|
"How then can man be righteous before God?"
Possibly the greatest deception ever spoken is the lie that men and women are capable of making themselves acceptable to God. Not by good works, good intentions, rituals, religious exercises, or anything else that man can think to do can he bring himself to God. Apart from faith, biblical salvation becomes an impossibility. Salvation is of the Lord, and humanity has no contribution in a genuine salvation experience.
*Salvation is not by mans merit - it is by God's mercy.
*Salvation is not by mans goodness - it is by God's grace.
*Salvation is not a result of human religion - it is a result of divine relationship.
*Salvation is not the result of religious exercise - it is the result of a relational encounter with Jesus Christ founded on faith.
God views our faith as righteousness. However, it is also important to note that faith is not a human work - it is a divine gift. It is God's grace that makes faith possible.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
|
