June 4 LD 23, Day 1: The Profit of Faith
by Prof Herman Hanko
Read: Romans 4:1-12
It is quite clear why
our teacher who instructs us in the truth of
Scripture, should now ask this important question: What is the profit of your
faith?
We have been instructed
in all the truths that God has revealed in His word. We have been told that these
truths are the objects of our faith. We have repeatedly recited our lessons.
I believe in God the
Father.
I believe in His only begotten Son.
I believe in all the work that Christ did from His birth to His exaltation and
will do until His second coming.
I believe in the Holy Ghost.
I believe in a holy catholic church.
I believe in the resurrection of the body.
I believe in the forgiveness of sins.
I believe in life eternal.
Now: what profit is
there in the fact that we believe all these things? That is a good question.
The answer of the
teacher in our classroom is quite surprising. He could have said: Faith makes
all these truths our own possession and experience. He could have said: The
profit is that God is our Father. Christ is our Savior. Christ died for
us. Christ is our Lord in heaven. We are members of the
`But our teacher does
not do that. Rather, he chooses to point us to one truth, which, if true, makes
all the other truths ours as well. If we are righteous, we possess all the
other blessings of salvation as well.
It is like a man in
prison for an enormous debt, which he cannot pay. He is there until the debt is
paid. But someone comes along and pays the entire debt. He can then be released from prison and enjoy all the blessings of
freedom with his wife and children, his friends and relatives, and in Gods
creation. But the important thing is that he is legally declared to have no
debt.
And so our teacher points
out to us what a wonderful power faith is. Faith believes that we are
righteous in Christ, before God. When faith can and does believe that, then
faith can also believe everything else. But to be righteous is first.
So our teacher takess great pains to point out several things about this
profit of faith.
First, we are righteous
in Christ.
Second, we are righteous
before God.
Third, we come to the
knowledge of our righteousness only by faith.
Fourth, this means that
we do not come to our righteousness by our works.
Fifth, we do not even
come to the knowledge of our righteousness because of the worthiness of our
faith.
Sixth, we become
righteous by faith in Christ. The only way we possess that righteousness
approved of God is to appropriate by faith the righteousness of Christ.