John D. Chitty
“The Misadventures of Captain Headknowledge” -- Rescuing victims of villainous theology since 2006. "I'm from Geneva, and I'm here to help!"
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Mid Cities OPC Sermon Podcast
- The Burdens of Others (Galatians 6:1-5) February 5, 2023On Sunday, February 5, 2023, Pastor Joe Troutman preached, "The Burdens of Others" from Galatians 6:1-5. "Jesus Christ bore the burden of our sin and guilt on the cross, and we must bear the burden of our brothers and sisteres in Christ." 1. Bearing Each Others' Burdens (vs. 1-2) 1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, […]
- The Power of the Sword (1 Kings 2:13-46) January 29, 2023On Sunday, January 29, 2023, Pastor Joe Troutman preached, "The Power of the Sword" from 1 Kings 2:13-46. mcopc.org/podcast
- Ascribe Ye Strength unto God (Psalm 68:34a) January 22, 2023On Sunday, January 22, 2023, Rev. Robert Mossotti preached, "Ascribe Ye Strength unto God" from Psalm 68:34a. mcopc.org/podcast
- The Son Who Did Learn Obedience (1 Kings 2:1-12) January 20, 2023On Sunday, January 15, 2023, Pastor Joe Troutman preached, "The Son Who Did Learn Obedience" from 1 Kings 2:1-12. "Jesus Christ, the Son of God, co-equal in power with the Father and the Holy Spirit, learned obedience to his Father in order to save sinners." 1. Commands He Couldn't Keep (vs. 1-4) 1 When David's time to die drew […]
- The Horns of a Dilemma (1 Kings 1:41-53) January 19, 2023On Sunday, January 8, 2023, Pastor Joe Troutman preached "The Horns of a Dilemma" from 1 Kings 1:41-53. "The Lord's King sits on the Throne and even his enemies pay homage to him." 1. Jonathan's Report (vs. 41-47) 41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. And when Joab heard the sound o […]
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How Faith Does NOT Justify
A. Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which do always accompany it, or of good works that are the fruits of it (Gal. 3:11; Rom. 3:28), nor as if the grace of faith, or any act thereof, were imputed to him for his justification; but only as it is an instrument by which he receiveth and applieth Christ and his righteousness.
Faith is the means which God has ordained for the elect in order that he may declare them righteous in his sight. Man, unfortunately, assumes he must perform, to achieve a perfect score when it comes to keeping God’s moral law. In this assumption, he is sadly mistaken. Paul writes in Galatians 3:11, “no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Later in his great exposition of the gospel in his epistle to the Romans, Paul echoes this truth when he writes, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28).
In keeping with this Pauline distinction between faith and the law, the framers of the Westminster Standards of 1649 write in their Larger Catechism, “Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which do always accompany it, or of good works that are the fruits of it…” (Westminster Larger Catechism, Q&A #73). Here they write that good works are the fruit of faith, not the condition the elect must meet so God will declare them righteous in his sight (justify them). The catechism answer also denies that the other graces that accompany faith are the way we receive God’s justifying declaration of righteousness. For example, graces such as hope, love, joy, or any others are excluded, along with good works, as the basis on which faith justifies the sinner.
In short, faith does not justify because of good works; rather, good works are the result of justification by faith alone.
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