Justified By Faith
In the book of Romans, the first four chapters speak about the gospel being a message about the righteousness of God. A righteousness people have because of their faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul describes the problem that everyone deserves to die because we all fall short of what God expects from us.
And then Paul describes the solution to this problem. That the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ, our lord. It is important to note that this is a gift, not the result of keeping the law or doing anything else. It is 100% a gift from God, or his grace. Paul gave us the example of Abraham. He was declared righteous based on faith, even before the law was given. Salvation is by Grace and Faith, not by any works of the law.
Rom 4:2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.
Rom 4:3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
In Rom 4: 2-3 we can see that Abraham was not justified by anything that he had done. It is only because Abraham believed what God has said and this was credited to him as righteousness.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
Rom 1:17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
In the letter from Paul recorded in Rom1:16-17, Paul describes that in the gospel. God revealed righteousness. And this righteousness is by Faith from first to last, it was written for us to believe the righteous will live by faith. Salvation is by faith alone.
Rom 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
5:2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
5:3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
5:4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Then in Rom 5:1-6 we come to understand the enormity of what Paul is talking about. First, he tells us we are justified before God only because of our faith in Jesus Christ. We can now boast about our hope of glory, our faith, our Lord and all He has done for us and will continue to do. Then comes the part of this letter that is a little more difficult to accept, but accept it, we must. We must expect to experience suffering or persecution because of our faith.
But when these troubles come to us, we must remain loyal to our God and not conform to the ways of this world. From verses 3-6, we can see the benefits of being persecuted, but remaining faithful to God. It will build us up to being what God wants from us.
We will become patient, grow in character, and our hope for a future with God will increase. We now have the Holy Spirit in us to guide and help us in all we do. In verse six. We see this has happened for us at just the right time. God knows exactly when you are ready to be drawn to Jesus Christ.
Many people are today saying there are different ways to God. It does not matter if you are Muslim, or any other religion that does not accept Jesus Christ as their Lord. As long as you are a good person, God will forgive you, and God will accept you into His Kingdom. Unfortunately, this includes some of the largest religious organisations in the world.
But what does the “word of God”, the Holy Bible, say on this matter?
Joh_14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
When we are given a choice whether to believe what God has to say, or man. There really is no choice. The Bible must always be our guide in life, and we must always believe what we read in the Holy Scriptures. Since Jesus Christ is the only way to The Father and His Kingdom. Follow Him.
For more information about having faith, you can download my book “Having Faith In God” from the Amazon book store.
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