
by the deeds of the law: because the knowledge of sin comes by the law. But
now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by
the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which comes through
faith in Jesus Christ to all and upon all who believe.
Of course, those who are under the delusion of works
righteousness continue to assume that the law is what makes people righteous,
even though the Bible says otherwise (Romans 3:19-20). In some cases they know,
and even profess to believe that, the law can never make us righteous, and that
we receive God’s gift of righteousness through faith in Christ alone. However,
they fail to bring their thinking into agreement with God’s Word.
It is bad enough when those who have
never heard the gospel think that their own works will make them righteous. It
is even worse when those who profess to believe in Christ seek righteousness
through the law. Therefore, it is important to stress the fact that, once we
come to faith in Christ, God’s law no longer condemns us (even though we may
still use the law to condemn our own shortcomings). For unless we sin willfully
(as David did in the matter of Uriah), no sin is ever
imputed to us. [1Kings 15:5, Hebrews
As we more fully understand the proper relationship of law
to gospel, we find that it involves everything that the Bible teaches. One
aspect of it has to do with interpreting Scripture in the light of what the
Bible says about justification by faith. Another aspect of it has to do with
applying that truth to various situations that arise. When Martin Luther first
realized that all of Scripture was either law or gospel, he went through the
entire Bible, analyzing each passage in order to determine which statements
were law and which were gospel. For example: The statement, “Jesus wept” is
gospel because it reveals God's love for us, while the story of Saul's visit to
the witch of Endor is law because it condemns sin
(John
Because we are “justified by faith alone without the deeds
of the law,” Satan will do all that he can to keep us from coming to faith
(Romans
[Note: Once someone has become ensnared in this
vicious circle of self-deception they cannot be honest about their sin without
losing their motivation, for if they really believed that all of their works
accomplish nothing, they would stop trying. Matthew
People who are under this delusion
often have a contempt for the gospel, for having convinced themselves that they
are righteous, they tend to regard the doctrine of Justification by Faith as
little more than an excuse to sin (2Timothy 3:6, Matthew 13:19). Nevertheless,
in spite of all their outward show they do not really have a repentant heart,
for if they really believed that they could get to heaven without keeping the
law they would commit all the sexual sins they could. In fact, some lose their
motivation and wind up using the gospel as an excuse to do just that, thereby
proving that they count “the blood of the covenant… an unholy thing” (Hebrews
10:29). Therefore, even though such people appear to be knowledgeable about the
law, they really need to be convicted of their sin, for they will not be open
to the gospel until they are willing to acknowledge their sin and need of a
Savior (Matthew 7:6). Worse yet, they often react to the gospel by accusing
those who preach it of promoting immorality (Romans 3:8). What they fail to see
is that if they were really righteous, their flesh would not be yearning to do
evil in the first place (Jeremiah 17:9, James
Because the delusion of works
righteousness is very strong, those who have been held in the grip of it often
continue to look to the law for motivation even after they come to faith in
Christ. Although the Holy Spirit has convinced them that salvation is by grace,
they still try to please God, or gain His favor, by their works. In short, they
are double-minded. On one hand they profess to believe that grace is God’s
unmerited favor, on the other they try to merit it. One minute they will sing
“Only Trust Him” and the next minute they will sing “Trust and Obey.” In other
words, they have learned the language of faith but have not yet learned to
think in accord with it (Romans 10:4, 2 Peter
Even though the Apostle Paul
carefully explains why the law cannot make us righteous, those who want to be
motivated by the law are continually trying to find some way around his words.
Therefore, as soon as they learn that James said, “by works a man is justified
and not by faith only,” they assume that the words of James negate what Paul
said (Romans
To walk by faith is to conduct
ourselves in a way that is in accord with the fact that we are justified by
faith. In other words, if we really believe that our faith is accounted to us
for righteousness, we will not be trying to make ourselves righteous (Galatians
3:6-8). That does not mean that we try to do evil! On the contrary, we came to
Jesus in the first place because we were sorry for our sins. Because we love
Jesus we want to be honest law-abiding citizens, responsible parents, and
trustworthy employees. We want to be faithful to our spouse, to do what is
right, to be loving, helpful, kind and forgiving. However, our motivation in
doing such things is the love of God, not the delusion that our works bring
God’s favor, or make us righteous (2Timothy 1:7, Isaiah 64:6). Nevertheless, I
have said this to some people only to have them recoil in horror, not because I
am advocating wickedness, but because they want to believe that they are
required to keep the law, so that they can be motivated by the law (Romans
7:6). In fact, as long as a person thinks that the law will make them righteous
(even if they admit that they fall short) they will see freedom from the law as
freedom to be unrighteous. For that reason, it is only as we come to understand
that the law does not make us even a little bit righteous, that we can see that
freedom from the law is the freedom to be righteous (Romans 3:10, 20, Isaiah
64:6). In other words, if the law keeps us from being righteous by continually
condemning everything we do, then the only way we can be righteous is to be
freed from the law. And, the blood of Christ frees us from the law by cleansing
us of all condemnation, thus making us righteous apart from the law (1John 1:7,
Romans
While the world
may regard those who seek righteousness by the law as holy. In the eyes
of God they are just as unrepentant as someone who is a whoremonger and proud
of it (Luke 18:9, Galatians 5:4). However, because the delusion of works
righteousness is deeply rooted in the human heart, the religions of this world
are all works oriented (Jeremiah 17:9, 1Corinthians
“let us prophesy according to the standard of
faith”
(Romans 12:6 interpreted by Isaiah 8:20)
Once we understand how we are justified, it is important for
us to bring our thoughts and words into agreement with that justification
(2Corinthians 10:5, Romans 12:2). This involves interpreting the words of
Scripture in the light of what is says about our inability to please God by our
works, and the fact that true righteousness comes only through faith in Christ
(Romans 3:10-28). It also involves learning to express ourselves in a way that
is not easily misunderstood. For example: There is no problem with the statement,
“God’s law requires obedience,” as long as it is understood that no one is able
to do what the law requires. However, the words, “We must obey,” could easily
hinder the work of the Gospel because they imply that we must “obey” to be
saved (Galatians 5:4, 2Timothy
As we learn to interpret God’s Word in the light of what it
says about justification by faith, it becomes clear that many passages will be
understood one way by those who look to works for righteousness, and in another
way by those who look to grace. Consider the following examples:
Those who trust in works assume that the “strait gate”
spoken of in Matthew 7:13-14, is the way of works righteousness (Matthew
When those who trust in works read that, “David did that
which was right in the eyes of the Lord,” they assume that David’s works are
being spoken of (1Kings 15:5). In contrast, those who understand what it means
to be justified by faith realize that because there are “none righteous,” David
could only be counted as doing right as long as his sins were not imputed
(Galatians 3:6, Romans 4:6-8,13).
When those who trust in works read that, “Whoever will eat
this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, will be guilty of the
body and blood of the Lord” they assume that works determine who is worthy and
who is not (1Corinthians
When those who trust in works read that
God told Abraham, “In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because you have obeyed my voice,” they assume that Abraham’s “obedience”
somehow earned that blessing (Genesis
Those who trust in works generally assume that “the
fear of God” is what should motivate them to keep the law. In contrast, those
who understand what the Bible says about justification by faith (and the fact
that the law cannot make us righteous) should be able to see that those who seek
righteousness by the law cannot truly fear God. If they did they would stop
excusing their sins when they slip up, and would instead acknowledge those
sins, seek God’s mercy, and trust God’s promise of forgiveness in Christ
(Proverbs 28:13).
When those who trust in works read
that, “God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he who fears Him,
and does what is right, is accepted with Him,” they assume those who are
accepted are accepted on the basis of their works (Acts
When those who trust in works learn
that James said, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had
offered Isaac his son upon the altar?” they assume that James is talking about
works of “obedience” (James
When those who trust in works read
that, “the law entered that offense [sin] might abound,” they are baffled, for
they assume that the purpose of the law is to reduce sin (Romans
When those who trust in works read
the words, “Don’t you know that in a race all of the runners run, but only one
receives the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize,” they assume that
the prize is a reward given to us because of our works (1 Corinthians
When those who trust in works read
the words, “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin,” they assume that
works are what makes a person sinless (1John 3:9). In contrast, those who
understand what it means to be justified by faith are able to see a parallel
between those words and the words, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted
to him for righteousness.” In other words, when we believe God’s promise of
forgiveness in Christ [i.e. are born again] our faith is accounted to us for sinlessness (Galatians 3:6). Or, to put it another way, no
sin is imputed to those who trust in Christ (Romans 4:6-8, Hebrews
When those who trust in works read
the words, “whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his
commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight,” they assume
that our works determine if we are keeping God’s commandments or not (1John
When those who trust in works read
the words, “all who are in the graves will hear his voice, And will come forth;
those who have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and those who have
done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation,” they assume that works
determine who has done good and who has done evil (John 5:28). In contrast,
those who understand what it means to be justified by faith realize that if
there are “none righteous,” and “all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags” then the only people who are not condemned for the evil
they have done are those to whom God does not impute sin, namely those who
trust in Christ (Romans 4:1-8). As it is written, there is “no condemnation to
them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 5:1).
When those who trust in works read
the words, “when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory
that will never fade away,” they assume that the “crown of glory” is a reward
earned by our works (1Peter 5:4). In contrast, those who understand what it
means to be justified by faith realize that if works cannot make us righteous,
works cannot make us worthy of any crown. Therefore, when Paul speaks of the
end of a life of faith as a crown, he is telling us that heaven is so glorious
that simply getting there is will more than make up for anything we go through.
Or as he put it in Romans
Finally, while those who trust in
works tend to think of conversion as a decision to start living by the law,
once we come to faith in Christ, we can see that true conversion consists of
coming to faith in Christ. Moreover, the Bible makes it perfectly clear that
our faith is totally a gift of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Left to
ourselves, we could not and would not believe (1Corinthians 12:3). Once we come
to faith our sins are forgiven, we rise spiritually from being dead in
trespasses and sins to new life in Christ, and all the riches of heaven are
ours (Ephesians 2:1,6, 1 Corinthians 5:21).
Because the Bible was written to testify of Christ, it is only understood
correctly when it is understood in the light of what it says about Christ and
how we are justified through faith in His finished work. Moreover, since we are
saved by what Christ did, not by what we do, and since that salvation is a gift
of God’s grace that we receive through faith alone, all of the glory for our
salvation belongs to God alone (Isaiah 42:8).
“CHRIST ALONE”
“GRACE ALONE”
“FAITH ALONE”
“ALL GLORY TO GOD ALONE”