Message 52 - By Leroy Surface
Justification by Faith…
An Interim Righteousness
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans 5:1
This message actually began in December,
2011, when I heard the following “scenario”
presented on a well known telecast. “Let’s say a Christian has their faith in
Jesus Christ and Him crucified; loves God, but gives in to temptation and
commits adultery. Well, if Jesus
raptures the church while they are in the middle of committing adultery will
they go in the rapture?” The
question was posed to a panel of several ministers, and “confirmed,” in the view of the minister in charge, that the
adulterer would indeed be accepted by Jesus in the rapture. “You’ve
got to understand justification by faith,” he said. I noted that in a fifteen minute discussion
of the question, the doctrine of “justification
by faith” was mentioned six times as the reason Jesus would accept an
adulterer in the rapture. I was
horrified. If “justification by faith” explains how sinners, caught in the act of
sin, can be acceptable to God, then I knew that something was drastically wrong
with the “doctrine” of “justification by faith” as believed by
this minister. I soon discovered,
however, that the vast majority of “Christians”
living today believe exactly what this minister said, because it has been
taught as “orthodox doctrine.”
I have wrestled with this issue for the
past nine months, not having any desire to contradict a doctrine that has been
considered “orthodox” for almost five
hundred years, but, as the prophet Jeremiah also found (Jeremiah 20:9), I cannot keep quiet while millions of souls are
being deceived by the ones they trust most.
While I knew that I had to speak, I did not know what to speak. That issue was resolved on Sunday night, the
ninth of September, during the night hours.
Throughout the night I kept hearing the voice of the Spirit in my sleep. Repeatedly, I heard these words, “Justification by faith is an interim
righteousness.” I had never heard or
imagined such a thing until that night, but I know that it is true. Abraham did not receive, in His lifetime,
that “better thing” which God has
provided for us through Jesus Christ.
From the time that sin “entered” through
Adam, until it was “taken away” by
Christ, was a period of four thousand years.
During those years, God regarded every man or woman who both “believed God” and “obeyed His voice” to be righteous.
Today, those who “believe God,”
also believe “the record that God gave of
His Son” (I John 5:10), and are “justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans
3:24). Our justification is indeed
received by faith, but it is “much more”
than Abraham received in his lifetime.
The apostle Paul confirms this great truth in Romans 5:9: “Much more then, being now justified by his blood….”
Justification by Faith…
An Interim Righteousness
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans 5:1
Introduction
I will seek in this short introduction to
give an overall view of “justification by
faith” as an “interim righteousness.” From the time sin entered the heart and
nature of man through Adam’s transgression; until Christ came to “make an end of sins” through destroying the works of the devil” was
an interval of four thousand years.
During that period of time, the only basis on which God could deal with
fallen man was on the basis of “faith,”
which simply means that God could reveal Himself to, and work with, those who
would “believe Him” and “obey His voice.” He regarded these men
and women as being righteous, even though sin remained in their fallen
nature. It is amazing what great things
were accomplished through these “heroes
of faith,” none of which were “born
of God.” God accounted their faith
to them for righteousness, and they were righteous. They “shunned
the evil and did the good” and they “walked
with God.” Some among them were even
said to be “perfect” in all their
relations with God. After Christ came
into the world and suffered, the “gospel,”
as preached by the apostles, reveals “justification by GRACE, through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 5:1 tells us we are “justified by faith,” exactly as Abraham
had been, but in the verse that follows he speaks of having “access by
faith into this GRACE wherein we stand,” which is something that
was never given to man before Christ came to make atonement for us. The apostle uses the words “much
more” five times in the fifth chapter of Romans, revealing that
we have received something from God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that is “far
better” than anyone ever received in the interval between Adam and
Christ. Paul expresses this sentiment in
Romans 5:9 when he says, “Much
more then, being now justified
by his blood….” We have now received
the salvation that Abraham and all the great men and women of faith, in the Old
Testament scriptures, could only long for.
Jesus confirms this when speaking to His disciples in Matthew 13:17; “Verily I say unto you, that many prophets
and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not
seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard
them.”
Now, to Begin the
Message.
We know, according to the scriptures, that
Abraham was justified by faith. So was
Abel, the second child born to Adam. The
scripture says, “By faith Abel offered
unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous…” (Hebrews 11:4). Enoch was also justified by faith. “By
faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found,
because God had translated him: for
before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). In this message we will lay out some things
you may have never heard, but which are clearly documented in the scriptures by
the prophets and apostles. We will also
give “definitions” to some words that
are used repeatedly in the scriptures.
The first of these is “faith.” The correct definition of faith, as
related to those Old Testament men and women in the scriptures who were “justified by faith,” is “to believe God.”
The eleventh
chapter of Hebrews is a record of many men and women in the Old Testament
who were “justified by faith.” The difference between these mighty ones who
did mighty exploits and those who lived mediocre and defeated lives is that
they “believed God.” Why did Noah set apart a hundred and twenty
years of his life to “build an ark”
on dry ground? It is simple! He “believed
God” who warned him that a flood was coming to destroy all living. He “obeyed
God” who told him to “build an ark to
the saving of your household.” Hebrews 11:7 tells us he “became an heir of the righteousness which
is by faith.” Noah, as Abraham would
be some four hundred years later, was “justified
by faith.”
Hebrews
11:6 tells us that “…he that cometh to God must believe that he
is, and that he is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek him.”
This describes the very beginning of faith. It describes what Abraham experienced in Genesis 12:1-4.
Now the
LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred,
and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I
will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and
curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all
families of the earth be blessed. So
Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and
Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Genesis 12:1-4
We know that Abraham was raised, by his
father Terah, to worship idols. Joshua
reveals this important bit of information in Joshua 24:2, saying, “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your
fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they
served other gods.” Abraham was
born in Ur of the Chaldees, an idolatrous city founded by those who worshiped
the moon and the stars. Jewish tradition
tells us that Terah was an idol maker by trade.
According to that tradition, Abraham was reared in a house of
idols. It is possible, however, that he
did learn something about the living God from Shem, the oldest son of Noah, who
was still living in Abraham’s day and actually outlived Abraham by a number of
years. Abraham married his own half
sister, Sarah, who was also the daughter of Terah. Shortly after this, Terah took Abraham,
Sarah, and his grandson Lot, and settled in the city of Haran with the
intention of moving on to the land of Canaan.
Terah died in the city of Haran at the age of two hundred and five
years, at which time God revealed Himself to Abraham when he was seventy five
years old.
Hebrews
11: 8 says, “By
faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should
after receive for an inheritance, obeyed;
and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” If Abraham had not obeyed God when He called
him out of the land of idolatry with a promise that “I will make of thee a great nation,” we would have never heard of
him in the scriptures. He would have
been another obscure name in a long list of “who
begat who.” He would have died alone
in idolatry with his barren wife Sarah, and no one would have noticed that he
ever lived. Instead, Abraham “believed God” when He heard His
voice. He believed he would be rewarded
if he “obeyed God,” which brings us
to Genesis 15:1 where God tells
Abraham, “Fear not, Abram: I am
thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Those who truly “seek Him” soon discover that their “reward” is not measured in the abundance of “things” which they possess (Luke
12:15), because the “reward” of
those who “diligently seek Him” is to
“find Him;” He is our “exceeding great
reward.” Abraham complained to God, “what wilt thou give me, seeing I go
childless” (Genesis 15:2). It was night at the time of this vision, and
God showed him the stars and said, “Look
now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he
said unto him, So shall thy seed be” (Genesis
15:15). The following verse says, “And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD; and he (God) counted it to him for righteousness.”
Another fourteen years passed in the life
of Abraham, sad years, in which he tried to fulfill the promise of God through
his own abilities. He took Hagar,
Sarah’s Egyptian handmaid for a wife, who conceived and brought forth a son
whom they called Ishmael. Abraham dearly
loved Hagar’s son and believed him to be the “child of promise,” but God totally rejected the child when he was
thirteen years old, and told Abraham that his child of promise would come
through Sarah. Abraham pleaded with God
to accept Ishmael, but to no avail.
Sarah was ninety years old, and her womb had been barren her entire
life. Abraham was ninety nine years old,
and his own body was “now dead” to
childbearing. In the record given in Hebrews 11:11-12, it seems that Sarah
is the next to join the ranks of those who were “justified by faith.” The scripture says, “Through faith also (believing God) Sara herself received strength to conceive
seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one (Abraham), and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in
multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.” Sarah “believed
God” when she was about ninety years of age, and the birth of Isaac is the “proof” of her faith as well as that of
Abraham. Thus Abraham, through Isaac,
became “the father of many nations,” as
well as “the father of all them that
believe” (Romans 4:11).
Dying
in Faith
A remarkable statement is inserted by the
apostle in the midst of this great “honor
roll” of those who were “justified by
faith.” He says, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having
seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them,
and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). “These
all” speaks of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah; “These all died in faith, not having received the promises.” How could this be? “By
faith,” Abel received the witness that he was righteous. “By faith,” Enoch was translated that he
should not see death. “By faith,”
Noah built an ark and saved his house and “became
heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Sarah, “by faith,” received strength to conceive, and Abraham, “by faith,” became the father of many
nations, yet the apostle says “these all
died in faith,” and none of them “received
the promises.” Adding to the “list” of those who were “justified by faith,” the apostle tells
us of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, all mighty men of faith. He tells of the “faith” of Moses’ parents, who were “not afraid of the king’s commandment,” and the faith of young
Moses, who “refused to called the son of
Pharaoh’s daughter.” He tells of the
faith of the children of Israel, who “kept
the Passover, passed through the red sea,” and “compassed the walls of Jericho.”
Even Rahab the harlot was justified by faith
when she “received the spies with peace.” He rounds out the heroes of faith with
Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, and David, plus
Samuel, and the prophets, who “…through
faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the
mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the
armies of the aliens. (And) Women
received their dead raised to life again” (Hebrews 11:33-35). We must
not leave out the “others” of Hebrews 11:35-38; “…others were tortured, not
accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings
and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and
imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were
slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being
destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of
whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”
I have never been able to read those words,
“of whom the world was not worthy”
without weeping. I know that the highest
honor that God could give to a man or woman at the judgment would be to say, “the world was not worthy of this one,” yet,
we should hear what the apostle says about these men and women, all of whom
were “justified by faith.” He says, “…these all, having obtained a good
report through faith, received not the
promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us
should not be made perfect” (Hebrews
11:39-40).
Interim
Righteousness
It is a grave error to assume that our “salvation” and Abraham’s “justification” are the same thing. They are not!
There was a four thousand year period of time between the fall of man
through Adam’s disobedience and the restoration of man through the obedience of
Christ. During this “interim period,” in which every living person was “by nature, the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3), God provided an “interim righteousness” for as many as
would “believe Him.” That “interim
righteousness” is what Paul, in
Romans 4:13, called “the righteousness
of faith.” The scripture says of
Abraham, “…he believed in the LORD; and he (God) counted it (his faith) to him
for righteousness” (Genesis 15:16). Abraham’s nature was not changed from “sin” to “righteousness.” It was not
possible that such a “change” could
take place until Christ came into the world to “take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29; I John 3:5). God counted these men to be righteous because
they “believed God” and “obeyed God.” Their “faith”
was counted to them for righteousness, and was reflected in their obedience to
God. It was “justification by faith” that would keep them until Christ would
come to “justify them by His blood” (Romans 5:9).
To “believe
God” is truly the only righteous thing that a man or woman can do until such
time as they are “born of God.” The apostle John tells the young converts in I John 2:29, “If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth
righteousness is born of him.” How
can the apostle make such a statement?
Simple! He understands what Paul
calls “being justified freely through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans
3:24), as well as Romans 5:9,
which says, “Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” God saw Abraham’s “faith” and accounted him to be righteous on the basis of His
faith. Look at Romans 5:19 for a moment. “For as by one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one (Christ) shall
many be made righteous.” There is a
four thousand year interim between Adam’s disobedience, where “many were made sinners,” and Christ’s “obedience” to the “death of the cross,” where many were “made righteous.” Abraham
lived and died in that interim period where no one was “free from sin.” It is very
important to see that Abraham was “accounted”
to be righteous because he “believed
God,” but we are “made righteous” because we “trust in Christ,” who died for us. There is a vast difference between those who
lived before Christ came, who were “accounted righteous” because they “believed
God;” and us who live since Christ came, who “believe God” and are “made righteous.”
The
Promise They did not Receive
In Hebrews
11:33 Paul speaks of those men and women of faith, “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, (and) obtained
promises….” Just six verses later, Paul speaks of those
same men and women of faith, saying, “And
these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise” (Hebrews
11:39). There is a great difference
between “obtaining promises” and “receiving the promise.” Abraham “believed God” and received Isaac, the “child of promise,” but there was a much
greater promise that Abraham did not receive in his lifetime. Jesus
gave us insight into that promise when He told the unbelieving Jews, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56). When Isaac was a young man, probably about
sixteen years of age, God tested Abraham by telling him to offer his son Isaac
as a burnt offering. Hebrews 11:17 tells us, “By faith Abraham, when he was tried,
offered up Isaac….” When Isaac
questioned his father earlier the same day about the sacrifice, Abraham had
said, “My son, God will provide himself a
lamb for a burnt offering.” Consider
how heavy Abraham’s heart must have been when he took the knife in his hand to
slay his son. Only moments before
Abraham would have plunged the knife through the heart of Isaac, the angel of
the Lord stopped him, saying, “Lay not
thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that
thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me” (Genesis 22:12). When Abraham “lifted up his eyes,” he saw a ram caught in a thicket, and oh how
his heart leaped for joy. That was the
moment Jesus spoke of when He said, “Abraham
rejoiced to see my day.” The Greek
text says that he literally “leaped for
joy” as he took the ram and offered it instead of Isaac. He understood that God surely would “provide himself a lamb” to “take away the sin of the world.” Abraham placed an inscription on the altar of
sacrifice, calling it “Jehovahjirah,”
which means “the LORD will provide.” From that day forward it was said in that
place, “In the mount of the LORD it
(the lamb God will provide) shall be
seen” (Genesis 22:14). Abraham saw it afar off, was persuaded of
it, embraced it, and lived in expectation of the promised lamb all the days of
his life, yet he “died in faith, not
having received the promise.” Almost
two thousand years later, John the Baptist would see Jesus, and say, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world.” He was
looking upon the very lamb that Abraham, by faith, had seen “afar off” (Hebrews 11:13), but died before He came.
On the evening of the same day that the “serpent” beguiled Eve and sin entered
into the world through Adam’s disobedience, God gave the first promise of a
savior to come. He spoke of a “seed of the woman” that would “bruise the head of the serpent,” while
the “serpent” would also “bruise His heel.” This is the first promise of Christ’s
suffering and dying on the cross, where the apostle Paul says, “that through death He might destroy he that
had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). Certainly
Abel, the second son of Adam, knew about this wonderful promise of “the seed of the woman” that was to
come. Paul speaks of Abel in Hebrews 11:4, saying, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more
excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was
righteous.” Abel believed the promise of God and longed to see the day that
the “seed of the woman” would “bruise the head of the serpent.” Instead, his own life was taken by his
brother Cain, but he “died in faith”
and did not receive the promise.
Over three thousand years passed and no
such “seed” was found among men who
could “bruise the head of the serpent.” At this time, through the prophet Isaiah, God
chose to reveal more about the coming redeemer.
He writes, “Therefore the Lord
himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah
7:14). The “woman” would be a virgin who had never been with a man. She would conceive and give birth to a son,
and call his name “Immanuel,” which
means “God with us.” Through this prophecy we understand that the “seed of the woman,” would also be “The Son of God.” He would be both, “the seed of Abraham (Galatians
3:16)” and the “son of David” (Matthew 1:1). He would be “the Lamb” that Abraham had said “God will provide (Genesis 22:8) to “take away
the sin of the world (John 1:29). Every promise of redemption and restoration
that God had spoken through the mouth of all His prophets would be fulfilled in
and through this wonderful “seed of the
woman, the Son of God,” who is “The
Christ (The Messiah)” of Daniel 9:24-27. Thus He would “seal up the vision and prophecy” (Daniel 9:24).
“Plan
B”
During the four thousand year interim between
Adam and Christ, there were many who “believed
God,” and were accounted to be righteous.
It should be noted, however, that all of those who “believed God” also “obeyed
God,” which accounts for the mighty exploits of the “heroes of faith;” described in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews.
For those who “did not believe
God” there was another “interim
plan,” which I will call “Plan B.” It was never God’s will that such a “plan” should ever exist, but it was
found to be necessary because the vast majority of the people, even the “chosen people,” refused to simply “believe God.” “Plan
B” was “the Law of Moses,” which
Paul says “was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made” (Galatians 3:19). Notice that it was also an “interim plan.” It began when the children of Israel refused
to hear the voice of God at Horeb, and it ended when “the seed” came “to whom the
promise was given.” Paul tells us clearly in Galatians 3:16 that Christ is
“the seed of Abraham.” He is also “the seed of the woman.” The
“transgression” that brought the Law
of Moses upon the people was that they did not
“believe God” and refused to “obey His voice” when He spoke to them
from Mount Horeb in Exodus 20:1-19. God approached the children of Israel at
Horeb exactly as He had approached Abraham over four hundred years before, with
a great and wonderful promise. He told
Abraham, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy
father’s house, unto a land that I will
shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee,
and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing” (Genesis 12:1-2). He also approached the children of Israel
with a great and wonderful promise; “If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep
my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar
treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). The difference between the children of Israel
that day, and Abraham in his day, was that Abraham “believed God” and “obeyed
His voice,” but the children of Israel refused to even listen to the voice
of God because they did not believe Him.
The difference between Joshua and Caleb, who entered into the land of
promise, and the rest of the children of Israel, who perished in the
wilderness, is that Joshua and Caleb “believed
God” and “obtained promises” (Hebrews 11:33).
In Galatians
3:23-24, Paul gives insight concerning those in the Old Testament who “did not believe God.” He says, “Before
faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should
afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster (not a ‘teacher,’ but a ‘disciplinarian,’ literally a ‘boy
leader’ or a ‘boy beater’), to
bring us unto Christ, that we might
be justified by faith.” The Law of
Moses was not a “blessing” but a “curse” upon the children of Israel who
did not believe God. It was like a “prison” where they were kept, “shut up unto the faith which should
afterwards be revealed.” Again, Paul
tells us in Galatians 3:13, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”
God’s first “interim plan” for those who lived between Adam and Christ was
faith. Simply “believe God” and “obey His
voice,” and your “faith” will be
accounted unto you for righteousness.
The second “interim plan” was
for those who did not believe God. It
was the Law of Moses, a law that could neither give life to its subjects nor
make them righteous, yet, it was a law that required the strictest obedience to
every statute, ordinance, and command, on the penalty of death.
“Perfected
Forever”
And these all, having obtained a good report through
faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us,
that they without us should not be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:39-40
It is true of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses,
and David, all of which were “justified
by faith,” that none of them were perfect.
It is also true that none of them “received
the promise” of the “better thing”
that God has provided for us. It is a
damning error for “believers” to see
the imperfections of Abraham and the sins of David, and seek to “justify themselves” in their own sins,
because after all, “Abraham was a friend
of God,” and “David was a man after
God’s own heart.” It should be
noted, that neither of these men were “born
of God.” Neither of them had the “new heart” and the “new spirit” that God gives to those who “trust in Christ.” Abraham’s
seed (Christ) had not yet come into the world to “make an end of sins” (Daniel
9:24-25). The “Lamb of God” had yet to be offered to “take away the sin of the world.”
While it is true that everyone who “believes God” is “justified
by faith” exactly as Abraham was justified by faith, the apostle Paul
reveals that our “justification” is “by grace, through faith.” It is said to be “much more (Romans 5:9)” than that which Abraham received in his lifetime. This “justification by grace” is accomplished
and freely given “through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (a sacrificial lamb) through faith in his blood…” (Romans 3:24-25).
Look again at the words of Paul in Hebrews 11:40; “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” He speaks of “perfection,” that is, a “completion”
they would receive at the same time and place that we who “trust in Christ” would be perfected. The scripture speaks of Abraham and all the
others who were “justified by faith” before
Christ came, saying, “These all died in
faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and
were persuaded of them, and
embraced them…” (Hebrews
11:13). The “promise” that
they did not receive in their lifetime is the “better thing” that God has provided for you and I, in Christ
Jesus. It is what our KJV Bible calls “perfection.” Keep in mind that the word “perfection” always speaks of “completion” when used in the
scriptures. Hebrews 7:19
says, “For the law made nothing perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope did.” It is an obvious truth that the law could not
perfect anything. The important truth in
this verse is that the “better hope”
did bring perfection. That which “began” in Abraham when he “believed God,” along with all the
others who also “believed God” in the
Old Testament, was “finished” when
Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead. Jesus told us, even as He breathed his last
breathe on the cross, “IT IS FINISHED.”
Salvation was “complete,” it
was “perfect” for all who had died in
faith before Christ came, and for all who would afterwards “believe God” and “the record
He gave of His Son” (I John 5:10).
For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Hebrews 10:14
“Completion in Christ” is given to all
who “believe” the record God gave of
His Son.” It is impossible, however,
that those who “believed God” in the Old
Testament could have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as we understand, for
Christ had not yet come. Abel was the
first man, after the entrance of sin, to receive witness “that he was righteous.” He
looked for the “seed of the woman,”
but he knew nothing about the promises that were later revealed to Abraham,
Moses, David, Isaiah, and the prophets.
In the generations immediately before the birth of Jesus there was a
great volume of information about “the
Christ” who was to come. They knew
the exact year of His appearing, and what He would accomplish when He
came. Of course there was much “misinformation” that was also taught by
the traditions of the people, but those who “believed
God” knew that the coming of Christ, the redeemer, was at hand. They understood that He would “make reconciliation for iniquity, make an
end of sins” and “bring in
everlasting righteousness.” Abel knew none of these wonderful things, but
he did know the promise of “the seed of
the woman” that would “bruise the
head of the serpent.” That promise,
given by God on the first day that sin entered through Adam’s disobedience, was
“the record that God gave of His Son,”
and Abel believed the record. By faith,
he saw it afar off, was persuaded of it, and embraced it. He died in faith, yet expecting to see that
wonderful “seed of the woman” who
would “bruise the head of the serpent.” This is what Paul means when he says, “these all died in faith.”
Justification
and Salvation
We know that Abraham’s justification was
not the same thing as our salvation. We
know that he never, in his lifetime, received the promise. We know, by the scriptures, that God provided some better thing for us” (Hebrews 11:40). If Abraham did not receive the “better thing” in his lifetime, then
what is his eternal state? Jesus talked
about a place called “Abraham’s bosom”
where the righteous dead of the Old Testament were comforted while they
waited. But, what were they waiting
for? They waited for the same thing they
had waited for in their lifetime. They
were looking for, longing for, and expecting the appearing of their
redeemer. The fact that they “died in faith” lets us know that their “faith” was not in vain. Today, that place called “Abraham’s bosom” does not exist by that or any other name. Where is Abraham today? We will find his whereabouts in Hebrews 12:22-24. In verse
eighteen, Paul tells us, “…ye are not
come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire….” He is telling us that we have not come to
Mount Sinai, where the law was “given by
Moses,” but we have come to Mount Zion, where grace and truth “came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). “But ye
are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To
the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven,
and to God the Judge of all, and to the
spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new
covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:22-24).
Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah, all
of whose names were mentioned as being those who “died in faith, not having received the promises,” have “received the promise.” Their bodies will remain in their graves
until the resurrection of the just, but their “spirits” have been “perfected”
along with the “spirit” of everyone
who has been “born of God” through
faith in Jesus Christ. They looked for
His coming in their lifetime, but He did not come. They died in faith, and were carried to that
place which Jesus called “Abraham’s
bosom,” where they continued until “The
Christ” came in a body of flesh to be offered as a “lamb” to “take away the sin
of the world” (John 1:29). All those who “died in faith” before the advent of Christ, along with all of us
who would also trust in Christ, received the promise when Jesus Christ was
offered to take our sin away. Paul
explains what Christ did through His death on the cross in the tenth chapter of Hebrews, for all who
will dare to “believe” his
report. In Hebrews 10:5 the apostle tells us that when Christ came into the
world, he said, “Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou
prepared me.” This is what is
commonly called “the incarnation.” In Hebrews
10:7, Christ said, “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is
written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”
This has been called “the determinate counsel of God” (Acts 2:23). In Hebrews
10:10, the apostle says, “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all.” It was the “will of the Father” that Jesus would be offered for
the sin of the world. In Hebrews 10:14, he says, “For
by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” Do we dare believe this? Nevertheless, everything He did, He did for
those who would believe it. Do you
believe it?
I
Dare You to Believe This Truth
For the
preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which
are saved it is the power of God. For it
is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the
scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish
the wisdom of this world? For
after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching (the true gospel) to save them that believe.
I Corinthians 1:18-21
Where is the preacher that continually
tells the people that no one is perfect; that there is no such thing as
perfection in this life; that “we don’t
believe in perfection in the flesh?”
No, neither do I, but I do believe in “spirits of just men made perfect,” and I know by the word of God
that they were “perfected” by the “one offering” of the body of Jesus
Christ. It is true that the word “perfect” in the scriptures is
translated from a Greek word that means “complete.” Rather than play the part of a “fool” and continually tell the people “no one is perfect” (in direct
contradiction to the scriptures), why not study the word and understand the
meaning of spiritual perfection? We will
now go quickly through the book of
Hebrews to find what Paul believed about perfection.
Therefore leaving the
principles of the doctrine of Christ, let
us go on unto perfection.
Hebrews 6:1
If therefore perfection
were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,)
what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of
Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
Hebrews 7:11
For the
law made nothing perfect, but the
bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
Hebrews 7:19
Which was a figure
for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices,
that could NOT make him that did the
service perfect, as
pertaining to the conscience;
Hebrews 9:9
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and
not the very image of the things, can
never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered?
because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of
sins.
Hebrews 10:1-2
God having provided some better thing for us,
that they without us should not be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:40
For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Hebrews 10:14
The scriptural evidence is overwhelming
that perfection is not something we receive by “striving” to reach it.
Instead, “perfection” speaks
of the whole of our salvation, which is complete and perfect, with nothing left
undone by Christ for us to do other than “trust
in Him.” We should understand the word “perfection”
as “completion.” When we do, we will understand what it means
to be “complete in Him.”
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality
and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of
Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the
operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Colossians 2:10-12
The foregoing text is possibly the best
definition Paul gives of Christian perfection.
We are “in Him;” we are “circumcised with the circumcision made
without hands,” which means “the body
of the sins of the flesh” has been “cut
off” through the “circumcision of
Christ.” It is a “bloody operation” that was wrought by
Christ on the cross, but when Jesus said “It
is finished,” sin had been taken away for all who would believe it. We are “buried
with Him” through “baptism into His
death” (Romans 6:3), and we are “risen with Him” through faith in Him
who “raised Christ from the dead.” Sin has been cut out of our heart and nature
through “circumcision with Christ.” Paul says the same thing to the Romans in
another way, this time using the cross instead of circumcision as the means; “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with him, that the body of sin
might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans 6:6-7). In this text, “sin” is destroyed out of the heart and nature of the believer
through “crucifixion with Christ.” Paul gives the conclusion of this matter in
the seventh verse; “For he that is dead is freed from sin.” What a wonderful truth this is, but what Paul
really says is staggering. The Greek
text of verse seven says, “He that is dead (crucified with Christ)
is ‘justified’
from sin.” This is “Christian perfection,” and it was “finished forever” when Jesus offered
His body on the cross for us, “one
offering” offered “once for all,”
forever. Dare to believe it!
What
Must I Believe?
I can “believe”
everything Abraham believed previous to his receiving of Isaac and it will do
absolutely nothing for me. Abraham
believed what God said to him. That’s
what it means to “believe God.” He believed, and he received Isaac, the son
of promise. God has promised us “much
more” if we believe what God says to us. Paul continues to tell us in Romans 4:23-25, what we must believe; “Now it was not written for his sake alone,
that it was imputed to him (Abraham);
But for us also, to whom it shall be
imputed, if we believe on him
that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our
offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
In I
John 5:10, the apostle John also tells us what we must believe; “He
that believeth not God hath made him a
liar; because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son.” The “record” that God gave of His Son is very simple; “Jesus is the Christ.” Of this simple truth, John says “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and
the water, and the blood (the water and blood which flowed from the pierced
side of Jesus; John 19:34): and these three agree in one (I John 5:7-8). John reveals the “power” of “believing” what “God has said” in I John 5:1 when he says, “Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ
is born of God.” Jesus is “The Christ,” whom God promised to send
into the world to “make an end of sins,” to “make reconciliation for iniquity,”
and to “bring in everlasting righteousness” (Daniel 9:24-25). This, in
brief, is the record that God gave of His Son.
Those who refuse to believe that Jesus accomplished these things when He
died on the cross and rose again the third day, have “made God a liar, because they believe not the record that God gave of
His Son” (I John 5:10). It is those who believe the record God gave
of His Son, who are “justified by grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Their “faith”
is “imputed unto them,” and they
receive the promise that Abraham looked for but died without receiving.
What
is Justification
First we should look at the definition of “justified” in the “Strong’s Concordance and Greek dictionary.” The Greek word that was translated “justified” is “dikaioō,” which means “to render (show
or regard as) just.” When Abraham “believed God,” God “regarded
him” as a “just man” on the basis
that he “believed God.” It was not that God “declared” him to be righteous “even
though he was still a sinner, and sinned every day” as many in this day believe. God was not “regarding” a “Nimrod” to
be just. Certainly, if Nimrod had “believed God” he also would have been “justified by faith,” but it never
happened. The scripture says of Cain and
Abel, “…the LORD had respect unto Abel
and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect”
(Genesis 4:4-5). Why did God respect one son of Adam and not
the other? One “believed God,” and the other did not. Abel “obeyed
God” in his sacrifice, but Cain brought that which was good in his own
sight. He did not regard God, and God
did not regard him. In a world of
sinners it was only those who “believed
God” that God could reveal Himself to and through. For four thousand years, from Adam to Christ,
God “regarded” all those who “believed Him” as being righteous. All His dealings with them were as righteous
men and women. This they were in spite
of the fallen nature that was in every descendant of Adam.
What does this mean? “Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I Timothy 1:15). What does this mean? “Thou
shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). And what does this mean? “And ye know that He was manifested to take
away our sins” (I John 3:5). We can continue accepting theological
definitions and believing traditional interpretations, but we will never be
free from sin until we dare to believe exactly what the apostles and prophets
said. Let me explain.
About twenty five years ago (1987), I was
teaching in a Sunday morning service from the third chapter of First John.
I came to I John 3:9 which
says, “Whosoever is born of God doeth not
commit sin.” I knew by my own
experience that this could not be true, so I decided to teach what most other
ministers teach. I told the people what
John “really meant to say.” I explained that the word “commit” should have been translated “practice,” and as long as they did not “sin habitually” they were OK. I was wrong!
The Holy Ghost immediately rebuked me in my spirit with these words. “Stop
making excuses for what my word says.”
He got my attention. I quickly
closed the service and went home to “study
the word.” After much prayer and
study, I could only say to God, “I don’t
understand. My experience tells me this
is not so, but your word says it is so; therefore, I will believe your word over my experience if I never
understand it.” This is what I mean
by, “Dare to believe.” We will never understand the word of truth,
until we first believe it for no other reason than, “God said it.” This is what
it is to “believe God.” Our humanity cries out against the truth of
the gospel. It demands something that is
logical; something that “makes sense.” It must be something we can “prove” by the laws of nature or
science. We are told that the “truth” will never contradict true
science. That is ridiculous. Science will never be able to explain how
Jesus transformed pure water into fresh grape juice. There is no psychological or philosophical
explanation to how God takes sin out of a heart and nature and replaces it with
righteousness, but that is exactly what He does, and He did it through the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for everyone who believes it. Someone will say, “I don’t believe it!” That
person will never receive it. We are “justified by faith,” not by works. That means you could not do it in a million
years; not by the wisdom, abilities or strength of man. Man will never learn enough about the inner
workings of the soul to make it free from sin; but that is what Christ came
into the world to do and He did it through His death on the cross. Well does the apostle Paul say, “…the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but
unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (I Corinthians 1:18). Oh people!
Dare to believe what God says
and you will soon experience what He
says in your life.
“Much More…,” the “Better Thing”
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans 5:1
The entire fourth chapter of Romans is dedicated to showing what Abraham “found (Romans 4:1)” concerning
justification by faith. Included in the
same chapter is what David also found (Romans
4:6-8; Psalms 32:1-5) when he
repented of his sin and believed God.
Beginning in Romans 5:1, Paul
tells us what we will find when we “believe
God” and are “justified by faith.” He will show us in this fifth chapter that what we receive is “much more” than what
Abraham received in his lifetime. First, we will have “peace with God,” which Abraham also
had, but the end of our conflict
will come “through our Lord Jesus
Christ.” No one will have “peace with God,” who does not trust in
Christ. Second, in verse two he
tells us we have “…access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.” This is something Abraham never received in
his lifetime. Notice the words “this grace.” Peter, speaking of our “salvation” in I Peter 1:10
writes, “Of which salvation the prophets
have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come
unto you.” Peter speaks of our “salvation,” not as “grace,” but as “the grace” that the prophets had
prophesied would come. This is what
Abraham and all those other men and women of faith in the Old Testament longed to see the reality of. They had seen it “afar off,” but “died in
faith” before it came. In I Peter 1:11, Peter defines “the grace” as being “the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (I Peter 1:11). When Paul speaks of “this grace wherein we stand,” he is speaking of “the grace” which the prophets said
would come to us through the sufferings of Christ, which would bring “the glory” of the “new creation in Christ Jesus.” That is “the grace” that has come to us who believe.
“Saved by grace” does not mean that sinners are accepted
and taken into heaven because of the “graciousness”
of God. Grace is not an attitude of God
toward sinners who claim to believe God.
Grace is our New Covenant in Christ Jesus. Paul tells us, “Sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are not under the
law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Those who “believe
God” will believe all that God
says. Having heard, they will “believe the record God gave of His Son.” John establishes this fact in I John 4:6, saying, “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not
us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”
The words “much more” are used five times by the apostle in the fifth chapter of Romans, indicating the
“better things” God has provided for
His people in the new covenant. The first of these speaks of a “better justification” than that which
Abraham received. We will see how Paul
compares the new with the old. Paul
begins the fifth chapter with the
words, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). It is common knowledge among Bible scholars
that this first verse is better understood to say, “Therefore, having been
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Those who have “believed God” are no longer in conflict with God, thus they “have peace with God.” This was true with Abraham and all the other
mighty men and women of faith in the Old Testament. All conflict with God ceased when they “believed God,” and they had “peace with God.” This, however, is not the salvation that
Christ came into the world to bring. The
end of our “conflict with God” comes “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is when we first “believe upon Him” that all conflict ceases.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we
shall be saved from wrath through him.
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of
his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom we have now received the atonement.
Romans 5:9-11
The fifth
chapter of Romans begins with the words, “Therefore being justified by
faith….” Compare this with verse nine of this same chapter which says, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood…,”
and verse ten which says, “…much more, being reconciled, we shall be
saved by his life.” Can you see that Paul is revealing a New Covenant
justification that is “much more” than those who lived
before Christ could receive during their lifetime? Being “justified
by faith,” they received an “interim
righteousness” in which they would stand before God until Christ would come
to justify the believer “by His blood.” In Romans
3:24, the apostle tells us we are “…justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” This is certainly “much more” than Abraham
knew in his day.
In verse
nine we see the first of five
times in this fifth chapter that the
apostle uses the words “much more.” In this verse he is speaking of “…being now justified by His blood,” as
being “much more” than those received who were justified by
faith. Abraham, and every other man and
woman of faith who are recorded in the eleventh
chapter of Hebrews, were “justified
by faith” hundreds of years before Christ came into the world, and even
though their “nature” was not changed, the lives they lived were totally
changed. They “believed God,” they “obeyed
God,” and they “walked with God.” God regarded them as being righteous because
of their faith and obedience. This is
not, however, the “salvation” that
Christ has brought to us. If it were the
same, Christ had no need to come, suffer, and die for us. The “tradition”
of “justification by faith” says the
moment a person shows any indication of faith in Christ, God “declares” him not guilty, “declares” him innocent, and “declares
him to be perfect.” This same “tradition” then continues to deny the “declarations” which it imputes to God
by saying, “we are guilty, we sin every
day,” and “no one is perfect.”
It is impossible to imagine that almighty
God could “declare” a thing and it
not be true. The fact of the matter is,
there is no record in the scripture that God ever “declared” anything about the believer. However, in Isaiah 57:12, God did say “I
will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.” He certainly never “declared” an unrighteous man to be
righteous, or a sinful man to be perfect.
This “tradition of man,” which
attempts to define “justification by
faith” in a way that is acceptable to fallen man, is nothing more than a “fable” and a “fairy tale,” created by the carnal understanding of fallen man.
Those who believe and teach the modern “tradition” of justification by faith,
actually make a false charge against God.
Let me give a simple example to illustrate what I mean. The person who prepares a false income tax
return and signs their name to it has “declared,”
by their signature, that it is “just”
and “true.” When they file it with the government, they
are on record as saying they have approved the figures that are on the
return. If the IRS determines that the
return is fraudulent, they can prosecute, with the intent to imprison the one
filing the false return. If God “declared” an unjust man to be just
without actually making him just, He is placing his “signature of approval” on that which is unjust; a thing which our “just God” could never do. He does, however, “justify the ungodly.” Romans 4:5 says, “But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” When God “justifies
the ungodly,” he does it on the basis of their faith in Christ, which is a “righteous faith.” The “instrument”
of their justification, however, is the cross, where “our old man is crucified
with Him” (Romans 6:6). Verse
seven says, “For he that is dead
(crucified with Christ) is freed
(justified) from sin. They are “made
righteous” by the man Christ Jesus just as they were “made sinners” by the first man, Adam. Paul explains it best in Romans 5:19 saying, “…as by
one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience many were
made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Christ’s obedience to the death
of the cross; Philippians 2:8) shall many be made righteous.”
Abraham was “justified by faith” but he did not receive during his lifetime,
the “better thing” God has “provided for us” (Hebrews 11:39-40). We can
see in the words of the apostle, that “justification
by His blood” is “much more” than “justification by faith” (Romans 5:9). Abraham received
the first, but he could not receive the second until after Christ would come to
“wash us from our sins with His own
blood” (Revelation 1:5). We,
on the other hand, must have both. A
sinner is “justified by faith” when
they “believe God,” who simply calls
them to “come” to Him. Hear the call of the Spirit in Revelation 22:17, “…the Spirit and the bride say, Come.
And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come.
And whosoever will, let him take the
water of life freely.” It is the
voice of God that is calling. The “call” must be “believed” because it contains great promise to those who come, but
it must also be “obeyed,” because
those who do not come will not receive the promise. Hebrews
11:8 says, “By faith (believing
God) Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should (would) after receive for an inheritance, obeyed….”
Conclusion
The evidence is overwhelming that the
apostles actually preached a different gospel message than modern generations
have heard. The apostles preached that
Jesus is “The Christ” that God sent
into the world. The prophets foretold
the mission of “The Christ.” As “the
seed of the woman” He would “bruise
the head of the serpent.” As “the lamb God would provide,” He would “take away the sin of the world.” As “The
Messiah,” He would “make an end of
sins” and “bring in everlasting
righteousness.” As the “savior,” He would “save His people from their sins.”
The apostle John preached, “And ye
know that he (The Christ of prophecy) was
manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not” (I John 3:5-6), thus, He is “The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin
of the world” (John 1:29). The apostle also said, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy
the works of the devil” (I John 3:8),
thus He is “the seed of the woman” who
“bruised the head of the serpent”
when He died on the cross for us. The
apostle Paul confirms this in Hebrews
2:14; “Forasmuch then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he (The Christ of prophecy) also himself likewise took part of the same;
that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death,
that is, the devil; And deliver them
who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with him, that the body of sin
might be destroyed…,” thus He “made
an end of sins.” Paul also tells us,
“For he (God) hath made him (The Christ of prophecy) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him” (II Corinthians 5:21),
thus He “brought in everlasting
righteousness.” The prophet Isaiah saw Him perhaps clearer than any other
prophet. Almost seven hundred years
before Jesus was born to Mary, he writes, “Surely
he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded
for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we
are healed. All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah
53:4-6). Concerning this, the
apostle Peter preached, “Who his own self
(The Christ of prophecy) bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by
whose stripes ye were healed. For ye
were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop
of your souls” (I Peter 2:24-25).
Message 52 - By Leroy Surface -
Justification by Faith…
An Interim Righteousness
-------------------------------------------------------------------
TOP of PAGE
NEXT MESSAGE
PREVIOUS MESSAGE
Leroy Surface MESSAGES
JDG MESSAGES
Keith Surface MESSAGES
