For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.” vs. 28
Romans 3:25-28
Paul is clear that all are made righteous by grace, the free gift of God in Christ Jesus, but he also wrote that each person is made righteous by faith, and sometimes this confuses us. We’re forever trying to remember if justification is by grace through faith or by faith through grace. It’s hard to keep it straight, and it’s good to know that our phrasing really doesn’t make any difference to God. But if we’re really interested in such things it’s helpful to remember that grace is what God does, and faith is what we do. So of course salvation is by grace–it’s God’s gift. And faith is our trust in what God has done! Without faith we won’t believe that we are justified by grace. So both grace and faith are important, and really, both are gifts! But some folks muddy the waters a bit by implying that faith is a work. They say things like, “Unless you believe that Jesus is your personal savior you can’t be saved.” And that’s a misrepresentation of the gospel. We have salvation by grace, period! Our lack of faith can’t negate that! There are all kinds of people with no faith–and they too have salvation. Now it’s sad that they have no faith, we often wish they did believe–but we should never believe that God’s grace does not extend to them. After all, it is a gift!
Thought for the Day: When did I start trusting in GRACE?
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