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New International Version (NIV; British
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2. The second step is faith in Christ, which implies a belief and acceptance of the provision that God has made for salvation (Acts 13: 39). In a nutshell, this means believing that Jesus was sent into the world to die for Adam and the whole human race, and accepting Him as Saviour and Lord (Romans 3: 21-26
However, by
itself, faith has no merit by which anyone could become justified. Though the
act of faith is essential, it is through faith, or by the instrument
of faith, that one is justified.
The real
foundation for being “justified by faith” consists of two pillars: (1)
the grace of God and,
(2) the ransom sacrifice of
Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2: 8; Hebrews
2: 9). Without these two, no amount of faith could have any
significance.
First, one
is justified by the grace of God,
who was under no obligation to recover mankind from the rightful penalty which
He had imposed on Adam and the race.
Second,
one is justified by the ransom
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus paid the penalty for Adam so that
ultimately all the Church in the Gospel Age and the world in the Millennial Age
have the privilege of release from the condemnation of sin and the opportunity
to win eternal life.
Those who
now receive this justification enjoy numerous blessings, including the
forgiveness of sins and the imputation of Christ’s merit, by which means one is
treated by God as if sinless. Instead of being at enmity with God, the sinner
now has peace with Him, becomes His friend, and enjoys fellowship with
Him.
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