Salvation
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16. Why is salvation obtained by faith and not by works? |
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I answer
this question of yours with the following words of Paul, who still speaks
even though he is dead: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should
boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Therefore, the reason is this: so that no one may
boast or glory before God. For if salvation were by works, those who receive
it could say to other people, ‘I have been saved because I deserved to be
saved: I made many sacrifices, I renounced to many things, I suffered many
things, so God saved me!’ But God, in His wisdom and righteousness, has
decreed that a man can be saved only by faith in Christ Jesus, that is,
freely. Christ Jesus, “became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30 – NKJV), which means that
Christ, through His atoning sacrifice, did everything that was necessary in
order to make us wise, to justify us, to sanctify us and to redeem us, in the
sight of God; and we, having believed on Him, became wise, just, holy and
were saved. What do we have to boast about before God then? Nothing, because
all this does not come from ourselves, but from God. We are exactly like our
father Abraham, that is, we don’t have anything to boast about, for Abraham
also was justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Therefore we
Christians can glory, or rather must glory only in the Lord, as it is
written: “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians |