Luther's Free Beer, Part 2: "Righteousness is not obtained through works" (part 1)

This second part of the reason why Martin Luther's gettin' a frosty pint from me in heaven is very closely related to the first. We've already seen that, due to original sin, there is no person who has a righteousness of their own. We are all contaminated by sin (Romans 8:23) and cannot possibly give ourselves as a pure atonement for ourselves, nor for others. Nevertheless, just as the sin-atoning sacrifices of the covenant of Abraham in the Old Testament required the shed blood of a spotless sacrifice in order for the sin of the people to be forgiven, so the covenant of Christ in the New Testament requires the shed blood of a spotless sacrifice to the same end. This has already been accomplished by Jesus Christ's righteousness and sacrifice... because it could not be accomplished by us.

Well, this often doesn't ring too well with the individualistic nature of us humans, since we like to do things on our own. We like to try to be autonomous creatures. We like to think that we are able to do enough so that we can work our way from sinfulness to a righteous, holy state. We know intrinsically that we are not perfect, so we want to try to do things in order for God to forget our sinful state, and justify us based on our works. "If I'm just good enough," we say, "I'll surely go to heaven when I die." This common desire to atone for our fallenness by human means is clearly opposed in Scripture. Here are just a few passages to look at, but there are many others to be found-


1) Works will not justify us before God:

For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
-Romans 3:20

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith."
-Galatians 3:10-11

Again, we must recognize why this is impossible, in order to get ourselves out of a legalistic mindset. As the Apostle Paul indicates clearly in Romans 5:18-19, all human beings are justly under condemnation because of the original sin committed in the Garden of Eden. We did not take the fruit ourselves, but it was taken for us by a just and fair representative of the human race, and the judgment rendered in response to this rebellion was rightly imputed to each and every one of us. Therefore, each and every one of us is contaminated by sin, and cannot fulfill the righteous requirement of the law.


2) Christ died to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law on our behalf:

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
-Romans 10:4

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
-Galatians 2:21

The beauty of the Gospel is that the very same God who demands that which we cannot possibly do fulfills His own perfect requirement by Himself. We cannot do it, but God did it for us. And for each and every one who looks not to their own efforts to be saved, but places their faith in the righteousness of Christ, this fulfillment of the righteous requirements of the law by Jesus is ascribed to them. This is what is meant by imputed righteousness... a concept which is opposed by the Catholic church, and the "New Perspectives" movement... but is, itself, the very heart of the Gospel! How can the news of a requirement which we cannot fulfill ourselves possibly be "good"?! If our justification were to be obtained through our perfect obedience to the law, then the Gospel would cease to be good news. But furthermore, if our salvation were even to be maintained by our obedience to the law... this still wouldn't be good news! Our sanctification cannot be made perfect until our glorification, which will not happen in this world. Therefore, even for those who are in Christ, who are given the power of the Holy Spirit to sanctify them, to conform them to the image of the Son, they cannot possibly be made sinless this side of heaven, and so cannot fulfill the righteous requirements of the law even after their conversion! This is the very problem that the early church in Galatia struggled with, and Paul properly rebuked them for:

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
-Galatians 3:1-3

The answer to Paul's rhetorical question is an emphatic "no!" He realized that, even after the commencement of human sanctification, the "flesh profits nothing" (John 6:63), and our salvation is not perfected by it. What then is Paul's answer to the bondage of law that the Galatians were placing upon themselves? It was Christ who fulfilled the law, that we might be free from it:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"
-Galatians 3:13

It was Paul's correct understanding of the Gospel that lead him to preach that "the righteous shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17, Habakkuk 2:4). You see, Christianity in fact is a works-based religion... it's just not our works which count! Christ has done the work that we could never do. It is through the faith which is given to us, not through our works, that our salvation is both begun and perfected. This, then, leads me to the next discussion, "Righteousness is obtained through faith".

Luther's Free Beer, Part 1: "Man has no righteousness of his own"

Okay, let's start this...

At the heart of the dividing line between the Protestant and Catholic belief systems is the question of how man is made righteous before God. Both sides recognize that we, as human beings, are sinful, and that our sin needs to be atoned for in order for us to be justified in God's sight; however, they differ greatly in their views of precisely how this justification is obtained.

It seems that Bob Dylan might be a Protestant:

You can't get to glory by the raising and the lowering of no flag.
Put your goodness next to God's and it comes out like a filthy rag.
In a city of darkness there's no need of the sun
And there ain't no man righteous, no not one.
-"Ain't No Man Righteous (No Not One)"

Why do I say that I think Dylan is a Protestant based on these lyrics? Well, he's alluding to Isaiah 64:6 when he compares our goodness and God's goodness ("We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment."), and to Psalm 14:1-3 and Romans 3:10-12 when he declares that no man is righteous ("As it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.' ").

But don't both Catholics and Protestants believe this? What's the problem, then? Well, to understand the full effects of the truths of these verses, we need to understand how the Bible presents the concepts of original sin, justification, and sanctification.

The term "original sin" means that, since the fall of mankind to sin, we humans - as descendants of Adam - are no longer born holy, righteous, without sin. More than that, we are not even born morally neutral! Rather, we are born in a state of sin (Psalm 51:5) and, as an entire race, are condemned and justifiably under God's holy wrath. Paul states clearly this condition of our inevitable condemnation in Romans 5:18-19. However, in the same breath, intertwined in those very same sentences, he gives a hope for us condemned sinners, the righteous life of Christ:

Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.

The importance of recognizing the truth of original sin for the full understanding our own justification is found in the fact that, as the Bible teaches the hopelessness of man's condition (if left to himself!), it shows us that man can do nothing to bring himself to righteousness, to justify himself in God's sight. God requires perfect holiness - not just our best effort! - in order to proclaim a human being as righteous. I will say it again: God requires perfect holiness, not a single drop of sin, to proclaim a person to be righteous. If we are born in sin, condemned by the fall of Adam, we cannot, absolutely cannot have this righteousness on our own! Therefore, if we cannot justify ourselves, then it must be God who justifies (Romans 8:33), and He must justify on the basis of something outside of us, since He requires an absolutely perfect holiness for the atonement of sin, and such a holiness cannot be found in any one of us.

A couple more verses to ponder over:

Do not enter into judgment
with your servant,
For in Your sight no one
living is righteous.
-Psalm 143:2

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good – except God alone."
-Luke 18:19

Relevant to the discussion of original sin and justification is sanctification. This term refers to the very real life transformation that every Christian begins experiencing from the very moment that they believe upon the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their sins. This is an ongoing process of conforming us to "the image of the Son" (Romans 8:29) that enables us to turn from sin and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, begin living a life that glorifies Christ. However, this process is not perfect: sanctification does not make us perfect like Christ is perfect. Rather, it is a word (which means, literally, "to set apart") given for the very gradual process by which we are given the power to choose holiness over sinfulness... but it will not be perfected in this life. We cannot become perfect beings who never commit sin while we are still living on this earth, in these bodies.

I stress this point of understanding the Biblical definition of sanctification (Paul makes his stance on this matter very clear in his epistle to the Romans, if you would like to know more) because there are many who seem to confuse sanctification with justification, or will even collapse the two categories into one. The latter is the stance that the Roman Catholic church takes, which I do not believe is Biblically sound. Justification and sanctification are two very different things that happen in the Christian life! Rome would have us believe that we are justified not only by the atoning sacrifice of Christ, but also by a life-long process of sanctification. I believe that this is simply not true, and that it is not supported in the Bible*. Our sanctification is the fruit of our justification, it is not the basis for our justification! Justification will inevitably lead to sanctification, but sanctification can absolutely never lead to justification.

If we are to believe that the Bible teaches that no man is righteous, that God demands an entire life of perfect living in order to justify, and that what semblance of righteousness that man might have within himself is as filthy rags in the sight of God, then we must concede that man cannot be justified on the basis of something that God might see inside of him. This point leads me to the Biblical teaching that our righteousness is not based on works, which I will discuss in the next part.

*There are some texts which have been used to support the idea of justification based on human works, but I will discuss this later.

"Why I am not Catholic" (or "Why I am going to buy brother Martin a beer when I get to heaven")

If you’ve ever read any of my blog posts before, it is most likely completely obvious to you that I am a Protestant Christian - even an Evangelical Christian if you will… but that I am certainly not of the Catholic persuasion.

If pressed to answer the question, “Why are you Protestant?” I might respond with a simple, “Because I’m not Catholic.” And to a prodding, “Why, then, are you not Catholic?” I would probably retort with a resounding, “Uhh…”

Needless to say, this is not exactly in the Berean spirit. When Paul and Silas brought to the Bereans the good news of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for the sins of those who would believe in him through faith, the book of Acts tells us that the Bereans “examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Ah, so that’s what that big Book is for!

So, when a friend recently asked me why I am of the Protestant faith, and determinedly not of the Catholic faith, I decided to become a Berean on this matter. And let me tell you… it has been a very eye-opening experience for me, to say the least! Not only has my belief in the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to my eternal being been strengthened, but I had no clue how much our God has revealed to us in His Scriptures concerning this matter!

What will follow in the next couple of weeks is a six-part blogging session on “Why I am not a Catholic” (alternative title: "Why I am going to buy brother Martin a beer when I get to heaven"). I will attempt to look at many Scripture references, but these are only the ones that I was able to find in a single night of searching. After compiling six whole pages of texts, I finally decided to give up, figuring that what I have found might be sufficient to “give a defense for the hope that is within me” (1 Peter 3:15). But trust me: there is much more to be found!

The six parts will be “Man has no righteousness of his own”, “Righteousness is not obtained through works”, “Righteousness is obtained through faith”, “Faith is a gift”, “Christ’s righteousness justifies, not man’s”, and “Perseverance of faith”.

I invite anyone who might be reading this (do I hear crickets?) to dialog with me as I present what I believe to be God's plan for salvation, as it is revealed in the Scriptures to be the righteousness of Christ's active obedience to the law, imputed to us by grace, through faith.

I’ll leave you with the following verse to chew on before tackling these topics in the coming weeks:

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
-Colossians 2:8

Our pardon is an act of justice

There is probably no passage in the Scriptures in which the doctrine of justification is more concisely or clearly stated than [this]. Our sins were imputed to Christ, and his righteousness is imputed to us. He bore our sins; we are clothed in his righteousness... Christ bearing our sins did not make him morally a sinner... nor does Christ's righteousness become subjectively ours, it is not the moral quality of our souls... Our sins were the judicial ground of the sufferings of Christ, so that they were a satisfaction of justice; and his righteousness is the judicial ground of our acceptance with God... [so that] our pardon is an act of justice.

-Charles Hodge, on 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Gospel is for believers!

Now, here's the point that feels most important to me this morning:

I want you to see that the Gospel is the power of God... for all of that! Not just for conversion, not just for justification; for salvation, for the whole thing!

And so we need to hear the Gospel again, and again, and again, because it is not only the power of God that converts us. It is the power of God that sanctifies us! It is the power of God that sustains us! It is the power of God that keeps us persevering in the faith!

Faith comes from hearing the message, and that doesn't just meant justifying faith. Sanctifying faith comes from hearing the message! Persevering faith comes from hearing the message! And that's why Paul said in verse 15 that he is so eager to preach the Gospel to believers! The Gospel is for believers!

-Mike Shea, on Romans 1:16

The Gospel is the POWER of God!

Now, does not this understanding of the Gospel motivate you to proclaim it? Don't you just wanna tell it to someone?! Just to see what happens?! I became more liberated to preach the Gospel when I came to understand that the Gospel is not a product that you pitch! It is the power of God!

I don't wanna overstate the point, and say that all persuasion and apologetics is unnecessary, but primarily your job is not to persuade, and convince, and cajole people into believing! Your job as an ambassador of Christ is simply to deliver the message, and the message is able, all by itself, to give sight to the spiritually blind, and awaken the spiritually dead!

-Mike Shea, on Romans 1:16

God's response to Moses's request to see His glory

Another snippet from Mike's second sermon:

"So in chapter 9 Paul will teach us about God's election with these words:

And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger." As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

Now, that's a quotation from Exodus 33, which tells the story of Moses going up on the mountain to intercede for the salvation of idolatrous Israelites and to receive the new tablets of the law. And while he's up there enjoying God's presence he makes a bold request. I'll read from Exodus 33:18 and 19-

Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And [God] said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name (for the sake of His name)... my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Now get this; get this! ...

Moses asked for glory... and God showed him election!"