10/11/25 Only Faith

Last week we have educated on the historical basis of an act in 1517 that shaped the world. Your life was affected by the protest of one man who nailed in protest a letter to the Catholic church calling out the practices which were nothing short of deception & corruption. His basis is was found in the five solas, the Latin word for only. We started with Christ alone. This week we develop that into the 2^nd sola, Sola fide. This Sola is part of the verse that develops for us the basis of our understanding of the Divine why and how He wants us to come to him.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Arguably the most popular, remembered verse in all the Bible. But do we fully understand the depth that it represents? It starts with God, as the source by which this is derived. God, here as Thehos, Supreme divinity here moved by love, not because he was in need, because love does not thrive in selfishness. This is true love. It is not common love in this age because of the fulfilled prophecy of 2 Tim 3, the age is dictated by lovers of self, lovers of money. This is love true love because we offer nothing to God. Notice he gives, not just his time, not just his attention but something valuable out of love. Further he gave this gift, His Son to not just one ethnicity, not just one culture, but to the world.

The contingency to get the gift is belief. Now belief is a word that is not properly it seems much anymore. Here it is GR pisteuo meaning to have faith in, to entrust further, derived from 3982 /peíthō, “persuade, be persuaded”) – believe (affirm, have confidence); used of persuading oneself (= human believing) and with the sacred significance of being persuaded by the Lord (= faith-believing). Only the context indicates whether 4100 /pisteúō (“believe”) is self-serving (without sacred meaning), or the believing that leads to/proceeds from God’s inbirthing of faith.

What does this belief in the Son of God get you? Eternal life from not perishing. This is old hat for some of you, but lets keep this in context to our series. Go back to lasty week where we learned that Christ alone is the essence of Luther’s argument for our needs, not the in between of someone from the church who says I will put in a good word for you, if the prices is right.

You can get out of your dysfunction by earning your way through, no, it is Christ alone, but this is not a belief as in a factual knowledge of, not an intellectual grasping of history & who he represents, now this is a faith in, when nothing else seems logical.

This faith in the Son of God grants you a status, by which works cannot achieve, a status that even the full keeping of the law cannot do unto ourselves, and it is highlighted in Romans,

Romans 3:28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

There was no swaying in the issue, this is not a revision, they maintained the same message at what was need to reach Justification. Some of you are lost now because you do not know what justification has to do with faith. Justification is a legal term. The root word is justice right?

It is only used twice both in the book of Romans focuses on the acquitted penalty by receiving Christ – i.e. as a person is moved from eternal “condemned” to “divinely pardoned” at conversion, is closely associated with the pressing need to be released from deserved punishment.

This is a status achieved by having faith in Jesus alone. You maybe thinking why is this important?

It is important because of Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

With Justification given to us when we have full on trust of the Son of God. This status was activated and we gained righteousness. It ties to the law. This is in the GR dikaiosuné dee-kah-yos-oo’-nay.  Properly, judicial approval (the verdict of approval). In this through faith in Christ alone Righteousness is declared. The law plays a role in this when you go back to Romans 3:28. But the process is not completed. There is one more stage to learn.

Ephesians 2:8-9  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

By grace referring to God freely extending Himself (His favor, grace), reaching (inclining) to people because He is disposed to bless (be near) them.

Can’t see you how the process in this series is working? Ignited by faith in the gift from God. Notice the chain of what belief in Jesus gets, faith alone in Christ alone, cloaks you in his righteousness walking in faith. All this came about because in the late 1400’s the Catholic church told the people you need one of our clerics to hear your failings and if you confess, pay your debt and work it off we will put in a good word to God for you.

Your faith is not in man, your faith is not in the meds, your faith is not in any system or institution, your faith is not in any government. You can draw near to God in Jesus alone, in faith in who he is. The blood of Christ has paid your debt!! The court has ruled you justified by the blood of the LAMB!