NOTHING TO OFFER

 

OCTOBER 25, 2023

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.”

 

2 Corinthians 5:21

21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

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 2:8-9

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

 

“When I was a monk, I didn’t accomplish anything through fasting and prayer. This is because neither I nor any of the other monks acknowledged our sin and lack of reverence for God. We didn’t understand original sin, and we didn’t realize that unbelief is also sin. We believed and taught that no matter what people do, they can never be certain of God’s kindness and mercy. As a result, the more I ran after and looked for Christ, the more he eluded me.

When I realized that it was only through God’s grace that I would be enlightened and receive eternal life, I worked diligently to understand what Paul said in Romans 1:17—a righteousness from God is revealed in the gospel.

Finally, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I took a closer look at what the prophet Habakkuk said: “The righteous will live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). From this I concluded that life must come from faith. In other words, a person becomes righteous by faith. That opened the whole Bible—even heaven itself—to me!”

 

- Martin Luther -

 

Faith Alone! 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”. 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 (Saving) faith in Jesus Christ. As Ephesians 2:8 points out, we are saved by grace (Alone) “through faith” (Alone) In contrast to the church’s teaching of his time, Martin Luther rediscovered that salvation is by grace and is received through faith. “Grace wrapped in faith is the gift of God.” (K. Selles)

Instead of seeing faith as something required to receive grace, Luther found that faith is a channel of God’s grace. In other words, even the faith we need in order to acknowledge Jesus as Lord comes graciously from God through the power of the Holy Spirit. If it were any other way, we could boast: “I found Jesus!”

Paul emphasizes in the text above that no boasting is allowed. 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.