Approaching God
The God you are about to approach by faith today is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Faith makes you aware of His presence. This is a special time: you and God. You enter His presence believing that Jesus invited you in.
Indeed, you stand forgiven before God because of good works! What? How can I stand before God because of good works? Aren’t my good works like filthy rags before the Holy One? That is true. Nevertheless, you stand before God because of Christ’s good works. Christ’s perfect obedience—in life and in death—earned you salvation. By faith you accept Christ’s gift and by faith you open your heart to the Lord today and let His Spirit revive you.
“The people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.” (Romans 9:31-32)
Listening to God
Salvation is by faith alone. Luther and Calvin claimed this to be Bible–truth. The Protestant Reformation was built on this truth: you cannot save yourself.
“For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. (Romans 3:28, my emphasis)
You have no part in your salvation. The work of salvation is God’s work in Christ, 100%. There is nothing left for you, not even 1%.
Talking to God
Turn your attention to God and ponder at this work of salvation. Can you join the Apostle Paul and say, “For it is by grace [I] have been saved, through faith—and this is not from [me], it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). How do you respond to this act of grace? Would you turn to the Lord and thank Him for this free gift?
Responding to God
If you have not experienced salvation by faith now it’s your turn to respond to God and accept the grace of Christ: your salvation. Turn to the Lord and ask Him to save you, to make you His child. Ask the Lord to save you from your sin, to snatch you from the kingdom of darkness, and to move you into the Kingdom of the Son.
Surrendering to God “God of Abraham, I come to you by faith. Thank you that my salvation is by faith, through the good works of Christ. Amen”
By Daniel Bud
A HISTORICAL SIDEBAR
How do sinners receive God’s grace? The Reformers taught that it was by faith alone. Faith is not a work – we cannot receive credit for having faith. The Belgic Confession tells us that “the Holy Spirit kindles in our hearts a true faith,” meaning that faith is not something we produce on our own, but is a gift from God. This means that “faith is only the instrument by which we embrace Christ” and this is why Romans 1:17 (“the righteous will live by faith”) was such a central verse for Martin Luther in the early stages of his “protests” and in the Reformation as a whole.
