Is Faith Enough?

A theological topic that often comes up around this time of year is the idea of salvation. The church calendar has two main seasons, Easter and Christmas. The birth of Jesus and the death of Jesus are the two pinnacle points for religious circles. Deciding which is more important is like trying to decide which came first, the chicken or the egg.

There is no death without birth, yet birth is not as important if there is no death and resurrection. With it being the Easter season, we will focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus. But more specifically, we will look at the role of Jesus’ death in our salvation.

Commonly referred to as justification, our salvation starts when we profess the faith of Jesus in our hearts. At that moment, we go from death to life, a moment of justification.

Is it as simple as the old saying, “When you believe, you receive?”

Romans 8.22:” We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.”

It would seem from the words of the apostle Paul that once we place our faith in Christ, we are made right with God. Being made right with God is an acknowledgment that we fall short of being the true image bearers of God because of our sinful hearts. Being created in the image of God (Genesis 1.27) means we have the capacity to be righteous in the eyes of God.

18th-century theologian and evangelist John Wesley believed that we were born with three different types of images: the natural, political, and moral image of God.1 The natural refers to our liberty or free will, and political focuses on our ability to rule over creation. Lastly, the moral image is in line with the character of God.

We were born into a sinful, broken world because of the fall of man at the very beginning of the biblical narrative. ( Genesis 3) Again in his letter to the Romans, Paul states that death spread to everyone because of the sin of Adam. (Romans 5.12) But listen to what Paul says later in the same chapter.

Romans 5.15: But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.”

Jesus himself stated that he was the way and the truth; no one can come to the father unless it is through him. (John 14.6) So it would seem that the old saying is true: when you believe, you receive.

Putting our faith in Christ puts us in right standing with God, but I always seem to ask myself,

Why would God want to set me free from the death that I deserve?

There is no way I can be a righteous person in right standing with God because I know the thoughts of my heart. I deserve the criminals’ death on the cross, not Jesus, but that is the beauty of God’s grace. It is not something we have earned or deserve, but God freely extends his forgiveness because of his love for his creation. Is there any greater point in the Christian faith than the free grace of God?

 It is hard even to fathom God’s true love for us. We can pretend that we understand his love or equate it to our love for our children, but in my mind, that just limits the power of God.

Romans 3.23-24: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” 

I love the part where Paul says that God declares that we are righteous, but we are only righteous because of the blood of Christ. It is through his blood that we are made right with God.

 We are the reconciled image of God through his grace alone. He considered us righteous when he created us; he still considers us righteous because of Jesus.

If you are new to faith or a seasoned veteran, I pray this Easter season, you remember that no amount of endeavoring, action, or behavior modification can set you free; it is only faith in the blood of Christ that justifies our souls.

1. Wesley occasionally mentioned three dimensions of the Image of God in humanity: the natural image, the political image, and the moral image.

Maddox, Randy L.. Responsible Grace (Kingswood Series) (p. 68). Kingswood Books. Kindle Edition. 

*All scripture is from the New Living Translation, unless otherwise stated.