One of the most debated subjects over the history of Christianity is the belief that Christians are justified by their faith in Jesus Christ alone. The debate has run for centuries and continues in many academic circles today. While many have expressed their opinions I believe John Calvin gives a concise statement of why justification is and must remain central to the Christian Faith. Calvin wrote:
"As all mankind are, in the sight of God lost sinners, we hold that Christ is their only righteousness, since, by his obedience, he has wiped off our transgressions; by his sacrifice, appeased the divine anger; by his blood, washed away our stains; by his cross, borne our curse; and by his death, made satisfaction for us. We maintain that in this way man is reconciled in Christ to God the Father, by no merit of his own, by no value of works, but by gratuitous mercy. When we embrace Christ by faith, and come, as it were, into communion with him, this we term, after the manner of Scripture, the righteousness of faith."
The debate may continue but the answer is as clear today as it was hundreds of years ago. We are justified (made right) by our faith in Jesus Christ and there is no other way. It is his righteousness alone, not any we think we have acquired by our own actions, that makes us acceptable to God. For a sinner like me this is and remains the most comforting truth in all of Scripture.
ReformedRev
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