Not by law, through certainty
Nor concord, through unity
Nor uneasy community
But by grace, through faith
Not by works of our doing
Nor correctly construing
Nor judgmental spewing
But by grace, through faith
Not by logic contrived
Nor by having arrived
Nor by feeling revived
But by grace, through faith
Not by praising heaven
Nor by having striven
Nor by our blood given
But by grace, through faith
To reach every nation
with words of salvation,
why not this recitation:
“It’s by grace, through faith.”
Blog In My Own Eye 
Wonderful, brother Keith! Such great thoughts.The more I read, the more I like you. Thanks for posting this.Much love in Him!
Hey Keith I stopped by at the recommendation of a friend Kathy Stevens. I came and interviewed for the worship position before PV hired Jerome I am in Jackson, TN I really enjoy your blog and put you on my blog roll. If you get a chance stop by and let me know what you think. http://jscotthowell.blogspot.com Keep up the good post. Peace.
Keith, thanks for stopping by. Send me your email and get the inside scoop.
This is good. You need to print it up for our congregation to have copies. I’m thankful to God for giving you the ability to articulate, & I’m glad you are in my orbit.
Ditto annie’s comment!
By grace through faith? Whose faith? Mine?
bd, what do you make of < HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=56&chapter=2&verse=8&version=31&context=verse" REL="nofollow">Ephesians 2:8<> if it’s not your faith and my faith? Does God give the gift of faith to Himself?Or < HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=11&verse=25&version=31&context=verse" REL="nofollow">John 11:25<>?Or < HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=51&chapter=16&verse=31&version=31&context=verse" REL="nofollow">Acts 16:31<>?< HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=3&verse=22&version=31&context=verse" REL="nofollow">Romans 3:22<>? < HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=4&verse=24&version=31&context=verse" REL="nofollow">4:24<>? < HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=10&verse=10&version=31&context=verse" REL="nofollow">10:10<>?
Keith,Great post brother.Keep it up!
The Literal Translation is a bit different:Rom 3:21 But now a righteousness of God has been revealed apart from Law, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, Rom 3:22 even the righteousness of God through faith <>of<> Jesus Christ toward all and upon all those believing; for there is no difference,
bd – Okay, suppose I granted that ‘of’ was at least as good to translate the Greek preposition (No one doubts that Jesus is faithful!) … what do you make of the other scriptures?
Again, the Literal Translation:Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, Eph 2:5 even we being dead in deviations, He made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are being saved), Eph 2:6 and raised us up together and seated us together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, Eph 2:7 that He might demonstrate in the ages coming on, the exceeding great riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:8 For by grace you are saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; Eph 2:9 not of works, that not anyone should boast; Point being – if Jesus is the Christ, then all of Creation has been redeemed to the Father. When that redemption is revealed to us, our minds begin to become saved, not from God’s wrath, but from our own twisted misconceptions of our relationship to God. The saving of our minds further promotes us into deeper trust of the Father, and we soon are drawn into the peace. That is God’s plan, and has been all along, to make it known to His creation that He is at peace with all.Sound like good news?
It might sound like good news to you and me, folks who treasure God and what He is – but what about those who don’t?Let me understand you … God gives us a gift, but doesn’t really expect us to choose to do anything with it? Is that what I understand? A gift with no purpose – faith – because He’s going to save us anyway? All of us? Good and bad? Devoted or rebellious?Where do you get the idea that “us” in this scripture refers to anyone besides the believer Paul addresses?God does have wrath, and it is not just our twisted misconception of our relationship with Him. I’m sorry if that does not give you peace.What is it that you have against the idea of choosing God as well as Him choosing his children? Why is that a bad thing, to be discredited and shunned? Why should God have to settle for a pathetic one-sided relationship in which He continues to pine after people who hate Him and every good thing He stands for? Why force His goodness on those who don’t want it; would rather serve self and harm others with no remorse, no guilt, no penitence? Is that really consistent with His character as He reveals it in His word?
You so desperately want it to be about us, don’t you? You don’t trust God, you only trust yourself!
That’s OK though. I wouldn’t trust the God you know either!
bd–How do you reconcile that point of view with numerous verses in the Bible that not only call people to belief, but to repentance and obedience? Why did Jesus teach people to be faithful and obedient? If it doesn’t matter what I do or how I live my life, why bother?
bd – Dude, I desperately want to be about Christ. I want to be about His Father. I’m a royal screw-up, however, and so I must trust in God. And I do.If you don’t have answers to my questions, that’s okay. I don’t have all the answers I’d like to have, either.But I know I don’t believe in a one-armed God. He IS love. He is also justice. He IS mercy. He is also righteousness. Having both those arms, He has the ability I can trust to fully embrace me and anyone else willing to believe Him.
How can you trust a God who will only embrace you if you believe? If that’s the case, you really only believe in your ability to believe. What happens when your ability to believe in your ability to believe fails you? It will, you know.I can only believe in a God who embraces me whether I believe or not. The freedom to *not* believe, is what draws me into belief. It is not a belief of my own, so it can never fail me. It is a simple reaction to Him first believing in me, and that will never change.Hey, if what you have is working for you, hang onto it with all you might. But, when you tire of hanging on, and seek the rest and the peace that comes from a deeper understanding of the Love of God, we should talk.Great peace to you! And you all!
Thanks for dropping by and enriching the conversation, bd.
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