So
we, too, have our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by
faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the
law no one will br justified.
Galatians 2:16.
We are justified through
faith in Christ, not through our own efforts. We shouldn't let anyone
confuse us by saying that faith justifies people only when love and
good works are added to it.
If people hear that they must believe in Christ
and that faith alone doesn't justify unless love is added to it, they
immediatly fall from faith and think, "If faith without love doesn't
justify, then faith is empty and useless. Love alone justifies. For if
faith is not formed and enhanced by love, then it's nothing." In order
to prove their damaging comments, my oppnents point to 1 Corinthians
13:1-2: "If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not
love,... I am nothing." They think these verses are an impenetrable
wall. But they don't understand Paul's teachings. We should avoid these
comments if they were poison form hell.
Instead, we should coclude with Paul that we are
justified by faith alone, not through faith formed by love. So we
shouldn't attribute the power of justification to something formed in
us that makes us pleasing to God. We must attribute it to faith, which
takes hold of Christ the Savior and keeps him in our hearts. This faith
justifies us apart form love and prior to love. We concede that we also
teach about good works and love. But we only teach these at the proper
time and place - when the question deals with how we should live, not
how we are justified. The question here is this: How do we become
justified and receive eternal life? We answer with Paul that weare
pronounced righteous through faith in Christ alone, not by our own
efforts.