By Suzanne Benner
Also available as a podcast at: http://thelife.com/blogs/experience/kindle/2008/03/18/grace-alone-3/
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"I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21)
This verse says it all. Jesus died for our sins or He died for nothing; either we are saved by grace or we are saved by works.
It can’t be both because if we depend on works we nullify God’s grace.
Thus Easter is a good time to remember the foundation of our faith.
Early Christians had to come to the realization that their Jewish heritage of following the law, while valuable, could not save them.
“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.” (Galatians 2: 15, 16)
In the same way, those of us who have grown up in a Christian family or culture need to acknowledge that we aren’t saved by God’s grace plus some good deeds of our own.
“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” (Romans 3:28)
When people add good works as a criterion for salvation, they indirectly say that Jesus’ death on the cross wasn’t enough. That is not what the Bible teaches.
It is God’s grace alone, awe inspiring, costly grace, by which we are saved.
~Thank you God for Your amazing grace that reaches to me. Help me to stand firm on the truth taught in Your Word, that it is by grace alone that I am able to come into relationship with You and be saved from eternal separation from You.
Questions: Why is it difficult to accept that we are justified by grace alone? How can we graciously respond to those who believe good works can make themselves right with God?
About the Author: http://thelife.com/experience/devotionalformen/authors/suzanne-benner/
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