Our scripture this morning is Romans 1:16-17 (NLT).
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
Paul quotes scripture from the prophet Habakkuk: “But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God” (Habakkuk 2:4). Later in this letter he writes “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith” (Romans 4:3). Paul is telling us plainly that our faith in God is the foundation of our salvation.
Martin Luther taught this vigorously later on, that we are saved by faith through grace. Christ’s sacrifice for us is a gift, but we must accept it in repentance and make it a part of our lives. Nothing we can do here on earth can save us.
Our works, as mentioned in James 2:17, are a response to the gift we have received, not labor that is counted toward eternity. Nothing we do “earns” us a way to salvation. However, the truest measure of faith is how we live it out in the world.
Loving Lord, help us to see Your face in all of Your children, and go in faith to do the work You have called us to accomplish. Amen.
