Justification by Faith Alone.

Now with this being the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation; we thought that it would be a most excellent thing to put out some articles that promote this most glorious movement of God's Holy Spirit. There are, obviously, the five Solas which bring forth the heart of this Reformation— they are the following truths:  

• Sola Scriptura (scriptures as the full and final infallible rule of faith)
• Sola Gratia (Grace is the sole means of attaining salvation);
• Sola Fide (Justification by imputed righteous alone);
• Solus Christos (Christ alone is the means of redemption; there no other);  
• Soli de gloria (unto God the glory belongs). 

All five points are further seen as light to other truths to be the summary propositions. For example, with the first one— there are number of inter-related points; they are the sufficiency of; the Perspicuity of; the reliability of scriptures. Such arguments as these, do not flow from cleverly tailored philosophical arguments; but solely from the very nature of the Word of God. 

Now let us turn aside to the subject at hand. Let us come to scriptures and ask the simply question: what does it teach on the matter of how one is to made right before God? And more specifically, what are the particulars that come together and form this teaching? Well, let us start by noting what the term is: 'Justification by faith alone.'  Let us now delve into the scriptures to form a biblical composite.

Let us note that Old Testament provides a legal basis which the Reformers all adhered too. This born out of scripture:

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord. (Proverbs 17:15)

“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. 7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. 8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. (Exodus 23:6-8)

“If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, 2 then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense.3 Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight. (Deuteronomy 25:1-3)

Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes, who say: “Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it;
let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!” Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!

There it is! The biblical position of Justification—it is a legal declaration upon an individual soul based on a right verdict. Such as what you have in a court. There is no other. It is not an infusion as some falsely assume (the Roman Catholics); and yet we have no biblical warrant to even put their point forth. The only way to make a case is on a faulty assumption which is based on misunderstanding certain other texts. While at this point, we are not dealing God's manner in which he deals with it; we are still only dealing the basic thought and concept as the bible lays before us. Now with this as a basis point we can move onto the matter in hand.

The Old Testament position of the Atonement as it pertains to Justification

The first thing to note is that this is not some kind of novelty with the Apostle Paul (granted he shed light upon the subject than any other writer); but in fact, the Old Testament provides us with much ground to cover such as pictures and prophecies. Take note of the following passages:

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:1-6)

Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”;  as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.  (Genesis 22:10-20)

Here we have the first important signs of something very important happening in God very purpose. Now let us bare in mind the earlier prophecy in Genesis 3:15; we now see something of a small beginning to this being fulfilled. What we have in this matter is that God promises something very wonderful to Abraham and he believes and trusts in God on that basis. (Although that belief and trust is not of human origin). Then some years later, Abraham, has been given a command to do a particular thing. It is a test; it is a trial to see how he would react. But notice the out come: God substitutes the offering of Isaac for a ram. an important symbolic picture that points forth to something much grander which we will consider later.
Now let us see how this truth of Justification is seen in the Prophets and the poetic writings: 

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,   and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1-2)

Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.  Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.  And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. (Daniel 9:24-27)

The Lord saw it, and it displeased him  that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head;  he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,  and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, so will he repay,  wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;  to the coastlands he will render repayment.So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the Lord drives.  (Isaiah 59: 15c-19)

In these above texts, though not the main ones raised in this matter, they do however provide much support towards the doctrine by means of speaking towards other important elements of the Atonement which give us a strong foundation for the doctrine of Justification. Things such as: substitution and propitiation. There is also reconciliation too. But the point is clear— for this doctrine to be what it is; we must affirm biblically that it has a very specific range and that is seen in its definiteness. In other words, Christ death was only made for his own elect people and he atoned and made justification for those people. Here we meet the doctrines of Particular redemption and unconditional election. And we praise God.

The New Testament position of the Atonement as it pertains to Justification

When we discus this most glorious doctrine of Justification by Faith alone; it is often touted that Christ did not say anything on the subject and therefore it is a pauline doctrine. The problem with this claim is two-fold. Firstly, it ignores and limited the way in which one can address a subject to a particular statement; and when we understand this, then it becomes obvious that Christ did in fact speak to the issue as we shall see. Second, it completely misses the fact of divine inspiration and that Paul spoke not as to his own thoughts but through person revelation from Christ himself as he tells us. Now let us see what Christ said on the matter.

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment. (Matthew 8:5-13)

Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”  “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.  (Mark 7: 24-30)

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray,one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18: 9-14)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (John 3:16-21)

In all all these passages we have Jesus' teaching on how one is to made right in God sight: through the Act of Justification by Faith alone. Look at these passage carefully and it becomes clear; they all speak volumes of a faith which saves the person that it is given too. It is through the gift of faith that has it basis in the objective work of Christ upon the cross that one is declared righteous. It is not something in the persons stead such as what does or does not do; it is not even about the persons attitude. It is solely based upon the finished work of Christ. Look at the humbled tax collector in Luke 18 The Lord justified him. How?  In the same way that every sinner shall be: 'he who has faith in the son'  shall pass out of condemnation into life eternal by means of being united to Christ in his death and resurrection. That is our justification; and it is by faith alone. Now having seen what Christ has to state on it.

Let us move onto what Romans has to tell us on this important truth:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith." (Romans 1:16-17)

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and 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. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. (Romans 3:21-31)

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh,discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”
Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!  And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. (Romans 4:1-12)

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5: 1-5)

 The great and mighty book of Romans. This is, of course, the most in depth treatise on salvation in all scriptures; and so, when it comes to the truth of Justification by Faith Alone— it goes into much depth providing us with something which is unmatched in its richness and it profundity. He gives us 3 chapters in which he puts forth what God does on behalf a person through means of a substitute. One can not speak of the Atoning work without mention such concepts as a substitute and propitiator; and Christ is that person whom does both things. 

And it is to be seen as a declarative statement about the person: that much is seen in all of these statements; but none more so, than what we see in these words, 'For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by His grace through redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forth as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.' That is one of the moving and thrilling statements in this regard. But we can put it more succinctly, we are like Abraham 'credited as righteousness' when we believe.' This is the back bone of the faith as a whole. How do we know that we have received forgiveness? When we place our trust in Christ' perfect and finished work on the cross and that alone. 

Now let us consider what Ephesians to has to teach us:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  (Eph. 2:8-10)

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (Eph. 2:13-16)

All of this acts 'grace;' 'saved;' and 'faith'  are forever settled. They are acts that God carries out independently of anything we may do— now what is the proof that Faith (or justification) is something we have no part in?  Well, in this section Paul states in the general 'And this is not of your own doing'  and if that is not precise enough; and of course, it is. He goes onto state in a more specific way that it 'is not a result of works' and let not that term 'works' be misunderstand; for it encompasses more than say the law works. It is speaking of all and every kind of work. Now this should enough to establish this very reality. And this is further attested too in the next section which is verses 13-16 which gets the point across in a very powerful manner— speaking more specifically of what his death achieved for us.

Now when we consider what we are told in verses 4-5 of this chapter; then we begin to see that every act of salvation is of God. And God alone. Now how does this figure into the doctrine in consideration? Simply this. Each step has a unique out-working and Justification is an external declaration that God alone makes on your person based on the full finished work of Christ. 

Let us move on to see what Galatians has to tell us 

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.  For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Galatians 2:15-21)

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3: 10-14)

Now we come to the Galatians testimony to this great truth of Justification by Faith alone; and they are the only ones that speak to it in terms of whole passages. There are indeed a few single verses in these chapters such as verse 1 and 7-10 of this third chapter. However, the subject of the sections as a whole speak to something other than our key theme of Justification. So our focus must be on what is clearly speaking to the issue. There is in these these passage a most grand proclamation of this matter. And it is one that must really be held in mind as we consider what it is and what it means? This is where God meets with the sinner and based on the work of his Son views him as a forgiven and just man. 
That is from an external stand point— as we have said before. And when a believer sins; he sins not against the Law as he once did but against love. Which is a very important thing. Now there are two points to mention: in the first place, every sinner has due to them breaking God law brought upon them a curse. And in the second place, death is the unmistakable consequence of it. And it is in the person and work of Christ, we see how these two things are dealt with. Christ took the curse of the law and died the death that we as sinner so clearly deserved. And in return we gain two things: His righteous standing and his life imputed. And it is one of the most amazing things that anyone could ever be given. God judges our sin our substitute.

Let us come to the sole statement from the book of Philippians:

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3)

Now this is a most powerful statement—  but the important verse for us is this one: 'not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.' What is true of Paul as he states here is likewise true of every single believer.  And coming to a correct position of being right with God both by the work of the Spirit and knowledge of the word; we must recognise our short coming and the failed attempts done by self righteousness and self promotion. And to understand and know how Christ is the sole way to being made right with God and given eternal life. And no other way can save you for they are the path to eternal destruction.
The doctrine of Justification by Faith alone is the most central doctrine of the faith; and we must hold to this in the face of opposition. For it is the lifeline of all true believers; and it is likewise, the foundation all true assurance as we saw in the 5th chapter of Romans as we have already noted.

Justification by faith and James 2.

With such a strong emphasis on this teaching and it is a biblical one. Then we must face and answer an objection: How, then do we deal with the teaching of James 2: 24 and it clear teaching that faith alone does not save a person? Now— on the face of it this verse seems to be contradicting the position of of the Reformation; and indeed, it appears that Both Paul and James are at odds.  It is the job of any faith Christian to consider such things to get a fuller picture of the New Testament. And in doing so, what is the position that one must take on this? 
Is the Catholic Church right in their handling of this matter or is the Protestant Reformation right in handling the fuller teaching of scripture. As I have laid out above, it is my position that the Protestants are correct. Now how doe we go about tackling James 2 to see it real point.

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.  (James 2:14-26)

Let us begin by saying this. If it were the case that this passage as a whole (not a single verse taken out of its context) was to refute anything that is clearly laid down in many other places—then James has failed.  But that is an impossibility. So the only conclusion to draw is that the Catholics have failed to understand James' real motive in what he is saying to his Church and us today.
Now with that said, what is the issue at hand?  Simply this: James is not, i repeat, is not dealing with the manner in which one is saved. But the kind of life which one who has already been saved must live in order to glorify God. In other words, it is not doctrinal in nature; but is completely practical in nature. And the two illustrations: Abraham with his giving of Isaac; and then Rehab and the hiding of the Spies support this conclusion in an amazing manner.
Now the issue between Paul and James (Romans 3-5 and here) can be seen as dealing with different aspects of salvation. But what is worse, because they often over looked on both parts is that Paul does have passages which are completely congruent with James 2 as a whole. And they are:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

The first text from Ephesians 2 is a pretty simple one to follow 'because God have saved you; therefore, you act in a way in which fits that is in line with that reality. But both aspect are completely under God sovereign control.' So that is one that is picked up on and is always giving it due place. And it is a very beautiful truth which has captivate many a believer.
The second passage; however, has singularly been ignored. Not intentionally. But due to a narrow focused application— that of Justification. Now do not get me wrong; I do believe that it has something amazing to contribute to that subject. But that alone is only one aspect. It is there in verse 1 and verses 6-9 but what comes between is not about that point. The rhetorical questions implies that Paul deals with something that flows from Regeneration and Justification. Note how this question begins 'having begun by the Spirit....'  There is something else here. And that something else is just what James is dealing with: a false profession of faith which does not lead to a true pattern of life in conduct. 
And we may call this sanctification. But it is Christ practice.  

In the final analysis, the doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone can be demonstrated to be correct under biblical scrutiny-- and all other concepts lack biblical warrant; and therefore, demand no real basis in our faith as believers.