Faith in Christ?

…or Christ’s faith and God’s grace in redemption.

Reading Galatians 2.15-21

We who are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners” know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no-one will be justified.

If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a law-breaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!

Gospel Luke 7.36-8.3

One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.”

Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

“Two men owed money to a certain money-lender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt cancelled.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Then he turned towards the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

After this, Jesus travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

Sermon

Theme sometimes obvious: here common thread of justification by faith not by works.

Galatians – written to Jews who relied on Law until came to faith in Jesus. Made right with God through observing all the commandments. But through grace of God they have died to the Law – crucified with Christ – now no longer live, but Christ lives in them. Their lives have changed completely. They are no longer their own.

Luke’s narrative tells similar story. It’s about an unnamed woman whose sins were great – but maybe her lifestyle forced on her through circumstances. Not the point – she was a sinner. Yet she reverenced Jesus – with her tears, her money, her reputation and bravery, and her love. Her works, you may think, should have been sufficient. But it was not her actions that redeemed her. Jesus make is clear – it was her faith.

Argument about works of Law has lost some of its impact today. Supposing someone told you that in order to come to church you had to completely change your diet? The women had to dress in a special way, separate themselves from the men, lose all the rights and authority they took for granted? The men had to be circumcised. They were to observe hundreds of laws and no longer mix with their previous friends and neighbours. It was like giving up everything, and taking on a completely foreign set of ways. How would you react? Imagine then the good news when you were read this letter from Paul.

Justification by faith not by works of Law is the obvious theme, but there are others. Sin and all its consequences. The death of our former selves – what does that mean? Love – and how much do we love? Grudgingly and insolently, like the Pharisee who did not accord any of the customary politenesses when he invited Jesus to dine? Or insanely and overwhelmingly like the woman, whose sins were forgiven regardless of their magnitude.

How about the place of women in the ministry of Christ? Apart from the 12 male followers, Luke lists Mary of Magdala, Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. They all supported the men financially and in other ways – yet still we argue about the place of women in the church.

Or what about justification? What does it mean. How are we justified? Someone once suggested the word sounds a bit like just-as-if-I-had-never-sinned. That doesn’t mean just turning the clock back. There’s no repentance in that. No – it still requires of us a full reckoning of the consequences of our sin, but God’s grace means we stand once more in a right relationship with God, as if he had never sinned.

Another possible sermon topic would be the whole story as a parable. There are similar stories, but from later in Jesus’s ministry where the anointing prefigures Jesus’s death. This one comes much earlier – it is clearly a less about sin, justification, and forgiveness. Notice, by the way, how Simon says nothing after answering the question Jesus puts to him, and the woman is silent throughout. How brave she was – entering a males-only environment, a woman unclean in every way, a person undoubtedly not welcome, yet a woman of faith whose impudence provided her salvation.

So all these are possible themes I could take – and no doubt many more. But this is the one thing I want to say. It’s something I only found out last week. Yet it’s very good news for us all – at least, those of use whose faith is weak and faltering, which I suspect is all of us, if we are truthful.

The thing is this. We read of justification by faith not by our good works. What we think, not what we do. Yet we find belief hard, and our faith is weak. So doesn’t faith, in this sense, sound very much like works? All we have to do is believe – but how difficult a task that is. If we have to do it – to have faith and believe – how much like a work of the Law is that? Good on the woman who believed – but how incredibly difficult what she did must have been to pull off.

Here’s what I found out last week. It comes down to just two words in the Greek. It’s Galatians 2:16. The words in English are faith in Christ. We have put our faith in Christ, with the result that we are justified. The thing is, the Greek actually means faith of Christ rather than faith in Christ – or at least, it can be translated either way. You may find the alternative in those little notes at the bottom of the page.

For those who want to know more – the words are Pisteos and Christou. Πίστεως and Χρίστου. Faith in Christ or Faith of Christ. The objective genitive or the subjective genitive. The different translations make a huge difference.

Supposing we are made right with God through the faith of Jesus, rather than by our faith in Jesus? What a difference that makes. Why should we prefer the easier translation? Because of the boundless grace of God, I would say. God’s grace is free and abundant. It does not depend on a measure of how strong is our faith. There need be no bar, over which we have to jump in order to be made right with God. No – it is through the faith of Christ that we are saved. How good is that? Amen