Christ Alone
Hello, my friends!
Today, I’d like to take a look at the wonderful truth of living by faith. It’s quite a different reality from what most people think. There's so much rubbish being preached about this topic, with false doctrines getting punted around the church circuits that promote living by our own dead works instead of by faith alone in Christ Jesus. Alternatively, the pure gospel reveals a righteousness that comes solely through faith from start to finish—no working your way into it. Any teaching that tries to mix works with faith for our righteousness is just a false gospel through and through!
The good news is that our faith is meant to be a partner with God's amazing, boundless grace. His grace is what He has lavishly provided and poured out for us in Christ—unmerited favour as far as the eye can see, utter acceptance no matter what, complete and total righteousness as an extravagant free gift! Faith is simply our willing response to reach out and receive with open hands what He's offering. As Romans 5:2 says, “We have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Faith doesn't earn the gift one little bit; it just lays hold of it. Jesus alone secured our salvation through His finished, perfect work on the cross. Even the faith to believe is a gracious gift from God Himself! (Ephesians 2:8-9)
This is where so many precious saints get all tangled up though, friends. They start out rightly, trusting in Christ alone by faith. But then some charismatic religious type comes along peddling his works-based righteousness and boom—they get “bewitched” into thinking they have to add their own effort to inherit what God gave as an utterly free gift, just like the Galatians did (Galatians 3:1-3). Paul rebukes them hard: “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” We began in the Spirit by faith, and that's how we keep on too—by faith alone in Christ alone for our righteousness.
The strength of our faith is directly tied to the glorious, all-satisfying object of our faith—the Lord Jesus Christ Himself! People try to have this “faith in faith” thing going on, but that just falls flat on its face. It's a wishy-washy, non-solid place to stand. Faith has to have a solid anchor, a trustworthy object to place your confidence in. And there's no greater object for our faith than our beautiful Lord Jesus Christ! In the entire Old Testament, faith is rarely mentioned (only about 15 times) because the prime focus and object of faith—Jesus the Messiah—hadn't yet arrived in the fullness of time. But once He steps into the pages of the New Testament, faith is mentioned around 150 times as the sole means of obtaining God's righteousness in Him. No other condition or prerequisite gets added—just faith alone in Christ alone.
The Bible itself isn't the object of our faith, friends, but rather God's revelation unveiling the true object—Jesus the Son of God. The Pharisees were Bible experts who could recite it cover to cover, but they completely missed the One it gloriously pointed toward as Messiah (John 5:39-40). We can be just like them—knowing our Bibles backwards and forwards yet remaining clueless about the wonderful Saviour it exalts. True biblical faith always directs our gaze toward Christ, forsaking all else to trust in Him alone. As 1 Peter 2:7 says, “To you who believe, He is precious.” The more we exalt and centre our eyes on Christ, the more our faith is energised and strengthened immeasurably.
Faith isn't some magic wand we can wave, though. It's not some spirit force we conjure up by gritting our teeth and clenching our fists. No, true faith arises from beholding Christ in all His beauty and sufficiency. As we fill our hearts and minds with the glories of His Person and finished work, faith naturally awakens within us. It's the humble, restful response to seeing that He truly is enough and has accomplished everything required for our righteousness, acceptance, and life. When our eyes are on Him, doubts and worries subside as we're assured that He is in control, working all things for our good according to His infinite wisdom and love.
My friends, every evidence that we're living by faith is the thankful praises that naturally flow from hearts overflowing with gratitude. Murmuring and grumbling are obstacles to our faith in Him; these mindsets distract us. The language of faith is a thankful heart toward God for the finished work of Christ that has made us 100% righteous and complete, lacking nothing in Him. That's why Hebrews 13:15 tells us to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips thanking His name.” Our Lord Jesus perfectly modelled this kind of thankful faith-living when He gave thanks before the feeding of the 5,000 and the raising of Lazarus. In both those situations, His gratitude flowed from His unwavering trust in the Father's abundant provision and glorious miracle-working power on display.
Likewise, we're meant to “give thanks in every circumstance” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), expressing our faith that God has already supplied more than enough for every single need according to His lavish riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). We're not just thanking Him for past blessings but for future ones too! Recognising that He has made us completely “perfect” or “complete,” lacking nothing at all in Christ our sufficiency (Colossians 2:10). Therefore, this pattern of thankful prayer is woven through the scriptures—to offer our requests with gratitude (Philippians 4:6) and to be “devoted to prayer, being alert and alive in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). A lifestyle of faith-filled gratitude is simply the Christ-like response to God's lavish, superabundant grace toward us, His beloved children.
My friends, let's reject those man-made, law-based variations that pollute the pure gospel. The true good news reveals a righteousness that is by faith from start to finish—no works required at all! Our sole responsibility is to place our steady, unwavering faith in Christ and what He has already perfectly finished for us on the cross. Then, with thankful hearts overflowing, we get to enjoy all the free blessings that endlessly flow from His grace. Our adequacy and perfection arise, not from our feeble efforts, but from our trusting union with the all-sufficient, all-glorious Saviour, Jesus Christ. So, stay strong and steadfast, brothers and sisters! Fix your gaze on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, and give Him thanks for His completed work on your behalf. Even if you feel bewildered or depressed or not quite right, Jesus wants you to live a simple, unencumbered, faith-filled life, which is one to enjoy!
Phil