John Murray demonstrates from the totality of Scripture’s witness that our faith cannot be our righteousness. This is clearly the work of a systematic theologian and not that of an exegete enamored with a single text believing it has the power to uproot and upset an entire system of thought! 

For those who believe that God does not accept and account a person righteous by imputing to them faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience, as the Westminster Confession contends, a passage like Romans 4:3 is hard to understand.  Not because of the grammatical construction. We see it in Genesis 15:6, from where Paul derives the quote, and we see the same construction in other places like Psalm 106:31. There we read that Phinehas’s killing of an Israelite man and Midianite woman was “counted to him as righteousness.” So, were the Westminster divines simply oblivious to something so plain as Romans 4:3 when they wrote chapter eleven or is there something that we might be missing?
The divines also state that “all things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves” and therefore require some work on our part to understand them. Therefore, I opt for the latter. We are missing something. But before we can start talking about what is missing from our understanding of the text, we need to start a little farther back.
Unity of the Theological Disciplines
To put it simply, what’s missing is the unity of the theological disciplines. We ought to think of the disciplines as a pyramid. At the foundation is the Bible, God’s Word. The Old Testament and the New Testament form the foundation of the pyramid. These disciplines include, at the very least, a study of the original languages and exegesis. Having done their work, these exegetes hand up the fruit of exegesis to the Biblical theologian whose method is historical in character. After he are finished, the historical theologians assess the development and continuity of a particular doctrine or movement.  And finally, the ripened fruit of these disciplines is handed to the queen of the sciences, systematic theology, and she assesses and organizes the evidence into a logical concatenated system of thought.
However, today the disciplines have gone rogue. Scholars have placed a chasm between the testaments and the queen has been accused of being a Greek philosopher in disguise. As a result, it is each discipline for itself. So, today it might help us to think about our opening example from the perspective of one scholar who appreciated the unity of the theological disciplines.
John Murray was a professor at old Westminster, and he was both a New Testament exegete and a first-rate systematic theologian who understood the need for the theological disciplines to respect and work together for the well-being of the church. Consider what Murray wrote in his essay titled, “Systematic Theology.”
Systematic theology is tied to exegesis. It coordinates and synthesizes the whole witness of Scripture on the various topics with which it deals…. Thus, the various passages drawn from the whole compass of Scripture and woven into the texture of systematic theology are not cited as mere proof texts or wrested from the scriptural and historical context to which they belong, but, understood in a way appropriate to the place they occupy in this unfolding process, are applied with that particular relevance to the topic under consideration.  Texts will not thus be forced to bear a meaning they do not possess nor forced into a service they cannot perform.  But in the locus to which they belong and by the import they do possess they will contribute to the sum-total of revelatory evidence by which biblical doctrine is established. We may never forget that systematic theology is the arrangement under appropriate divisions of the total witness of revelation to the truth respecting God and his relations to us men and to the world.[1]
Thus, in the work of exegesis, Murray is unwilling to do systematic theology and yet systematic theology is the end and capstone of the vital process of interpreting Scripture. This is a valuable lesson. In our haste to prove a point we must not press a particular passage to teach more or even less than it does. Or, as Murray puts it, we should not ask a text to bear a meaning that it cannot sustain. Now, you can already see how this applies to Romans 4:3.
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Brothers, if God has come to your aid and given you a wife, then take the opportunity to thank Him for her and then thank her. She enables you to do more. She brings a peaceful space to a world in chaos. She loves your children, and she loves you. Godliness adorns her and there is no better adornment. No wonder God said in His word, “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord” (Prov. 18:22). Or as Luther would say, the Lord has come to your aid! Your clothes are washed and your mug is ready.

Martin Luther’s Table Talk is arguably the most entertaining of his works. The Weimar Edition contains six volumes under this head alone! Thus, volume 54 in the American Edition represents about one-tenth of the total bulk of what we know as Table Talk. However, as the American Edition explains there are good reasons for editing the work. For example, there are less trustworthy sayings and there are sayings that have been elaborated on by his students. All of this is to say that the American Edition removes the dross.
I have been reading Table Talk lately. The paragraphs of reminiscences are perfect to give one a flavor for the man we know as Martin Luther. Some of the talks bring laughter, I mean belly rolling laughter, some of them cause a headshake, and still others a pause and reflection. January 22, 1532 is one of those that caused me to pause and reflect. It goes like this,
I am very busy. Four persons are dependent on me, and each of them demands my time for himself. Four times a week I preach in public, twice a week I lecture, and in addition I hear cases, write letters, and am working on a book for publication. It is a good thing that God came to my aid and gave me a wife. She takes care of domestic matters, so that I do not have to be responsible for these too.
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Though inerrancy does have a major consequence on one’s sanctification, the Committee is not contending that belief in inerrancy makes a perfect Christian. The Committee “gladly acknowledges that many who deny the inerrancy of Scripture do not display the consequences of this denial in the rest of their belief and behavior.”  Moreover, they are equally conscious that those “who confess this doctrine often deny it in life” by failing to bring thoughts and deeds into true subjection to the Word.

The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (CSBI) was issued in 1978 by the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy (ICBI). In the introduction, the Committee defined the Statement as consisting of three parts: a summary statement, Articles of Affirmation and Denial, and an accompanying Exposition. However, the Introduction to all three of these parts is instructive for the person who would know what the ICBI had in mind for their Statement.
An Historical Perspective
The Introduction is five short paragraphs, each with a very clear point. The first paragraph is a simple reminder that “the authority of Scripture is a key issue for the Christian Church in this and every age. For those who would like to explore this theme it would be helpful to consult the title edited by John Hannah, Inerrancy and the Church published in 1984. However, in this first paragraph the committee tips its hand. This is not merely an academic endeavor. Inerrancy is a matter of discipleship because the reality of discipleship is seen in “humbly and faithfully obeying God’s written Word.”
A Fresh Reminder
In the second paragraph the ICBI recognizes that in the present moment there is a great need to affirm “this inerrancy of Scripture afresh.” They go on to say, “We see it as our timely, duty to make this affirmation in the face of current lapses from the truth of inerrancy among our fellow Christians…” If I may take liberty at this point, the reason why Place for Truth is running this series is because we believe that the church over fifty years later needs a fresh reminder.
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The Bible is no longer accepted or believed as fully trustworthy by many.  As one seminary professor described it, “What we are experiencing is an existential mood in the country.  Many of our students come to us with a relative view of the Bible.”  If the evangelical Church does not awaken to this situation, it will not be able to stand for or recognize God’s truth in an increasingly unbelieving and pluralistic world.

As Stephen Nichols writes in his biography, R. C. Sproul: A Life, “The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy made and makes some wince.”[1] Perhaps the main reason for that wince is the nature of the Statement. It is a line in the sand. It is a boundary marker. In our day, when something as sturdy biology becomes elastic, many fail to appreciate such lines. However, the council creating that statement, The International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, was led by two friends: R. C. Sproul (President) and James Montgomery Boice (Chairman). Lines did not make these men wince. And under their leadership a document was created that has guided generations since.[2]
The story of the Council’s beginning and first formal meeting at the Hyatt Regency at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport on October 26-28, 1978, is a human-interest story in itself.  The Bible was under attack and in 1976 Harold Lindsell published a bombshell of a book titled, The Battle for the Bible. To say that it caused a stir is an understatement. However, despite the Council’s beginnings, the statement they produced is chiefly what matters most because the attack on God’s word never takes a respite.
But why is the ICBI still necessary?  The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals web page answers that question.
The authority and accuracy of the Bible are foundations of the Christian faith.  Yet we are witnessing the erosion of these foundations.
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How is this faith, which has been gifted to me, strengthened? According to the Divines, I engage the means that God has appointed for its growth, the preaching of the word (the ordinary means by which faith is wrought), the administration of the sacraments, and prayer.  These are the means through which God is pleased to increase and strengthen faith that we might have an ever increasing sense of His abiding love and care for us.

Once the Spirit of the Lord has resurrected a dead sinner by the divine breath, life begins. This is the monergism that theologians reference in the work of regeneration. The dead sinner lives through God’s singular work. He initiated the life.  The spiritual cadaver is no longer cold and icy but is now oriented and animated toward God by grace alone. And as life comes so too does the fruit of life or conversion. Conversion is shorthand for faith and repentance. This article will deal with the former and it will do so by following the three sections of chapter fourteen of the Westminster Confession of Faith.
The Origin of Faith
Here the Divines want us to make no mistake. Faith does not originate with us. Faith is a “grace” whereby the person is “enabled to believe” and that “to the saving of their souls” because it is the “work of the Spirit” in the heart of the believer. The thread that is sown through this first paragraph leaves us with no doubt as to the origin of belief. Believing begins with God. However, we should not make the opposite mistake and so believe that faith is God’s activity.  In other words, though God enables faith, He does not do the believing for us.
The Nature of Faith
This brings us to the nature of faith. The second section of the Confession tells us that a believer believes whatsoever is in the Word.
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The Mosaic Law is not contrary to the gospel.  In fact, the Mosaic Covenant is an exfoliation of the Covenant of Grace.  However, John 9 helps us to understand the division when the Pharisees say to the now healed blind man, “You are his [Jesus] disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.  We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” Moses is being set over against Jesus. 

Think of the story of the man born blind (John 9). It’s well known and well thought of.  It’s one of those stories that take work to read because we must disabuse ourselves of contemporary concern for those with disabilities.  For example, there were no Seeing Eye dogs, Braille books or reading machines.  This man was a beggar whose hope of social advance, marriage, or even a job was a pipe dream.  He was an unnoticed beggar.  He was alone.
For example, notice the man’s neighbors after he is healed. The man is obviously making a stir and those who have lived closest to him say, “Isn’t this the man who sat and begged?”  And some said yes but many of those same neighbors said, “No, he just looks like him.”  And all the while the man who was blind said, “I am the man.”  That’s amazing. How unnoticed he must have felt for all those years.  Not only was he blind but they had been blind to him.
So, they brought the man to the Pharisees, and things got worse. But before saying more about the blind man and the Pharisees we must understand that the text. Like all of John’s Gospel, this text reaches back to his Prologue (John 1:1-18).  For example, in those early verses John writes that the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Christ.  Now, the Mosaic Law is not contrary to the gospel.
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Where are you today? Is someone quarreling with you? Are you experiencing someone’s hatred? As hard as it is to hear, you are being given opportunities for faithfulness. Don’t shrink back from them. Don’t wish them away. Don’t curl up in the fetal position and engage in self-pity. See these moments as opportunities to be faithful knowing that the Lord who is faithful is with you. 

I was recently struck anew by reading Genesis 26. It’s the story of Isaac dwelling in Gerar. The story is familiar. We might read it in “like father, like son” fashion. As Abraham told Abimelech that Sarah was his sister, Isaac did the same. Yes, we sometimes learn from our parents. Even the patriarchs passed on what was not good.  But that’s not what struck me.
There was a famine in the land and the Lord told Isaac not to go down to Egypt but to dwell in the land of Canaan. There is direction and wisdom here. In other words, Egypt was forbidden by divine precept, but the land of Promise remained open before Abaraham’s heir.  So, he thought it wise to go to Gerar. While there he prospered but also encountered conflict. The Philistines were quarreling with him and displacing him. They chased him from water, which was needed in the best of times but especially during famine.  But eventually we read in Genesis 26:22,
And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
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Remember that you are glorifying God, but in worship, God is doing something in you and your family that will last for all eternity.  Brothers and sisters, take heart, Christ is being formed in you.  Let me tell you what that means practically.  It means that God is shaping you and your family.  No, you will not be perfect this side of eternity, but from the inside out, you will grow more and more Christ-like – and so will your family.  

I love to see families walking through the doors of the auditorium on Lord’s Day morning.  I see each of them as a living stone coming together to form a living temple in order to worship the living God.  They were once like the dry bones of Ezekiel’s vision scattered about in the valley of the shadow of death.  But now, by God’s sovereign grace, they have spiritual muscle, saintly sinew, and a renewed and healthy heart beats within each breast.  These belong to Christ and they are glorious to behold.
However, I am under no false impressions.  I realize that these beautiful families have their mornings – even on the Lord’s Day.  In other words, there are some Lord’s Days that these same folk might describe their trip to church using the language of Ezekiel thirty-seven, “There was a noise, and behold a rattling; and the bones came together”!  Especially on mornings like these, it is important for us to keep a checklist of things we must not forget when we go to worship.  So, let me give you five crucial things to remember when going to church – no matter what the morning may be like.
First, remember that worship is not about you, but it calls for your full participation.  Likely, every believer would give this a vigorous “amen!”  On difficult mornings, the one thing you are thinking about is yourself and your family – and not all of it good.  For instance, on the way to church maybe your heart is still stewing about the kid’s bad behavior and perhaps their hearts are stewing about yours.  What a great opportunity to bring the gospel to bear on the life of the family!
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We have come to believe that we deserve to be happy and if our particular Bubble Tree makes us happy, well then, why should we plunge in headlong?[1]. So, perhaps the first thing we need to do is answer the question, why. In other words, why should we restrain ourselves? Proverbs 30:8-9 gives us the beginning of an answer.

As a believer, if I always entertained thoughts and engaged in deeds that are suitable to one who enjoys life in Christ, then self-control would not be an activity with which I would need to be concerned. However, undergoing regeneration does not mean that all my sinful thoughts and desires have been banished from the boundaries of my person. In this life there is an irreconcilable war waging within my members that won’t be fully and finally reconciled until my last day. I am a sinner still and therefore I must be occupied with controlling myself.  
A quick etymological search shows that control is likely made up of two words that mean something like against the wheel. The picture it creates is certainly apt.  In C. S. Lewis’s space adventure Perelandra, Ransom is transported to a planet of pure beauty. It was like a dream, he thought, this was the most “vivid dream I have ever had.” And then, there were the trees. Bubble Trees they were called. And when he touched one of them it burst on him and “drenched with what seemed (in that warm world) an ice-cold shower bath, and his nostrils filled with a sharp, shrill, exquisite scent that somehow brought to his mind the verse in Pope, “die of a rose in aromatic pain.” In other words, it was wonderful, and Ransom wanted more. But Ransom had always disliked those who encored at the opera – “that just spoils it” and now the principle had “far wider application.” In other words, Ransom practiced self-control.
Of course, Lewis is teaching us what he first learned from Paul. The Apostle was a man who knew how to abound and how to be brought low. He said in a verse often stripped of this context, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). 
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When confrontation is required, to fail to do so is not gentleness but cowardice.  Of course, even this confrontation needs to be done with gentleness. However, gentleness does not mean that we omit the hard things that need to be said, but it does mean that we say them for Christ’s sake and not our own.

What is it to be gentle? Everyone has an image in their mind’s eye or an idea. But it’s probably best to start with the One we ought to model and so ask, what did gentle look like on Jesus? Perhaps the first place we might go is Matthew 11:28-29. There Jesus tells us that he is “gentle and lowly in heart.” Gentle here means meek or humble.  We might say that to be gentle is not to think of oneself more highly than one ought to think.  B. B. Warfield once wrote, “No impression was left by his life-manifestation more deeply imprinted upon the consciousness of his followers than that of the noble humility of his bearing.” Jesus was humble.
What is more, he called others to be the same. In the Sermon on the Mount, we find that Jesus gave the qualifications for kingdom citizenship. One must arrive at a true sense of their spiritual poverty, mourn as a result of it, and humble themselves as they reach for a righteousness that is not their own. Humility is essential to the way that God leads us to Himself.
Paul, a man who was made aware of his jealousy by being bested by Stephen (Cf. Acts 6:8-9, 58; Romans 7:7-12), learned this lesson and taught it in Romans 12 saying, the transformation of the mind has to do with not thinking more of ourselves than we ought to think (Romans 12:1-4).
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