GRACE WRAPPED IN FAITH

 OCTOBER 26, 2022

Romans 1:16-17

16For 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. 17For 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.”

Philippians 3:9

9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

Ephesians 2:4-9

 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Faith Alone! 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God ...”

The word faith can have several meanings. Sometimes it means simple concurrence to a fact or an idea as true. Sometimes it refers to a body of religious teaching, as in “The Faith”. In the Bible it can sometimes refer to a special amount of faith, as in “a faith that can move mountains” (1 Corinthians 13:2). But the most common use of faith refers to an absolute trust or reliance on something or someone.

For Jesus followers, that sense of trust or dependence points to the liberating faith in Jesus Christ. As Ephesians 2:8 points out, we are saved by grace (Alone) “through faith” (Alone) Martin Luther rediscovered that salvation is by grace and is received through faith. “Grace wrapped in faith is the gift of God.” (K. Selles)

Paul emphasizes in the text above that God finds us. Even the faith to accept Jesus comes through grace alone. Indeed, grace alone and faith alone are like two sides of the same coin.

Paul is not ashamed of the gospel, for the gospel is for all people. He makes the point that the gospel came not only to the Jews, but also to the non-Jews. When God told Abraham one night to look up and number the stars, for that is the number of his offspring (Gen. 15:5), God revealed that He had a plan to provide salvation for all the nations of the earth. Paul can declare that in Christ Jesus, Abraham’s offspring, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:28) This truth gives hope to everyone created in the image of God, regardless of where they were born, who their parents are, how they have lived, or what they have done. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

LET US PRAY

In your grace and mercy, O God, you have provided us not only with a Savior but also with the faith to trust in him for our salvation and our lives. Thank you. Amen.