The BIG Picture (Shorts)

QUESTION: Christians, did Paul teach that salvation is through faith in Messiah, not through works of the law as a means of justification while also emphasizing obedience as in upholding the Law which remains essential to faith: Romans 3:31 & Galatians 2:16? ANSWER: Paul’s teaching about salvation and the Law is simple, but it is also very important to understand clearly. He says in Galatians 2:16, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” This means that no one can be made right with God by keeping the Law. Salvation is not earned by what we do. It is given freely when we put our trust in Jesus Christ. Justification—being declared righteous before God—is by faith alone. But Paul also says in Romans 3:31, “Do we then make void the law through fait...

Romans 5 is a transitional chapter, moving us out of Romans 1 to 4, concerning justification, and into Romans 6 to 8, which leads us into the beginning of sanctification.  Word statistics in the KJV confirms this fact because if you search for all variants of justification, there are 29 entries total in Paul's epistles. Out of those 29, 25 are in Romans and Galatians, and 4 entries in his other epistles. In Romans, 15 of the 17 matches are in chapters 1 to 5 and 2 in Romans 8. There are 8 in Galatians, because this letter is to do with correcting wayward understanding of salvation: see Gal.3:2-3.  My point is that we are educated in the understanding of justification in Romans, and then corrected in its practice in Galatians. So, barring these two books, Paul never teaches directly about justification again, because a believer, even by the end of Romans 5, should have settled on the truth of justification and moved past this serving of 'milk', into 'meatier' truths ...

The blood shed by Jesus Christ on the cross was the pinnacle of sacrifice and love and accomplished our redemption through the forgiveness of sins. Romans 4:25 confirms this absolute fact, Rom 4:25  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.  But there is more to that verse than being delivered from our offenses by the propitiation (appeasement, satisfaction) of His blood. There is also the power of God which raised up Christ from the dead for our justification. Not only did His resurrection justify us, declaring or making us righteous in the sight of God, but that same power also became the source for our ability to walk in newness of life, Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.   Many believers think of the death and resurrection of Christ as the work done by God's grace to sa...

Justification has absolutely nothing to do with us. It is a work of God, not men. It is found in the completed cross work of Christ, 2000-years ago, and God declares justification to a person when they respond to the gospel of Christ, believing in Jesus for their salvation. Furthermore, justification has nothing to do with sin, since that is already defeated at the cross. It has nothing to do with trying to live righteous by the law, since the law brings death and condemnation. It has nothing to do with repentance, since God has already forgiven us when we believe in Christ. It has nothing to do with one's works, past, present, or future, since it is Christ’s work that justifies us.  The only condition for justification, is believing in Jesus Christ. Thereafter, one serves God willingly, in the newness of the spirit, which is the increasing knowledge of His Word within us, and the blessed assurance that His grace through Christ is abundantly more than your limitations and weaknesse...

V.25 highlights 2-crucial factors for our salvation: The death of Christ, which atones for our sins. The resurrection of Christ, guaranteeing our own resurrection and eternal life with God. Christ's resurrection was the vindication of God’s acceptance of the sacrifice for our sins. His resurrection brought about the reality of our justification before God. God raised Jesus as a preview of all those who follow Him. When we are raised from the dead, we will appear before God, wholly accepted in His sight. The resurrection is the assurance that Jesus has fully settled our debt with God. Without his resurrection, we would not know whether our account was paid in full. However, because Jesus lives, it will be fully evident, upon meeting God, that we have been justified. The sure proof of our salvation lies in our complete acceptance by God. He accepted the resurrection of Jesus and He accepts our resurrection. Jesus represents us in every respect, and God is satisfied with Him and us fu...