Faith is the Victory

In the above article, The True Nature of Sin, we have established from scripture that sin is not limited to the definition found in 1 John 3:4, where it says that sin is the transgression of the law. As a matter of fact, sin is a state of being separated from God rather than a mere action that contradicts the precepts of His law. A more careful analysis of the aforesaid article will reveal that the real reason that caused man to sin is unbelief or lack of faith. This led to separation from God which left man to his own will. This will is said to be carnal and therefore, it is always at variance to God’s will and His law. In other words, when man is left to exercise his own will, he eventually chooses to do things that are against the law or to transgress God’s law. As a result, man is reaping the bad consequences of the choice(s) he made. This picture can be summarised by the following table where these steps are arranged in a chronological order.

Unbelief (faithlessness) Separation (sinner) Self-will (carnal) Sinful actions (transgression of the law) Bad Consequences (curses)

The problem of sin, as can be seen from this aspect, does not begin at the fourth step which is, sinful actions. Our actions are but visible evidences that we are sinners. The problem starts from the very beginning with unbelief or lack of faith.

Now that we know what caused sin to take hold of the human race and how it manifests itself, we need to ask ourselves, “Who or what is the solution to this problem?” I am sure that by now most of you already know what the answer to this question is and there is no disputing the fact that Christ and only He alone is the solution to this problem. The Bible also does not contradict this teaching because in Romans chapter seven, when Paul asked the question, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24), that is to say, “Who shall deliver me from sin”, he immediately gave the answer in the very next verse by saying, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:25). What Paul is saying is that the solution comes to us through Christ and it is provided to us by God as a gift. Note what Paul says in Romans 6:23.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ.” (Romans 6:23)

While it is easy to say that Christ is the solution to sin, the question that still lingers in the minds of many Christians or even non-Christians is, “How or in what way is Jesus the solution to sin?” This is what we are going to look at in this study. And I am going to begin at the very root of the problem, which is unbelief.

If you recall, I mentioned that sin is part of man’s biological makeup and that every human being was conceived and born with sin. To put it in another way, each human was born with a condition that is isolated from God and possesses an unbelieving spirit. This is spelled out so emphatically in Psalms 51:5 and Psalms 58:3. Knowing this, it is imperatively clear that no one is born with the awareness that God exists. It is only when we are told and taught that there is a Supreme Being who created all things, that we become aware of His existence.

The children of Israel serve as a good example and an evidence to illustrate what I am trying to say. This nation spent the first four hundred years of its existence in Egypt. While they were there, they were constantly surrounded by the culture and traditions of the Egyptians who did not worship or even had the knowledge about the God of the Bible. I am sure that the Egyptians’ way of life had such a strong and an enduring effect on the minds and lives of the Israelites that, with the exception of a few households, they too were devoid of the knowledge about the God who chose them as His own. That is why, at the foot of mount Sinai the Israelites were so easily led to carve a golden image of a calf and worshipped it. This form of worship was prevalent in ancient Egypt at the time. For this reason, God chose a prophet among them who not only delivered them from bondage but also constantly turned their hearts to the true and living God. The plagues that struck the land of Egypt also served as evidence to the Jews and the Egyptians that there is a God. In fact, God’s chosen people had, for a long time, no knowledge about the God of their forefathers – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The condition of the Israelites in Moses’s day is a reflection of the condition that exists today. We live in a world that does not know or is even sure whether God exists or not. Note what the Psalms say.

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Psalms 14:1-3)

According to this passage, there is a widespread ignorance of God and His ways. This comes from the fact that mankind refrains from seeking Him. The Bible says that fools do not acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Divine Being and they also despise knowledge (Proverbs 1:22). This knowledge is mostly referred to the knowledge about God which is also termed as “the fear of the LORD”, as can be found in the book of Proverbs.

“For they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:” (Proverbs 1:29)

“Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:5)

In these two passages, we see a classic example of parallelism which was commonly used by the old testament writers to say one thing and then say the same thing again, but in different words, to explain the meaning of what the first saying is.

It is evidently clear that the knowledge of God is lacking in our society and therefore, unbelief in God is so widespread and it is bound to multiply with time. And how can you put your faith in something or someone you do not even know exists. Impossible. Paul has expressed this matter so unequivocally and also gives a solution to deal with this problem.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher… So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:13,14,17)

Truly, faith in God can once again be revived if the world hears the teachings of His word. But why the word of God? Is it only because it’s authors were inspired by Him as they were writing it? While this is true on the one hand, on the other hand, what makes this book so special is that it centres around one man, and that is Jesus.

“[Ye] search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.” (John 5:39)

Christ came to reveal the Father to this world and in doing so, He removes away the misconceptions that have piled over the centuries as a result of the lies that Satan tells the world about God. We no longer have a physical contact with our Saviour but the biographical account of Jesus as found in the Bible talks about what He did and taught. Therefore, its pages reveal the true character of God through the life of His Son. This character is also found in the Son, for the Bible teaches us that Jesus is in the “express image” of the Father’s person. (Hebrews 1:3). When the unbelieving world beholds the glory of the Father in the Son, through the inspired words of scripture, the power of the Holy Spirit, which is Christ, draws their hearts to shed its unbelieving spirit and approach God with faith.

Our first parents fled and hid themselves from God for fear that He might come and punish them for their wrong acts. This fear was also the result of the distortion of God’s character by Satan. But to their surprise, God came to the garden to reveal His unchanging love for them by promising them to send His only begotten Son to redeem them from sin. This promise was constantly reminded by God through the prophets to all the old testament folks. He remained true to His word and when “the fullness of the time was come, God sent His Son” to this world. (Galatians 4:4). He did this to show His love for us.

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might be saved through Him.” (1 John 4:9)

Truly, the purpose of sending His Son was that by or through Him we shall be saved. God did not send His Son to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:17) Our part is to believe in what Christ has done for us. It is our unbelief that condemns us. That is why the Bible says, “He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18)

At the time when the world is at enmity with God, God reconciled the world unto Himself through the death of His Son. (Romans 5:10). What this tells me is that, long before I knew I needed forgiveness; long before I knew I needed to be reconciled unto Him, God had already done that for me through His Son. This is the truth for it is impossible for God to lie. If this cannot break the chains of unbelief in God, I do not know what is.

Now, when a person believes, the next step is to be united to God. I am sure that God longs for us to be one with Him. But even if the sinner and God mutually agree to be one, the problem is that no one can go to Him directly. Once again, it is Christ who steps in and provides the solution to the problem.

The Bible says that we have access to the Father through Jesus by one Spirit only. (Ephesians 2:18). This Spirit is the Spirit of the Son which is sent by the Father unto us. (Galatians 4:6). This teaching is summed up by Jesus Christ Himself, in John 14.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6)

In what manner is Christ the only way that connects us to the Father? The answer to this is understood from the fact that Christ was the first and the only human being, after the fall, to be truly one with God. He spells this out for us in the following verse where He lays emphasis on His unity with the Father.

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me.” (John 14:10-11)

Apart from being the only human who is truly one with God, Jesus is and still is the only human being who can give this life to any who believes and yearns for eternal life. Christ does this by dwelling in us through His Spirit. This is why Paul says that the hope of glory is “Christ in you.” (Colossians 1:27). In this process, the sinner becomes a saint, not by his own merits or righteousness, but by the righteous life of Christ that covers him.

The third problem of sin in the list is the self-willed attitude which is also known as the carnal nature. Paul describes this nature as an enemy of God and it cannot be subject to His law and will. (Romans 8:7). It is a nature that is a law unto itself and longs to be that way. But with Christ dwelling in the temple of the heart, the will is slowly and surely put under the control of God’s will.

How is this possible? By nature, Christ possesses the character that loves to do God’s will. Note what He declared concerning Himself to the disciples.

“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34)

It is in Christ’s best interest to do the will of the Father because it pleases Him to please the Father.

This is also true when things are not going well. When He found Himself in trying circumstances, Jesus did not fail to be directed by God’s will. For instance, in the garden of Gethsemane, even though He wished that the problem of sin could have been dealt with in another way and prayed to the Father that if it were possible, He would not have to go through the experience that He was about to go through, He ended His prayer with the words, “Nevertheless, not what I will, but what Thou wilt.” (Mark 14:36)

Christ implants this same character in the heart of the believer who surrenders his heart to His will, making it possible for the repentant sinner to submit himself under God’s guidance.

Additionally, when we surrender our life to the Saviour, His life becomes our life (Colossians 3:4). Our will and our life are lost in His will and in His life. Just as Christ allowed God to take control of His life in trying circumstances, His strength of character will prompt us to allow God to guide us when we are put in similar circumstances and we will avoid, by our own efforts, to find a way out of difficult situations. This would not have been possible if we did not believe.

If the will is governed by God, it naturally follows that this will manifests itself in

the words and actions of the believer. The heavenly Father desires that we produce good works that by them we may glorify Him as our God and Creator. Once again, this is made possible because God dwells in us and He works in us to do the things that please Him.

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

Since we say that Christ is the solution to all the problems of sin, where does He fit into this picture? It is true, according to Philippians 2:13, that God who dwells in us helps us to do the things that please Him. But when we read Hebrews chapter thirteen, verses twenty and twenty-one, we get a more comprehensive picture of what the verse in Philippians means.

“Now the God of peace … make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20,21)

These words clearly state that God works in us through His Son to produce works that are “well-pleasing in His sight.”

Now we come to the fifth and the final problem, namely, bad consequences or curses. Speaking of the consequences of sin, the ultimate consequence of being separated from the Father, who is the ultimate source of life, is death. No wonder that Paul says that the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) But the verse does not end here.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

When, by grace through faith, we are once again united to God through the indwelling of His Spirit, we are connected to the Source of all life. It is obvious by now that the one who connects us to God is none other than His Son. Therefore, it stands to reason that the gift of eternal life also comes to us through the Son.

“And this is the record, that God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and He that hath not the Son hath not life.” (1 John 5:11,12)

Eternal life is ours, if we believe. It is not something that we are going to experience in the future. Christ has to live in you NOW for salvation to come into your life. If you have this life in you, you have no reason to fear death because your life is hid in Him who conquered the grave.

I hope that by this study, we are able to see how Christ beautifully fits the picture of how sinners are delivered from sin. Just as it is humanly possible to cure a leper, it is also impossible to save a sinner by human efforts. Christ alone was able to heal the lepers in His day, and only He can heal us from sin and its consequences.

The question now is, do you believe that this gospel of salvation through Christ is true? I ask this question because even though all Christians admit that Christ is the only solution to the problem(s) of sin, yet they do not entirely agree or believe and come up with many theories that state otherwise. We cannot say one thing and leave out the other because it would only cause us to remain where we are from the beginning.

“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did no profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” (Hebrews 4:2)

The problem of sin began with unbelief. Hence, it is necessary to believe before we realise the reality that we can be free from sin. It is no wonder that the Bible keeps on repeating the words “believe” and “faith”. John 3:16 spells it out so beautifully and comprehensively when it says that we ought to not only believe, but to believe in the “only begotten Son of God” and, as a result, we shall not perish, “but have everlasting life.” For this reason, it is essential that our faith should rest on Him who has conquered sin and death.

“… and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4).

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