Faith during the Old Covenant (part two)

To get at the question of what is faith, perhaps it is helpful to begin with the question: What did faith look like for people during the Old Covenant?

For Abraham it was trust ("Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness") and to obey ("walk before me and be blameless.")

For Israelites under the law of Moses it was the same--trust ("so that they may believe that the Lord , the God of their fathers--the God of Abaham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has appeared to you." (Ex. 4:5) and obey ("all that you have commanded we will obey." Ex. 20).

In other words if someone had faith in God between 1400 BC and 4 BC it meant that they would trust in God and abide by all that God instructed in the Mosaic code. Faith is shown by it's fruit--the fruit of obedience. Look at Hebrews 11 for the summary of those who by faith acted to serve God.

If that was faith during the Old Covenant, what is faith during the new? Well, I think it is just as trusting (totally dependent) and just as lively (responsive to the commands of God.)

Then you might ask, "what has changed?" Answer--the system of how that faith is expressed. In the Old Covenant it was faith in God and obedience to the Mosaic code. In the New Testament faith in God means being in the Messiah. Now we do not depend on the stipulations of the Mosaic law to trust in God for justification, our exclusive solution is Jesus who has fulfilled the law. Christ is the end of the law for all who believe. (Romans 10:4)

Faith--in what sense is it alone? (part one)

This weekend I have been priviledged to meet with other believers at the ACT3 Forum in Carol Stream, IL. From Thursday thru Saturday we have been listening to and discussing Norman Shepherd's teaching on Justification. In the first few blogs I want to discuss this faith that justifies. I am learning some new things about faith and want to spend some time working some of these thoughts out. I am going to begin in media res (in the middle of things) assuming some basics about faith because I don't feel a prolegomena is really necessary to begin the dialogue.

Faith Alone

There is an ongoing debate within protestantism as to the nature of faith. Martin Luther stated that we are justified by faith alone. But is faith meant to be absolutely alone? A careful answer either coming from Paul or James would have to be no--properly defined.

To understand "faith alone" we need to begin with those who used it--the Reformers. In the Westminister Confession, the Divines say that "faith is the alone instrument of our justification" (WCF). By this, I believe they were clairifying that faith and not faith plus participation in the sacrament was the only instrument of justification. (The word instrument is rather scholastic, but we'll pass by that for now.) Suffice it to say, the burden of the Reformers was that we are saved by faith and not faith coupled with the sacraments. To quote them:

WCF 11-2 Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and His righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification;(1) 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.(2)
(1)John 1:12; Rom. 3:28; Rom. 5:1.
(2)James 2:17,22,26; Gal. 5:6.

Notice, how part two of that statement includes, "yet is it not alone in the person justified." That is why we say, "faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone." Faith that is true faith works it self out in love. (Gal. 5:6) and according to James must have work otherwise it is a dead faith, useless and not saving faith.

That is why James says,
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:24 ESV)

Really, a person is justified by works? How can that be? More on this next time...