Grace through faith

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” – Romans 4.16-18

Two words that come up all the time when we talk about salvation are grace and faith. We are saved by God’s grace only through the faith He empowers us to exercise. It is all of Him and none of us.

‘For by grace you are saved though faith…’

I am reminded of the verse in Ephesians that says ‘for by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. It is not of works so that no one can boast.’

Paul wants to make dead sure that we lose any idea that works have anything to do with our justication.

We could not be justified apart from grace. That grace in inaccessible apart from faith. Neither grace nor faith are things we can work up on our own. Both are the gist of God.

He did all of this despite the fact that we were enemies of God in our sin.

Its no wonder we sing about ‘Amazing Grace.’