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And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
--Micah 6:8--

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1.21.2005 | Those who have faith are blessed

So Paul writes to the Galatians, in his ringing statement of this truth: We are justified by faith alone; faith in Christ Jesus. Nothing more. Nothing less. Without disrespect to works, we understand that these are works of faith. Works arising from our faith. And not the other way around. From Galatians 3, Paul's words are direct. Some would say politically incorrect:

6 Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

10 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." 11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith. 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

But wait, some say, what about Jesus' brother James, in his letter, when he writes (James 2:17) "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." True enough. But one should not build a theology on this isolated statement. Works are the natural product of faith. Not the other way around. Jesus' very death on the Cross tells us that fallen mankind could never, ever, have been redeemed by works, by just living under the Law.

To believe otherwise is to claim He died in vain. Paul is correct. No amount of works can justify, if they come not from faith.

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: Name: Jack Rich; Location: Arlington, Virginia, United States

I grew up in the Bronx, New York, on the wrong side of the tracks. This is my way of getting even. A blog on things great and small, religion, politics, culture, national security, you name it.

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About this site and the author

Micah Welcome. My name is John Luke Rich, (very) struggling Christian. The focus here is Christianity in its many varieties, its fussing and feuding, how it impacts our lives and our society, with detours to consider it with other faiths (or lack thereof).

Call this blog my way of evangelizing on the internet.

Putting it differently, we're only here on this earth a short time. It's the rest of eternity that we should be most concerned about. Call it the care and feeding of our souls.

I was born Jewish, and born again in Christ Jesus over thirty years ago. First as a Roman Catholic; now a Calvinist by persuasion and a Baptist by denomination. But I'm hardly a poster boy for doctrinal rigidity.

I believe that Scripture is the rock on which all Christian churches must stand -- or sink if they are not so grounded. I believe that we are saved by faith, but hardly in a vacuum. That faith is a gift from God, through no agency on our part -- although we sometimes turn a deaf ear and choose to ignore God's knocking on the door.

To be Christian is to evangelize. Those who think it not their part to evangelize perhaps haven't truly understood what our Lord told us in Matthew 28. We must preach the Gospel as best we are able. Using words if necessary.

Though my faith waxes and wanes, it never seems to go away. Sometimes I wish it would, to give me some peace of mind. But then, Jesus never said that walking with Him was going to be easy...

Final note: I also blog as Jack Rich on cultural, political and other things over at Wrong Side of the Tracks

Thanks for stopping by.