Led by the Spirit

Paul associated being led by the Spirit with being children of God (Romans 8:14). Paul said, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:16-17). Being led by the Spirit implies that action or motion is taking place and that believers are the ones who are following. Paul talked about in his own life how he had finished his course and had kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul also said in his letter to the Ephesians that before we were saved, we were dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked, “following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:1-3).Paul contrasted the course of his life with following the course of this world to show us that being a child of God should change the course of our lives and that this is evidence that we have truly been saved.

Paul made the distinction between walking according to the flesh and walking according to the Spirit to illustrate his point that we must make an intentional effort to align ourselves with God’s will. Paul said:

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:3-8)

The Greek word that is translated set their minds, phroneo (fron-ehˊ-o) means “to exercise the mind, i.e. entertain or have a sentiment or opinion; by implication to be (mentally) disposed (more or less earnestly in a certain direction); intensive to interest oneself in (with concern or obedience)” (G5426).

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for believers to set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Paul said, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Romans 8:9). The Greek word that is translated dwell, oikeo (oy-keyˊ-o) means “to occupy a house, i.e. reside (figurative, inhabit, remain, inhere); (by implication) to cohabit” (G3611). Paul referred to believers as God’s temple in his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul asked, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Jesus told his followers that the Holy Spirit would come and would dwell in them. Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper. To be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17) and said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). The Greek word that is translated guide, hodegeo (hod-ayg-ehˊ-o) means “to show the way” (G3594). When believers are led by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit shows them the way that they need to go. Jesus identified himself as the way, the truth, and the life, and said, “No one comes to the Father except though me” (John 14:6). The Greek word hodos (hod-osˊ), which is translated way, means “a road; (by implication) a progress (the route, act or distance); (figurative) a mode or means” (G3598). The book of Hebrews tells us the way or means that Jesus was referring to, was the way of access into the direct presence of God (Hebrews 9:8). It says, Jesus, “entered once for all into the holy places not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12). The writer of Hebrews tells us the truth about all of this is that Jesus, “offered himself without blemish to God, purifying our conscience from dead works to serve the living and true God” (Hebrews 9:14).

Paul’s declaration that believers must suffer with Christ, “in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17) provides insight into why it is difficult for us to be led by the Spirit. Speaking of the believer’s future glory, Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:18-21). The sufferings of believers serve the purpose of setting God’s creation free from its bondage to corruption. Sufferings are things that believers go through that produce hardship or pain (G3804). Bondage is the condition of those who are subject to death and of those who are subject to the fear of death (G1397). Hebrews 2:14-15 indicates that it is the devil who has the power of death and that he makes those who fear death subject to lifelong slavery. Through suffering, believers are delivered from the fear of death and are perfected in their faith (Hebrews 2:10-11), resulting in their future glorification with Christ (Romans 8:17, 30).

Paul encouraged believers to look at the suffering that leads to their future glorification through the lens of God’s everlasting love. Paul compared the redemption of believers’ bodies to the process of childbirth and said that the Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God. Paul said:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:26-30)

Paul indicated that believers are called according to God’s purpose, which is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). Being conformed into the image of Christ means that there should be a likeness between us, our lives should resemble his (G1504).

Paul described the process of being conformed into the image of Christ in his letter to the Colossians. Paul said believers must put off the old self and put on the new self through intentional acts of obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Paul stated:

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:5-17)

Paul said that we must put off anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from our mouths and put on love, “which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:8, 14). The goal of believers being led by the Spirit through the process of sanctification is to achieve perfect harmony.

Paul assured believers that their sufferings could not separate them from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35). Jesus alluded to this when he told his disciples that the Helper would be with them forever (John 14:16). Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). Paul said that believers have the assurance that they will be victorious in their sufferings because of God’s everlasting love. Paul asked, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:35, 37). Paul concluded his discussion of being led by the Spirit with the statement about the Holy Spirit’s ability to keep us connected to God’s love. Paul said, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

The works of God

One of the metaphors that Jesus used to describe himself was bread. Jesus told his disciples, “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:41). The bread that Jesus was referring to was the manna that the Israelites ate while they were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. The manna was an instrument of God’s will in that it kept God’s chosen people alive until they reached the land that he had promised to give them. In the same way, Jesus keeps believers spiritually nourished until they die and go to be with him in heaven. Jesus told his followers, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:38-40).

Jesus explained to his disciples that doing God’s will is the equivalent of work because it results in a reward or what you might consider to be payment for services. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal” (John 6:26-27). Jesus’ disciples understood that work was a way for them to sustain their lives, but didn’t know what spiritual work looked like, so they asked him, “’What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent’” (John 6:28-29). Jesus’ disciples were confused about what they were supposed to believe in, “So they said to him, ‘Then what sign do you do, that we may believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’ Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always’” (John 6:30-34).

Believing in Jesus is not something that we can do on our own. Jesus told his disciples, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44). Paul talked about this in his letter to the Ephesians. Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). Paul said that we are God’s workmanship, meaning that our salvation is a product of what God did through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, not necessarily us believing that he died for our sins. Paul indicated that God did this for us so that we would want to reciprocate and do the good works that he wants us to. God wants us to use the faith that he gives us to be saved to accomplish more of the works of God.

Paul struggled with doing good works and explained in his letter to the Romans that there is a conflict that goes on inside of us after we become a Christian. Paul said that even though we have been released from the law by placing our trust in Jesus Christ, the law still produces sin in us. Paul argued:

Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. (Romans 7:7-12, NLT)

Paul indicated that humans have a sin nature that makes us want to do what we know is wrong. Paul also pointed out that there is an unregenerate part of us, the flesh, that still exists after we are saved. Paul asked:

But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes. So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t.I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. (Romans 7:13-20, NLT)

“Paul’s statement ‘So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.’ (v. 17) should not be taken as an abdication of the responsibility for his actions. Instead it reveals the extent of the inner conflict between his two natures. He wanted (thelō [2309], v. 15) to do that which was right but was unable to ‘carry it out’ (katergazomai [2716], v. 18). In verse 15, Paul bemoaned that he did not carry out the good that he wanted to do (poiō [4160], stressing the object of the act) but instead practiced the evil that he did not desire to do (prassō [4238]. Emphasizing the means by which an act is accomplished)” (note on Romans 7:15-19).

Paul concluded his statement about his own inability to do the works of God by pointing out his and our need for continual deliverance. Paul stated:

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (Romans 7:21-25)

Paul indicated that God not only delivers believers from death, but also makes it possible for us through faith in Jesus Christ to be delivered “from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans 7:24, NLT). Paul said in Romans 6:6-7 that our old self was crucified with Christ “in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” Paul stated in Romans 8:23 that this was made possible through the redemption of our bodies. The Greek word that is translated redemption in this verse, apolutrosis (ap-ol-ooˊ-tro-sis) means “deliverance on account of the ransom paid; spoken of deliverance from the power and consequences of sin which Christ procured by laying down his life as a ransom (lúton [3083]) for those who believe (Romans 3:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:7, 14; Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 9:15 [cf. Matthew 20:28; Acts 20:28])” (G629).

Paul used Jesus’ death on the cross as an example of obedience that believers must follow in doing the works of God. Paul said, “Let each of you look not to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:4-7). Paul said that Jesus humbled himself in order to be obedient to God. The Greek word that is translated humbled, tapeinoo (tap-i-noˊ-o) is derived from the word tapeinos (tap-i-nosˊ) which means “depressed, i.e. (figurative) humiliated (in circumstances or disposition)” and refers to “Low, not high, particularly of attitude and social positions.” When tapeinos is spoken of the mind, its meaning is “lowly, humble, modest, including the idea of affliction, depression of mind (Romans 12:16; 2 Corinthians 10:1)” (G5011).

In the final hours of his life, Jesus encouraged his disciples by telling them that he was going away so that the Father could give them another Helper who would be with them forever (John 14:16). Jesus said, “You know him for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17). Jesus said it was to his disciples’ advantage that he go away, “for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). Jesus explained to his disciples that the Father was greater than the Son (John 14:28), but the Father had given him his authority so that he could accomplish his work on earth (Matthew 28:18), and that the Holy Spirit would speak to them based on this authority (John 16:13). Jesus asked Philip:

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:10-14)

Jesus indicated that it was the Father who was dwelling in him who was doing the works of God. Jesus added, “whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do” (John 14:12). The challenge that Jesus presented to his disciples was not doing the works of God but believing in him. Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do” (John 14:13, emphasis mine).

Paul elaborated on his instruction to the Philippians to “have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5) in his letter to the Ephesians (4:17-24). Paul told the Ephesians that they needed to put off your old self, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self in order to do the works of God. Paul concluded his description of the new life of a believer with the statement, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2). Paul later indicated that the key to imitating God and walking in love was being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). The Holy Spirit not only helps us to know and believe the truth, but he also gives us the ability to act according to the truth. Jesus knew that obedience to his commands was so hard that it would be impossible for us to do it on our own. “That is why as soon as he tells us we must obey as proof of our love for him, he promises a Helper in that obedience. One of the central functions of the Holy Spirit is to assist believers to obey Jesus (cf. John 14:21, 23)” (Heath Lambert, A Theology of Biblical Counseling, p. 169). When we are being filled with the Spirit, we are depending on the Spirit to make us more and more like Christ, and as we do this, doing the works of God becomes more natural to us.

Set free from sin

Paul’s explanation of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross in the book of Romans was intended to establish the basis for believers being justified by faith. Paul said, “Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2). Paul went on to say that because of one man’s trespass, death reigned, but those who receive Christ’s free gift of salvation will “receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness” and will reign in life (Romans 5:17). The Greek words thanatos (death) and zoe (life) were used by Paul to depict the two states of being that humans can exist in. “Often in the Septuagint, thanatos has the sense of destruction, perdition, misery, implying both physical death and exclusion from the presence and favor of God in consequence of sin and disobedience. Opposed to zoe (2222), life and blessedness (Septuagint: Deuteronomy 30:19; Proverbs 11:19; 12:28). In the New Testament, this sense is applied with more definitiveness to the gospel plan of salvation, and as zoe is used to denote the bliss and glory of the kingdom of God including the idea of a joyful resurrection, so thanatos is used for the opposite, i.e. rejection from the kingdom of God. This includes the idea of physical death as aggravated by eternal condemnation; sometimes with the idea of physical death being more prominent, and other times subsequent perdition being more prominent (John 8:51; Romans 6:16, 21, 23; 7:5, 10; 8:2, 6; 2 Corinthians 2:16; 3:7; 2 Timothy 1:10; Hebrews 2:15; James 5:20; 1 John 3:14; 5:16, 17). Called also the second death (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8), referring to eternal spiritual separation from God” (G 2288). Paul concluded, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life” (Romans 5:18).

Paul’s explanation of what happens when a person is baptized indicated that just as Jesus Christ died and was raised back to life, so everyone who identifies himself with Christ’s death and resurrection will experience the same thing. Paul asked:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)

Paul went on to explain that it is the believer’s union with Christ that causes him to be set free from sin and to walk in newness of life. Paul stated:

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:5-11)

Paul made note of the fact that one who has died has been set free from sin (Romans 6:7) and death no longer has dominion over him (Romans 6:9). Dominion refers to having absolute authority over someone (G2962). Jesus told his followers, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). The Greek word that is translated set free in Romans 6:7 is dikaioo (dik-ah-yoˊ-o). This is the word that Paul used when he talked about being justified by faith (Romans 3:28, 30; 5:1). Therefore, being set from sin is related to God’s justification of those who put their faith in Christ.

Although justification by faith is a declaration that a person has been restored to a state of righteousness through belief and trust in the work of Christ rather than on the basis of his own accomplishment, Paul indicated that being set free from sin involves an act of one’s will. Paul instructed believers to, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness” (Romans 6:12-13). Presenting our members to sin has to do with us being in the immediate vicinity or proximity of something that we know is morally wrong and could cause us to sin. Instead, we must stay close to God and be ready and willing to do what he wants us to.

Paul equated being set free from sin to becoming slaves of righteousness. Paul explained:

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

Paul indicated that becoming slaves of righteousness leads to sanctification, the resultant state of purification that enables us to be holy as God is holy. “The only kind of sin whose power is broken in the lives of people is canceled sin—sin that has already been punished in Christ’s death and forgiven through faith. Thus is it necessary to fight sin in the strength and in the freedom of that gracious reality. Believers in Christ can be victorious over sin only because—and must be victorious over sin precisely because—Christ has conquered sin in them by virtue of his death and resurrection. As has already been implied, however, the believer enjoys this decisive victory over the dominion of sin as a result of union with Christ, his heart and life are not totally purified. Though the penalty of sin is paid and the power of sin is broken, the presence of sin still remains in the believer’s flesh and therefore must continually be put to death. Thus the sanctification that begins definitively at regeneration necessarily continues throughout the entirety of the Christian life. This continuous aspect of sanctification is called progressive sanctification” (Biblical Doctrine, MacArthur and Mayhue, p. 635).

Paul concluded his discussion of being set free from sin with a reminder of the spiritual endowment that believers receive as a result of being adopted into God’s family. Paul stated, “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at the time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have becomes slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:20-23). Paul linked sanctification to the end result or final outcome of eternal life. Revelation 21:1 tells us that after the second death, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, “for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” and “the dwelling place of God is with man” (Revelation 21:3). John indicated God himself will be with his people, and “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4). The fact that former things have passed away is an indicator that in eternal life there will be no reminders of the sin that was once a part of our daily lives.

Peace with God

Jesus’ ministry on earth began when he was declared by John the Baptist to be, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). After Jesus was baptized, Matthew tells us that a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Not long before he was crucified, Jesus revealed to his disciples his purpose for coming to earth. Jesus told them, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28). The Greek word that is translated ransom, Lutron (looˊ-tron) is “used metaphorically for the ransom paid by Christ for the delivering of men from the bondage of sin and death (Matthew 2);28; Mark 10:45)” (G3083). Paul explained in his first letter to Timothy that Jesus was acting as a mediator between God and man when he died for the sin of the world. Paul said we should pray for all people because, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:3-6),

Jesus compared his position as the Son of Man to that of a slave (Matthew 20:27-28). Jesus served his Father and mankind by coming to earth to reconcile all people to God. In this relationship of servitude, Jesus was one whose will was completely subject to the will of another, the lowest term in the scale of servitude. A mediator, as a go-between, is “one who intervenes between two parties” (G3316). It was necessary for Jesus to intervene between God and mankind because of the wrath of God against sin. Paul said in his letter to the Romans, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Romans 1:18). Paul indicated that God’s kindness is meant to lead people to repentance and then, went on to say, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:4-5). Jesus took the wrath of God upon himself through his death on the cross. It says in Isaiah 53:5, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Speaking of God’s eternal covenant of peace, Isaiah’s prophecy about Jesus’ crucifixion states, “’For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,’ says the LORD, your Redeemer” (Isaiah 54:7-8).  

Paul explained that God’s love for humanity was expressed by him sending his Son to die for individuals that didn’t deserve his forgiveness. Paul said:

For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:6-11)

Paul identified reconciliation as the means by which peace with God is accomplished. The Greek word that is translated reconciliation, katallage (kat-al-lag-ayˊ) means “exchange (figurative, adjustment), i.e. restoration to (the divine) favor” (G2643). To be reconciled means that we change toward God, we are no longer considered to be his enemies (G2644). Peace with God means “metaphorically, peace of mind, tranquility, arising from reconciliation with God and a sense of divine favor (Romans 5:1; 15:13; Philippians 4:7 [cf. Isaish 53:5])” (G1515).

Paul explained that the reason why Jesus’ righteousness could be attributed to sinners was because Adam’s sin was attributed to everyone who was born after him. Paul said, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:18-19). Paul expanded on his explanation of Christ’s work of reconciliation in his second letter to the Corinthians. Paul stated, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

Jesus concluded his ministry on earth with a statement about having overcome the world. After his disciples indicated that they believed he came from God, Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:31-33). Jesus may have made reference to his disciples deserting him because he wanted them to be aware that his work of reconciliation was still incomplete, even though he stated that he had already overcome the world. It wasn’t until his disciples were justified by faith that they obtained access into God’s grace and peace with God was possible. Regarding his death and resurrection, Jesus said, “I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe” (John 14:29). When Jesus’ disciples believed, they were justified by faith and afterward, had peace with God (Romans 5:1).  

God’s accounting system

In his letter to the Romans, Paul used Abraham’s faith to illustrate how justification works. Quoting from Genesis 15:6, Paul said, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3). The Greek word that is translated counted, logizomai (log-idˊ-zom-ahee) means “to reckon or count to someone, particularly: to put to one’s account (Romans 4:4); hence figuratively: to impute, to attribute: generally, of God’s imputing righteousness (Romans 4:6, 11)” (G3049). The thing that caused righteousness to be imputed or attributed to Abraham was him believing God. Believing God has to do with confiding belief in the truth, being persuaded of the truthfulness of God (G4102). Paul explained about Abraham’s faith:

In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:18-22)

Paul said that Abraham’s faith did not weaken when he thought about how old he was or the fact that Sarah was not able to conceive a child (Romans 4:19). “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God…That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:20, 22). Unbelief is not just a lack of belief but can be a turning away from the truth such as in apostasy (G570) or an unwillingness to be persuaded, obstinacy (G543). Abraham grew strong in his faith and was “fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20-21).

Paul used the word logizomai eleven times in Romans Chapter 4 to emphasize the point that God has an accounting system that is used to consider sins against him. Faith is what gets measured by God to determine our right or wrong standing before him. Paul explained in his letter to the Ephesians that faith is not something that we can produce on our own, it is a gift from God. Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Paul indicated that the heart is where faith originates, stating, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:10). Paul also said, “faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Jesus talked about this in his explanation of the Parable of the Sower. Jesus said:

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:11-15)

Matthew’s version of Jesus’ explanation of the Parable of the Sower included a statement about the amount of fruit that could be produced by holding God’s Word fast in an honest and good heart. Matthew said, “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (Matthew 13:23). Matthew indicated that the key to bearing fruit was understanding God’s Word. The Greek word that is translated understands, suniemi (soon-eeˊ-ay-mee) means “to comprehend; by implication to act piously.” When suniemi is used figuratively, it means “to bring together in the mind, to grasp concepts and see the proper relation between them. Hence, to comprehend, understand, perceive” (G4920).

James emphasized the point that faith without works, or the producing of fruit, is useless to us in God’s accounting system. James reasoned, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead” (James 2:14-17). James argued that it was the acting out of one’s faith that God counts to him as righteousness. James asked, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’—and he was called a friend of God” (James 2:21-23).

Paul cautioned the Corinthians against boasting about outward appearances rather than what is in the heart (2 Corinthians 5:12). Paul made it clear that being reconciled to God was the primary objective of God’s justification of sinners. Paul said, “So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:16-21, NLT).

Justified by faith

Paul wanted the Roman citizens who read his gospel message to know exactly where they stood with regard to their soul’s eternal destination. Paul addressed his letter “to all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints” (Romans 1:7), and said that he longed to go to Rome so that “we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine,” but then, Paul proceeded to talk about God’s wrath on unrighteousness (Romans 1:18-32) and God’s righteous judgment (Romans 2:1-11). Paul’s first mention of justification, which is God’s free gift of absolution from the consequences of sin, was in Romans 2:13 where he said, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” Paul went on to explain that no one is righteous, “All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12). Paul then stated, “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God” (Romans 3:19). “The ‘law’ (v. 19), referring to the Old Testament, essentially silenced men, leaving them unable to defend themselves against the charge of sin. It was given to convince all men of their guilt before God (v. 20, cf. Galatians 3:22). Paul concluded that since all men are guilty, they cannot be ‘justified’ by their own personal character or conduct (v.20). Justification is a legal term signifying that the demands of justice have been satisfied, and there is no longer a basis for condemnation (Romans 8:1). The justified transgressor no longer stands guilty or deserving of punishment” (note on Romans 3:19, 20).

Paul’s argument that everyone needs salvation was followed by a detailed description of how God’s justification works. Paul said:

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:22-26)

Paul indicated that justification is a gift that must be received by faith. It says in Hebrews 11:1 that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The Greek word pistis (pisˊ-tis), which is translated faith in Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 11:1, refers to “reliance upon Christ for salvation…As a technical term indicative of the means of appropriating what God in Christ has for man, resulting in the transformation of man’s character and way of life. Such can be termed gospel faith or Christian faith (Romans 3:22 ff.)”  (G4102).

Paul indicated that the basis for humans to be justified by faith was God’s divine forbearance. Paul said God putting forward Jesus as a propitiation, or an atoning victim (G2435), was to show his righteousness, “because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins” (Romans 3:25). In the past, God had merely overlooked sin through the sacrifice of animals, but through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, God was able to remit the penalty of sin, cancelling the debt of sin that each person owes him. A necessary component of this transaction is faith. The payment is only applied to those who believe that Jesus was crucified to pay the penalty for their sin and have received his atoning sacrifice on their behalf as a gift (Romans 4:4-5).

Paul concluded “that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28). The works Paul was referring to were “the works of men in reference to right and wrong as judged by the moral law, the precepts of the gospel” (G2041). Paul separated a person’s actions from their beliefs so that his readers could see that justification was not at all related to what they did or didn’t do morally. Justification is about God’s righteousness being upheld and every human’s need for forgiveness. Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant pointed to God’s mercy and the impossibility of paying one’s own moral debt. Jesus said, “the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents” (Matthew 18:23-24). “A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years wages for a laborer” (Matthew 18:24, footnote). Jesus said, “And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt” (Matthew 18:27). The problem was that the servant went out and found one of his fellow servants “who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe’” (Matthew 18:28). Because he refused to forgive his fellow servant’s debt, the master put the servant in jail until he paid all his debt (Matthew 18:34). The lack of transformation in the servant’s character and way of life was an indicator that although he had been justified, the unforgiving servant had not been justified by faith. Therefore, his master reinstated his debt, and he was delivered to the jailors or torturers, also known as, spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).

Jesus’ final statement in the parable of the unforgiving servant emphasized the importance of the heart in a believer’s acts of faith. Jesus told those who were listening, “And in anger the master delivered him to the jailors, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:34-35). What Jesus meant by from your heart was that you must do it willingly. You must want to forgive your brother. God’s willingness to forgive our sins should motivate us to want to do the same for others, but because of our sin nature, we are only able to forgive as an act of faith, by believing it’s the right thing for us to do because it’s what God did for us.

A matter of the heart

The Bible views the heart in a much different way than we typically do. The first mention of the heart is in Genesis 6:5 where it says, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” What we think in our minds is important with regard to spiritual activity. If all we ever think about is evil, we will not be able to do what God wants us to. Jesus told his disciples, “Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person” (Matthew 15:18-20).

Moses instructed the people of Israel to “love the LORD your God with all your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:5). The Hebrew word that is translated heart, lebab (lay-bawbˊ) is “a masculine noun meaning heart, mind, inner person. The primary usage of this word describes the entire disposition of the inner person that God can discern…It is also used to describe the place where the rational, thinking process occurs that allows a person to know God’s blessing (Joshua 23:14); to plan for the future (1 Kings 8:18); to communicate (2 Chronicles 9:1); and to understand God’s message (Isaiah 6:10). Like the English usage, it often refers to the seat of the emotions, whether it refers to joy (Deuteronomy 28:47); discouragement (Joshua 2:11); comfort (Judges 19:8); grief (1 Samuel 1:8); sorrow (Psalm 13:2[3]); or gladness (Isaiah 30:29)” (H3824).

Deuteronomy 10:16 talks about circumcising the foreskin of your heart. Circumcision was what distinguished the Israelites from all other people. When God established his covenant with Abraham, he said, “This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you” (Genesis 17:10-12). Moses later told the people of Israel, “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6).

Jesus used the illustration of a tree bearing fruit to explain the connection between our hearts and what comes out of our mouths. Speaking to the Pharisees, religious leaders who were known for their religious hypocrisy, Jesus said:

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:33-37)

The Greek word that is translated give account is logos (logˊ-os), which means “something said,” and in this instance refers to a discourse or conversation (G3056). Jesus indicated that God’s moral accounting system is based on our speech, “for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37). Justification means that you have a right standing before God. You are legally free from the guilt and the penalty of sin. “As a matter of right or justice: to absolve, acquit, clear from any charge or imputation” (G1344). John identified Jesus as “the Word,” logos, indicating that he is the moral standard by which our words will be judged.

Paul talked about God’s judgment in his letter to the Romans. Paul said, “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” (Romans 2:12-16). Paul indicated that the work of the law is written on the hearts of believers. In other words, the scriptures that reside in believers’ hearts cause them to do what the scriptures state.

Jesus said in his parable of the sower (Luke 8:5-8) that God’s word, or as Paul stated, his gospel, is sown like seed in people’s hearts. Jesus explained:

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:11-15)

Jesus said God’s word must be held fast in our heart, or more specifically, lodged in our minds, for it to bear fruit. Another way of thinking about this is that we must first comprehend God’s word before it can be translated into action.

Paul argued that circumcision was of no value to the Jews if they did not obey God’s commandments. Paul said, “For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart by the Spirit, not by  the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. Being a Jew inwardly means that you are committed to living according to God’s word. This commitment is referred to as conversion and is our response to being regenerated by God or as Jesus put it, “born again” (John 3:3)

The book of Isaiah recounts God’s judgment of Israel and Judah and provides us with an example of how the whole world will be judged when Jesus returns. In Isaiah 29:13-16, the LORD said:

“Because this people draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
therefore, behold, I will again
    do wonderful things with this people,
    with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
    and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
    whose deeds are in the dark,
    and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
    “He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
    “He has no understanding”?

God said the people had turned things upside down by denying him as their Creator, and in a very little while he intended to intervene (Isaiah 29:17).

Paul rebuked the Romans because of their unrepentant hearts and said, “You are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:5). Later in his letter, Paul talked about salvation being available to everyone and encouraged the Romans to confess their sin and be saved. Referring them back to Deuteronomy 30:1-14, where Moses talked about God circumcising the people’s hearts, Paul asked, “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:8-10).

No excuse

Paul introduced his gospel message to the Romans with a declaration that was intended to get their attention and to motivate them to pay close attention to what he was about to explain to them. Paul declared:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,  in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:18-23)

Paul said unbelievers have no excuse for not believing in God because his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived since the creation of the world (Romans 1:20). Paul went on to say that unbelievers knew God, but they did not honor his as God or give thanks to him  (Romans 1:21). The Greek word that is translated knew in Romans 1:21, ginosko (ghin-oceˊ-ko) means “to know, in a beginning sense: that is, to come to know, to gain or receive a knowledge of” (G1097).

The Greek word ginosko is sometimes translated as perceived (Matthew 16:8; 21:45: 22:18), as well as, aware of (Matthew 24:50). Jesus used the word ginosko in his response to Philip’s request, “Lord, show us the Father” (John 14:8). Jesus asked, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?” Jesus was surprised that Philip hadn’t been able to figure out who he was. Jesus’ explanation suggests that ginosko may refer to spiritual perception. Jesus told Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works” (John 14:9-10), but Jesus also made it clear that the works he was taking about were associated with results that were obvious to the senses (John 14:12-14). Paul indicated that unbelievers know the truth about God, but choose to suppress it, “For what is known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:18-19). “Romans 1:18 is probably to be understood as possessing a knowledge of the truth, but living in unrighteousness” (G2722). In other words, unbelievers know some of the things they do are right and other things are wrong and choose to do those things that they know are wrong.

Paul linked God’s invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, with the creation of the world (Romans 1:20). The Greek word that is translated Creator in Romans 1:25, ktizo (ktidˊ-zo) means “to bring under tillage and settlement. In the New Testament: to establish, to create, produce from nothing” (G2936). “God called the universe into being of his own free will and by his absolute power, creating everything out of nothing…There are many concepts (such as creation) that the finite mind cannot completely grasp, and man must accept them by faith (Hebrews 11:3, 6)” (note on Genesis 1:1).

Paul told the Romans that the “righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith” (Romans 1:17). The Greek word that is translated revealed, apokalupto (ap-ok-al-oopˊ-to) means “to take off the cover…in the passive, of things which become known by their effects” (G601). Paul stated in his greeting to the Romans that the gospel message he was going to share with them had been promised beforehand by the prophets (Romans 1:2). Jesus coming into the world was not an unexpected event. It was the fulfillment of prophecies that the people of Israel were aware of for hundreds of years. Pagan priests came from Persia to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2). When King Herod asked the chief priests where the Christ was to be born, “They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet’” (Matthew 2:5).

It says in Hebrews 11:1 that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Conviction has to do with the certainty of something. The Greek word elegcho (el-engˊ-kho) means “to prove one in the wrong and thus to shame him” (G1651). After Job made his final appeal to his three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, another man named Elihu joined the conversation. It says in Job 32:1-3, “So these three men ceased to answer Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong.” Elihu later asserted God’s justice, stating, “Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice” (Job 34:12). The Hebrew word that is translated justice, mishpat (mish-pawtˊ) refers to “a legal decision”  (H4941). “God stands in absolute, essential opposition to sin, so he must judge and punish sin.” [1]

Justification is the sovereign declaration of God that the righteousness of Jesus Christ has been imputed to those who have trusted in his sinless obedience and his substitutionary atonement on the cross for their salvation. When God justifies a person, he no longer treats him as a sinner but reckons him to possess that righteousness which Jesus Christ earned on his behalf. The declaration of justification does not come through any past, present, or future merit in the sinner. Justification is based exclusively on the merits of Jesus Christ and is received through faith alone. [2]

Paul used the example of Abraham’s justification to explain that righteousness is a gift and that it is counted to us or imputed by believing that God’s Word is true (Romans 4:1-12). God’s accounting system is based on imputation, which means “to take an inventory, i.e. estimate” (G3049). Imputation is a thinking process that results in God reaching a conclusion about an individual’s sin (Romans 14:12). God only imputes righteousness to people who believe that Jesus died on their behalf to pay the penalty for their sin.

Paul argued that unbelievers have no excuse because they judge others for things they do themselves (Romans 2:1-2). Paul asked, “Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:3). The judgment that Paul was talking about was “the act of judging in reference to the final judgment, as the day of judgment (Matthew 10:15; 11:22, 24; 12:36; Mark 6:11; 2 Peter 2:9; 3:7; 1 John 4:17)” (G2920). It says in Romans 14:12 that “every one of us shall give account of himself to God. The Greek word that is translated account, logos (logˊ-os) means “something said” (G3056). John used the word logos to refer to Jesus. John said, “In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word (logos) was with God, and the Word (logos) was God” (John 1:1). John went on to say:

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:10-13)

Paul explained in his letter to the Romans that we must publicly confess or openly acknowledge that we believe in Jesus in order to be saved. Paul said, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9-10). Jesus confirmed this requirement when he said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).

Paul concluded his argument about there being no excuse for rejecting Christ with a statement that summarized God’s intent when he sent his Son Jesus to us to die for the sin of the world. Paul asked, “Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Repentance is necessary for justification to take place. A person that has not truly repented is not considered to be free from guilt and is at risk of being excluded from God’s kingdom, even if he has been born again. In his illustration of the final judgment, Jesus said all the nations will be gathered before him, “and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32). To those who had not demonstrated the characteristics of sanctification, or holiness, in their daily life (Matthew 25:42-44), Jesus said, “these will go away into eternal punishment,” but the ones who were justified, or made righteous by placing their faith in Christ, entered “into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).

[1] John Macarthur and Richard Mayhue, Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth, p. 184.

[2][2] Statements and Affirmations – Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, Doctrine of Justification

God’s faithfulness

Job’s suffering caused him to doubt God’s faithfulness. Job was certain that he had done nothing to deserve the calamities that had come upon him and argued with his friends, stating, “God has put me in the wrong and closed his net about me. Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered; I call for help, but there is no justice. He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness upon my paths. He has stripped from me my glory and taken the crown from my head” (Job 19:6-9). Job’s internal conflict had reached its highest point. Job knew that the conclusions of his friends were misapplied and that he had committed no sin worthy of such affliction. He felt that God had turned against him without cause. Job had “yet to realize that sorrow and trials in the lives of believers come from the hands of a loving God” (note on Job 19:8-22).

It says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God is faithful, and will not let you be tempted or tested “beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” The Greek word that is translated faithful, pistos (pis-tosˊ) is derived from the word peitho (piˊtho), which generally means “to persuade another to receive a belief” (G3982). Another word that is derived from peitho is pistis (pisˊtis), which refers to “reliance upon Christ for salvation” and as a technical term is indicative “of the means of appropriating what God in Christ has for man, resulting in the transformation of man’s character and way of life. Such can be termed gospel faith or Christian faith (Romans 3:22ff.)” (G4102). Jesus taught his followers about pistis and often made note of it being demonstrated by those whom he healed. Jesus told a woman that had been suffering from a discharge of blood for twelve years, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22). Later, Jesus asked two blind men who had approached him, “’Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith be it done to you’” (Matthew 9:28-30).

Job declared his belief in Christ when he told his friends, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25). “Job clearly believed that death did not bring about the end of one’s existence” (note on Job 19:25-27), but Job was wrong in his conclusion that God had taken away his right and had made his soul bitter (Job 27:2). Paul explained in his letter to the Ephesians that it is necessary for believers to put off thoughts that are associated with their former manner of life and to be renewed in the spirit of their minds (Ephesians 4:22-23). Paul instructed the Ephesians to “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31). It was Job’s responsibility to control his emotional reactions to what was happening to him and to keep putting his trust in God who had not turned against him, but was testing his faith.

The thing that Job was unaware of was that God had allowed Satan to afflict him to prove that Job would not as Satan suggested, curse God to his face (Job 1:11). James explained in his letter to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion, that trials of various kinds produce steadfastness or patience. James said, “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:3-4). Later, James commended Job for his patience, stating, “As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:10-11). Paul also wrote about the benefit of suffering in his letter to the Romans. Paul said, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).

Peter talked about suffering and linked it with Christ’s sufferings. Peter indicated that suffering could be God’s will for a believer. Peter said:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And

“If the righteous is scarcely saved,
    what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. (1 Peter 4:12-19)

Peter said that we should entrust our souls to our Creator when we are suffering because of God’s faithfulness. The Greek word that is translated entrust, paratithemi (par-at-ithˊ-ay-mee) means “to place alongside” (G3908). The root word tithemi was used by Jesus several times to refer to him laying down his life for us (John 10:11, 15, 17, 18). John said, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16).

James pointed out in his letter that there is a difference between hearing the Word of God and doing the Word of God. James said, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:23-25). Perseverance means that we continue to entrust our lives to God, even though we are suffering and don’t know why. Job testified to his commitment to God when he told his friends, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face” (Job 13:15). “Despite the fact that he did not understand why he was suffering so miserably, Job continued to trust in God” (note on Job 13:15). Job later testified, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food” (Job 23:10-12). “Even though he did not understand the reasons behind his particular afflictions, Job expressed confidence that God was working in his life (v. 10) and reiterated his personal commitment to God (vv 11, 12)” (note on Job 23:10-12).

Job 38:1-2 states that God answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge.” Following this, God asked Job more than seventy questions. “These questions were not given to answer the mystery of Job’s suffering or to vindicate God himself. They were intended to help Job realize that God’s ways are higher than man’s ways and that he is worthy of complete trust even in the most desperate of circumstances” (note on Job 38:1-42:6). Before Jesus was crucified, he made it clear to his disciples and others that knew him that God was going to raise him from the dead three days later (Matthew 12:40; 27:40; 27:63; Mark 8:31; 15:29). Paul said God’s faithfulness in doing this is the reason why we should also put our trust in him (Acts 13:32, 38-39). In addition to this, Paul said that we can count on God to keep us blameless, as he did Job, when our faith is tested (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). After God completed his interrogation, Job answered the LORD and said, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted…Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know…I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:1-6).

Put on and put off

Paul talked about being transformed into the image of Christ in the context of the New Covenant that Jesus established before he was crucified (Matthew 26:26-29, 2 Corinthians 3:5). The Greek word metamorphoo (met-am-or-foˊ-o) is “spoken figuratively of our being transformed in mind and heart” (G3339) in 2 Corinthians 3:18 where it says, “And we with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” Paul used the example of Christ’s humility to encourage the Philippians to willingly engage in the process of transformation that Christians are called to. Paul told the Philippian believers to “have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-7).

Paul explained in his letter to the Colossians that being alive in Christ involves putting off the body of the flesh (Colossians 2:11). What Paul meant by this was that believers should not be controlled by their desires. Paul said in his letter to the Ephesians that this kind of lifestyle belongs to a believer’s former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires (Ephesians 4:22). Paul told the Colossians:

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:8-10)

Paul said that a believer must put off their old self and put on the new self, indicating that an intentional effort is required. Regeneration or spiritual rebirth has two different aspects. The new birth or what Jesus referred to as being born again (John 3:3) “stresses the communication of spiritual life in contrast to antecedent spiritual death …it is the act by which God brings him from death to life. In the act itself (rather than the preparation for it), the recipient is passive, just as a child has nothing to do with his own birth.” Regeneration stresses the inception of a new state of things in contrast with the old. This ongoing process, known as the renewal of the mind or anakainosis (an-ak-ah’ee-no-sis), “by contrast, is the gradual conforming of the person to the new spiritual world in which he now lives, the restoration of the divine image. In this process the person is not passive but is a fellow worker with God” (G3824).

The renewal of the mind or the act of putting off the old self and putting on the new self is also referred to as the walk of repentance because it involves an ongoing, continuous cycle of repenting from sin. The renewing of our minds is a result of us continually adjusting our thinking to align with God’s word. Paul indicated in his letter to Titus that renewing believers’ minds is a work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told his followers, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:7-15). Jesus told his disciples the Holy Spirit would convict the world concerning sin because they do not believe in him. The Greek word that is translated convict, elegcho (el-engˊ-kho) means “to prove one in the wrong and thus to shame him” (G1651).

Paul indicated in his letter to the Colossians that the old self is associated with practices, performing something repeatedly or “habitually” (G4238). Putting on the new self involves believers replacing these sinful habits with godly behavior. Paul instructed the Colossians:

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:12-15)

The behaviors that Paul identified are referred to as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Paul said if we live by the Spirit, we should keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). In other words, our walk of repentance should not be hindered by an unwillingness on our part to repent of the sins that the Holy Spirit makes us aware of.

Paul made it clear in his letter to the Ephesians that renewal, or more specifically change, takes place in the mind. Paul said in Ephesians 5:23 that we are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. The spirit is “the principle of life residing in man. The breath breathed by God into man and again returning to God, the spiritual entity in man (Matthew 27:50; Luke 8:55; 23:46; John 19:30; Acts 7:59; 1 Corinthians 15:45; Revelation 13:15)” (G4151). The mind is described in the Bible “as the seat of emotions and affections, mode of thinking and feeling, disposition, moral inclination, equivalent to the heart (Romans 1:28; 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Ephesians 4:17, 23; Colossians 2:18; 1 Timothy 6:5; 2 Timothy 3:8; Titus 1:15)” (G3563). To be renewed in the spirit of your mind, you have to change the way you think. Believers must intentionally stop thinking about certain things and in certain ways and intentionally start thinking about life the way that God does. Paul said, “you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth” (Colossians 3:8), and then, “put on…kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

Paul indicated the way to put off and put on is by letting the word of Christ dwell in us (Colossians 3:16). “The expression ‘the word [logos, (3056)] of Christ’ refers to the revelation that Jesus Christ brought into the world” (note on Colossians 3:16). Logos means “the Divine Expression” (G3056). It says in Hebrews 1:3 that Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature, “and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” The Greek word that is translated word in this verse is rhema (hrayˊ-mah). Jesus used the word rhema when he responded to the devil’s temptation to command the stones to become loaves of bread. Jesus stated, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4), indicating that when we put on or take in God’s word, we are receiving the spiritual nourishment that enables us to live forever (G2198).