Romans 4 - Faith in Action

Christendom is known for the doctrine of Sola Fide, which teaches that mankind is justified by faith alone. There is one major problem with this teaching and that’s because the only place in the Bible where the term, “faith alone,” exists is in James 2:24, which reads, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

How can this be when Paul states in Romans 3:28, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”? Is one statement true and the other to be ignored? No, of course not, all of God’s word is true, therefore both scriptures are true. The problem is not the scriptures, the problem a misunderstanding of how the word “faith” is defined.

In this lesson, we examine the end of Romans 3 and all of Romans 4. We will see that not only is a believer justified by faith apart from works of the law, but that a believer is called to uphold the law.

Paul identifies Abraham as the example of a man whose faith was counted to him as righteousness. Abraham sets the bar and he, along with many other faithful individuals identified in Hebrews 11, are great mentors to understanding the concept that faith includes works.

Knowledge alone is not sufficient for faith. James lets us know that even demons believe and shudder (James 2:19). Sure, faith begins with knowledge, but that knowledge must give birth to a conviction that causes us to behave a certain way.

Our behavior is a result of our faith. In Christianity, our behavior in doing the things which God has declared good is what God calls “Worship.”

We worship God by our behavior, which is a result of faith. Let us live out our faith today and worship Him in all we do, all we are, and all we proclaim.

Blessings,
PJ

https://youtu.be/eJ6TeLt6LO4