Posted on by user

Daily Bible Verses for 8/17/2016

Justified by Faith Alone – (Galatians 2:16)

Bible Verse
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Reading Notes
As Christians our salvation is guaranteed by our faith in Christ alone and not by the works that we do. In other words, if we believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified for our sins, died and was buried and on the third day rose again, then we are saved. Believing that Jesus is fully God and fully man, and accept Him as our Lord and Savior then we have eternal life. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation and if we argue that works is required for salvation, then we are denying the work of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary. Our works should be the result of the joy in our hearts because of what Jesus gave to us. We must remember good works do not save us, rather, they are the product of a life committed to Christ and the new spirit, which we received as part of our salvation.

Despite our fallen nature, Jesus first loved us and saved us from our sins, there is nothing we can do to add to that gift. Once we are saved, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who begins a work in our hearts to change us from the inside out. It’s from the work of the Holy Spirit and the study of God’s word that we begin to grow in Christ. As we do so, we begin to witness changes in our perspective on things. Our discernment increases and our outlook on life and the world in general changes as we recognize God’s presence in the day to day world around us. These stem from character changes brought about by God’s work in our hearts and minds. As this happens our love for Jesus grows stronger, and it’s from our hearts that true good works pleasing to God sprout. It’s the love we now have for Jesus and the things of God, which naturally produce works that please God and help those around us.