Faith, Grace and Works: Romans 2-5

Faith, Grace and Works

Grace: "Divine means of help or strength." "Enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts." - BIBLE DICTIONARY

"There is a difference between the Lord Jesus Christ and the rest of mankind. We have no life in ourselves, for no power has been given unto us, to lay down our lives and take them again. That is beyond our power, and so, being subject to death, and being sinners - for we are all transgressors of the law to some extent, no matter how good we have tried to be - we are therefore unable in and of ourselves to receive redemption from our sins by any act of our own. This is the grace that Paul was teaching. Therefore, it is by the grace of Jesus Christ that we are saved. And had he not come into the world, and laid down his life that he might take it again...we would still be subject to death and be in our sins...So it is easy to understand that we must accept the mission of Jesus Christ. We must believe that it is though his grace that we are saved, that he performed for us that labor which we were unable to perform for ourselves, and did for us those things which were essential to our salvation, which were beyond our power, and also that we are under the commandment and the necessity of performing the labors that are required of us as set forth in the commandments known as the Gospel of Jesus Christ." - President Joseph Fielding Smith

Faith, Grace and Good Works all play a part in our salvation. Romans 2-5 helps us understand this.

FAITH AND GRACE: 

Romans 3:23-24 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Romans 4:24-25  "But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offense, and was raised again for our justification."

Romans 5:1 - "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Romans 5:6 - "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."

Romans 5:9 - Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 

Romans 5:15-17  "...and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many...so is the gift, for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offense unto justification...for if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ."

Romans 5:21 - "That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."

GOOD WORKS: 

Romans 2: 6 - "Who will render to every man according to his deeds"

Romans 2:12 - "For as many as have sinned without the law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judge by the law."

Romans 2:16 - "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."

Romans 3:6 - "God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?

ROMANS 4:17-25 In these verses, Paul talks about Abraham's faithfulness.  I think the reason Paul chose Abraham as a model of faith is that Abraham did not even have the Law of Moses yet, but he was still an example of faith and living a righteous life.

How does ROMANS 4:19-22 apply to your life? Paul reminds us that although Abraham was old and Sara had not yet conceived, he never lost faith in the promise God made him that he would have a son. There are times when I wonder if things that I have felt spiritual confirmation of will actually come to pass. One example right now is graduate school. I have been accepted into the Master's Program in Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington, to start this fall. I have had more than one message from the Spirit that my education is necessary not just for me, but for other people that will need my help. Right now I am wondering if I can keep up the rigorous pace of two more years of school and also wondering if it is "worth it" to take on student loan debt to get my Master's. But I always have to remind myself of those powerful and meaningful spiritual experiences to help me stay focused and on track. If the Lord needs me to do this, He will follow through on His promises and everything will work out.

Review Romans 5:12-14. In what ways did Adam's Fall affect each of us? How did Paul answer the question of why a Savior is needed for all mankind? Because of the Fall of Adam, we now all experience physical death. We all sin and will also suffer spiritual death without the Savior and His Atonement. Romans 5:21 says "That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."

How does 2 Nephi 25:23 help us understand the relationship between faith, grace and good works? "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." 

I have always felt so much comfort when I read this verse. I know I will never be "good enough" all by myself to receive Eternal Life, but I know I can do my best and that Christ will help me "after all I can do." This reminds me of something my son sent in his last letter on his mission. He said "Momma, I am not a perfect person, but I can be and do better today than I did yesterday." I'm so grateful this isn't a "one strike and your out" gospel. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is there for us to call on over and over and over again as we go through life, somedays doing great and other days not so much. 

One thought that I've had about good works is that because of my gratitude and love for my Savior and the Grace he offers me, I have a strong desire to become like Him and please Him, which requires me to act like Him. So my "works" need to reflect my love for Him.