The faith that saves.
Thomas Schreiner and St. Paul on the certainty of justifying faith.
I have been (slowly) making my way through Thomas Schreiner’s extensive work on Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification, in which he examines the posture of the church toward the doctrine of sola fide throughout the centuries. This sweeping analysis of this crucial tenet of belief is noteworthy for its insistence on looking at the doctrine of faith, and specifically the faith that saves and justifies, as understood by some of the foremost voices of the church in ages past. I have tried to make it a habit to read a few pages of this book as often as I can since Schreiner covers large swaths of biblical and historical theology in a short amount of time. At the close of Chapter 8, he concludes a brief survey of faith as seen through various passages in the New Testament, which, of course, brings him to the apostle Paul’s treatment of the faith that saves in Romans 4. Schreiner’s summary and explanation of Paul’s consideration of faith as seen in the life of Abraham is excellent, so much so that I couldn’t refrain from sharing it with you. Here’s Schreiner:
[T]he faith that saves us is not just any faith. What makes faith salvific is the object of faith. Paul emphasizes that Abraham’s faith was in God (Rom. 4:17), but the God that Abraham trusted is not just any God. He is the God “who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist” (Rom. 4:17). Saving Faith is directed to the creator God, the God who made the world and intervenes in it, the God who gives life where there is death.
The faith that saves trusts in God’s promises, just as Abraham trusted that his offspring would be as many as the stars of the sky (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:18). Faith must not be confused with wish-fulfillment, nor do we find faith in faith itself. Abraham’s hope was circumscribed by God’s promise. Still, that promise was astonishing and beyond the capacity of Abraham and Sarah to fulfill themselves since they were well beyond the years where they could have children (Rom. 4:19). Faith doesn’t turn a blind eye toward human weakness; it faces the facts and acknowledges that humanly speaking, the fulfillment of the promise is impossible. Faith puts its hope in God instead of the human subject (Rom. 4:18). Indeed, faith glorifies and honors God, for it confesses that God can do what he has promised (Rom. 4:20–21).
Paul unpacks for us the faith that is counted for righteousness (Rom. 4:22). It is a faith that stakes its life on God’s promises, a faith that puts its hope in God when everything seems to oppose what he has pledged. This is why Christians are those who believe their sins are forgiven (Rom. 4:25), even though the evidence and proof of that forgiveness isn’t evident to anyone in the world. Nothing in life points to Christians as those who are specially favored by God, for they face suffering and the same kinds of difficulties that strike unbelievers. Still, believers trust that Jesus’ death and resurrection secure their forgiveness and justification (Rom. 4:24–25). (122)
Despite focusing on Paul’s words from Romans 4, Schreiner could have just as easily cited the apostle’s similar reasoning from Galatians 3 and 4. My mind goes to Galatians because I am preaching through that book right now. But what is both fascinating and thrilling is to see the development of thought and conviction in Paul by comparing Romans and Galatians with each other. In many ways, Galatians is the proto-Romans; it’s Romans in first draft form, if you will. Nevertheless, what Paul makes very plain and what Schreiner so helpfully points out is that the faith that saves and justifies has always been the faith whose object is God’s word of promise.
Paul synthesizes this mostly clearly when he says, “In Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Gal. 3:14). Regardless of the era in which that promise is heard or understood, the only certainty that one can have of their right standing with God the Father is downstream of one’s belief in the unfathomable promise of God. May our faith and hope be built on this and nothing else.
Grace and peace.
Works cited:
Thomas Schreiner, Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification, The Five Solas Series, edited by Matthew Barrett (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015).