Grace, Faith & Life

Saved by Faith ALONEThe gospel is not unconditional. God has made salvation SOLELY conditioned upon FAITH in Christ. (By the way, this statement is in violation of  Canon 9 of the Catholic Council of Trent, which declares those who take this position are anathema from the Catholic Church. As such those who believe the gospel in accordance with the Bible cannot identify themselves with the Catholic Church) The verse that follows Rom 4:5 states this, “David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.'” Rom 4:6-8Faith in Christ is the sole condition for salvation. “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 And to the Christians in Ephesus Paul wrote, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Eph 2:8,9 And “because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions— it is by grace you have been saved.” Eph 2:4,5Salvation is “free” in that there are no works one must do to be saved. Faith is the sole prerequisite. But faith is not a work, it is an attitude. The Bible very clearly indicates faith is not a work in saying, “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about— but not before God. What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts (actually the word “believe” is used in the Greek) God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.” Rom 4:2-5 Thus faith, while a condition for salvation, is not categorized as a work. Faith is an attitude, and like all attitudes, it’s not something one gets paid for.

Source: The Gospel Series