FAITH IN _______?

FAITH IN ______?

Friday, September 07, 2018

  Romans [NLT] 4:4-8 Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it: “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”

   Galatians 2:16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”

   Ephesians 2:8-9 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

   Titus 3:5-8 [God] saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.

  I drove carpooling 40 miles to and from work. During the 70’s Walt rode back and forth to work with me for a number of years. He was my first pickup, last dropoff. Walt was a highly skilled Master Machinist, a devout Roman Catholic, one of the finest men I’ve known. An unsung hero that did not demand or expect recognition for the work he did as a volunteer developing medical devices in cooperation with Johns Hopkins. Once in use, there was no Walt in the credits. The public tribute went to the department manager.

  Each day in coming and going Walt and I had 10-12 minutes alone before and after another passenger. It was a delightful time as he had a keen mind interested in many topics. His favorite subject was faith, which I was quite happy to discuss.

  Walt retired early as he wanted to put more volunteer time and energy into medical device development. On our last day together Walt wanted to talk about faith. We did so extending our time parked on the roadside grass.

  In his concluding farewell remarks he told me he liked and respected me, but to live as I lived by grace, love, and application derived from personal and group Bible study . . . would never work for him. He had decided that only seminary educated priesthood had figured out what it took to please God and go to heaven; religious good works that contributed to hoped for present and eternal redemption.

  Whether Walt still walks this side of death or not, I know not as we never met again. Hopefully he rethought the Scripture (above) I had shared with him, and trusted Jesus Christ alone as his redeemer and realized God’s blessed assurance. 

EBB4