Faith Tidbit #26

Obeying the Ten Commandments, important as they are, cannot save us from sin, death, or futile living. (We're incapable of complete obedience to the commandments anyway.) In the New Testament, the Ephesian Christians were reminded that, “by grace you have been saved through faith” in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ and not obedience to the Ten Commandments is what saves us. Even before Jesus came into our world, God's people were saved not by adherence to the law, but by their faith in God and God's promises. Genesis says that Abraham "believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness." In other words, Abraham had a right relationship because he adhered perfectly to God's law. (In fact, Genesis makes clear that on more than one occasion, Abraham deliberately acted in ways contrary to God's law.) But, Abraham received the gift of a right relationship with God, the meaning of righteousness, by trusting in God. The Bible says that when we receive God's righteousness as undeserved gift, God justifies us.