Reforming the Family: Part 3—Sola Fide
To celebrate and honor the Protestant Reformation, we’ve been walking together through the five solas of the Reformation. Thus far, we’ve looked at sola Scriptura and sola gratia. This week, our collective footsteps take us to the next rallying cry of the Reformers: sola fide—through faith alone.
The 17th century reformed theologian, Francis Turretin, helps us to understand the fundamental question that was at the heart of the issue. Turretin writes:
“Here then is the true state of the controversy. When the mind is thoroughly terrified with the consciousness of sin and a sense of God’s wrath, what is that thing on account of which he may be acquitted before God and be reckoned a righteous person?...Is it righteousness inherent in us…or the righteousness and obedience of Christ alone imputed to us?”[1]
For Martin Luther, in stark contrast to the predominate theology of his day, the answer from God’s Word was obvious:
“(A person) is justified by faith alone and not any works…We are pronounced righteous solely by faith in Christ, not by the works of the Law or by love...Wherefore it ought to be the first concern of every Christian to lay aside all confidence in works and grow in the knowledge, not of works, but of Christ Jesus, who suffered and rose for him.”[2]
In other words, Luther understood that the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ is the only credible basis for our justification, or righteous standing, before a holy God. There’s nothing we can do to earn it. Rather, it must be credited to our account through faith, which is a gift from the sovereign hand of a gracious God. As Paul wrote to the Ephesian church:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).
From a practical perspective, then, as we consider the goal of reforming the family, the question is: how do we help our children understand the vital necessity of sola fide? I want to provide you with five biblical points of emphasis, which are also the very truths our children need in order to rightly understand the gospel:
1. The Righteousness of God
In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, he writes to them, saying:
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:21-24).
The first foundational truth our children need to understand, then, is that the Bible refers to the righteousness of God in two fundamental ways:
It’s Who He Is: First, it is the character of God, Himself. God is, by His very nature, righteous. He is perfect and holy in all that He is, in all that He thinks, in all that He says, and in all that He does. God is righteous, and therefore our definition of righteousness is derived from Him.
It’s a Gift He Gives: But then secondly, righteousness is also something that God gives. As referenced above, it is presented in Scripture as a gift that God graciously gives through the gospel.
2. The Sinfulness of Humanity
Following Paul’s sweeping indictment of both Jews and Gentiles as totally depraved sinners (Rom. 3:9-19), the Apostle concludes by declaring:
“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20).
This is the sobering, uncomfortable reality of our fallen condition, but it’s imperative to our understanding of the gospel. The biblical picture is this: Not only are we unrighteous and unable to justify ourselves before God, but we are also unable to obtain justification through obedience to the Law. Why? Because the Law, which reflects the righteous character of God, brings us to an even greater understanding of our own sin and unrighteousness.
Sometimes, when my kids are sick and in need of medicine, I will use something sweet to make the bitter taste more palatable. But this should never be our approach when it comes to teaching our children the seriousness of their sinful condition. Before the gospel will ever taste sweet to them, they must first perceive the bitterness of their own sin.
3. The Faith of Salvation
It is against the pitch black darkness of our sinful condition that the glory of the gospel shines so brightly. The logical question which follows the recognition of our utter depravity is: how, then, can we be justified? How can we obtain a right standing before the holy and righteous God, who is both our Creator and our Judge? The resounding reverberation of Scripture is surprisingly simple, yet simultaneously profound: we can be justified by faith. In Romans 5:1-2, Paul writes:
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
And so it is by faith, alone, in the perfect person and perfect work of Jesus Christ that our children can be justified before God. It is through faith, alone, that they can look away from themselves and gaze upon Christ. And it is through faith, alone, that they can become united to the Savior and have peace with God.
4. The Justice of God
So, how can God be just while declaring the unrighteous justified in His sight? After all, Proverbs 17:15 says:
“He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.”
Scripture does not attempt to hide this predicament. On the contrary, it addresses it head on, as Paul writes:
“This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:25-26).
Therefore, the answer to the divine dilemma is that on the cross, God treated Christ as if he was the condemned, cursed, and unrighteous sinner. In doing so, He completely satisfied His wrath for His elect by placing it upon His Son. What a glorious truth to share with our children! The righteous Judge of the universe must condemn sin. The penalty for sin must be paid. And Christ has paid it in full for his people upon the cross.
5. The Imputation of Righteousness
One of the most beautiful truths of the Christian faith is the doctrine of imputation. This biblical reality teaches that when we believe upon Christ’s wrath satisfying work on the cross, our sins are accounted to him, and his righteousness is credited to us. Luther used the Latin phrase simul justus et peccator, which means “simultaneously righteous and sinner.” In other words, we are still sinners, but at the same time, from a judicial perspective, God has credited our account with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. As Romans 4:5 says:
“And to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”
When we talk to our children about the doctrine of imputation, we can do so by helping them to understand that for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ, God no longer looks at us according to our sins. Instead, because of His grace, He looks at us through the lens of the perfect righteousness of His Son. By grace through faith in Jesus, the Father sees us as His children who are robed in the perfection of Christ. This is why the Apostle Paul could declare:
“For our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).
As we celebrate the Reformation with our children this month, and affirm sola fide, we are not only acknowledging the concept of faith, but we are proclaiming the richness found in the object of our faith. May we rejoice in the One who has taken our place upon the cross. May we trust the One who has conquered the grave for our justification (Rom. 4:25). And may we worship the One who has given us the confidence to humbly declare, “By faith alone!”
References:
[1] Turretin, Francis. Institutes of Elenctic Theology: Volume Two (P & R Publishing, 1994), p. 640.
[2] Luther, Martin. The Freedom of a Christian (Fortress, 1970), p. 280-281.