Let me invite you to take your copy of God's Word and turn to Romans chapter 4.
It's very good to be back with you this morning.
I forgot about how many children this church has.
I'm glad for each and every one of them.
We've been working verse by verse through the book of Romans as I've had the occasion to preach.
And the plan for this week was Romans chapter 4 verses 1 through 12.
When the bulletins were produced on Thursday, folded and stapled very carefully by yours truly, this was the plan.
But then I began to write the introduction to Romans chapter 4.
We've been thinking a lot in these early chapters of the book of Romans about justification by grace alone,
through faith alone, in Christ alone.
I've said to you repeatedly, that's the theme of this letter.
And it begins in Romans chapter 1 and verse 16.
There Paul says he's not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God for salvation to all who believe.
For the righteous shall live by faith.
And it begins to expound upon that.
Why? Why do we need this alien righteousness, this righteousness that comes from God?
And he begins to lay that out for us in verse 18 of chapter 1.
And then he begins to think about and write about the relationship between the gospel and the Jewish people and the Gentile people.
But again, driving this point all along.
Justification comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
And I've said to you, I think this is timely for our church, because if we don't get clear the gospel,
if we're not redundantly clear on the gospel, then we're going to get distracted by other things.
And so, as I come to chapter 4, and I'm looking to expound on these first 12 verses,
if you're there now, you may have in your Bible a subheading similar to mine,
Abraham justified by faith.
He's going to go make an Old Testament argument to us about justification coming through faith from Abraham.
And then he makes an argument from the mouth of David.
And I begin to think, why are we still talking about this?
And so I start to write an introduction to set you up for that.
And it's an introduction that became a sermon itself in the process.
I thought yesterday, I really need to do this first, and then we'll get back into Romans chapter 4.
So, go with me, if you will, to 2 Timothy chapter 3.
I want to talk in brief about the five solas of the Protestant Reformation,
and then draw our attention more narrowly to sola scriptura.
The Bible alone is God's final authority.
In Latin, sola scriptura.
And it is on its pages that we learn that we are saved by God's grace alone, sola gratia.
Through faith alone, sola fide.
In Jesus Christ alone, sola Christus.
And this salvation and all things that exist for the glory of God alone.
Soli Deo Gloria.
We are Protestants.
And this is not an insignificant declaration.
More than 500 years ago, the Protestant Reformation began, and we are still protesting.
Not just against Roman Catholicism, but also against any world system that says,
you can be saved by your works.
Which they all do.
That is the mantra of our day.
We are not Protestants in theory or by name only.
It's not a tip of the hat to our history.
A little more than five years ago, the leadership of your church had to stand against our own denomination's campus ministry.
Because they thought it a good idea to partner with the Catholic organization on campus for an evangelistic event.
And we cried, no.
No.
Justification comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Let us not be unclear about this.
Let us not be a people who are distracted by lesser in-house disagreements.
We need to grip tightly to the solas.
For there is much work to be done.
Beloved, the boldest thing you can do is not take to social media to decry or defend
every disparate view.
The boldest thing you can do is preach the good news of Jesus Christ to your children,
to your spouse and other family members, to your neighbors and co-workers,
and to one another.
We are Protestants.
And we are at our best when we hold fast to the solas.
We do not innovate.
We hold.
We do not waver.
We hold.
We do not become distracted.
We hold.
We contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
And so you may see, as I begin to write an introduction,
my concern is that you might get bored with the message of justification by grace alone,
through faith alone, in Christ alone.
My concern is that we have in us a desire to be innovative,
to expand and to explore.
And I want to call us this morning to the old ways.
If you want to think of it as boring, go right on ahead.
But the text, back to the text, back to the text, back to the text.
May we never grow tired of hearing the gospel proclaimed.
Now, I want to be clear.
The Protestant Reformation was not the beginning of Christianity.
Christianity.
God has had a people that he has sovereignly rescued from the fall
by a promise that has been fulfilled in Christ.
The truth of God had not been lost to the world to be rediscovered by an Augustinian monk
by the name of Martin Luther in the 16th century.
The truth of God had been preserved by God,
although largely lost to the Western world,
buried in a Latin translation and by Roman Catholic tradition and papal infallibility,
which at very best obscured the truth and at very worst replaced it.
God had long been working among his people in Europe
to ignite the purifying flame of the Protestant Reformation.
A popular analogy goes that God had been stacking the kindling for centuries
and that he used Martin Luther's writing as a spark to ignite the fire
that burned so brightly across Europe to purify the church.
Faithful men, known and unknown, were used of God.
Men like John Wycliffe, who in the 14th century defied Rome
and translated the Bible from Latin into English.
They were all fallible men, but they were men used of God.
Our history traces through redemptive history
by way of the church we see in the book of Acts,
through the Reformers and the Puritans to today.
The events of the Reformation were significant
and we would not exist as a people for God's possession if not for them.
I am not saying that God couldn't have established a church in the Americas
without the Reformation,
but I am saying that God chose to start a church in the Americas
with the Reformation,
and we should want to know our history.
We do not want to be known for what we are against,
but sometimes to be clear about what you are for,
you must state what you are against.
The Protestant Reformation began as an attempt to bring correction
to the Roman Catholic Church,
but upon Rome's rejection of the plain teaching of Scripture,
the Reformers abandoned Rome.
We are Protestants,
and we will protest any teaching,
not just Roman Catholic teaching,
any teaching against justification
by grace alone,
through faith alone,
in Jesus Christ alone.
We must be clear on this.
Luther once said,
the time for silence is past,
and the time to speak has come.
So let's talk just a bit about Martin Luther
before we get into our text today,
and the event that happened on October 31st, 1517,
as well as the events that followed.
Martin Luther was training to be a lawyer,
and he was deeply troubled by the status of his soul.
In a lightning storm,
ironically praying to Saint Anne,
Luther promised that if he survived the storm,
he would become a monk.
It was seen as the highest devotion to God in his day.
Well, he did survive the storm,
and he kept his promise.
He became an Augustinian monk.
Still troubled by the state of his soul,
he was tasked with translating the book of Romans,
and not far into chapter 1,
he came to verse 17,
and the phrase,
the righteous shall live by faith.
See, the trouble of his soul was that he thought,
I can never do enough.
I am not measuring up to God's law,
and he was right about this.
But then he saw the good news,
that the righteous shall live by faith.
On October 31st of 1517,
Luther nailed a document that we know as the 95 Theses
to the Wittenberg church door,
which outlined 95 reasons
that the selling of indulgences was not biblical.
You see, the Roman Catholic Church had constructed,
as all worldly moral systems do,
a system of works-based salvation,
do good and good will follow.
And they had monetized it
in order to build a massive building.
At the end of February
to the beginning of March of 1518,
the 95 Theses were translated into German
without Luther's permission
by a printer and widely distributed.
A lot of people want to give Luther all the credit.
He did write the document,
but didn't intend for it to be widely distributed.
Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church
in January of 1521,
and he was then summoned to the Diet of Worms
in April 17th of 1521,
where he was asked the questions,
Do you acknowledge the authorship of books
that had been brought to the Diet
and bore your name?
And will you stand by them
or retract anything in them?
Luther asked for 24 hours
to consider his response,
and it was at the end of this 24-hour period
on April 18th of 1521
where he said the following famous words,
Unless I am convinced
by the testimony of Scripture
or by clear reason,
for I trust neither Pope nor Council alone,
since it is well known
that they have often erred
and contradicted themselves,
I am bound by the Scriptures
I have cited,
for my conscience is captive
to the Word of God.
I cannot and will not recant anything,
since to act against one's conscience
is neither safe nor right.
I cannot do otherwise.
Here I stand.
May God help me.
Martin Luther was declared a heretic
and traitor to the state
and sentenced to death.
But a kidnapping was staged
and he was hidden away in a castle
where he promptly translated
the New Testament
into German
in a matter of months.
Why?
Because he believed
in sola scriptura.
He saw the great importance
of putting the Bible
into the people's hands.
And so let's look at 2 Timothy chapter 3,
verse 14,
and into chapter 4,
and verse 4 briefly this morning.
Before we read it,
I would like to remind you,
as I do each Lord's Day, beloved,
that this is God's Word to us,
written for His glory
and our good.
We would all do well
to listen to it
in order to believe its promises
and obey its commands.
Paul writes to Timothy,
but as for you,
continue in what you have learned
and have firmly believed,
knowing from whom you learned it.
And now from childhood
you have been acquainted
with the sacred writings
which are able to make you wise
for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is breathed out by God
and profitable for teaching,
for reproof,
for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
that the man of God
may be complete,
equipped for every good one.
I charge you in the presence of God
and of Christ Jesus
who is to judge the living and the dead
and by His appearing and His kingdom
preach the word.
Be ready in season and out of season.
Reprove, rebuke, and exhort
with complete patience and teaching.
For the time is coming
when people will not endure sound teaching,
but having itching ears,
they will accumulate for themselves
teachers to suit their own passions
and will turn away from listening
to the truth
and wander off into myths.
So a brief outline for this morning.
Number one,
the scripture alone is God's final authority.
Number two,
the scripture alone is God's final authority
for justification.
And number three,
the scripture alone is God's final authority
for sanctification.
So firstly,
the scripture alone is God's final authority.
We'll take the text a bit out of order.
Look at chapter four,
verses one through four.
Here we see Paul give to Timothy
a simple charge.
A big charge,
but a simple one.
Two,
verse two,
preach the word.
Be ready,
all the time is what he's saying,
to bring about the correction
and the encouragement
that the church is going to need.
And at the end of verse two,
he says,
with complete patience
and teaching.
Do this work of preaching the word
with patience
and careful attention.
Do it in season and out of season.
Do it in various forms and fashions.
It's important that you do this work,
Timothy,
because,
verse three tells us,
a time is coming,
and I say to you,
and is here,
when people don't want to hear
sound teaching.
They don't want to sit
under the plain explanation
of scripture.
They want it entrapped
with lots of frivolities.
Beloved,
I will tell you,
I am so tired of seeing
the kind of youth group shenanigans
that go on around us in church.
It is absolute silliness
that goes on
in the churches of our age.
Why is this allowed to happen?
Why is it tolerated?
I just look at these things
and I go,
you all would leave immediately
if I did some of the things
I see happening.
Why do these guys get away
with this stuff?
It's because the people,
they're gathering for themselves,
they're accumulating teachers.
There's lots of them
piled up
that are suiting their passions,
their desire to be entertained,
their desire to live the lives
that they want to live,
to make a Christ
of their own creation.
They're gathering teachers
that will support
this very thing,
not men that will just boldly
proclaim what the text says.
And they're wandering off
into myths,
away from the truth.
If there was ever a day
to cry,
Sola Scriptura,
this is that day.
Now the doctrine of Sola Scriptura
is known
as the formal principle.
When the Supreme Court
is trying a difficult case,
they look to other legal decisions
and laws
to see what unites them
or norms them.
They look for precedent.
They look to consensus
among legal decisions
and laws
as an appeal
to an authority
that is greater
than themselves.
If you keep up
with Supreme Court decisions,
you'll hear much
of this language.
Martin Luther,
during the Reformation,
pulled in his legal training
when referring
to Scripture
as the norm
of norms
that cannot
be normed.
Stating,
it is the absolute
authority
because it is from
God himself.
Nothing else
can change
the meaning
of the Scripture.
The text,
it stands
on its own.
The norm
of norms
that cannot be normed
or,
in the Latin,
if you want to nerd
with me for a moment,
norma normus
non normata,
which is cooler to say.
Norma normus
non normata.
All this to say,
we believe
in Sola Scriptura
and saying that
is to say
that we believe
that the Bible
is God's
final
authority.
It is a
closed canon.
We're not looking
for extra
revelatory
information.
God has spoken
in
his
word.
If somebody
says to me,
God told me,
I say,
book,
chapter,
and verse,
please.
How has God
told you?
from the text,
I would love
to see it
there.
Now,
to say that
Scripture is the
final authority
is not to be
misunderstood,
that Scripture
is the only
authority.
The Bible
should not be
read alone.
Martin Luther
once said,
the Scripture's
authority is not
a naked
authority.
So we have
helps as we
open up
the text.
I'm glad for this.
I don't sit
in a cave
just with
the text.
We have
some helps
and some
ways that
we can
bring
understanding
and bearing
to the text.
We have
church history.
We're making
a bit of an
appeal to that
today,
aren't we?
Not as an
ultimate
authority,
but as
an authority.
What has
the church
believed
about this,
one doctrine
or another?
If we find
ourselves coming
up with some
novel idea
about the
Bible,
it may
be,
likely is,
dangerous.
Something new
to be discovered.
Hmm.
If perhaps no
Christian in the
history of the
church has
thought what
you think
could be a
problem for
your theology,
what has
time taught
us about
any given
doctrine?
And we see
helps from
church history
in the form
of creeds,
confessions,
and catechisms.
These tools
are a great
way to
discover what
the church
has believed
historically.
We have
used here
the Apostles
Creed.
That's
found embedded
in the
Heidelberg
Catechism.
The Heidelberg
Catechism,
as we've been
reciting it
together on
Sunday mornings,
has been
explaining
the Apostles
Creed,
what is meant
by that.
And you
will note,
if you ever
look at any
of these
confessions,
at the
footnoting
that's right
there in
your bulletin
for the
Scripture
reference,
right?
The Bible
being the
ultimate
authority,
right?
The Norma
Normas
Non
Normata,
right?
The confession
is not on the
same level
as the
Scripture,
but helps
us to
understand
what the
Scripture
teaches
on any
given
doctrine.
These are
helpful
things to
us.
They ought
to be
taken up
and
considered
carefully
as they
read the
text.
Jeremiah
chapter 6
and verse
16,
there God
says,
stand by
the roads
and look
and ask
for the
ancient
paths
where the
good way
is and
walk in
it and
find rest
for your
souls.
Isn't that
good?
Stand by
the roads
and look
and ask
for the
ancient
paths
where the
good way
is and
walk in
it and
find rest
for your
souls.
But then
God says
in Jeremiah
chapter 6
and verse
16 of
Israel,
but they
said,
we will
not walk
in it.
And I
pray that
we would
be ones
who say
we will
walk in
it,
right,
the good
way and
find rest
for our
souls.
You also
have,
along with
the Scripture
as a way
of reading
it and
understanding
it,
the teaching
of your
leaders.
The author
of Hebrews
says in
Hebrews 13
and verse
7,
remember
your
leaders,
those who
spoke to
you the
word of
God,
those who
worked to
faithfully
unpack the
text for
you,
those who
are considering
the culture
in which we
live and
the needs
of our
fellowship and
are working
prayerfully to
get out ahead
of you and
help equip you
for the days
in which we
live.
So the
Scripture
alone is
God's
final
authority.
Paul says
this to
Timothy,
you need
to continue
to preach
the word
because people
aren't going
to want to
hear it,
but keep
doing it
anyway.
And as
we'll see
at the very
end of
chapter 3,
it's because
God is
himself its
source and
it is a
sufficient
text.
Second
point,
the Scripture
alone is
God's
final
authority
for
justification.
If you're
unfamiliar with
this term,
it means
to be
declared
righteous,
holy,
without
wrong,
with all
the law
keeping
required of
you before
God.
You can see
why we use
the word
justification.
We're not
trying to be
churchy,
but it summarizes
a big
idea.
We will
all stand
before the
judgment of
God one
day.
We will
either be
sent to
eternal
punishment as
a reprobate,
or we
will be
seen as
justified,
as having
all of our
sins expunged
from our
record and
being given
righteousness
by Christ.
And the
Scripture
alone is
God's
authority
for
justification.
We see
this in
verse 14
and 15
of chapter
3.
There's this
exhortation
there to
Timothy to
continue in
what he
had learned,
what he
had learned
from Paul
and how
as a
child he
was acquainted
with the
writings by
his mother
and his
grandmother.
And at
the end of
verse 15,
Paul there
says,
which are
able to
make you
wise for
salvation
through faith
in Christ
Jesus.
The Scripture
teaches us that
we are saved
by grace
alone,
through faith
alone,
in Jesus
Christ
alone.
And we
must hear
this message.
It must be
taken up and
read.
It must be
proclaimed to
us.
We must
hear the
good news
of the
word that
we might
be saved.
I was
really grateful
for a bit
of an
anecdote.
Many years
ago I went
together for
the gospel
with some
men from
our church
and a
man named
Ash Harris
who some
of you
know was
there with
us.
And at
the beginning
as a
curiosity,
most of
the men
at this
conference
are leaders
in churches
or seminary
students.
And they
had us all
stand up
and then be
seated as
questions were
asked about
how it was
we heard
the gospel.
And I was
very encouraged
as a
pastor of,
a father of
children,
a pastor of
a church
full of
children,
that the
predominant
group that
sat,
sat when
the question
was asked
if your
parents shared
the gospel
with you
and you
came to
faith in
Christ because
of that
proclamation,
sit down.
And I mean
the stadium
was like
kind of
sitting.
A massive
number of
the people
in that
room came
to faith
because of
the faithful
preaching of
the gospel
by their
parents being
encouraged
parents.
But then I
was especially
encouraged as
Ash Harris did
not sit for
that or
many other
invitations to
sit and
finally he was
part of the
group of
like,
okay,
well any
other way I
can't think
of,
go ahead and
sit down.
And so I
just leaned
over and
said,
Ash,
when did
you first
hear the
gospel?
And Ash
first heard
the gospel
when he
was deployed
in Iraq
and had
been handed
a New
Testament
by a
military
chaplain
handing him
out and
Ash said,
this seems
important and
stuck it in
his pocket.
And he'd
come back
from a
particular
mission that
was rattling
to him and
he sat in the
shade of a
Humvee and
he opened up
the book of
John and
began to
read about
the word
made flesh.
And Ash
became a
Christian through
the reading
of the text.
So whether
it's proclaimed
from our
mouths or
taken up
and read,
the scripture
is what
teaches us
how it is
we come
to faith
in Christ.
Paul writes
in Romans 10,
I'll look forward
to unpacking
this in
some time,
a year
maybe.
How then
will they
call on him
in whom
they have
not believed?
And how
are they to
believe in
whom they
have never
heard?
And how
are they to
hear without
someone
preaching?
And how
are they to
preach unless
they are
sent?
As it is
written,
how beautiful
are the
feet of
those who
preach the
good news.
But they
have not all
obeyed the
gospel,
for Isaiah
says,
Lord,
who has
believed
what he
has heard
from us?
So faith
comes from
hearing,
and hearing
through the
word of
Christ.
Psalm 19,
verse 7 and
following,
the law of
the Lord is
perfect,
reviving the
soul.
The testimony
of the Lord
is sure,
making wise
the simple.
The precepts
of the Lord
are right,
rejoicing the
heart.
The commandment
of the Lord
is pure,
enlightening the
eyes.
The fear of
the Lord is
clean,
enduring forever.
The rules of
the Lord are
true and
righteous
altogether.
More to be
desired are
they than
gold,
even much
fine gold,
sweeter also
than honey and
drippings of
the honeycomb.
moreover,
by them
is your
servant warned,
and keeping
them there
is great
reward.
The Bible,
like sola
scriptura,
the Bible
alone is
God's
authority
for
justification.
It is
the way
in which
we are
made wise
for salvation
through faith
in Christ
Jesus.
Beloved,
we should be
a people
of the book
for our
sake,
for the sake
of others.
Thirdly,
the scripture
alone is
God's
final authority
for
sanctification.
Look at
verses 16
and 17.
For growing
up in the
faith,
having been
justified,
how is it
that we
then pursue
holiness?
We're given
the spirit
of Christ
that we
might
understand,
apply,
and be
empowered
to live
the word
of Christ.
Christ.
Here Paul
writes,
all scripture
breathed out
by God,
exhaled
by God,
he's the
very source
of it,
and it's
profitable
for teaching,
reproof,
correction,
and training
in righteousness,
in holiness,
in right
living,
in law
keeping.
It's
profitable
for these
things,
and it's
profitable
to the
extent,
he qualifies,
that the
man of
God may
be complete,
equipped for
every good
work.
Not some
good work.
We don't
need extra
revelation to
tell us
those things.
For every
good work,
it's a
sufficient
guide for
all
holiness.
Again,
Martin
Luther,
he said,
a simple
layman
armed
with
scripture
is to
be
believed
above
a
pope
or
a
council
without
it.
Scripture
is
powerful,
sharper
than any
two-edged
sword,
piercing
to the
joint
and the
marrow.
It lays
bare our
hearts.
It shows
us where
we need
to repent
and pray
for the
grace to
pursue
holiness
in Christ.
So we
should want
to hear
it.
We should
want to
hear its
corrections.
It should
be sweet
to us
to be
shown our
sin that
we might
repent
and pursue
Christ.
Psalm
119,
verse 9
and following,
how can a
young man
keep his
way pure?
By
guarding it
according to
your word.
With my
whole heart
I seek
you.
Let me
not wander
from your
commandments.
I have
stored up
your word
in my
heart
that I
might not
sin
against you.
So the
word is
of great
importance
and working
through it
with care
matters
greatly.
Coming
back
to what
may feel
like the
simple truth
of the
gospel.
We say
to you
beloved,
especially
men,
the hill
we need
to die
on.
The
justification
by grace
alone,
through faith
alone,
in Christ
alone.
Everything
else
is subservient
to this.
Things to
discuss and
consider,
but not
the hill
to die
on.
I am
grateful that
when we
began meeting
as a church
almost 15
years ago,
God had
firmly
concreted in
our hearts
the doctrine
of the
sufficiency
of scripture.
I am so
glad that
God had
exposed us
to the
Reformation
and to
the Puritans,
that we
could cry
together as
young men
sola
scriptura.
I am
grateful that
God kindly
took us to
the text
and to
faithful Christians
of the past
that took
us to
the text.
I am
grateful that
our great
desire was
to see
Christ
magnified
through the
teaching,
understanding,
and living
of his
word.
I am
grateful that
God has
gathered a
people who
desire the
same.
I am
grateful that
the pressure
I feel from
you is a
pressure toward
faithfulness.
I am so
glad for that.
I don't
stand up here
in opposition
to you as
I try to be
faithful with
the text.
I know you
want faithfulness.
That's such
an encouragement
to me and I
know to the
other men
who preach
on Sundays.
You just
want us to
bring you
the text.
Keep at
that.
Pressure us
in that
way.
I am
grateful that
you would
take serious
issue with
me dressing
up as a
Disney character
on a Sunday
morning.
Ask me if
you don't know
what I'm
talking about.
Fire me
the Sunday
that I do
it.
That's how
you know I'm
ready to be
fired, right?
I show up.
I show up as
a Disney
character.
I am
grateful that
next week you
will gather
once again and
hear me Lord
willing proclaim
the excellencies
of a salvation
that is told to
us in the
scripture alone
and that comes
to us by
grace alone
through faith
alone in
Jesus Christ
alone to
the glory of
God alone.
so that was
my introduction
to Romans
chapter 4
verses 1
through 12.
I hadn't
quite written
all that but
I had written
a lot of
it and so
we'll pick
up the text
next week
Lord willing
but in
closing let
me read to
you a
poem by
Martin
Luther.
Feelings
come and
feelings go
and feelings
are deceiving.
My warrant
is the word
of God not
else is worth
believing.
Though all
my heart
should feel
condemned for
want of some
sweet token
there is one
greater than
my heart
whose word
cannot be
broken.
I'll trust
in God's
unchanging
word till
soul and
body sever
for though
all things
shall pass
away his
word shall
stand forever.
Let's pray
together.
Let's pray
together.