For
we maintain that a man is justified by faith
apart
from observing the law.
Romans 3:28
Still pondering the meaning of the Protestant
Reformation, the above text comes to mind. It is faith alone that ties a
person to God savingly. No wonder this came to Martin Luther as exceedingly
good news, since he is known to have said that he sometimes hated God. You see,
it is not your love for God that ties you to Him, or brings you into His
family, or gets you a seat at the Father's table, or moves Him to welcome you
in. It is your faith in His Son.
None of this is to belittle the great and first commandment
that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Dt 6; Mt 22), or
to minimize the sinfulness of hating the Lord. It is to distinguish correctly
the most significant biblical categories of Law and Gospel. That
we love God with all our being is a command, and command keeping does not bring
us to God. That is the point of the Bible verse above. God justifies a person
by faith alone without regard to one's command keeping. Astounding. Unbelievable
really, until He makes one believe. Salvation is gift, and that's why it is
gospel (good news).
No comments:
Post a Comment