If, in our preaching, teaching, and evangelism, we declare that Jesus only came to forgive our sins, we are missing a greater and more profound reality of the gospel. Jesus Christ, both fully God and fully man, came not only for the purpose of redemption but of adoption. He came not only to...
As we come to the conclusion of the third chapter of Galatians, Paul summarizes his previous arguments into one glorious and sweeping statement: “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is...
“And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Romans 4:5). The story of the repentant thief who was crucified alongside of our Lord provides one of the most stunning pictures of sovereign grace, human inability, regeneration, and justification...
Just in case the Galatians were still unclear of what Paul had been arguing for in the last few verses – that the entirety of our salvation is by faith in Christ alone, who became a curse for us “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the...
To further bolster his argument against salvation by works, Paul brilliantly highlights the faith demonstrated by Abraham before he was circumcised. In so doing, he points out that “it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7); the blessing of Abraham is in fact available for Jew...
Evangelical Christians today boldly profess that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law (Rom 3:28). Yet many believe that in order to keep our right standing before God, to remain “saved”, we must continue in faithful obedience as if it is our own law-keeping and good works that merits righteousness before...
Having made the profound and astonishing claim that “by works of the law no one will be justified” (Gal. 2:16), Paul now moves into a further explanation of the doctrine of justification by faith. What exactly is the relationship between the gospel, the good news of salvation by grace alone through faith in Christ...
The doctrine of justification by faith is at the very heart of the Christian gospel. Paul lays this out clearly in his epistle to the Romans: “None is righteous, no, not one. . . Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law,...
When Peter began to separate from associating with the Gentiles, for fear of the Jews, Paul opposed him to his face. Though Peter knew that salvation had come to the Gentiles, that justification came by faith and not works, he nevertheless was acting in a way that showed the gospel...