Saved By Faith Through Grace

Satan had triumphed, or so he believed,
When Adam sinned and thus condemned the earth;
The death of God's Son men's bondage relieved,
Nothing else could be of sufficient worth!
Only God's grace, His undeserved free gift,
Provided men with faith to overcome
The shackles of sin; to forever lift
Higher than on his own he'd e'er become!
God did for us what we could never do;
He lowered Himself to be just a man;
Tempts that felled others He passed sinless through;
His blood washed our sins away, let us stand!
Saved by faith in Jesus through matchless grace,
We are set free from Satan's cruel embrace!

"But now a righteousness from God ... has been made known ... This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. ... for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood." (Romans 3:21-25)

A lot of non-Christians don't get it. They don't understand why a Christian friend, seemingly out of nowhere, would say such an unkind thing as, "You are a sinner, and when you die, you are going to hell." The friend did not make it up; that's what Paul says in the scripture from the Bible above. The non-Christian believes he is a decent guy, living a good life, and has never done anything to harm God. He may even believe that God exists; he might think that he is going to heaven, because God is loving. However, Paul says, "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". If you read on in the book of Romans, you will see this, "The wages of sin is death" (6:33). This may come as a shock to you, but it is the Bible that says you have offended God and the penalty is condemnation.

The Bible (and maybe the friend) also gives every person a solution for the situation he finds himself in. Paul says above, there has become known a new way to righteousness (in other words, getting rid of your sin-debt) with God, and that way is to believe in Jesus Christ. The word "Jesus" has become anathema to the media in America today, which is bad, because Jesus is the word, the only word, that can save you from payment of sin. That way is to believe (or have faith) in Jesus as God who shed His blood for our sins on the cross. Instead of an innocent lamb being sacrificed to pay for Jewish sin, God, who was innocent of sin, sacrificed Himself for the sins of all the world! He paid our sins for us, and gave us freedom from sin by our belief. This is called "grace" in the Bible; it is given free; no works, good deeds, or gifts of money are required. So, though it is God, not the friend, who says you have sinned, it is also God who freely forgives your sins in exchange for your sincere belief! How great is that?