Faith vs. Works Continued

In Paul's letter to the Roman, he provides a masterful outline of the dynamics of salvation, beginning with a vivid description of the human condition, he clearly explains how God's provision of salvation is something that he has graciously done for us. There is nothing we can do to merit his favor. All we can do is trust in what he has done for us.

I believe Paul's main objective in Romans was do deal with growing animosity between Gentile and Jewish believers, but that is another story.

Paul's explanation of the effectiveness God's salvation is so extreme that, in chapter 6, he deals with two rhetorical questions: The first, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?" (6:1) And the second, "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?" (6:15)

It is necessary for him to deal with these questions because they are each possible logical conclusions to God's salvation. Yeshua's death on our behalf has truly freed us from condemnation. Since he died for our sins, we no longer face God's judgment. The penalty for our wrongs have been paid in full. It might be that there were people in Rome who, having accepted this truth, concluded that we can therefore live any way we please. It is important to understand that the logic is reasonable, because there is no longer any legal claim against us.

However the proposed conclusions are still wrong. Paul's answers to both questions are the same: "By no mean!", which in the original is the strongest of negative statements. These so-called logical conclusions are about as off base as could be. The only fitting response to God's grace is to live godly lives. To squander our freedom by living for ourselves is to reject the freedom we claim to have.

The vastness of God's grace is the foundation of living the kind of life that could not be lived without it. The cloud of condemnation had to be broken in order for us to live godly lives. Even in our current imperfection, all guilt is removed. We have nothing to prove, since God has forgiven us completely. We can now celebrate our freedom by living freely, which is the same as living godly lives.