Justification by faith alone.

Justification By Faith

Abram (later ‘Abraham’) is the first to trust God’s promises against all odds. From now on, faith means believing what God says. This simple trust in God’s word counts as ‘righteousness’- being right with God.

The apostle Paul looks back to Abram as the father of all who have faith. Abram wasn’t at peace with God because he was circumsized or had kept God’s law; these developments came later. Abram was right with God because he believed God’s promises. He was old and his wife was past childbearing, but he believed God would give him an heir. He was homeless and a nomad, but he believed that God would give him a land:
‘He did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised’ (Romans 4:20-21)

In the tine of the Reformation, this important truth of ‘justification by faith’ was rediscovered by Martin Luther and others. It became a crucial weapon in the fight against fanciful traditions and superstitious practices in the church.
We are justified (made right with God) by faith alone- not by good deeds, religious devotion or the prayer of others. Such actions may be important ways of expressing our faith; but faith itself is trusting only in what God has done for us, not what we have done for Him.

(Excerpted and paraphrased from ‘Hard Lessons, tough choices’ in The Bible Guide, page 30)