Through Faith In Jesus Christ
BRD REFLECTIONS
Romans 3:21-31 and Psalm 124 (NIV)
(Ong Kian Min, Chairperson, Church Governance & Risk)
READ:
Romans 3:21-31; Psalm 124 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And the punishment for sin is death.
A judge who is only “just” would simply send every guilty sinner to hell. Someone who only wants to be merciful and be the justifier would lightly pass over sin and simply tell every guilty sinner, “You are pardoned. You are declared ‘not guilty.’”
But our God is both just and merciful. And, in His plan to save us, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement” (v25). At the cross, God demonstrated His mercy by providing THE sacrifice which His justice required, and offering us the justification (i.e. the legal verdict of “not guilty”), while remaining completely true to His character of being just (i.e. in requiring a sacrifice for sin) because the righteous penalty for sin had been paid at the cross.
Paul tells us that this saving righteousness “is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (v22). There is no other way to obtain this righteousness. This righteousness is not earned through our obedience to the law nor earned by our faith. We receive this righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ.
Faith is purely the means through which the gift is given. Faith is not ‘trusting’ or ‘expecting’ God to do something. Faith is believing in the character of God, in God’s Word that Jesus Christ is His Son, and that Jesus Christ, by His death on the cross and by His blood, was a substitute sacrifice for us. After salvation through faith, the life of trust begins … trust is looking forward to what God will do.
APPLY:
I have sinned and have fallen short; but I can be justified freely by His grace. This is the essence of God’s plan of salvation in Jesus Christ for me. It is a universal offer made to everyone who will believe to be justified freely by His grace. This is the New Covenant of justification the Apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 3:21 where salvation is offered apart from the law, apart from our performance of the law, apart from our own good works, apart from our own merits whatsoever.
So, now that I have the assurance that I have been saved through true faith alone, do I do nothing at all? I constantly remind myself that I am not saved just by a feigned or dead faith. For my faith to be true, it must not just be about passively agreeing with certain facts or believing God’s Word, but it must direct my mind and will to be aligned and in agreement with God.
DO:
In other words, although I am not declared righteous in God’s sight by what I do and say (Romans 3:20), but if I have indeed attained righteousness before God and am justified, it must surely outwardly show in my works and deeds. Otherwise, I will just become a hypocrite, who vainly boast that I have faith and that I am saved, but cannot and do not prove my faith and my attained righteousness by my works.
I must always remember that I have been redeemed; Jesus bought me for a price and therefore, I belong to Him. Paul expressed this thought in another letter: “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20).
PRAY:
Heavenly Father, thank You for being such a loving and merciful God that You sent Your only son to die for me. Although I was totally unworthy, yet in Your mercy and grace You stooped down to me and lifted me out of bondage and sin, and showered me with Your grace and favour. Help me to glorify You in all that I do. And use me in Your way and in Your time to Your praise and glory, in Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!
