Someone objects: "All this talk concerning justification by grace through faith is largely theoretical. When we talk to real people, they want to know what they must do to be saved." I respond that nothing us more practical than the reality that God saves us, apart from anything we deserve, attain or accomplish, for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ and on the basis of Jesus' finished work of redemption. (Let's listen in on the following conversation in progress.) * * * Q. How, then, can I relate to this saving work which God has accomplished, if nothing I do is any part of it? A. Because … [Read more...]

Someone objects: "All this talk concerning justification by grace through faith is largely theoretical. When we talk to real people, they want to know what they must do to be saved." I respond that nothing us more practical than the reality that God saves us, apart from anything we deserve, attain or accomplish, for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ and on the basis of Jesus' finished work of redemption. (Let's listen in on the following conversation in progress.) * * * Q. Can I perfect myself morally, or perform enough good deeds, or obey God's commands so well, that God will look at my … [Read more...]

I grew up in the 1950's in the Deep South and enjoyed a largely-idyllic childhood that now seems a world apart. In the summertime, we played yard softball, explored in the woods and swam in the creek. Every night for two special weeks, we also attended a "Gospel Meeting" conducted under a big tent with sawdust floors. There we sang from floppy, paperback Stamps-Baxter hymnals and fought back the heat with cardboard hand fans usually bearing the advertisement of a local funeral home. Heaven intersected earth in those meetings as visiting evangelists warned of inevitable death and imminent … [Read more...]

For Christians other than Lutherans and Calvinists, the four gospel slogans: "grace alone, Jesus Christ alone, faith alone, Scripture alone," might sound less than obvious. The third expression ("faith alone") sometimes even provokes a vigorous denial. But properly understood, the four Reformation mottos well summarize biblical teaching about our salvation. How would you complete each of the following sentences? * * * 1. God saves us as a matter of: (a) grace alone (wholly a gift)? (b) grace partially (somewhat a gift; somewhat merited)? or (c) grace not at all (wholly merited)? We … [Read more...]

  "I hear much about the doctrine of grace," writes a gracEmail subscriber. "Can you give me a good definition of what it really means?" * * * We must never think of divine grace as some impersonal, abstract reality which can be defined and discussed apart from a relationship between two or more real living persons. Grace is nothing less than the undeserved mercy and kindness which the living God pours out freely on all who entrust themselves to him as known through his Son Jesus Christ, surrendering to the Father their sins, their merits and their lives for his disposition and … [Read more...]

There is one God, who created all that exists. He is YHWH and Elohim of the Hebrew Scriptures -- the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. From the beginning, God made humankind for constant loving fellowship with himself. However, the first human being, Adam (both a proper name and the Hebrew word for humankind), chose autonomy over creaturely dependence and expressed that choice by disobeying. This act of human rebellion brought sin, death and ruin into the world, and our willingness to sin has given them a hospitable welcome. Our sins stand between us and the Creator, and we cannot remove them … [Read more...]

  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Perpetual love. The God who gave his only Son will not forsake us halfway to heaven. On this we have Jesus' own promise: "This is the will of him who sent me, that of all that he has given me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day" (John 6:39). Because God is faithful, we can be confident. Indeed, God's faithfulness is the only basis we ever have to be confident of our salvation. Jesus' own resurrection shines as an eternal … [Read more...]

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Passionate love. God so loved that he gave his "one and only" Son. The Greek word behind this descriptive phrase literally means "unique" -- one of a kind. The lavishness of God's love is no less remarkable simply because we cannot understand the mystery it involves. God is the Great Initiator who loved us first. We can never get "one up" on him. The most we can ever do is to love God in return (1 John 4:9-10). Personal love. God so loved the … [Read more...]

In Romans 4, the Apostle Paul explains the nature of saving faith, using Abraham as the model -- for believers from all nations and times --of one whose faith was "reckoned as righteousness." He concludes this stirring discourse in verse 25 with two ringing affirmations about Jesus Christ. Jesus "was delivered up because of our transgressions and was raised because of our justification" (NASB). These truths so startle and overwhelm us that most Bible versions do not translate the verse literally, instead substituting the weaker, more colorless preposition "for" in both phrases. These are … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber asks whether someone who confesses Jesus as Lord and believes that God raised him from the dead really enjoys salvation as Romans 10:9-10 seems to say, or whether believing and confessing merely move a person down the road toward salvation pending further acts of obedience. * * * In Romans 10:9-10, Paul states the grand conclusion to the explanation of salvation he has just set out in verses 5-8 preceding. Here the apostle contrasts two ways of seeking divine approval. The first way seeks it based on one's personal success in obeying God's laws. Paul refers to this as … [Read more...]