majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Galatians 2:20-21,
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ
lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the
grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law,
Christ died for nothing!"
Paul claimed he lived by faith in Jesus Christ. He points out that if
righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for
nothing. Earlier, in verses 15-16 he said, "We who are Jews by birth
and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by
observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put
our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ
and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will
be justified."
For Paul, it is by faith and faith alone that we are saved. In Romans
3:21-22 he says, "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law,
has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This
righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who
believe." In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read, "For it is by grace you have
been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift
of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
Paul recognized that because faith is the determining issue God
decided beforehand for who will be saved, he saw it as a manifestation
of God's great and wonderful grace. Paul said in Romans 4:16,
"Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and
may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are
of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is
the father of us all."
How wonderful God has decided to make a place at his table for all of
us who will embrace him in faith! Outside of special circumstances,
all have the capacity for faith! If salvation were dependent upon my
performance, as in law-keeping, I would never have made it. From this
wonderful truth I realize that my salvation is not dependant on how
morally upright I am, how diligent I may be in exercising spiritual
disciplines, who I know or where I go. I does not depend on what any
other person might think of me, or my past failures and shortcomings.
It doesn't depend on what church I attend or what "distinctive" flavor
of worship I support and promote. It doesn't even depend on which
hymnal I am using on Sunday morning!
My salvation depends only and entirely on my trust in Jesus Christ who
took my punishment on himself on that cross! This is my theme of
worship for today!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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