"It's in the Book"
"Faith"
Why does God save us by faith alone? (1) Faith eliminates the pride of human effort, because faith is not a deed that we do. (2) Faith exalts what God has done, not what we do. (3) Faith admits that we can't keep the law or measure up to God's standards--we need help. (4) Faith is based on our relationship with God, not our performance for God.--
Rom 3:28 (
NLT Life Application Study Notes)
Rom 3:20 - For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. (
NLT)
Rom 3:21-22 - But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.
22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. (
NLT)
Rom 3:23-26 - For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.
24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,
26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. (
NLT)
What happened to people who lived before Christ came and died for sin? If God condemned sinners, was he being unfair? If he saved the righteous, was Christ's sacrifice unnecessary? Paul shows that God forgave all human sin at the cross of Jesus. Old Testament believers looked forward in faith to Christ's coming and were saved, even though they did not know Jesus' name or the details of his earthly life. Unlike the Old Testament believers, you know about the God who loved the world so much that he gave his own Son (
John 3:16). Have you put your trust in him?--
Rom 3:25, 26 (
NLT Life Application Study Notes)
Rom 3:27-28 - Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.
28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.(
NLT)
Rom 3:29 - After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is.
30 There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.
31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.(
NLT)
Rom 4:1 - Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God?
2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God's way.
3 For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." (
NLT)
Rom 4:4 - When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.
5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.
6 David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it. (
NLT)
Love you,
