Dear P, Why Faith Alone Matters

Dear P,

We are approaching Reformation Day, and I want to continue writing about some of the convictions your Papa holds concerning the Christian faith.

In my last letter to E, I discussed Sola Scriptura, or Scripture Alone. Today, I want to talk to you about another great truth emphasized during the Reformation.

Sola Fide.

Faith Alone.

But before we begin discussing what the Reformers meant by Faith Alone, I think it would be helpful to understand what true saving faith actually is.

After all, if we say that we are saved through faith, shouldn't we know what faith means?

I want you to consider two passages of Scripture: Romans 4:21 and Matthew 9:28.

In Romans 4, Paul is discussing Abraham and the promises God made to him. Abraham had been promised descendants, even though he and Sarah were well beyond the age when they could ordinarily expect to have children.

But Abraham believed God.

Why?

Paul tells us in Romans 4:21 that Abraham was fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised.

I want you to think about that for a moment.

Abraham wasn't looking at his circumstances and concluding that everything would work out because the odds were in his favor. Quite the opposite. His circumstances gave him every reason to doubt that such a thing could happen naturally.

But Abraham believed that God could do what He said He would do.

And I think that is a wonderful picture of faith.

We see something similar in Matthew 9.

Two blind men came to Jesus seeking mercy. They wanted Him to restore their sight, and Jesus asked them a remarkably simple question.

"Do you believe that I can do this?"

Their answer was equally simple.

"Yes, Lord."

And Jesus healed them.

What a wonderful exchange.

Now, these men were seeking physical healing, and I don't want you to misunderstand their story as a promise that God will grant every request we make. But I do think it illustrates something important about faith.

They recognized their need, came to Jesus, and trusted that He was able to do what they could not do for themselves.

And that brings us to saving faith.

Saving faith is not merely believing that God exists or that Jesus is powerful. It is trusting in Jesus Christ Himself and resting upon Him to accomplish what we could never accomplish for ourselves.

It is believing God's promises concerning His Son and clinging to Christ because your entire life depends upon Him.

And P, your entire life does depend upon Him.

Now, let's talk about Faith Alone.

During the Protestant Reformation, one of the great disagreements concerned how sinful people are justified before a holy God.

That's an important word, too.

Justified.

To be justified is to be declared righteous before God.

And this presents us with a rather serious problem, doesn't it?

We are sinners.

God is holy.

How can a holy God declare an unrighteous person righteous?

Can we earn it? Can we obey enough commandments? Can we perform enough good works to finally convince God that we deserve His favor?

Well, the Reformers answered with a resounding no.

And so does your Papa.

Paul explains in Romans 3:28 that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Then, in Romans 4:4–5, he makes a fascinating distinction between someone who works for a wage and someone who believes in the God who justifies the ungodly.

When you work for something, your wages are owed to you.

But salvation is not a paycheck.

God does not look upon us and reward us with justification because we have accumulated enough obedience.

Rather, He graciously justifies sinners through faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul makes the same point in Ephesians 2:8–9, where he teaches that salvation is by grace through faith, not from ourselves or from works, so that no one can boast.

Think about that.

No one can boast.

Not even the most disciplined, religious, or morally impressive person among us.

We all come to Christ with the same desperate need.

And we bring nothing that could purchase our forgiveness.

This is why the Reformers described faith as an instrument.

Now, that's a theological word, but the idea is rather simple.

Faith is not the righteousness that saves us. Faith is the means by which we receive Christ and His righteousness.

Think of an empty hand receiving a gift.

The hand doesn't purchase the gift. It doesn't create the gift. It simply receives what is being given.

That's what faith does.

Faith receives Christ. Christ saves.

And I want you to remember that distinction.

The strength of your faith is not the foundation of your salvation. Christ is.

I know how much you disliked losing when you were little, P. Goodness knows we experienced that during our family games. Ha!

But here's something I hope you'll understand as you grow older.

You cannot win your way into heaven.

You cannot outperform another sinner and somehow become more deserving of God's acceptance.

You need the righteousness of someone else.

You need Christ.

Paul understood this beautifully in Philippians 3:8–9. After recounting his religious accomplishments, he explains that he does not want a righteousness of his own derived from the law, but the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ.

That's remarkable, isn't it?

Here was a man with an impressive religious background, and yet he wanted nothing to do with presenting those achievements as the basis of his acceptance before God.

He wanted Christ's righteousness.

And so should we.

Now, this was one of the significant disagreements between the Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church.

I want to be careful here because I don't want you to misunderstand what sincere Roman Catholics believe.

The Catholic Church also teaches that God's grace is necessary and that no sinner can earn the initial grace of justification by his own efforts.

But Roman Catholic theology understands justification as involving both forgiveness and an inward renewal by grace, with the believer cooperating with that grace.

The Reformers disagreed with making that inward transformation part of the basis upon which God declares a sinner righteous.

They argued that we are justified solely because of Christ's righteousness, which is credited to us and received through faith alone.

Our good works do not contribute to the righteousness by which we are accepted before God.

Christ's obedience and sacrifice are sufficient.

And this is why I am Protestant.

But perhaps you're thinking of another question.

If we are justified by faith alone, does that mean our good works don't matter?

After all, doesn't James tell us that faith without works is dead?

He certainly does.

In fact, James 2:24 is often brought up in conversations about Faith Alone because James says that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

So how do we understand that?

Well, I believe we need to pay careful attention to what Paul and James are each addressing.

Paul is explaining how a guilty sinner is counted righteous before God. James is confronting someone who claims to have faith but demonstrates no evidence of that faith in his life.

James even reminds us that demons believe certain truths about God. Merely acknowledging that something is true is not necessarily saving faith.

True faith is living faith.

And living faith produces good works.

Remember Abraham?

Paul points to Abraham believing God's promise and being counted righteous. James points to Abraham's later obedience when he offered Isaac, showing how his faith was demonstrated through his actions.

I don't believe these passages contradict one another. Rather, they teach us that the faith by which we are justified is never a dead or empty profession.

As the Reformers emphasized, we are justified by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone.

Ephesians 2 makes this beautifully clear.

After Paul tells us that salvation is not by works in verses 8–9, he immediately tells us in verse 10 that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works.

Do you see the order?

We do not perform good works to earn salvation.

We perform good works because God has graciously saved us and is transforming us.

Our obedience is the fruit of salvation, not the price we pay to obtain it.

And I hope this distinction will become precious to you, P.

Because there will be days when you fail.

Days when you sin. Days when you lose your patience, say something unkind, or do something you deeply regret.

I know that feeling all too well.

And when those days come, I don't want you trying to earn your way back into God's favor through enough good behavior.

I want you to repent, certainly.

But I also want you to look to Christ.

Your confidence should not rest in how well you performed that day, but in the sufficiency of the Savior who died and rose again.

That is not an excuse to continue in sin. The grace of God teaches us to turn away from sin and live in obedience to Him.

But it does mean that our standing before God rests upon something far greater than our own imperfect obedience.

It rests upon Christ.

P, I don't know what circumstances you'll find yourself in when you read this letter.

Perhaps you're married. Perhaps you're raising children of your own. Maybe you're still trying to figure out what direction your life will take.

Whatever the case, I hope you've learned to trust the promises of God.

Not because you believe hard enough that everything in life will work out the way you want.

But because you know that the God who makes those promises is faithful.

And above all, I pray that you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ.

Not in your good works.

Not in your religious accomplishments.

Not even in the strength of your own faith.

But in Christ alone.

If God has promised to save all who come to His Son in faith, then I want you to believe that He is able to do exactly what He has promised.

And when you find yourself wondering whether you've done enough to be accepted by God, remember this.

Christ has done enough.

That, my dear girl, is why your Papa believes in Sola Fide.

Faith Alone.

I love you so very much, P, and I pray that you will spend your life trusting in the One who is able to save you completely.

Papa