Sola Fide
Everyone has felt the sting of rejection. Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because the editor felt he lacked imagination before going on to create the highly imaginative Disney company. Oprah Winfrey was fired as a news reporter because she was too emotional attached to her stories before she made it big as a talk show host. After a performance at the Grand Old Opry, Elvis Presley was told that he should return to Memphis and drive trucks for a living because he would never make it in music. Lucille Ball’s drama instructors tried to get her to go into another field because she just didn’t have what it takes to be an actress.
1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience is testifying to me with the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have intense sorrow and continual anguish in my heart. 3 For I could almost wish to be cursed and cut off from the Messiah for the benefit of my brothers, my own flesh and blood. (Romans 9:1-3)
Israel’s Rejection
Today we take a look at God’s path of grace as we see Israel’s rejection and learn something wonderful about God’s grace. Paul begins in Chapter 9 by sharing how Israel rejected the Messiah and that he grieves over their rejection. His grief is such that he says he almost wishes to be cursed and cut off from God’s grace if only it would save his fellow Israelites.
He continues in this chapter to show that God chose Israel to be His people, but that they rejected Him time and time again, eventually rejecting His Messiah that was sent to save them. Have you ever just thought to yourself while reading about the many times throughout the Old Testament that Israel rejected God, “If I was God I would have turned away from Israel long ago and chosen another nation to be my people? Thankfully God didn’t reject Israel simply because they rejected Him. He still hasn’t rejected them as He continues to call them to repentance even to this day.
15 For He tells Moses: I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture tells Pharaoh: I raised you up for this reason so that I may display My power in you and that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 18 So then, He shows mercy to those He wants to, and He hardens those He wants to harden. (Romans 9:15-18)
This may seem cruel to us, but God has a purpose and a plan in place for everything and everyone. All are chosen to show God’s power, authority, righteousness, and glory. Even the bad things that happen in life can be used by God to show his glory.
30 What should we say then? Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness—namely the righteousness that comes from faith. 31 But Israel, pursuing the law for righteousness, has not achieved the righteousness of the law. 32 Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. (Romans 9:30-32)
Chapter 10: 9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 11 Now the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on Him will not be put to shame, 12 for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord of all is rich to all who call on Him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13)
Gentile’s Gain
In Romans 9 Paul used the words of the prophets Isaiah and Hosea to show that God already knew that Israel would reject the Messiah. Nothing surprises God, because He is Omniscient, all knowing.
God chose Israel to be His people to receive His blessings, His salvation, and His grace. But after they chose to reject His Messiah, God sent Paul and Barnabas and Mark and Peter and many others out into the highways and byways to compel others to come into His household. Jesus foretold this turn of events in Luke 14 as he described the great banquet feast. The chosen ones refused to attend for one reason or another. They rejected the master’s call, so he called to the sick, the lame, the poor, the blind, any that would come and sit at his table. God showed His grace to the non-Jews.
We learned in Acts that God offered His salvation as a gift for all people and that we are to work at calling all people to righteousness. And how do we receive righteousness? By faith alone. It does not require adherence to the law. The law that Paul is speaking about are the 613 mitzvots or commands that the people of Israel were expected to obey. These laws were believed to be the way that Jews could become right with God. They include everything about sacrifices, feasts, festivals, attitudes, treatment of wives, slaves, property, etc.
Paul said that the Jews who pursued righteousness by way of the mitzvot, have not obtained righteousness, while the non-Jews who did not pursue righteousness by way of the mitzvot, have obtained righteousness by God. It is not about following the mitzvot, which Romans 9:32 says is equivalent to trying to work your way into heaven. We obtain righteousness only in one way: by faith alone. Sola Fide.
Sola Fide is a foundational belief of Reformation theology. It was a result of studying Romans that Martin Luther came to believe that his salvation was a gift of grace provided by God alone and not a result of anything that he could do.
In other words, Paul is saying that righteousness is not bound by the laws of Israel, the traditions of the Jewish people, because righteousness comes only by faith in the Messiah who provided one salvation for all people, Jews and non-Jews, through faith alone. Paul shows here that there is no need to add the requirements, the laws, of the Jewish faith to the message of salvation.
Trust and Obey
Some religions teach that you must act certain ways, wear certain clothes, conform to a certain lifestyle in order to be saved. God said you only need faith for righteousness, to be made right with God. Whenever there is doubt or disagreement concerning anything from the Bible, I always go with what God had to say. We are not bound by traditions or rules or man-made expectations.
The Bible also says that we are called into a relationship with God and that He will direct our paths. Why? So that we can learn to obey God’s commands. Which commands? All of them. Jesus knew that the Jews had taken God’s commands and added hundreds of unnecessary requirements, restrictions, and traditions that had become a burden to His chosen people, so, Jesus made it simple for us. When he was asked what the greatest command of all was, Jesus replied,
37“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command.39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
If we focus on these two things, love God and love others, we are bound to obey all of God’s commands. You cannot love God and worship other gods. You cannot love others and steal from them or hurt them. Jesus provided so much freedom here, but He also provided us with a road map for our process of sanctification: being made holy by God so that we can be used by God in order to bring glory to God.
Not only have we been called to trust God, but to obey God. Jesus is not only our way to salvation, but He is also our leader, our boss, our Lord. We have been bought out of our slavery to sin and we have been made adopted sons and daughters of the King. All this has been done by our faith alone. And as children of the King, we each have the responsibility to obey the King. David Platt, recent past-president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission’s Board, had this to say about Sola Fide:
Do not give into the subtle temptation to embrace justification by faith alone, yet try and do life and ministry in the flesh alone. Christ loved you enough to die for you two thousand years ago, and Christ loves you enough to live in you today, to enable you with his sustenance and empower you with his strength.
Every step we take away from the cross of Calvary, we take in the same faith that brought us to the feet of Christ. Our every move is made in the full assurance of Christ’s power, the complete sufficiency of his sacrifice, and the overwhelming joy of his victory.
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