Grace to You :: Unleashing God's Truth, One Verse at a Time

Strength for Today (10-25-2014)

The Heart of the Gospel

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law (Romans 3:28).
Being dead in sin, man is unable to save himself.
As weve seen this month, the most serious problem facing the human race is not the destruction of
the environment, crime, or the threat of nuclear war; it is sin. The former threaten us with physical
death, the latter with spiritual death. Thus it follows that the greatest news ever known is that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). Hell may be the destiny of man, but that is
not the desire of Gods heart. Peter notes that the Lord is patient . . . not wishing for any to perish but
for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Because of His great love for sinners, God sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John
4:10). Since Gods gracious gift of salvation is appropriated by faith, it is not surprising that
justification by faith is the theme of Romans (see Rom. 1:16-17). The apostle shows that all men are
guilty before God and in need of justification (chaps. 12). He then describes justification in chapters
34. Then he presents the results of justification in chapters 56.
Two key words are associated with justification in Romans: grace and faith. In Romans 3:24 Paul
declares that we are justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,
while in verse 28 he says, For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the
Law. The promise of justification to Abraham, Paul notes, was by faith, that it might be in
accordance with grace (Rom. 4:16). Faith and grace are both linked to justification again in Romans
5:1-2: Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we
stand.
In this day of doctrinal vacillation, I pray that you will stand firm in your commitment to the doctrine of
justification by grace alone through faith alone.
Suggestions for Prayer
Thank God for His mercy and love in saving you when you were dead in sin (Eph. 2:4-5).

 Ask Him to help you walk worthy of your salvation (Eph. 4:1).
For Further Study
Read Romans 16, noting what it teaches about mans lost state and Gods gracious provision of
salvation.

From Strength for Today by John MacArthur Copyright 1997. Used by permission of Crossway
Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.

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