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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Saved by Faith Alone?, #24
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8)
If the new covenant were only a covenant of forgiveness and did not require righteous behavior on the part of the worshipers, it would be inferior to the old covenant in terms of God's objectives. If God desires people who practice righteousness, love mercy, and walk humbly with God, who delight to do His will, then a covenant that does not require righteous, holy, obedient living is not at all satisfactory.
The new covenant is eminently satisfactory because it meets all of God's eternal standards.
Now, let us look at our original question. Is it true that the Christian salvation, the Christian righteousness, is by faith alone?
The answer is no, if by faith we mean taking a doctrinal position and believing in it apart from any attempt to live righteously, any transformation of personality, any new creation.
The answer is yes, if by faith we mean practicing righteousness, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God to the best of our ability and God's help until Christ comes to maturity in us.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (II Corinthians 3:18)
The cry of Amos reveals the eternal heart of God:
But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. (Amos 5:24)
Any covenant that God makes with man will always have the practice of judgment and righteousness as its objective. This is true of both the old covenant and the new covenant.
Because of the wickedness of our hearts we always misunderstand God. The devout Orthodox Jew seeks righteousness by studying the Law. The study of the Law becomes an end in itself—it does not always lead to judgment and righteousness.
The Christians have been taught that under the new covenant God abandons His desire that people practice judgment and righteousness and is willing to take them to Paradise if they will confess Jesus as Christ.
Neither the Orthodox Jew nor the Christian understands the Lord.
The God of Heaven is seeking people who will let judgment run down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream, not scholars who spend their hours in an endless analysis of the Torah or Christian believers whose primary hope is that they will fly away to Paradise before they are required to endure suffering.
It is time for a reformation of Christian thinking. (from The Mainspring)