Many years ago, I had the opportunity to meet one of the great men of God at a camp meeting in Tennessee. His Bible-rich sermons on righteousness by faith inspired me and helped frame how I related to God.
As I stood in line, waiting my turn to shake his hand, I was a little “star-struck.” I began to think about what I wanted to say to him. The line moved closer, but I still had nothing to say other than,
“I really enjoy your sermons.”
When it finally came to my turn to shake his hand, I blurted out,
“I believe in righteousness by faith.” (ugh! How stupid sounding!)
His response has never left me over the years. He looked at me with a smile and said,
“Good!” That’s the only kind.”
Over the years, I have considered and applied this great truth of righteousness by faith. It is indeed the only kind. Knowing that His righteousness is accounted to a sinful person like me provides a sense of lightness in my experience with God. This sense of lightness and freedom is very Biblical.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30 NKJV
The Only Kind
“For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. “ Galatians 5: 5-6 NKJV
Verse 5 is the only place in scripture where the phrase “righteousness by faith” appears, but the theme is throughout scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
Take a look at verse 6 closely. Paul argues that “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails a thing” then the pivot word “but” is used. “Faith working through love.”
Here are two opposing themes: righteousness by our own works (circumcision ) or righteousness by faith working through love.
Circumcision vs. uncircumcision as a prerequisite for salvation was a hotly debated topic during Paul’s day. It is not now. But think of the other divisive hot topics that could be inserted here. Examples:
*Neither Saturday worship nor Sunday worship
*Neither vegetarianism nor eating meat
*Neither premillennialism Nor postmillennialism
*Neither Secret Rapture nor visible return
*Neither baptism by immersion nor sprinkling
*Neither Death as sleep nor Death as transition immediately to Heaven.
None of this avails anything! It doesn’t matter, BUT something else does matter greatly “righteousness by faith working through love.”
All of this theology, as true or untrue as it may be, “avails” (matters) nothing; it doesn’t accomplish anything in our ultimate salvation from eternal death.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
Ephesians 2:8
How important is the experience of faith that is perpetuated by God’s love in us and through us!!!
This is why Jesus said being His disciple is not determined by theology but by love. It is less about what you know and more about who you know and expressed by faith initiated by God’s love.
“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
God is Love is the central theme that all doctrines have their origination. This one point about God can test a true or false doctrine. We cannot produce that kind of love except God lives in us and us in Him.
When we try to influence or gain favor with God through some act of our own, we have become like the pagans who whipped themselves, performed acts of penance; or faithfully attended church to obtain a feeling of righteousness for our deeds and impress God. But it avails nothing!
Next time, we will explore more about righteousness by faith alone. Faith and love are major components of this righteousness, but what does “faith “mean? Where does it come from? How can we practically practice faith each day of our lives? Is it something I must do? Or is it also a gift?
May God lead us to a deeper understanding of His love and His righteousness that is given as a free gift through faith that is initiated by love. It will give a sense of freedom in Christ.
The only sin Jesus ever had was ours. The only righteousness we will ever have is His.
Any way you look at it, the universe is a miracle, and human existence manifoldly so. Evolution or creation are equally miraculous. I have reasonable, logical reasons for believing the latter.
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
As explained by a theologian, “God is Love” means that love, other-centeredness, is not just a facet but lies at the very core of His being. Love is God’s Essence. The most astonishing conclusion I reach is that everything that has happened, is happening, or will ever happen, even when we don’t understand, especially when we don’t understand, has been filtered through a proximate God who loved us enough to become Emanuel, God WITH us. Though sin and its sordid results are always with us, we’ve been promised their reign will one day cease. The old song says, “We’ll understand it better, by and by.”
3. I believe there are those who call themselves Christians but live selfishly.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.
But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
4. I believe “Love” is defined as valuing each person as Christ did when He laid down His life.
That sacrifice was not just for the unborn, the White Evangelical, the American. It was made for every person who has ever inhabited this earth. That means Red, Yellow, Black, White, Gay, Straight, Conservative, Liberal, Biden supporter, Trump supporter, WHOMEVER; if I am true to my confession, I must see them all through Christ’s eyes, and His utmost goal is their salvation. HOW DARE I (OR ANYONE ELSE) MARGINALIZE ANYONE CHRIST IS TRYING TO SAVE?
5. I believe Dr. King was right.
“Destructive means cannot bring constructive ends, because the means represent the-ideal-in-the-making and the-end-in-progress. Immoral means cannot bring moral ends, for the ends are pre-existent in the means.”
Excerpt From Strength to Love chapter on Communism., Martin Luther King Jr
To me that simply means you cannot use Satan’s tactics to bring about God’s kingdom. “By any means necessary” is a statement no Christian can ever utter. Only righteous means will ever bring about righteous ends.
6. Finally, I believe in the judgment.
“A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.”
People fear the judgment, but that’s unwarranted. In a very real sense, God is putting Himself on the stand, inviting us to examine His dealings with mankind to see if anything but love and justice motivated any of His actions. Those who’ve committed to other-centered living, no matter what their failures may be, will be counted righteous, not because of themselves, but because of the Gift. Only those committed to looking out for number one, doing it “my way,” living self-centered need fear. For me, it’s extremely comforting to know that nobody ever truly gets away with anything.
But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:24
The platform for understanding God’s character must start with John’s bedrock description of God Himself:
All Biblical understanding must conform to this grand description of God the Father and Jesus Christ.
If God’s character of love does not transfer into our own experience, it is a demonstration that we don’t really know God. If we don’t have love in our hearts for God and other people (even our enemies), we don’t know God. John said this very clearly:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
1 John 4: 7-8
If our understanding of God rejects these characteristics, it is likely due to a misunderstanding of who God is. If this is the case, certain Bible texts about the nature of God will be twisted to make God uncaring and cruel beyond belief.
A Modern Parable
There was a certain young boy who loved his father very much. We will call him Jim. His Dad, Bill, took an interest in everything Jim did. They often talked about life while fishing or working around the house. His Dad taught him many things about relating to family, friends, and even enemies. He encouraged Jim to love them all and to honor each person. To love them as God loves them.
As far back as he could remember, Jim’s Dad read to him. Nightly, many good books, including the Bible, brought peace and understanding to Jim. Dad taught him how to pray. In the morning, Jim would see his Dad on his knees at the window, praying to God.
When war came, Jim’s Dad volunteered for service and went away to war. Bill was a good soldier that could be trusted. He was promoted rapidly as a leader and was in charge of taking men into battle. After the war, Bill was decorated for his bravery and leadership. Jim was so proud of his father!
The boy grew, and so did his relationship with his father. The boy knew his Dad better than anyone else. He wanted to be like his brave and kind father.
Jim went off to college. While there, he met some young men whose dads had also been to war. They remember the stories told to them of the war. One young man, in particular, had heard of Jim’s decorated Dad. The young man said his father had told stories about Bill torturing the enemy troops that were captured. In detail, Jim’s classmate described the torture of burning a prisoner a little at a time and keeping them alive to suffer even more. The prisoner would cry out for mercy and even death, but Bill ignored them.
Jim was shocked!. He knew his Dad was not that kind of person and rejected the gruesome story of torture.
After discussing this with his Dad, the true story came out. The father of the young man at college was someone who disliked Jim’s Dad and was angry because he did not get the promotions in rank as did Bill. He began to spread rumors and lies to smear Bill’s good name and character. The truth was turned into lies and events twisted to satisfy the narrative of cruelty.
Jim knew his Dad. Because of this, he was certain Bill was not capable of torturing anyone. It was beyond reason and contradicted everything he knew about his Dad. The lessons taught to Jim about God’s love and compassion, even for enemies, did not square with the conflicting characteristics of someone who did not know his Dad nor his God.
God’s Character
Image a God who tortures his enemies for eternity. Is this a God of love and mercy? To believe that God gives no relief from the flames lost sinners can suffer without end means one of a couple of things:
1.) Passages of scripture have been twisted to teach that the lost have eternal life in burning flames even though the Bible clearly states that the wages of sin is eternal death, not eternal life in flames. We may have created a God, in our heads, where His wrath is never satisfied. Unlike God, we want revenge on the evil person and for them to pay for their wrongs through suffering. We want revenge, but God wants justice.
How is it justice that my lost relative who refused to believe in Jesus or go to church should burn without end for his free choice?
2.) We don’t know God. We like the idea of hell where people burn for their evil deeds, but remember…When we talk about salvation, we are talking about the good moral people who don’t care for Jesus or religion. They pay their taxes, have families, and are good neighbors. Should they burn forever along with Hitler? Is it justice to live for 30 years in riotous living, die in a car wreck, and then burn for 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 + years?
Someone suggested I don’t believe in hell. I always tell them, “I believe in a hell that is hotter than the one you support. The hell of the Bible burns up and leaves no root or branch. It is not meant to torture.
For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. Malachi 4:1
This means nothing will be left of the person for eternity. Even Satan is turned into ashes:
Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you.
Ezekiel 28:18
So yes, I believe in a firey END…not firey torture. Sodom and Gomorrah are no longer cities, but they are examples of what will happen to the ungodly at the end of time:
and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;
2 Peter 2:6
Destruction awaits the lost. Jesus tells it plainly:
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
Matthew 7:13
Do you know God?
Do you know God like Jim knew his Dad bill? If God takes no delight in the death of the wicked, He would take no delight in unmerciful torture.
‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.
Ezekiel 33:11
Do you really believe our Heavenly Father, that sent Jesus to die for our sins, would make the penalty of unbelief flames licking at their body parts of melting skin and bones in a torture chamber where people cry out to die? We would need to alter several verses to support this idea. The most famous one of God’s love, John 3:16 would need to be changed to read:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish (burn in flames) but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
Wages of sin is death life in a burning hell for eternity.
Romans 6:23
He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. has a life in burning flames called hell.
1 John 5:12
Friends, salvation is a matter of life or eternal death. Eternal death is punishment enough. But it is also an act of mercy. Heaven is not the place for those who love sin. Their reward or their heaven is while they are on earth living a life of selfish indulgence. Their philosophy is “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
Salvation also includes the victory over the sins that we love. A born-again follower of Jesus is given a new heart, God replaces that love of the world of sin with a love for Him and other people.
Salvation and eternal life are more about who you know rather than what you know:
Author
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
John 17:3
We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20
God does not scare people into accepting Him. He uses powerful words of reason, demonstration, and understanding. It is His love, mercy, compassion, and kindness that win people to Him for eternal life. It is the cross of Christ that draws people to Him.
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
Jeremiah 31:3
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.
John 12:32
This is the God of love that we serve and preach to a dying world. There is no opposing character in our God. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He never changes (Hebrews 13:8, Malachi 3:6).
He loves even the sinner and desires him/her to turn (repent) and live. If this is you, will you do that just now?
