Archives for February 2013

Many who consider themselves zealous Christians today are wearing themselves out trying to obey God's commandments in hopes they will obtain his favor. Yet their zeal is misguided (Rom. 10:2), for they seek the divine acquital, "not by faith but as though it were by works" (Rom. 9:32). The way to God's approval is altogether different, Paul affirms. That way is to trust God. To illustrate this, Paul borrows and adapts the very language from Moses which he had just used to explain "righteousness-by-trying." We do not need to go up to heaven to bring down a Savior, Paul says, for the Savior … [Read more...]

"Christ is the end of the law for righteousness," writes Paul, "to everyone who believes" (Rom. 10:4). The word translated "end" here is telos, and it means "goal" rather than "termination." Many Jews in Paul's day tried to keep God's laws so well and so thoroughly that God would examine their record of obedience and pronounce them "righteous" (Rom. 9:31-32; 10:2-3). Their goal to be found right with God was commendable but they were ignorant of the way to attain it. Their approach would never work, according to Paul, because no human besides Jesus ever obeys God's laws perfectly. The … [Read more...]

An independent Christian church minister in Missouri writes: "Jesus paid it all on Golgotha, plus or minus nothing. It is finished! The cross of Christ was and always will be enough." * * * Amen and hallelujah! As the apostle Paul put it in Romans 4:16, God's promised salvation "is by FAITH [we can only trust God for it], that it might be in accordance with GRACE [for it is his undeserved gift], that the promise might be CERTAIN [since it depends only on God for its fulfillment] to all those who are of the faith of Abraham." The alternative to this is to say that salvation depends on us … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber complains that I am "cluttering up" his email with my "grace-only teaching." * * * I do not use the term "grace only," but I am glad that you did, because it states an important truth. That truth is that we sinners cannot, through any amount of effort, obedience, good intentions or good works, ingratiate ourselves to God, place him in our debt, or create a situation which requires God to treat us well because of something we did first (Rom. 11:33-36). In this most elementary sense, we are set right with God on the basis of "grace only" -- both now and in the Day of … [Read more...]

A brother in the Northeast asks, "I know that God forgives us again and again and that his forgiveness is forever. But I am sometimes concerned that we presume on God by taking his forgiveness for granted. That seems to me to be cheap grace which fails to appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus." * * * We can never overstate the truth that God loves and forgives sinners, receiving them as his dear children -- sinners who do not deserve any of these benefits, and who will always be totally indebted to God for his undeserved mercy and gratuitous kindness. We neither earn, provoke nor entice God's … [Read more...]

A friend in the Southeast recently sent a private post expressing concern at a sermon he had heard in which the preacher quoted Galatians 2:20 and insisted that the work of salvation involves two crosses -- Jesus on his, and us on ours. * * * The climax of Galatians 2 comes in verse 21: "I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness (right standing with God) comes through law (our ability to obey God adequately to merit his favor), then Christ died needlessly." We have often missed the point of Galatians (and of Romans) when we read "law" (most of the time the Greek does not … [Read more...]

A friend in the Southeast recently sent a private post expressing concern at a sermon he had heard in which the preacher quoted Galatians 2:20 and insisted that the work of salvation involves two crosses -- Jesus on his, and us on ours. * * * Those Scriptures are very important which speak of our participation in Christ's cross, sufferings and death (Rom. 6:2ff; Gal. 2:20, Eph. 2:1ff; Phil. 3:10). However, we may be sure that the good apostle would be horrified to hear that any of us thought he was suggesting that we needed to supplement or complete what Jesus has done already, as the basis … [Read more...]

A gracEmail reader asks, "Since no one is justified by the law" (Gal. 3:11), how can Paul say that he was "blameless" according to the law? (Phil. 3:6)" * * * When Paul wrote that he had been "blameless" according to the Law, I believe he was stating the matter the way it had appeared to him before he came to know Jesus Christ. Many of us who grew up in what we considered "the true church" (and several different churches have claimed that distinction) can relate to Paul's experience. We knew we were sinners because the Bible said so, but our doctrine allowed us to ignore that fact and claim … [Read more...]

A gracEmail reader asks, "Since no one is justified by the law" (Gal. 3:11), how can Paul say that he was "blameless" according to the law? (Phil. 3:6)" * * * All God's commandments are "holy, just and good" (Rom. 7:12), but God never intended law to be a means of forgiveness or the means for obtaining divine approval. When he gave the Law to Israel at Sinai, after rescuing them from Egyptian slavery, God called Israel to love him with all their hearts, in response to his gracious acts of salvation, and to keep his Law, graciously-given as the Creator- Redeemer's loving guide and protection, … [Read more...]

Someone writes: "I believe that salvation is totally God's gift of grace, and that we do not merit or earn any of it. However, I think we may truly say that baptism is the condition on which a person receives salvation as a free gift." * * * If Christ accomplished salvation rather than merely made it a possibility, does that mean that every human being without exception will finally be saved. No, for Scripture and experience alike reveal that some individuals reject God's gift of salvation, although it is freely and genuinely offered to all. It is possible to love darkness rather than light … [Read more...]