Iba na ngayon! :D

"Kaya't kung ang sinoman ay na kay Cristo, siya'y bagong
nilalang: ang mga dating bagay ay nagsilipas na; narito, sila'y
pawang naging mga bago." (2 Cor. 5:17, TAB)

Isa sa mga pinaka-paborito kong teksto sa Biblia ay ang Eph. 2:1-10. Para sa akin, ito'y parang isang maikling aklat ng kasaysayan tungkol sa aking buhay. Sa tuwing binabasa ko ang bahaging ito ng sulat ni Pablo sa mga taga-Efeso, naaalala ko kung ano ako noon at kung paano nagbago ang lahat dahil sa biyaya ng Diyos.

Bago ako makakilala kay Cristo at isuko sa kanya ang aking buhay, ako'y namuhay sa isang mundong miserable at napakadilim. Inakala kong mayroon akong tunay na kalayaan sapagkat nagagawa ko ang anumang naisin kong gawin. At ang Diyos? Wala akong pakialam sa Diyos. Para sa akin, ang Diyos ay isang mapanganib na kaaway. Oo, siya'y isang mapanganib na kaaway sapagkat lahat ng bagay na kinahuhumalingan kong gawin ay ipinagbabawal niya. Inisip kong sa oras na magpaka-alipin ako sa kanya, mawawala ang "kalayaang" pinaka iingat-ingatan ko; bagay na hindi ko hahayaang mangyari.

Ngunit tunay nga bang mayroon akong kalayaan noon? Wika ng apostol:

"Noong una'y mga patay kayo dahil sa inyong pagsuway at mga kasalanan. Sinunod ninyo noon ang masamang takbo ng sanlibutang ito at napailalim kayo sa prinsipe ng kasamaan, ang espiritung naghahari sa mga taong suwail. Dati, tayo'y kabilang sa mga ito, namuhay ayon sa pita ng laman at sinunod ang masamang hilig ng katawan at pag-iisip. Kaya't sa ating likas na kalagayan, kabilang tayo sa mga taong kinapopootan ng Diyos." (Eph. 2:1-3, MBB)

Bagamat nagagawa ko noon ang anumang naisin kong gawin, ang realidad ay isa akong makasalanang ALIPIN ng Kasalanan. Walang anumang bahid ng pagasa sa akin, at ang pagbabagong buhay ay isang suntok sa buwan para sa akin.

Nobyembre 14, taong 2005, sa di-inaasahang pagkakataon ay narinig ko ang mabuting balita tungkol sa pagliligtas ng Diyos sa pamamagitan ni Cristo. Hindi ko malilimutan ang petsang ito sapagkat sa araw na ito ako iniligtas ni Cristo. Gaya ng isang kriminal na ang baril na hawak ay wala nang bala at napapaligiran na ng maraming pulis, nagpakumbaba ako at isinuko ang aking buhay kay Cristo bilang Panginoon at Tagapagligtas. Doo'y nagsimula nang magbago ang lahat.

"Subalit napakasagana ang habag ng Diyos at napakadakila ang pag-ibig na iniukol niya sa atin. Tayo'y binuhay niya kay Cristo kahit noong tayo'y mga patay pa dahil sa ating pagsuway. (Naligtas nga kayo dahil sa kanyang kagandahang loob.) Dahil sa ating pakikipag-isa kay Cristo Jesus, tayo'y muling binuhay na kasama niya at pinaupong kasama niya sa kalangitan. Ginawa niya ito upang sa darating na mga panahon ay maipakita niya ang di-masukat na kasaganaan ng kanyang kagandahang-loob sa atin sa pamamagitan ni Cristo Jesus.

Dahil sa kagandahang-loob ng Diyos ay naligtas kayo sa pamamagitan ng inyong pananalig kay Cristo. At ang kaligtasang ito'y kaloob ng Diyos, hindi mula sa inyo. Hindi ito dahil sa inyong mga gawa kaya't walang dapat ipagmalaki ang sinuman." (Eph. 2:4-9, MBB)

Tunay ngang hindi masukat ang kagandahang loob ng Diyos, ang kanyang walang bayad na biyaya na ipinagkakaloob niya sa pamamagitan ni Cristo Jesus. Niligtas ako ng Diyos mula sa pagkaka-alipin sa Kasalanan, hindi sa pamamagitan ng aking sariling pagsisikap, kundi sa pamamagitan lamang ng biyaya ng Diyos. Kaya kung noo'y nabubuhay ako para sa aking sarili, IBA NA NGAYON!

"Tayo'y kanyang nilalang, nilikha sa pamamagitan ni Cristo Jesus upang iukol natin ang ating buhay sa paggawa ng mabuti, na itinalaga na ng Diyos para sa atin noon pa mang una." (Eph. 2:10, MBB)

Hindi ako naligtas dahil isa akong mabuting tao. Sa katunayan, ako'y sukdulan ng sama - ngunit sa kabila nito'y kinaawaan ako ng Diyos at iniligtas niya ako ng walang bayad sa pamamagitan ng katubusan na nakay Cristo (Rom. 3:24-25). Naligtas ako dahil kay Cristo, hindi dahil sa aking sariling kakayahan o pagpapagal. At dahil iniligtas ako ng Diyos, at ngayo'y isa nang bagong nilalang (2 Cor. 5:17), hindi ako titigil sa pagbibigay sa kanya ng kapurihan, papuri at pagsamba, magpakailanpaman. Kung ano ako noon, iyon ay lumipas na. Hindi na ako babalik pang muli sa dati kong kalagayan, ako'y binago na.

Sa Diyos ang tanging kapurihan! Amen!

* * * * *

Law and Gospel

Here's a nice poem about Law and Gospel written by a godly 17th century Puritan named Ralph Erskine (1685-1752) ,

The law supposing I have all,

Does ever for perfection call;

The gospel suits my total want,

And all the law can seek does grant.

The law could promise life to me,

If my obedience perfect be;

But grace does promise life upon

My Lord’s obedience alone.

The law says, Do, and life you’ll win;

But grace says, Live, for all is done;

The former cannot ease my grief,

The latter yields me full relief.

The law will not abate a mite,

The gospel all the sum will quit;

There God in thret’nings is array’d

But here in promises display’d.

The law excludes not boasting vain,

But rather feeds it to my bane;

But gospel grace allows no boasts,

Save in the King, the Lord of Hosts.

The law brings terror to molest,

The gospel gives the weary rest;

The one does flags of death display,

The other shows the living way.

The law’s a house of bondage sore,

The gospel opens prison doors;

The first me hamer’d in its net,

The last at freedom kindly set.

An angry God the law reveal’d

The gospel shows him reconciled;

By that I know he was displeased,

By this I see his wrath appeased.

The law still shows a fiery face,

The gospel shows a throne of grace;

There justice rides alone in state,

But here she takes the mercy-seat.

Lo! in the law Jehovah dwells,

But Jesus is conceal’d;

Whereas the gospel’s nothing else

But Jesus Christ reveal’d.

St. Fulgentius of Ruspe On God's Sovereignty In Salvation

I'm not really a fan of St. Fulgentius of Ruspe as much as I am with St. Augustine, but I've recently discovered something very interesting about this early church father after digging through some of his worksy. I found out that this old bishop of the town/city of Ruspe who lived around the 460-530 AD was apparently Augustinian in his soteriological convictions, and therefore, somewhat Calvinistic in his understanding of God's sovereignty in Salvation (and in interpreting Scripture surrounding that subject). Here's a good quote from him which shows what I'm talking about (*emphasis and Scriptural references added):

2. For here penance can profit the sinner when God does not hasten to punish the sinner, so that he may grant the forgiveness of sins to the person converted to penance. For if here could be any kind of fruitful penance for the wicked after this life, the blessed Peter would not say that God bears patiently because he does not want anyone to perish (2 Pe. 3:9), namely of those whom "he foreknew and predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son." (Rom. 8:29) No one of these perishes. "For who opposes his will?" (Rom. 9:19) These are visited freely by the mercy of God before the end of this present life; they are moved for their salvation with a contrite and humbled heart and all by the divine gift are converted to penance to which they are divinely predestined to free grace, so that, converted, they may not perish but have life eternal. Without a doubt, these are all whom, according to the proclamation of the blessed Paul, "God wills... to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth." (1 Tim. 2:4) Because he who has done all things he wanted wants this, what he wants he always does invincibly. And so that is fulfilled in them which the unchangeable and invincible will of almighty God has, whose will, just as it cannot be changed in its plans, so neither is his power stopped or hindered in its execution; because neither is anyone able justly to censure his justice, nor can anyone stand opposed to his mercy.

 3. Whence our Savior reproves the malevolence of the unbelieving city with these words: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling." (Mat. 23:37) Christ said this to show its evil will by which it tried in vain to resist the invincible divine will, when God's good will neither could be conquered by those whom it deserts nor could not be able to accomplish anything which it wanted. That Jerusalem, insofar as it attained to its will, did not wish its children to be gathered to the Savior, but still he gathered all whom he willed. In this it wanted to resist the omnipotent but was unable to because God who, as it is written, "Whatever the Lord pleases, he does," (Psa. 135:6) converts to himself whomever he wills by a free justification, coming beforehand with his gift of superabounding grace on those whom he justly damn if he wished. Therefore, when the Apostle Peter says that God is "patient, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance," (2 Pe. 3:9) let us not so understand the word "all" as stated above, as if there is no one who will not do a fitting penance, but we must understand "all" here as those to whom God gives penance in such a way that he may also give them the gift of perseverance, i.e. those who are converted by the prevenient divine mercy in such a way that by the same subsequent mercy, they will never go back to the serious sins which they have renounced. These are the ones to whom, as Paul says, "God grants... repentance that leads to the knowledge of the truth and that they may return to their senses out of the Devil's snare, where they are entrapped by him, for his will." (2 Tim. 2:25-26) Anyone who is careful to practice this penance in this life will be able to find the fruit of his penance with God.

 Source: To Euthymius, Book II, Ch. 2-3

It's nearly impossible to see Catholics who would talk that way nowadays. Semi-Pelagianism and its humanistic philosophies has so consumed the Catholic religion that there remains no room of acceptance to the pure Augustinian view on grace and freewill within its bounds. Thank God he gave us the Reformation.

~Jeph

Paul's Letter to Philemon and the Doctrine of Double-Imputation

St. Onesimus, the Saved Slave

The doctrine of double-imputation states that believing sinners are justified--that is, declared righteous in God's sight--through an exchange of moral accounts between the sinner and Christ. At the moment of faith, all our sins are imputed to Christ and were nailed on the cross (Rom. 3:25; Eph. 1:7), and the same time, His righteousness is imputed to our account in order that the just demands of the law may be fulfilled in us instantly - based solely on what Christ has done (Rom. 4:5-8, 5:19, 10:4; 1 Cor. 1:30; Gal. 4:4-5). This happy exchange is expressed in St. Paul's words, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21). This is the reason why evangelicals deny that human works have any role to play in salvation, and this is clearly taught in Romans 3:19-20, 23, 28, Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5, Galatians 2:21, and many similar passages. Yet, surprisingly, the clearest allusion to the biblical doctrine of double imputation is found in one of the shortest and most ignored books in the Bible; Paul's pastoral epistle to Philemon.

The book of Philemon which contains only twenty-five verses in total was written by Paul probably around 59-61 AD during his Roman imprisonment. The letter is addressed to a certain Christian named Philemon (v. 1), the owner of a slave Onesimus (v. 10-12), and (if tradition serves us right) a member of the church at Colossae. Onesimus apparently ran away from his master (Philemon), a crime punishable by death during those days, and ended up encountering Paul in Rome whereby he was converted to the Christian faith. In Philemon 10 we see how deep Paul has cultivated his personal relationship with the run-away slave, but Paul seems to have considered it unethical to continue making use of Onesimus' services since the slave was still, technically, owned by Philemon. So he eventually decided to send the slave back to his master. In verses 12-14 we read thus:

"I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord." (Phm. 1:12-14)

Paul knew death was the normal punishment for run-away slaves, so he entreated Philemon to receive Onesimus "no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother" (v. 16). But, humanly speaking, why would anyone repay a run-away slave with such favorable treatment? On what ground does Onesimus deserve this warm welcome from his master? Observe how Paul elicited Philemon's kindness towards Onesimus:

"So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self." (Phm. 1:17-19)

Onesimus has merited death by fleeing from his master Philemon, but Paul stood in the way and asked Philemon to receive the slave as he would receive him, echoing the imputation of Christ's righteousness on our account. The apostle also told Philemon that if ever Onesimus has wronged him or owe him anything, he himself will pay for it, echoing the imputation of our sins on Christ's account. Here we see how central the doctrine of justification was in Paul's life, even in his dealing with social cases like this. 

This clear allusion to the doctrine of double-imputation that we find in the book of Philemon, I believe, is why God providentially included this document in the canon of Scriptures. I don't know of any ancient fathers of the church who saw things the same way, but beyond this perspective it would be hard to look for any good reason why this book should be included in the canon (other than that it was penned by an apostle).

-Jeph

How non-Calvinist Baptists oppose the Calvinist doctrine of Irresistible Grace while affirming it at the same time

C.H. Spurgeon, "The Prince of Preachers"

One of the distinctive doctrinal marks of a Baptist church is the belief that a truly saved person will never ever lose his salvation; a doctrine widely known as "once saved, always safe" (or "eternal security"). Christians belonging to the Reformed tradition are more comfortable calling this teaching as "perseverance of the saints" so that the importance of perseverance in holiness and faith might be safeguarded against the seeming antinomian tendency of Baptist terminologies. Meanwhile, Baptists also seem to have a bad feeling towards the traditional Reformed designation of the doctrine. They feel like it's utterly inappropriate to call the teaching as "perseverance of the saints" for it creates an impression that Christians need to persevere in faith and holiness in order to make it to the finish line of salvation; an idea which is, according to them, directly opposed to the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Some Baptists who are ignorant of the reformed view even went too far, accusing Calvinists of promoting works-salvation.

Of course these presumptions from both camps are at best misleading and fallacious. Baptists strongly abominate the idea of carnal security, the same way that Reformed Christians abominate all forms of works-salvation. Both camps agree that a truly saved believer in Christ will evince good works as an outward manifestation of his saving faith (Jn. 10:27; Rom. 6:1-2; Eph. 2:10; 1 Jn. 5:18), and that by God's grace, none of those who are once justified will ever fall away from their faith and totally perish (Jn. 10:28-29; Rom. 8:30-39). Personally, I call this doctrine as "preservation of the saints" (by the way, many Baptists and Reformed Christians also use this term) to emphasize the involvement of God's sovereign grace in the salvation of the elect, but I don't have any problem calling it "perseverance of the saints," "once saved, always safe," or "eternal security." It's just a matter of preference. After all it is the content of the teaching which matters most, not the term that represents it.

Anyway, I was pondering over the sovereignty of God in preserving His saints and the different views concerning this subject yesterday night when I realized there's something fishy going on about the non-Calvinist Baptists' denial of the doctrines of grace. As you know, they hold to eternal security but reject the Calvinist doctrine of irresistible grace, and I find that somewhat inconsistent. Perhaps you already have an idea what I'm talking about, but let me explain further.

Non-Calvinist "Freewill" Baptists contend that God's grace isn't intrinsically efficacious, but it has its efficacy dependent on man's consent. Because God is a "Gentleman" and he "respects" our freewill, we are always free to reject or choose God. Men's choices are not driven by any form of necessity and they can do just whatever they wanna do with their own lives. This undetermined freedom, according to them, is possessed equally by all men - believers and unbelievers alike.

Now here's comes the dilemma for the non-Calvinist Baptist: If all men possess equal freedom between good and evil and God cannot control our choices, how can we affirm with certainty that nobody among those who genuinely trust in Christ will totally fall away and perish? If turning away from Christ remains an open possibility for Christians, how can there be any real eternal security? Conversely, if we firmly believe that nobody among those who are truly born again will totally and finally repudiate their faith in Christ (Heb. 10:38-39), we are in effect denying the idea of libertarian freedom. And if we confess it is God's grace which keeps believers from losing their faith and the final outcome is just that (1 Sa. 2:9; Psa. 40:11; Jn. 10:27-29; Rom. 8:30-39; 2 Tim. 1:12; Php. 1:6), what other kind of grace are we affirming except the Calvinistic grace?

My point here is very simple: There's no way one can consistently hold to Eternal Security, philosophically speaking, without denying libertarian freedom and affirming the invincibility of God's grace. Thus, non-Calvinist Baptists who reject the doctrine of sovereign grace are actually affirming it (unwittingly) every time they talk about eternal security!

That's how you reject the sovereignty of God in salvation while affirming it at the same time. Who does it better than the non-Calvinist Baptist?

All by Grace

Justification by grace through faith is a doctrine that is most basic among evangelical Christians. It is based on the Bible's teaching that all men are sinners and are under the just condemnation of God (Psa. 130:3, 143:2; Eph. 2:3); that nobody can earn his/her way to heaven by doing good works (Mat. 5:48; Rom. 3:10, 23; Rev. 21:27); and that it is out of God's great love and mercy that anyone is justified "by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith"  (Rom. 3:24-25a; cf. Jn. 3:16-18, 5:24; Rom 4:4-6; Gal. 4:4-5). This fundamental tenet of our Christian faith, according to Martin Luther, is where the Church stands or falls. 

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is
not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works
so that no one may boast." (Eph. 2:8-9) 

Now what do we exactly mean when we say we are saved by grace? We simply mean that we never deserved to be saved (because we are sinners), yet God saved us free of charge (Rom. 4:4-6). We are saved not according to worth. The word "grace" basically means undeserved favor. Hence, it is NOT given because of anything we do or anything in us. And since grace is wholly undeserved, it logically follows that it should be freely given without us needing to fulfill any requirement. For if there's a requirement imposed, the fulfillment of that requirement will be the determining factor of worth. And if something's received according to worth, then obviously it cannot be properly considered grace (Rom. 4:4, 11:6).

However, the Bible is also clear that faith is the proper means (or requirement) through which sinners obtain the grace of justification. (Rom. 5:1-2).  All who receive Christ are given eternal life, and without faith, nobody gets saved (Jn. 3:18; Heb. 11:6). So here's a good question: Why is it that salvation is referred to in the Bible as given according to grace, when in fact no one receives it without performing a certain act, that is, faith? Is salvation really by grace, then?


Who makes thee to differ?

According to popular opinion among the evangelicals, God has sent His Son to die on the cross and offer free salvation to all, but it is up to our own autonomous freewill to receive it or not. In this framework, Salvation is "by grace" only in the sense that it was God who initiated the attempt to save sinners (and graciously did most of the work), but it is our own choice which seals the deal at the end of the day. Thus, Salvation is only "by grace as offered", but not "by grace entirely and ultimately" since there's still something required from us that lies entirely on our own power, namely faith. In the final analysis, the sinner's positive response to the Gospel then turns into some kind of work that made him worthy for Salvation, which in turn creates room for boasting on the part of the redeemed and defeats the very meaning of "salvation by grace."

Let's try to put it this way. If asked, "What makes you to differ from unbelievers?", how would you respond? Perhaps you'd say: "Well, obviously, it is my faith which makes me to differ." Nice answer. But how did you come to finally believe in Christ? You might say: "Because I willed to believe" or "I made a decision." Good for you. But may I ask, what made you willing to believe? Or what caused you to make that decision to trust in Christ? Look around you. Some of your unbelieving friends or relatives may have also heard the Gospel at one point in their lives, but they remain unwilling to embrace Christ as you did. What then is that particular quality that you have, which is lacking in those who do not believe, that caused you to come to Christ? Is it because your intelligence is more superior than theirs? Then salvation would be based on human intelligence, which cannot be (Mat. 11:25; 1 Cor. 1:27). Is it because you're more kind than them? Then salvation would be based on human kindness, which also cannot be (Rom. 4:5; 1 Tim. 1:15-16). Or perhaps it is because you're more receptive than them or that your heart is more sensitive than theirs? Tell me, then, what is it that made your heart more receptive or more sensitive than those who remain unwilling to receive Christ (Eze. 36:26; Ac. 16:14)? Is it because of some innate goodness in your nature? But the Bible says we are all equally by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3; cf. Mat. 12:33; Jer. 13:23), dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-2), and have a depraved heart that is desperately wicked and beyond cure (Jer. 17:9). How come, then, that you ended up believing in Christ alone for Salvation? What made you to differ?

These series of questions could go endlessly, and in responding to these, an average professing Christian—convinced with the humanistic philosophy that asserts that we are the author of our own destinies—will always search for something in and of himself as the distinguishing factor between him and unbelievers. Yet again, it should be kept in mind that if the final arbiter of salvation lies upon anything coming from us, then our salvation would ultimately be based on worth; and therefore, not by grace.

So how do we solve this problem? St. Paul provides the answer:  

"For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" (1 Cor. 4:7, NIV)  

Paul rebukes the prideful hearts of the Corinthian believers who set divisions among themselves (1 Cor. 1:11-13, 4:6), asking them these questions: "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?" Apparently, Paul's main purpose in asking these questions isn't really to solicit answers. He wants to make something obvious. He is implying that whatever good thing it is that we possess which makes us [or makes us think we are] better than those whom we look down, does not really have its origin from ourselves but from God (Jas. 1:17). It is God's grace which makes us to differ, so we've no right to boast! Observe Paul's last question: "And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" The same principle applies to our coming to Christ for Salvation. Say, "My faith makes me to differ; I had the willingness; I chose Christ; I surrendered my life to Him; I responded to the Gospel; I made a decision." Well that's true, but what do you have that you did not receive? If faith doesn't come from God as a gift, then it isn't God's grace which makes the redeemed to differ from those who perish but the merit of their own faith; and thus, grace is no longer grace (Rom. 11:5). Such cannot be the case.


Faith is God's work

The truth is, left in our own sinful nature, none of us will ever turn to God for salvation because "the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot" (Rom. 8:7); and again, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14; cf. 2 Cor. 4:4-5). Our rebellion was so deep and so complete that the Bible describes us as having been dead in our Sins and transgressions (Eph. 2:1-3; Col. 2:13), and that we wouldn't have seen the beauty of Christ and finally trusted in Him alone for Salvation had not God spiritually quickened us by His mercy (Eze. 37:14; Jn. 1:13, 3:5-6; Eph. 2:4-5; 1 Pe. 1:3; Jas. 1:18).

Faith is a gift from God. When the Lord confronted the Jews concerning their unbelief, He told them: "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father" (Jn. 6:65). It is the Father who grants conversion or one's coming to (faith in) Christ. When Peter confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, the Lord responded to him saying: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Mat. 16:17). When Jesus Christ was asked by His disciples about His usage of parables (which makes His teachings indiscernible to most of His hearers), He answered them: "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given" (Mat. 13:11). When the apostles Paul and Silas were on an evangelical mission in Philippi, the Bible records the conversion of a certain woman named Lydia, who came to believe the Gospel because "The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul" (Ac. 16:14, cf. Eze. 36:26-27). In Philippians 1:29 St. Paul wrote: "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake." These and many other passages testify that faith itself must be a gift from God.


Where then is boasting? 

Now we already know the solution to the question why the Bible considers justification as grace, even though it still requires something from sinners (i.e., faith). It is because faith itself is a gift of God's grace! It is not our work. It is God's work! "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (Jn. 6:29). Where then is boasting? It is excluded! For "if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" (1 Cor. 4:7, NIV; 1 Cor. 15:10). It is by God's power that "[we] are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord'." (1 Cor. 1:26-30).

With these being said, it is NOT, therefore, true that God works everything which pertains to our salvation except our coming to Christ. Listen to Christ's words: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (Jn. 6:44). Therefore we should glory not in ourselves, but in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:30-31), acknowledging every tiny detail of our Salvation, from first to last, including our conversion and perseverance in the faith, as coming from the gracious sovereign hand God, "who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began" (2 Tim. 1:9; cf. Psa. 29:2; Jon. 2:9; Jn. 15:16; Rom. 8:29-9:21; Eph. 1:3-5, 11; Php. 1:6).

Salvation is by grace, and grace alone.

"If any man doth ascribe aught of salvation, even the very 

least, to the free-will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, 
and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright."

~Martin Luther, the Reformer

To God alone be the glory!

- Jeph