Tag: Faith of Jesus

SOLA GRATIA

We who are Christians of the Lutheran Confession emphasize the gospel principle known as Sola Gratia, which means “Grace Alone” in Latin. This biblical truth and good news, highlighted by Martin Luther and subsequent Protestant Reformers, declares that we are saved from sin, death, and the devil, by God’s grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ.

For the Word of God within chapter 3 of the Epistle to the Romans proclaims the following… “But now, apart from the Torah, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the Torah and the Prophets — namely, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; and all are now justified freely by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.” – (Romans 3:21-25)

Now, it’s important to note that this profound gift of Sola Gratia rests entirely upon a Savior who is simultaneously divine and human. That is, salvation by God’s grace alone completely hinges upon the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is both fully God and fully human. For only such a One as this could accomplish the atonement for our sins and reconcile us to God.

Jesus’ divinity (his being co-equal and co-eternal with God Almighty) ensures his sacrifice for us is of supreme value, atoning for all sin of all time, once and for all. As he is God incarnate in human flesh (true God from true God), the Eternal Son, of One Being with the Father, Jesus is the perfect offering of infinite worth, capable of redeeming all humanity. Simultaneously, however, his humanity is equally vital. As he is truly human, born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus lived a sinless human life under the biblical Torah, and he truly suffered and died in our place, bearing the penalty of our sins. So, only a fellow human could represent us and stand as our substitute, and, at the same time, only Almighty God could offer a sacrifice of eternal value that would be sufficient for the world’s redemption.

Therefore, this mystical reality (that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human) makes our atonement and salvation possible. Christ’s atoning sacrifice, sealed by his blood shed for us and confirmed by his glorious resurrection, is the universal offering that reconciles us to God by grace alone.

For the Word of God within chapter 2 of the Epistle to the Ephesians states the following… “By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.” – (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are completely justified (completely forgiven!!!) before God, which perfectly reconciles us to God, all by God’s grace through faith as a free gift, not by our own works. But this is not to say that our good works don’t matter. In fact, good works are very much a part of our Christian faith. So yes, we are indeed saved by God’s grace alone through faith in Christ alone, not by our good works; however, we are saved by God’s grace in Christ for the sake of living a Christ-like life of good works as best we can — saved for doing good works as our way of life in response to God’s free grace given us (see Eph. 2:10 above).

Approximately six months ago, my newsletter article was about the 1700th Anniversary of the Nicene Creed in this Year of our Lord, 2025, and about how it is the preeminent statement of Christian faith which boldly professes that Jesus is “true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father… for us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became truly human.” Consequently, may we be firmly anchored in this true faith of our divine and human Redeemer, whose grace alone saves us.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us always rejoice in Sola Gratia (“Grace Alone”) trusting in the One Savior who is fully God and fully human — the One and Only who died for our sins, rose from the grave, secured our infinite atonement, and washes us in his baptismal waters of rebirth, renewal and eternal resurrection life.

For the Word of God within chapter 6 of the Epistle to the Romans declares the following…  “Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” – (Romans 6:3-5)

All thanks, praise and glory be to God for Sola Gratia!

By God’s Grace in Christ, Pastor Tim

THE FEAR & GRACE OF THE LORD

It is an absolute understatement to say that we are living through a time of information overload and rampant fear-mongering. Due to the digital media revolution of the past several decades, we are now enduring a time in which every molehill is a 10-mile-high mountain and every single challenge is an existential crisis for humanity. From the moment we get up in the morning to the moment we go to bed, we essentially hear daily cries of “the sky is falling” or “wolf! wolf!” flooding into our minds and hearts, seeking to stir people up into a fear-soaked frenzy for the purpose of serving this or that agenda.

However, if everything is a mountain then nothing is; if everything is a crisis then nothing is. Consequently, we are so overwhelmed and burned out by the constant parade of media-ratings-driven crises that we struggle to pay attention anymore. So of course, we would be well-advised to remember the moral of the old folktales of The Boy Who Cried Wolf and Chicken Little.  In particular, if we remember the ending of the Chicken Little story then we could recall that Chicken Little got other small animal friends whipped up into his hysteria while they completely missed the real threat of the fox in their midst (who eats them all in the end).

As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, the Anointed One who is the Living Revelation of Almighty God’s mercy and forgiveness, we are partakers of his reconciling heart and compassionate mind for the sake of the world. Therefore, the divisiveness and manipulation that saturates our culture these days, seeking to divide and control at every level of society, is contrary to the grace and truth of Christ our Savior. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” – (Second Timothy 1:7)

Of course, there is a good kind of biblical fear, a kind of fear that empowers our love and soundness of mind: it’s “the fear of the Lord” as the Holy Scriptures declare. That is, it’s the “fear” of awe-struck wonder at the deep mystery of God. It’s the “fearful” awe and reverence for the Eternal God that leads to insight, understanding and wisdom. As it says in the Book of Proverbs, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10).

This biblical “fear of the Lord” is what leads us to be free peacemakers and free bridge-builders in our lives and world. Freeing us from all forms of human tribalism, the fear and love and faith of Christ our Lord can lead us to transcend earthly divisions for the glory of God and the benefit of all. So as we await the fullness of God’s Kingdom to come when our resurrected Lord Jesus returns to us in person someday, we can be those peacemaking “children of God” that Jesus talks about in chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew.

Moreover, as citizens of the United States of America, we are especially blessed to live in the most universally diverse of all the countries on Earth. It’s not perfect (no country has a perfect history), but we are nonetheless the most diverse country in the world, and I believe God has blessed us Americans with the task of modeling and defending the idea of e pluribus unum (unity from diversity). But more importantly, as Christians, in the name of Jesus Christ, we can be respectful and merciful in this disrespectful and wrathful time, and we can always seek to understand those who differ with us even though we might firmly disagree.

Together in Christ, Pastor Tim