Faith vs. Works

Well, I guess it's been a couple years, but I'm still reading the Bible and have decided to start writing about it again. It had been my goal to read the entire Bible in a year, and two years later, I'm still working on it. I've read some since I last wrote, but not a ton. There's still much to read- I'm in Chronicles in the Old Testament and Romans in the New.

This morning I was reading in Romans 1 and 2. There's the verse we hear all the time, "This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, 'It is through faith that a righteous person has life.'" Then later, in Romans 2:7-8, Paul writes, "He will give eternal life to those who persist in doing what is good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and practice evil deeds."

These two verses grind against each other when I read them. Faith verses works. Does God give us eternal life because we have faith, because we know that we can do nothing to deserve his grace but because of Jesus' sacrifice, we live? Or does he give us eternal life because we do not sin, we seek after the Kingdom of Heaven alone.

If it's the latter, I've failed. I still fail, and I'll continue to fail. How often do I live for myself and go against the truths I know. Um... all the time. It's not that I don't do well sometimes, because I do put others before me, sometimes, I do seek to glorify God in my daily life, sometimes. But I'm sure I can't safely say that "I persist in doing good."

So then what? I know in Romans 3, Paul goes on about the Law and about Jews. He writes that no one is good or has understanding, that no one truly seeks God. Therefore, no one can be justified by the law because everyone will fall short. But--cue the Hallelujah Chorus--God has provided another way to be justified and that is through believing in Jesus, believing that because he gave his life for us, we can be made right before God. So then it is indeed by faith we are saved and not by what we have do or have done.

I haven't really written anything new, I've actually only summarized Romans 1-3 but the truth in these words is so critical to everything I believe that I had to write it out. In doing so, I realize how far short I fall from "being good" and how that doesn't matter. The sacrifice of Christ, the unconditional love he showed us on the cross, is the only thing that matters and may that profound act drive me to "persist in doing what is good."