Last time we were together, we discussed that we can only be saved by grace alone, the first of the five Solas, or five principles of salvation born out of the Protestant Reformation. There is not one thing about us that grants us favor, no special quality that causes God to overlook the cost for the sins we have committed. So, if there is nothing about us that can save us, maybe there is something we can do! Maybe there is some enormous gesture, or by amassing a stack of great deeds, we can outweigh the wrong we have done! Wrong again! This is where we focus on the next principle, that we are saved through faith alone and not by any work or effort we can muster. We can’t balance the scales in our favor.
Hebrews 11:1-3 is a passage whose first verse is commonly quoted for the definition of faith. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it, the people of old received their commendation. By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God” (Hebrews 11:1-3, ESV). In By Faith by Keith and Kristyn Getty, the first verse echoes Hebrews 11:3. “By faith we see the hand of God / In the light of creation’s grand design / In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness / Who walk by faith and not by sight.” If I were to look at the world with just my eyes, I would see great beauty and kindness, but I would also see brokenness, injustice, and cruelty. This could easily draw someone to the conclusion that there is no higher power or that if there is a God, he doesn’t care. When I read the Bible, I can find the answers and evidence for there being a God and why the world is in the state it’s in, but I can’t physically hold its truth in my hands or point to somewhere and say, “Look, here is God!” So, faith requires looking beyond what our eyes tell us and trusting in what God has said and what He has done.
Now to the point of salvation, we look to another song, On Faith Alone by Robert Pierre. “On faith alone I live / Not in what I say or do / But the blood you freely give / Covers me and makes me new / For your love is ever with me / Lord Jehovah Great I AM / oh my trust grows stronger / On my knees / On faith alone I stand” How is the brokenness and injustice reconciled in my life to a God who is infinitely just and merciful? Through faith alone! No lyric sums it better than this! Nothing we say or do, but only faith in the blood of Christ that cleanses us! Galatians 2:16 states this clearly, “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”
A quick aside for a moment, when we say that faith comes by faith alone, it can appear contradictory to what James writes in his epistle. “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (James 2:24, ESV). This is speaking to the fact that faith does not leave us dead in the spirit but spurns believers to action! “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26, ESV). Faith in the saving power of Christ requires no other mechanism for salvation, but this same faith with no outward expression of the change within is likely not a living faith at all.
This is supported by Paul where he says, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” (Romans 1:17, ESV) and again to the Galatians “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, ESV). “By faith the church was called to go / In the power of the Spirit to the lost / To deliver captives and to preach good news / In every corner of the earth” The Getty’s song echoes this sentiment that we have a living faith that urges us to action.
Faith isn’t a New Testament concept but is also the means of salvation to those who preceded Christ. The 2nd and 3rd verses of By Faith talks of how the people of God walked in faith that God would save them and provide a way. Paul and James attribute the faith of Abraham to his salvation in Romans, where he says, “Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.” (Romans 4:9, ESV).
I’ll leave you with the opening verse of On Faith Alone and a thought. “On faith alone I stand / There is no higher ground / I give all I am / For my soul will never doubt / Though the storms they may be raging / You have always held my hand / To thy cross my heart will always cling
On faith alone I stand” Consider what higher, more solid ground we could place our faith in than the loving work of Christ? All other wells run dry, all other ideas cannot stand the scrutiny, all other hopes will come short. But not our God!
Thanks for joining our musical tour through the five solas! Next time we take a deeper look into what our faith is in, Christ alone! Till then, keep listening for the WORD in music. #CultivatingFaithOrg
Feature Photo by Azin Javadzadeh on Unsplash