Righteous Through Faith - July 2019

In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he highlights one of the most precious Gospel truths when he talks about “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Rom 3:22). He goes on to say that while “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23), those who believe in Jesus Christ by faith 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” (Rom 3:24-25). Amazing!

It is by no act of our own that we can stand righteous before a holy God. But in His mercy, God sent His Son to bear the full wrath of the punishment we deserved, so that His children, could be made clean by Jesus’ blood. In this beautiful act of divine love and justice at the cross, God reveals Himself “as just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:26). Praise be to our great God who has impressed these truths upon our hearts by His Spirit and made us righteous and alive in Christ.

Last year in Australia, some friends and I wrote this song during our church’s Romans preaching series to help us celebrate together what God has done and pray for His help to live in light of these wonderful truths. It’s a joy to share it with our church here as we dig into the book of Romans. Listen and download below!

Righteous Through Faith

Lyrics:

You’re the Father, Creator of all (Rom 1:7, 1:25)
You are faultless, You have never done wrong (Ps 18:30, Job 34:12)
But we have fallen short of Your righteous law (Rom 3:23)

We’re Your children, no good on our own (Rom 3:10-11, 8:16)
We are helpless without You as our hope (Rom 3:12, 5:2, 5:6)
You are the answer to all of our deepest flaws (Rom 7:25a)

We are rescued by grace (Rom 1:5, 3:2, 4:16, 5:2)
Counted righteous through faith (Rom 3:22, 4:16, 5:2,9)
In the work of Christ for our sake (Rom 5:6, 2 Cor 5:21)

You are just in Your ways (Rom 3:26)
And Your Name will be praised (Rom 1:5,25)
For the righteous live by faith (Rom 1:17)
Lord, help us live by faith

While we were sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8)
To make us righteous, washed by his blood (Rom 5:9)
Now we are spotless, the evidence of Your love (Col 1:22, Rom 5:8)

Your love and Your justice unite (Rom 1:7, 3:26)
In the redemption that’s found in Christ (Rom 3:24)
In him we are justified (Rom 3:24)

© 2018 Daniel Nitschke, Jono Fryga, & Jonathan Wisdom

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Rom 1:16-17 (Scripture Memory) - June 2019

Scripture Memory is a huge way to “hide God’s Word in our hearts” (Ps 119:11). This helps us not only meditate and chew on God’s Word over and over again, but it’s also a fruitful way to put Paul’s words in Philippians 4:8 into practice. What is more pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise than God’s Word itself?! When this life stretches us, when sin tempts us, and even when we’re enjoying God’s joyful blessings, we want Scripture to be on the top of our minds and the tip of our tongues.

Below is a song written to put Romans 1:16-17 to memory. These verses have and continue to play a major role in evangelical Christian faith as we understand the doctrine of justification by faith. While the recording features a kids ensemble arrangement, I’ve found that even “kids songs” are helpful for adults too! Listen and enjoy, but better yet - memorize!

Romans 1:16-17

Memory song written by Wilfred Mak & Jonathan Wisdom, featuring a NCC kids ensemble! Translation based on ESV with minor adjustments for poetic meter while retaining the essence and truth of the passage.

Lyrics:

Verse 16
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel
For it’s the power of God for Salvation
To everyone who believes
To the Jew first, then the Greek

Verse 17
For in it God’s righteousness
Is revealed from faith for faith
As it is written:
The righteous shall live by faith!
The righteous shall live by faith!
The righteous shall live by fa-a-a-a-aith!

© 2018 Wilfred Mak & Jonathan Wisdom

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Grace Alone - June 2019

Have you ever considered why jewelers show diamonds against a black cloth? Six years ago when God, in His great kindness, convinced Emily to marry me, I went shopping for her engagement ring. So my cousin, RUF campus minister, and I head on down to a jewelry store in downtown Atlanta. After telling him what I’m there for, the jeweler escorts us to his diamond case. All I can say is “wow!” I mean, these things are magnificent, each one sparkling brightly when the light strikes it at just the right angle. Picking out a few to take a closer look, he does something really interesting and places them on a black velvet cloth. This allows each diamond to not only sparkle all the brighter but gives us a chance to really catch all the detailed intricacies of what makes it so captivating.

It’s kind of like that with the Gospel. How beautiful is the good news that sinners can be reconciled to a holy God through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ? But when seen against the black stark backdrop of sin, the beauty of the Gospel shines all the brighter!

You begin to see all the detailed intricacies of what it means that Christ gave His life for us. You can truly appreciate and glory in the grace of God to even allow sinners to approach a holy God through our great Savior. And you come to realize that Salvation is only ever by grace alone through faith alone, and not by anything you could ever do to earn it. In fact, you learn how inwardly (and often outwardly) you were running from God, and all along, it was God who moved you, by His Spirit, to believe and trust in Jesus. More personally, you learn how the Gospel can be applied to each aspect of your life, like a healing balm on your darkest areas of sin, and empower you to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

We must talk about sin because it makes the cross of Christ appear all the more glorious. And we must talk about grace because it increases all the more our view of God’s glory and sovereignty.

How much theology can be packed into a single song? In Grace Alone, Dustin Kensrue helps us look at the beauty of the Gospel against the backdrop of our sin. Notice the Father, Son, and Spirit progression as we explore the sweet doctrine of Salvation by grace alone.

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Grace Alone

Written by Dustin Kensrue

Lyrics:

I was an orphan lost at the fall
Running away when I'd hear you call
But Father you worked your will
I had no righteousness of my own
I had no right to draw near your throne
But Father you loved me still

And in love before you laid the world's foundation
You predestined to adopt me as your own
You have raised me up so high above my station
I'm a child of God by grace and grace alone

You left your home to seek out the lost
You knew the great and terrible cost
But Jesus your face was set
I worked my fingers down to the bone
But nothing I did could ever atone
But Jesus you paid my debt

By Your blood I have redemption and salvation
Lord you died that I might reap what you have sown
And you rose that I might be a new creation
I am born again by grace and grace alone

I was in darkness all of my life
I never knew the day from the night
But Spirit you made me see
I thought I knew the way on my own
Head full of rocks a heart made of stone
But Spirit you moved in me

And at your touch my sleeping spirit was awakened
On my darkened heart the light of Christ has shone
Called into a kingdom that cannot be shaken
Heaven's citizen by grace and grace alone

So I'll stand in faith by grace and grace alone
I will run the race by grace and grace alone
I will slay my sin by grace and grace alone
I will reach the end by grace and grace alone

© 2013 Dead Bird Theology, It's All About Jesus Music,
We Are Younger We Are Faster Music | CCLI License # 193208

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