Redemption #8 Righteousness by Faith

In the previous article we looked at the 8th letter of the apostle Paul to the Romans, the symbolism of the man who hung on the cross next to Jesus, applied to himself. In a letter to the Galatians, Paul looks how he hung with Christ to the pole and still lives (Galatians 2:20).

WLANL – Pachango – Catharijneconvent – Calvary Station 9, Christ falling at the foot of the Calvary (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A little later in the same letter to the Galatians, Paul writes that Christ must get his followers “formed” (Gal. 4:19). We must live as Christ would have done in our place. And we must believe that we therefore will be retained on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice. Elsewhere in the letter he calls this righteousness by faith. Whom would have kept the law as a whole, should be righteous before God. But outside of Jesus is there nobody who succeeded to live according to God’s strict standards. Nobody is able to succeed. So are all, according to the strict standards of the law, unjust. But now God has given another opportunity to be “just”: through faith in Jesus Christ.
That is not justice according to the law, but God declares people righteous who meet the above four conditions. Scripture calls this “justified”, that is, declared righteous before God’s tribunal acquitted of guilt.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul talks about man’s justification not by works of the law, but by coming through faith in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:16 The Scriptures 1998+  (16)  knowing that a man is not declared right by works of Torah, but through belief in יהושע  {Jeshua} Messiah, even we have believed in Messiah יהושע , in order to be declared right by belief in Messiah and not by works of Torah, because by works of Torah no flesh shall be declared right.

A little further on he says:

Galatians 3:8 The Scriptures 1998+  (8)  And the Scripture, having foreseen that Elohim would declare right the nations by belief, announced the Good News to  Aḇraham beforehand, saying, “All the nations shall be blessed in you,”

Galatians 3:16-18 The Scriptures 1998+  (16)  But the promises were spoken to Aḇraham, and to his Seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Messiah.  (17)  Now this I say, Torah, that came four hundred and thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously confirmed by Elohim in Messiah, so as to do away with the promise.  (18)  For if the inheritance is by Torah, it is no longer by promise, but Elohim gave it to Aḇraham through a promise.

In this context, he uses a striking image. The law, he says, was a “schoolmaster” “monitor” “guardian” or “trainer”:

Galatians 3:24-25 The Scriptures 1998+  (24)  Therefore the Torah became our trainer unto Messiah, in order to be declared right by belief.  (25)  And after belief has come, we are no longer under a trainer.

That schoolmaster could be a guardian or pedagogue to bring us unto Christ.

Schoolmaster (Gr .: Paedagogus, a “teacher”) was a special servant who was responsible for the education of children of wealthy parents. He had to teach them rules and ensure that they were trained. Likewise, we are raising kids with rules. We desire eg.  that they are at home in time by night, in the hope that once they become adults, do not spend whole nights on the street or in the pub.

The writer to the Galatians, Romans and Hebrews, the apostle Paul, who explained that salvation is offered through the gospel of Jesus Christ

In his letter to the Romans (which topics are further developed in Galatians, such as a painting can be an elaboration of a pencil sketch) Paul says:

Romans 3:21-22 The Scriptures 1998+  (21)  But now, apart from the Torah, a righteousness of Elohim has been revealed, being witnessed by the Torah and the Prophets,  (22)  and the righteousness of Elohim is through belief in יהושע {Jehovah} Messiah to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference,

In Galatians (3: 8) he argues that this is the real fulfilment of the promises to Abraham and that therefore with these promises actually “the gospel was preached to Abraham.” Perhaps unnecessarily, it reiterated that “faith in Christ” comes down to what is said above, and that it not only is a vague emotional feeling. But who fulfils the condition of ‘faith’ (actually meets the four conditions mentioned above) is also fully justified.

Paul writes to the Colossians that if we believe, that then ‘erases’ ‘the evidence’ from our sins. He uses a word that refers to the erasure of the text on a writing tablet. Normally a retailer or another creditor made a large cross over a bill that had been met. The Greek word for this is chiazo derived from the Greek letter ‘chi’, which is about as written as our x, but bigger (c). But the word that Paul uses is exaleipho that means erase or, superlative destroy. If a person is justified by faith in Christ, there is no trace of evidence about that still recalls his past sins or, if he asks for forgiveness over and over again, of his later sins.

Handwriting. Book in Arabic script, about faith and the sources and foundations of Islam (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

And thus we come to a fundamental point of biblical teaching. In all other religions and human wisdom man must be blameless (also in the other monotheistic religion: Islam), otherwise he fails. But who draws his faith on justification through Christ may fail! Provided he does his sincere effort to follow Christ, he has nothing to fear, though he would stumble over again. In the Gospels we read:

Luke 17:4 The Scriptures 1998+  (4)  “And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day comes back to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.

Thus God deals with us. Even if we sin seven times a day, but come back seven times a day to God and say, ‘I repent,” He will forgive us. The requirement to be blameless, was replaced in Christ, by the requirement to sincerely to strive for impeccability. And that makes a world of difference.

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Previous

Redemption #1 Biblical doctrine of salvation

Redemption #2 Biblical solution

Redemption # 3 The imperfect animal sacrifice

Redemption #4 The Passover Lamb

Redemption #5 The perfect sacrifice

Redemption #6 Partaking his sacrifice

Redemption #7 Christ alive in the faithful

Dutch version: Verlossing #8 Gerechtigheid door geloof

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Additional reading

1. Words of God to stand and to be followed and to believe
2. Creation of the earth and man #3 Of the Sabbath day #1 the Seventh day
3. Creation of the earth and man #7 Of the Sabbath day #5 Respecting the day on which Christ Jesus rose from the dead
4. Man’s own fault and the choice to flee from fear
5. Self inflicted misery #8 Pruning to strengthen us
6. Looking for something or for the Truth and what it might be and self-awareness
7. The God of hope filling us with all joy and peace
8. Written down in God’s Name for righteousness
9. Written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope
10. Testimonies to observe, inspired by God
11. The Right One to follow and to worship
12. Gaining Christ, trusting Jehovah
13. With child and righteousness greater than the law
14. Hope by faith and free gift
15. True riches
16. Set free from any form of mental torment or self-condemnation
17. If you have integrity
18. Honor your own words as if they were an important contract
19. Two states of existence before God
20. God receives us on the basis of our faith
21. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us
22. Fixing our attention
23. Doctrine and Conduct Cause and Effect
24. A race not to swift, nor a battle to the strong
25. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong
26. Our life depending on faith
27. Letter to the Romans, chapter 3
28. Additional comments to the Letter to the Romans 4
29. Romans 4 and the Sacraments
30. Is Justification a process?
31. Is your mind thirsty?
32. Back from gone #4 Your inner feelings and actions
33. Our openness to being approachable
34. All Positive Energy People Are Acceptable
35. Preaching to an unbelieving world

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Further of interest

1. The Laws of Redemption
2. Integrity & Potato Chips
3. Jeremiah 9:23 or 9:24?
4. Lot’s righteousness
5. Altered Armor
6. Love
7. (Part 1) In Defense of True Doctrine: In Response to a Catholic
8. Heiko A Oberman: Luther
9. Godliness Protects against Stress
10. Yup.
11. Want To Connect With God?
12. “Do what is right, not what is easy”
13. 2016 Day 242 – Hebrews 8
14. Who Owns Your Future?
15. Making God the Center of Your Life
16. Love Like God – Matthew 5:38-42
17. Faith Without Works Is Dead
18. Made Righteous
19. Stay Connected: The Righteousness of Faith
20. The Kings II 22 – Torn: Look What I Found
21. The Kings II 23 – Covenant Commitment 
22. The Kings II 24 – Beginning of the End
23. “He will do right” by William Plumer
24. Righteousness and Grace – Romans 10:4
25. Cookie a day: Jesus Desires mercy not Sacrifice
26. Stronger Faith through Tribulation
27. A Righteous Ruler’s Promise
28. Sustained by Him
29. Finish the Race
30. Galatians 3:21 – 13th Sunday after Trinity
31. 56. The Believer’s judgement
32. Righteous Judgment*
33. Fruit of Perseverance
34. Union with Christ, The Westminster Larger Catechism, and the Ordo Salutis
35. Book Review: “Justification” by N.T. Wright
36. What We Should Be Doing Anyway: St. Paul on Justification, Part 6—by Cameron Daly
37. God Has All of the Honor in Salvation
38. Judgement Day
39. Reading Paul Missionally: A Review of Michael Gorman’s “Becoming the Gospel”
40. But God
41. Philipp Melanchthon and Forensic Justification in Protestant Orthodoxy
42. Sermon- Nate Harlan 8/14/2016- Ephesians 2:1-3: “The Children of Wrath”
43. Sermon- Nate Harlan 8/21/2016- Ephesians 2:4-7: “Because of His Great Love”
44. Some Key Passages in Romans – part 8
45. Theo401: The Holy Spirit and Christian Sanctification
46. Delighting in God through Our Union with Christ by Resting
47. It’s Personal
48. Understanding the “new you” in Christ
49. Wright on Justification–A Summary
50. Justified 1
51. Justified 2
52. faith because of the faithfulness of Christ
53. #Day 6 ; Unearthing my beliefs
54. God cares about the unjustly accused
55. Justification and Resurrection
56. The Gift of the Gospel in Romans 1
57. Romans 4 Prayer: Justification by Faith
58. Romans 4 “Justification for Whom and When?”
59. Inseparable – Justification and Sanctification
60. Do you know what is the doctrine of Redemption, Propitiation, Justification and Adoption?
61. The Religion of Christ is the Religion of Joy
62. Seven Fold Works of Perfection
63. Wright–Justification as Ecclesiological?
64. The Aim of the Christian Life
65. What Am I Afraid Of?
66. Our Unfailing Advocate
67. I don’t think lying has any ultimate justification. I don’t think it ever leads to anything positive. The good fight to have is not to lie. That’s one of the challenges in a way. Andy Garcia
68. The Blessings of Righteousness (Proverbs 10)
69. A few thoughts from recent readings on “justification”…

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