Sola Fide

In the previous post we talked about the gap that exists between the way we are and the way we should be. The gap leaves us longing for a better us, a more perfect us. Christ has removed the condemnation, the eternal consequence of the gap through His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. We have received the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice as a gift from God. We say it is ours by grace. Grace is an unmerited favor or gift. We do not take hold of this gift by our actions or promises. We do not respond to the gift by offering to pay for it with promises of better living in the future. We respond to the gift by simply trusting in the gift. This is what is meant when we say, “By Faith.” Paul wrote,

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

We live by faith, that is by trusting in the work of Jesus on our behalf. This is in contrast to the other religions of the world and some Christian churches which assert that salvation is our work; our responsibility.

At first, living by faith may seem easy. After all, if Jesus has done it all, there’s nothing left for us.  While it is true that Jesus has done it all, living by faith is actually challenging. God has minded the gap for us, but we are still very much aware of our imperfections and our failures. Living by faith is living dependent upon Jesus for our salvation and it is living dependent upon God to give us the strength and the will to more clearly live the life that we were created to live. By faith we are saved.  By faith we are being transformed to be reflections of him (2 Corinthians 3:18).