Today on Truth Time.
Which, which by the way, this brings up a question.
I've heard some say, even if we stop having faith, we are saved by the faith of Christ.
My question is, did you forget about the Holy Spirit?
What about him?
Guys, at the moment of belief, Paul tells us that we're sealed with the Holy Spirit.
But you need Jesus to have faith?
For some, that Holy Spirit just wasn't quite good enough.
The lack of power, the lack of power that some have placed on the Holy Spirit and his capability.
It's sad.
To say that we're sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption, but still need Jesus to have faith for us, is flat out error.
And it's why we know assuredly, that the faith of Christ is what we believe.
Not what he had.
This is Truth Time Radio.
Welcome back to this Romans verse-by-verse study.
Today is going to be the second of a several-part series concerning the faith of Christ.
Some, they teach it as a reference to Jesus needing to have faith during his earthly ministry.
Others that say that the faith of Christ means he was faithful.
And faithful he is.
But that's not our cue to go and tamper with the King James Bible by changing the words, "faith of Christ," to, "faithfulness of Christ."
When we claim that, "faith of," really means, "faithfulness of," we create a problem because it doesn't fit the context whereby it is used.
If you remember, last time we learned that the words, "from faith to faith," in chapter 1 verse 17 is how the righteousness of God was revealed.
Meaning that in your King James Bible, you can find a time-past faith and a but now faith.
Time-past faith was the faith of God found in Israel's written oracles.
Our but now faith is the body of doctrine called the faith of Christ found in the epistles of Paul.
And folks, that's the clearest explanation you're going to ever hear to describe what, "from faith to faith," means.
And how perfect is this?
How perfect is it that the King James committee, they place the book of Romans first in the order of Paul's epistles.
You know what this did?
It gave us an advantage and it helps us to identify a change in the program.
The first book we come to as we go through Paul's epistles, the book of Romans.
From the very start, it gave us this advantage.
In time past, the just lived by faith.
Their faith compelled them to keep the law.
And in the but now, the just also live by faith.
Our faith compels us to believe the faith of Christ.
That which is faith apart from the law.
Keep that in mind and you can't go wrong when you come across the words, faith of Christ.
The faith of Christ is what we believe, not what he had.
Okay, chapter 3 verse 22, let's pick up here.
We see that this is the first time Paul uses the phrase, "faith of Christ."
Contrary to popular belief, this verse has nothing to do with Christ having faith and everything to do with our current instructions for the dispensation of grace.
It's something that's hard to miss once you see the contrast that Paul points out here.
Romans 3:20, watch,
(20) Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin.
(21) But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. Being witnessed by the law and the prophets,
(22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. For there is no difference.
In verse 20, Paul mentioned the deeds of the law.
In verse 21, he makes a difference from the law to grace.
Saying, but now without the law.
And in verse 22, he says the righteousness of God is by faith of Jesus Christ.
Now stay with me.
Think.
In time past, righteousness came by the law, did it not?
Deuteronomy 6:25, It shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God as he hath commanded us.
However, here comes the contrast.
Paul takes us from that faith, the faith that it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments, and he says, but now, here he's going to move us somewhere, righteousness is manifested by the faith of Jesus Christ, not by the law.
Now that's as clear as the noonday sun.
That's clear cut.
Once we take God at his word, the meaning of faith of Christ starts to become extremely obvious.
Now, with the understanding that Paul's talking about from law to grace in this passage, let's read verse 22.
And let's insert the common definitions of faith that you've heard from people, the common definitions of faith of Christ that most use.
Let's do that and see if it works.
Let's see if we can, we can Frank Sinatra this thing and read it their way.
And do so while still staying true to the context.
Okay, Romans 3:22, Even the righteousness of God, which is by, here it comes, Jesus having faith during his earthly ministry, unto all and upon all that believe, for there is no difference.
Uh-oh.
Now we have a problem.
Stuck between that proverbial rock and a hard place.
Since Paul shows us a contrast from law to grace in verses 20 to 22, then how does Jesus having faith during his earthly ministry contrast from keeping the law?
It doesn't.
Because Jesus kept the law.
So there goes Paul's contrast out the window.
Hey, if we're piecing together a Jesus had to have faith during his earthly ministry puzzle, this would be the time when we'd start trying to force in pieces that just don't fit.
You can never complete the Jesus had to have faith puzzle if you respect the context.
You just can't do it.
Speaking of things that don't fit and things that quite frankly make no sense, hey, we're still looking for a verse that says that Jesus believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Where is that one?
If we're talking about Jesus in his earthly ministry needing to have faith, then we need the text that says, for what saith the scripture, Jesus believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Oh, but we don't.
No, because that was for a man named Abraham, not God in the flesh.
Not the, "before Abraham was, I am."
The illogicality of this all disappears when we come to understand that the faith of Christ is a body of truth.
A body of truth given to the body of Christ.
Okay, let's continue.
While we're here, let's make another popular insertion right here in this verse and see how it goes.
Let's see if it fits in the Jesus needed to have faith puzzle.
Here we go.
Even the righteousness of God, which is by, here it is, here's the insert, faithfulness of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference.
So how's that puzzle look?
Once again, the context Paul gave us, from law to grace, gets ignored.
Flushed down the drain.
In time past, Jesus in his earthly ministry was faithful in fulfilling the law.
But how does that contrast contextually from the righteousness that Moses told the children of Israel they would earn if they obeyed the law?
It doesn't.
To show a contrast, we need contradictory terms.
We need opposites.
Law and grace are opposites.
Made known prophecy and kept secret mystery are opposites.
The gospel of Christ, which Paul said he was not ashamed of, reveals the righteousness of God from faith to faith.
From the Romans 3:1, by faith of God, the oracles of God, that which was written, made known, righteousness which was of the law, to the Romans 3:20-22, faith of Jesus Christ.
Righteousness without the law, unwritten, kept secret.
It's really that simple.
Faith to faith equals faith plus works to faith alone.
You gotta' get this.
Faith to faith does not mean me, transferring my faith to his faith.
Faith to faith equals faith plus works to faith alone.
From faith to faith.
From the time past faith to the but now faith, which is the faith of Christ.
The faith of Christ is what we believe, not what he had.
If you've landed here and are searching for something to help you escape the chaos found in the denominational system, your search is over.
Here to help you sort it all out, this is WTTR, Truth Time Radio.
Now later in this Faith of Christ series, we're gonna come back to right here, Romans 3, and finish the chapter out.
By the time we do so, we should be able to clearly see exactly how the correct meaning of faith of Christ fits into those passages.
But for now, we're gonna go through the rest of the popular verses, as we promised.
We're gonna go through the rest of those, the ones here in Paul's epistles, that some use to teach that the, "before Abraham was I am," Jesus needed to have faith.
We'll go through as many as we can, and if we leave one or two out, we'll catch them the next time.
But let's see what we can do here.
As we do this, though, let's not forget that proper Bible study requires both context and consistency.
Okay, Galatians 2:16, here's a popular one, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Now surely, for those of you paying attention, by now, some light bulbs are coming on.
Did you catch it?
Did you catch what Paul just did?
Justified by the works of the law, contrasted with the faith of Jesus Christ, and then he said, justified by the faith of Christ, contrasted with, not by the works of the law.
It's right there for you.
From faith to faith.
From the faith of Christ, in contrast with the works of the law.
Now, since our next faith of Christ verse is just about four verses down, down here in verse 20, let's do this.
Let's read the entire context.
That's the mistake that we hear many doing today.
They just type it in, faith of Christ, and they run to a few verses, and think they've figured this all out.
But here, if we'll follow the text very carefully, we'll see that the context of this term, "faith of Christ," isn't going to just suddenly change four verses later.
So let's pick back up for context sake and begin in verse 14, But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
Now the first thing that should have jumped off the page here is Paul is rehearsing a conversation that he and Peter already had.
Peter, a member of the little flock.
Now verse 15, We who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, now stop there.
Be careful.
Be careful not to miss the "we."
Meaning you and I, Peter.
Verse 16, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law,...
Uh oh.
Watch again.
Watch Paul.
He is contrasting.
Let's read that again.
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not, see here's the contrast again.
Let's back up.
By the faith of Christ.
There you go.
And contrast that with, not by the works of the law.
You can't miss this.
For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Here Paul is saying, hey Peter, you and I both know that a man is not justified by the works of the law,
but instead he is justified by the faith of Jesus Christ.
So you know what?
See, Peter knew this already.
If we're talking about the popular, Jesus had to have faith in his earthly ministry, if we're talking about that being how a man is justified, and if this is mystery information only for the body of Christ, then why is Paul having a conversation with Peter about it?
What does Peter, not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, have to do with Jesus having faith during his earthly ministry?
Well, we'll find out in just a bit when we show what the faith of Christ is in this passage.
Let's also keep in mind the theme of this letter.
It was a letter of correction to the foolish Galatians that were turning back to the weak and beggarly elements of the law.
And that would be a fall from grace.
So what does any of this have to do with the need of Jesus having faith during his earthly ministry?
Let's read on.
Verse 17,
(17) But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves are also found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
(18) For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
(19) For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
Here we have Paul speaking of the error of turning from grace back to the law.
Verse 20, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Here we have another one of those, faith of Christ, verses.
Paul says that the life he was presently living in the flesh he lived by the faith of the Son of God.
Now surely you don't think that Paul is saying that he is living his life in the flesh by Jesus having faith during his earthly ministry, do you?
No.
Let's see what this puzzle looks like.
I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
And the life which I now live in the flesh I live, here it is, watch, I live by the body of doctrine found in Romans through Philemon.
That's the faith of Christ.
Not him having faith during his earthly ministry.
Paul is clearly talking about our walk, not about needing faith for salvation.
That's not quote, "The life that we live in the flesh."
What is in the flesh can be seen, but our salvation is invisible, hid with Christ in God.
Ok, so let's really think about where we are at.
Let's think about this.
If Jesus had to have faith to perform miracles, to be resurrected, and if you're living the life in the flesh by the same faith you claim he needed to perform these things, then why can't you perform them?
Why can't you keep the law perfectly?
Why can't you cast out devils, heal the sick, raise the dead, feed 5,000, and walk on water?
This should not be a problem.
The answer is in verse 21, I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Galatians 2:16, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.
Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law
Uh oh!
Somebody say, "contrast."
There it is, again.
This is a repetitive, consistent contrast that our brother Paul, our apostle, is making for us.
This is clear folks.
That we might be justified by the faith of Christ, Paul's saying, by the doctrine I've given you, and not by the works of the law.
The doctrine from time past.
Because, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
You can only be justified by the faith of Christ which is my doctrine, this body of truth I am delivering to you in the books of Romans through Philemon.
From faith to faith.
You can't make it any clearer.
Again and again he shows us the contrast between law and grace.
And he's talking to Peter, who already knew this information.
It's the exact reason why Paul withstood him to the face.
He was to be blamed.
He was being a hypocrite.
After Paul had already demonstrated to these guys and Mr. Peter in Acts chapter 15, Peter should have known better than to dissimulate with those Judaizers when they showed up.
But he didn't.
He was there eating with the Gentiles, the ones he said this about, Acts 15:7,
(7) And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
(8) And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
(9) And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
(10) Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
(11) But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Peter was very aware that righteousness did not come by the law for the Gentiles.
That was a time past faith.
He knew the law wouldn't justify them.
He knew that they were justified by the faith of Christ.
That body of truth given to Paul for the uncircumcision.
That body of truth that you can go to Galatians chapter 2 and read all about, Peter and James and John there, they stood there and shook Paul's hand, gave him their blessing, that he would go and preach that faith of Christ to the uncircumcision, while they would take their body of doctrine to the circumcision.
He knew they were justified by the faith of Christ, that body of truth given to Paul for the uncircumcision, instead of the works of the law. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Now, for all the proof-texters who, instead of studying the Bible, they'd rather do word and phrase searches to try to prove something, FYI, the term, "the faith of the Son of God," is the faith of Christ.
It's the same thing.
The faith of the Son of God, the faith of Christ.
The faith of the Son of God, the faith of Christ.
Who loved me and gave himself for me.
We're talking about the gospel here.
Christ giving himself for you is not Christ having faith.
No, it's the death for your sins, his burial, and his resurrection for you.
Galatians 1:4, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
Ephesians 5:2, And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
You don't have to Google these things to figure them out, the Holy Spirit did it for you.
1 Corinthians 2:12,
(12) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
(13) Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
The church lexicon won't reveal this to you.
These things were freely given to us of God.
Now, in Acts chapter 15 verse 9 when Peter, concerning the Gentiles said, ...purifying their hearts by faith.
He was talking about the faith of Christ.
That body of truth that Paul was commissioned to preach to the Gentiles, which contained the gospel of grace that he preached for their salvation.
Peter knew this, and Paul says as much earlier in the chapter.
You'll see that because Peter would have been included as one of those who were, quote, "of reputation," there in Galatians 2:2.
Now on to the next faith of Christ proof text, Galatians chapter 3 verse 22, But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise of the faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Okay, we're back to playing the insert game.
Let's again use the insertion here and see how it goes.
Let's see if it helps to complete the Jesus needed to have faith puzzle, or does it look deformed because the pieces don't fit?
Some read it like this.
But scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by Jesus having faith during his earthly ministry might be given to them that believe.
Can you make heads or tails of that?
No, you can't.
But let's read the context and see if it helps.
And just a reminder, here Paul is correcting these Galatians because they were trying to turn back, back to the law of Moses, the prior faith, to obtain righteousness, through that prior faith of God.
Trying to turn back to the faith of God, a time-passed doctrine, instead of the faith of Christ, the but now doctrine, the one Paul preached and instructed them in.
They were trying to return to the very faith that Paul's gospel had delivered them from, from faith to faith.
Man, this makes clear sense.
Here before verse 21 we see Paul explaining to the Galatians, the fact that the promise was given to Abraham before the law, and he explains the reason why the law was given.
Verse 19 says the law was added because of transgressions, until the seed, singular, should come to those who the promise was made.
And according to verse 16, that seed is Jesus Christ.
Verse 20 tells us that the law was ordained by angels and that Moses was the mediator between the children of Israel and God.
Now watch, watch.
Verse 21 and 22,
(21) Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
(22) But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Now stay in context.
Let's keep it in context here concerning this promise.
Galatians 3:14, That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Verse 23, But before that came, is Paul talking about a time when no one believed anything?
No, he isn't talking about the individual faith of the believer here.
The word faith is being used as a body of doctrine to be believed for salvation.
If you've got seven minutes and haven't already, you need to check out our teaching titled Doctrines, plural, versus Doctrine, singular.
Doctrine, singular, is what Paul taught.
Paul's singular doctrine is the faith of Christ.
The doctrine found in the books Romans through Philemon.
And here in Galatians 3, the word faith is being used specifically as a body of doctrine, a body of doctrine to be believed for salvation.
Keep reading.
Before faith came, the faith of Christ, our instructions for today, we were kept under the law, time past, righteousness by faith plus works, shut up unto the faith, mystery information, body of doctrine, which is the faith of Christ, which should afterwards be revealed, mystery revealed, see what happened here?
Read on.
Verse 24, Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
No Gentile was ever under the law.
So Paul is obviously talking about the experience of Israel here.
But this is a generalization of what the law accomplished, with Paul himself included in the equation.
So in our last installment, we talked about Romans 3:21 and how the righteousness of the law was manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets.
That's what Paul's talking about here when he calls the law a schoolmaster.
Notice the law, faith of God, was a schoolmaster to Israel to bring them unto Christ, that they might be justified by faith.
Now we'll get into this further, into the differences between, "by faith," and, "through faith."
We'll do that later on because there is a difference.
But for now, we'll stay on topic.
Suffice to say, the word, "by," denotes source or origin.
Okay?
Israel was always supposed to be justified by faith because that was the only way their works would ever be counted for justification if they were done by faith.
Their works, they had to originate from their faith.
For they didn't count for their righteousness.
That's why in time past, you'll see that some were justified by works and others were not.
This same faith that was exercised in the good works they performed would be the same faith that would bring them unto Christ.
That is why the just shall live by faith.
And that is a trans dispensational verse.
In time past, those who lived by faith had works to show their justification.
But now, we're justified by virtue of our standing in Christ because he is just.
Verse 25, But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
What faith?
The quote, "that faith," is the same faith that Paul said would afterwards be revealed in verse 23.
It is the faith that Paul is preaching.
This body of doctrine, this body of truth, and the gospel is not separate from the doctrine, by the way.
The gospel is contained within the doctrine.
It's the instruction in righteousness for this dispensation of grace.
Paul is telling these foolish Galatians who wanted to return to the law to obtain righteousness, that those days are over.
There is no more need for a schoolmaster, those ordinances against the world, the world that had been concluded under sin in verse 22, were nailed to the cross according to Colossians 2:14.
Verse 26, For ye are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
This faith that has come, the one that Paul preaches, makes all who believe children of God.
All who are in Christ are children of God.
That obviously includes the kingdom saints as well.
We're all of the same household.
We just have different inheritances.
And because we do, we have different instructions.
Verse 27, For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek.
There is neither bond nor free.
There is neither male nor female.
For ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
Those of us who are saved by grace through faith are Christ's and therefore are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
That promise is the Holy Spirit sealed unto the day of redemption.
Christ in you.
The hope of glory.
The mystery.
Which, by the way, this brings up a question.
I've heard some say, even if we stop having faith, we are saved by the faith of Christ.
My question is, did you forget about the Holy Spirit?
What about him?
Guys, at the moment of belief, Paul tells us that we're sealed with the Holy Spirit.
But you need Jesus to have faith?
For some, that Holy Spirit just wasn't quite good enough.
The lack of power.
The lack of power that some have placed on the Holy Spirit and his capability.
It's sad.
To say that we're sealed with the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption but still need Jesus to have faith for us is flat-out error.
Not to mention contradictory.
And it's why we know assuredly, that the faith of Christ is what we believe, not what he had.
Okay, that'll do it.
We'll cover some other verses next time as we continue to demonstrate the inconsistency one must keep with in order to say that the phrase, "faith of Christ," means Jesus had to have faith.
Stay tuned.
We've got a lot to cover.
We'll also go to the actual verses from Jesus' earthly ministry and we'll cover those one by one and we'll even delve into the ones over there in ages to come.
We'll take care of those as well.
Remember, you only get two educations, the one you're given, and the one you give yourself.
Grace and peace.
From all of us to all of you, thank you.
Thanks for your support of the WTTR mobile app.
Be sure to share the app with someone today.
Who knows?
It just may change where they spend eternity.
Add comment
Comments