God Justifies Through FAITH

"For we maintain that a man 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 indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law." -Romans 3:28-31

These few verses bring a lot of hope to those of us that live in the Western world... If justification of sins came through the Jewish Law... we would have no means of justification. However, since faith is the concept by which we are saved, there is hope for those who are not of Jewish origin and have not grown up in Jewish society.

I can tell you right now, without hesitation, that we would all be in trouble if we were justified through the Law! There is no doubt in my mind that we would all fail, miserably, in our attempts to uphold the Law. You see, as we've studied in the past, the purpose of the Law is to reveal sin. It convicts, by it's higher standard, the fallen nature that resides within us. Even in Jewish society the Pharisees and Sadducees would uphold the Letter of the Law, but not necessarily the Spirit of the Law.

What do I mean? I mean that they would outwardly comply with what the Law commanded them to do, but would not do it out of a heart that desired to please God... they were more concerned with their appearance before men. Actually, when Christ would call them hypocrites, a term that literally means "one who wears a mask," He was specifically calling them out on their false appearances. Rather than seeing the Law as a basic guideline of life, with plenty of room for upward progress, it was often viewed by many as the highest standard to be reached and most would try to get by with the bare minimum that was required of them.

All of that to say, "Thanks be to God that it is through faith in Christ by which we are saved!" And not only that it is Christ who saves, but that He is the Savior of the Gentiles as well as the Jews! This is really the only point I have to make this morning...

I am so thankful that faith in Christ is the prerequisite for a relationship with God the Father. If we were measured according to the Law then I would fall so short that there would be no hope of recovering... But God justifies us by faith!

What is this faith? Perhaps you are very familiar with what it means to have faith in Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior... but then again, perhaps not. If this is a new concept for you and you are curious to learn more, please e-mail me at the e-mail address below. Faith in Christ is the total dependence on His death, burial, and resurrection, as your only hope for reconciliation with God. It is the understanding that we are not, and could never be, good enough for God, in our own strength. Faith is the confession of sins, repenting (turning away) from your sin and no longer living in it, and trusting Jesus' blood to pay God's demanded penalty for your sins. This is a very simplistic, introductory look at what it means to have faith in Christ. For a more in-depth understanding, please e-mail me with specific questions or talk to a pastor or elder in your church or a trusted Christian friend. Ask them to show you, in Scripture, what faith looks like.

I don't want to make this blog so long today that we lose the simplicity of this concept of faith being our only hope of redemption.

Well... I'm probably going to have to jump back into this same thought, the next time around, because I'm out of time this morning!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .