Some teach that men have always been saved by grace through faith apart from works. Is that true?
Romans 3:22
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
No. What we learn through Paul’s epistles is that everyone in time past was justified by grace through faith plus works. Two verses in Paul’s epistles tie it up perfectly.
Philippians 3:6
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Romans 3:21
But now [the dispensation of grace] the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
It was impossible for David or anyone else before the dispensation of grace to know that they were justified by grace through faith and no works, because it was impossible to be justified that way and here’s why…
Romans 3:21
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
This is the same terminology Paul uses later in Romans about the mystery.
Romans 16:25-26
Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
Before the ‘but now,’ the righteousness of God without the law was not manifested, so they couldn’t know justification without the law. It wasn’t made known!
So then what was the righteousness of God? According to the verse it was the righteousness of God in the law. There is the righteousness of God with the law; there is the righteousness of God without the law. But now the righteousness of God without the law was manifested; before it wasn’t.
So what was manifested before? The righteousness of God in the law! That’s why Paul says this when he gives his testimony of who he was in ‘time past’ as Saul of Tarsus.
Philippians 3:6
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Paul is saying that when looking back at his salvation when he was Saul of Tarsus, that—touching the righteousness which is in the law—he was blameless. In that former dispensation of Law, he was indeed righteous and blameless. He did everything that the Law required.
The point in Romans 3 is that “But now,” the righteousness of God without the Law is manifested and he calls it the faith of Jesus Christ. No one knew that before Paul. Saul and the Pharisees should have but did not move forward into the righteousness of God in Christ – the faith of Jesus Christ.
If there wasn’t a difference in righteous standing (one of Law and one of grace and grace didn’t happen until Paul), this verse wouldn’t make any sense:
Romans 1:17
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Paul is saying this: in the gospel of the grace of God (I Corinthians 15:1-4), the issue is the faith of Jesus Christ. But before that was the issue of a different faith. He quotes the book of Habakkuk,
Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
But now, ‘the just’ doesn’t live by his own faith; he lives by the faith of Jesus Christ. We live eternally by Christ’s faith and trusting in it. Before this was revealed, mankind lived by his own faith. Each system (Law and Grace) when in effect has to do with man’s believing and walking by faith. It’s not until the dispensation of grace that Paul says in Galatians that before God dealt with man by pure grace it was by doing the law by faith. That was the faith then. The information to be believed now in the dispensation of grace is not Law, but grace.
People try to read Paul into dispensations past and future. You cannot because “But now, [not then] the righteousness without the law is manifested.” We’re in the “but now,” the current, present, dispensation.
In time past before the dispensation of grace, the Law was of faith. They did it by faith. God said to offer sacrifices and if they did they could be blameless like Saul.
Philippians 3:4,6
Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. …Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
To do the law then was faith; to do it now is not faith because we’re not under law, we’re under grace.
For example, to tithe in time past was faith under the law. In Malachi, the Lord said they were cursed because they were not keeping the law about the tithe. They were robbing God.
Malachi 3:8
For it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Today, you need to give the way the Apostle to the Gentiles in the dispensation of grace, Paul, tells you to give…
2 Corinthains 9:7
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
If a grace believer today believed he should give to a church tithes and offerings, Paul is saying that he is not doing that by faith because that’s not the doctrine today.
Paul is saying in Galatians, that trying to keep the law was scriptural for Israel in Time Past but not dispensational for us today.
Galatians 3:10-12
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith:...
Paul is not making a blanket statement about Time Past; he’s telling the Galatians that what is happening now is that… the law is not of faith:
When Paul wrote Galatians, the Law was still being observed by the Jews. He’s warning them not to go back to the Law. In Acts 15 there were believing Pharisees at the Jerusalem Council. They had been following behind Paul and going to his grace believers telling them they had to be circumcised and keep the law.
Paul is saying that if you work for it in this dispensation it is not of grace, it’s of works – it’s of debt. You’re not depending upon God’s grace if you’re working for eternal life. You’re saying, ‘You owe me, God. You’re a debtor to me.’ And that debt is…
Galatians 3:12
…but, The man that doeth them shall live [have eternal life] in them.
There is a performance of the Law, but it is made manifest today that you can’t keep it (the Law) perfectly.
Galatians 3:10
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Hopefully this helps!
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