Although Pentecostalism claims to teach salvation by grace, it relies instead upon formulas of salvation that depend upon works. Ex-Pentecostals often struggle to understand God and salvation in a Biblical way as a work of grace through faith in Christ alone, and so struggle to find any assurance of their salvation. This transcript is from a sermon in the 'I'm Reformed' series taught at Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Schenectady, New York. In this sermon, Pastor Tom Trouwborst explains salvation according to the Bible--that we are justified by faith because Christ alone can save us, and our assurance is the hope that we find in Him.

Frequent references are made in this sermon to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger Catechism, the summaries of Reformed doctrine. (Click here to view more Reformed creeds and confessions).

Justified By Faith

Tom Trouwborst
Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church

Ephesians 2: 1-10: "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

Amen. May God add richly to His Word as we consider it.

That's the way that Paul explained salvation, and Jesus said it this way in the gospels. He said that there was a king who was throwing a wedding banquet, and he invited many to this banquet. He sent his servants out with invitations, and the people declined to come. And he sent his servants out again, and the second time, those who were invited actually killed his servants. The king was not happy. The king sent out his army and killed some of those who had treated his servants that way. And he said to his servants, "Now we are going to send out and invite others. We will go out to the streetcorners and ask and so fill up the wedding banquet." And so the wedding banquet came to be, and the king went to the wedding banquet, and he asked some of those at the wedding banquet, "Where are your wedding clothes? You are not clothed properly for a wedding. You have to leave. You cannot stay in the wedding because you don't have the wedding clothes." And so he sent them out into bitterness and weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The wedding clothes in that text in Matthew are obviously symbolic of the righteousness of God that only comes in Jesus Christ. There is no religion like Christianity. This is what distinguishes Christianity from all others--from Judaism, from Islam, from Jehovah's Witnesses, from Unitarianism, and so on. Christianity stands by itself as a religion of grace. Verse 5 in our text: "even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)", and verse 8: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God". By grace--grace is the foundation. Grace is unmerited favor.

So as we consider the Reformed faith, we began with God, because we said that we are theocentric in our understanding, that our first concern is the glory of God. Robert Latham says (talking about the differences between those that were Reformed or Presbyterian and those that were Lutheran in the Reformation): "They [the Reformed] saw salvation in its entirety as a display of the sovereign and free mercy of God. The explanation lay that in Reformed theology, everything took place to advance the glory of God. Thus the chief purpose of theology and of the whole of life was not the rescue of humanity, but the glory of God. The emphasis was theocentric rather than soteriology. The Reformed theologians said that everything was subordinate to the overarching sense of the centrality of God and His covenant. Yet for both [Reformed and Lutheran], the underlying concern for the gratuitous nature of salvation, its objective reality, was the same."

So that, although the Reformed have emphasized the glory of God even over man's salvation, it would be simplistic at best--and really just wrong, at worst--to downplay justification by faith, as though it is not central to a proper understanding of the Christian faith. And so that is what we will talk about today--justification by faith.

If we begin with grace, then what is it that grace brings about? What is it that God brings about in us through His grace? And we are going to make three points: (1) that we are justified by faith, (2) that we are justified by faith ALONE, and (3) we are NOT justified by faith that is alone. And that is the Reformed faith, the formula that was present since the Reformation. This is what our confessions teach and what the Reformed church teaches concerning justification by faith.

So let's work through this.

First, we are justified by faith in Jesus. What does it mean to be justified? It means that our sins are pardoned and that we have been accounted and accepted as righteous.

Who here is following the Jonathan Porco trial? It's in the Albany area. Well, did he take away the life of his father, or did he not? To be justified is for God to say to you that you are not guilty, and to say that you have properly fulfilled all that you were supposed to do. So that, in the case of Jonathan Porco, it would be that not only did he not kill his father, but that he was the perfect son to his father. And that generically is how we understand the Christian faith and justification. We have been declared guilty in Adam, in our sins. We are in a jam, so to speak. And so then, the question comes to all of us: "Who are you to think that you can stand before God?"

We can stand before our parents sometimes and fib or not tell the truth, we can stand before our boss and he doesn't see everything or know everything, but to stand before the holy and righteous God, and to stand before God as a sinner--we cannot stand before Him. We have a problem, a dilemma. For the Christian, the answer to the dilemma that we find ourselves in is that we respond by faith--for by grace you have been saved through faith. That is the vehicle, that is the means by which the Lord gets us out of the dilemma that we find ourselves in. We are justified by faith. We are made right, our sins are forgiven, and we are accounted as righteous through this faith.

So what is faith? We need to define what faith is. Sometimes when we define faith, it is suggested that we are adding on to faith, that we are saying 'faith + works'. But that is not what we are doing. This is what we are doing ... If the doctor said that the prescription for you is only water, that the only thing that you are to consume is water. And then, if someone came to you and said, "Here is a substance that is two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen", then could someone say, "Oh, then you are not really giving them water"? No, that is to define what water is--H20, right? (I know there are people more scientific than me here). So when we define what faith is, then we are simply defining the very substance of faith.

The writer of Hebrews says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Heb.11:1) , or to use the Confession's language (in part XIV): "By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein"--so (I realize that this is basic, but it is important), that you would believe what is revealed in the Word. And then to go on to the last of this section: "But the principle acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace." So that generally, to have faith means to believe, and then more specifically, it means that you would receive, rest, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is more than merely assenting to certain propositions (although it certainly includes assenting to certain propositions).

Now look at the Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 72. The question is, "What is justifying faith?", and the answer, "Justifying faith is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God, whereby he, being convinced of his sin and misery, and of the disability in himself and all other creatures to recover him out of his lost condition, not only assenteth to the truth of the promise of the gospel, but receiveth and resteth upon Christ and his righteousness, therein held forth, for pardon of sin, and for the accepting and accounting of his person righteous in the sight of God for salvation."

So to have justifying faith is to assent to the truth of the promise of the gospel--so it certainly includes that--but also to receive and rest upon Christ and His righteousness. And that then is the classic definition of faith--that you receive and rest upon Christ, that you would have a knowledge and conviction and trust of who Jesus is and what Jesus does for you and what the message of the gospel is. And so Jesus says in John 6:29: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent". ('Believe' and 'have faith' is the same root word in Greek.) John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Mark 16:16: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." And then I John 3:23: "And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment."

So we are justified by faith. It's pretty simple, right? And we are not talking about faith (as you frequently hear it today) just that things will turn out okay, but faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ--believing in Him and all that God has revealed in Him.

So that is the first point and the second is that we are justified by faith in Jesus alone. So Paul puts it this way in Romans--that we are not justified by the works of the law. No one will be declared righteous by observing the law, but righteousness comes through faith in Christ to all who believe (Romans 3). And that is Paul's mantra all throughout the book of Romans. And so in Romans 4, he talks about Abraham as a man who was justified. And Paul asks the question, "When was Abraham justified?" And his point is this--that Abraham was justified before he was circumcised, before he did anything, before he observed the law.

Turn to Titus 3, starting with verse 4: "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

And now from Westminster Confession XI: "Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification."

So Paul said to the Romans concerning the Jews who misunderstood the revelation that was given to them: "But Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." (Rom. 9:31-32)

Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 70: "What is justification?" and the answer: "Justification is an act of God's free grace unto sinners, in which he pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in His sight; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them, and received by faith alone."

And Paul says in Ephesians 2, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

And then third point is that we are not justified by faith in Jesus that is alone. So still in Ephesians 2, just continuing, we read, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." So those whom He has called and given faith, He has given you faith so that you would do the good works that He has called you to.

Now, throughout Reformation history, this has been the charge against Protestants--that our understanding of faith brings about licentiousness and an easy believism, that our understanding of faith is one which will end up damning because people will hear it and won't think that God calls them to holiness. So Gerstner says in 'Justified By Faith Alone': "Romanists have always tried to hang antinomianism on Protestantism. They seem incapable even of understanding "justification is by faith alone, but not by the faith that is alone," though that formula has been present since the Reformation. If this were a true charge it would be a fatal one. If Protestantism thought that a sinner could be saved without becoming godly, it would be an absolute, damning lie. His name is "Jesus" for He saves His people from their sins, not in them. And He saves His people not only from the guilt of sin but from its dominating power as well. If a believer is not changed, he is not a believer. No one can have Christ as Savior for one moment when he is not Lord as well. We can never say too often: "Justification is by faith alone, but NOT by the faith that is alone." Justification is by a WORKING faith." And he goes on to say, "Let me explain, therefore, once again what the Protestant biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone apart from works means. Justification with God is apart from the merit of works. That does not mean that justification is apart from the existence of works. Christianity teaches justification apart from the merit of works. Easy-believism teaches justification apart from the existence of works. Faith without the existence of works is dead. Faith without the merit of works is antinomianism. Faith with the merit of works is legalism."

Machen says it this way: "The faith which James is condemning is a mere intellectual assent which has no effect upon conduct. The demons also, he says, have that sort of faith, and yet evidently they are not saved (James 2:19)." And he goes on to talk about the solution to the problem of the apparent differences between Paul and James: "The solution of the whole problem is provided by Paul himself in a single phrase. In Gal. 5:6, he says, 'For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love.' ' Faith working through love' is the key to an understanding both of Paul and James. The faith about which Paul has been speaking is not the idle faith which James condemns, but a faith that works."

The writer of Hebrews says that Christ became the author of eternal salvation for all who obey Him, and there are literally hundreds of passages in the Bible which state as such.

So returning to our Confession XI: "Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification; yet is it not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love." And then in section XIV, just a few paragraphs below it talks about how faith yields obedience to the commands.

And then in the Larger Catechism, Question 153 in answering the question of what God requires of us: "He requireth of us repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and the diligent use of the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of his mediation."

So this is what the Reformed standards teach, and yet I want to make sure that we understand what they do not teach. Dabney says, "The exercise of repentance, while absolutely necessary in all who are saved, creates no atoning merit". Turretin speaks of it this way--that the eye alone sees, but not when torn out of the body. So here is the distinctive in the Reformed faith. Faith alone justifies, as the eye alone sees, yet the eye is part of the body, and so is faith part of the whole package of the revelation of God and our response to it. Faith alone justifies!

Gerstner says it this way, that it is like a train, and you have an engine in the train. Only the engine gets the train from Point A to Point B, and yet, without a coupling, the other cars do not follow. Only faith justifies. Only faith is the engine. Only faith is that which provides. And yet there are couplings, so to speak. There are things that go with saving faith, because dead faith does not save.

And so even in saying that, we need to be very careful. For instance in Question 73 in the Westminster Larger Catechism: "How does faith justify a sinner in the sight of God? Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which do always accompany it, or of good works that are the fruits of it, nor as if the grace of faith, or any act thereof, were imputed to him for his justification.." (meaning that you can't go before God and brag about your faith) "...but only as it is an instrument by which he receiveth and applieth Christ and his righteousness."

So although these other graces the Confession speaks of being required, they are not the instrument of justification. We must continue to distinguish faith and obedience, that faith is not to be equated with obedience. Even though saving faith yields obedience, it is still not the same as obedience.

What does all this mean? What is the bottom line? Where are we going with this? Well, it's really as simple as this: Jesus saves. Jesus alone. And it is only by our attachment to Him through faith that we are saved. And so, to give a historical example, the thief on the cross, in believing in the Messiah, he did not have to do anything else in order to get into heaven. He believed in the Messiah. And yet we would say that if the thief on the cross got down off the cross, that he should act as one who has faith in Christ should so enable him to act. And yet his faith was sufficient to be justified before God and to gain him entrance into heaven.

And so I say to you, the people of God here today: Jesus saves. Jesus saves you. And not because you are in church today, not because you may or may not tithe, not because you may or may not be baptized ... but Jesus saves. And it seems to me that if that is the case, then that is quite freeing for the Christian in our mindset and our understanding, that we don't have to live our lives saying, "If I just did this, or if I just did that, or if I just went to church one more time, or if I just didn't commit this sin against my spouse in that year, or if this didn't happen or that didn't happen ..." But to know that you are free, and that you have been accepted in Christ, and that you should not go around feeling guilty if you have been justified in Christ. You are free in Christ. You have been redeemed in Christ, apart from the works of the law, apart from God's call to you to be righteous, you have been accepted in Christ.

So the call then is simply to faith. If you have not faith, to have faith. And if you have faith, to increase your faith.

All of us here at this church are are all invited to a wedding on Saturday. And let me ask the children here--would you go to the wedding in a bathing suit? Would that be appropriate? Would it be appropriate to wear a baseball uniform? Not to a wedding.

God calls us to come to His wedding properly dressed, to come dressed in Jesus Christ. So the call then is to receive and rest upon Christ, and to so find your rest in Him.