The Reformation motto we looked at this week is Solo Fide—we are justified through faith in Christ alone. This doctrine falls in line with the other mottos we have considered. We are saved by Christ alone. Our salvation is a gift from God. We receive this gift by faith alone. Even the ability to have faith is a gift of God; our faith is nothing to boast about.

Faith is not just a mental belief. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder (James 2:19). We are not justified by the act of believing something. We are justified by the righteous work of Christ. In the words of the old catechism, Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation as he is offered to us in the gospel. Faith is not just a belief but our actually resting and trusting in Christ. Faith is what connects us to Christ, who alone is the Savior.

Faith is not a magic phrase or prayer that we say in order to get on God’s good side. If you remember the first time you prayed to receive Jesus as your Savior, it will be a dear memory to you. Yet it was not the words that you used that made the eternal difference in your heart and life. No one should have anxiety that they did not get the words right or fear that they will be excluded from heaven because of a technicality. Don’t have faith in the words you use, but in the Savior.

Faith is not an act of righteousness that saves us. Faith is not a power that works independently of the object of that faith. We are not to have faith in faith, but faith in Christ. The Bible teaches that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (v23). We do not have the ability to save ourselves. This is why we must look completely to our Savior and lean on him by faith.

The fact that we are sinners and cannot save ourselves is just the diagnosis. Any diagnosis is good news as long as it leads to our receiving the cure. The gospel gives us the cure. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood (v 25). Sin could not be left unpunished. If we endured the punishment for our own sin, it would have destroyed us. God demonstrates both his love and his justice at the cross where Jesus died.

This time of year we reacquaint ourselves with the suffering of Christ. The recent movie, The Passion of the Christ, depicts Jesus’ suffering in brutal detail. The word passion is used here in its ancient meaning, which is suffering. We remember Jesus’ suffering in the garden of Gethsemane where he wrestled with the fact that he would bear the sins of the world. Jesus suffered as the soldiers took him away in the night and he was tried and beaten. Jesus suffered as he carried his cross to the place where he would be executed. He suffered as the nails were pounded in his hands and feet, as he struggled to breath and as he died.

Why did Jesus go through all of this? It was for you and me. God made him an atoning sacrifice for us. This is the righteous obedience of Christ. [God] did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus (v 26). God does not excuse sin; he punishes it and destroys it. In Christ, God destroys sin without destroying the sinner.

Jesus died to show justice to the universe. All who trust in Christ can know that they are justified because God’s justice is satisfied in Christ. The rest of the passage emphasizes that we have nothing to be puffed up about. We who have a lot to be humble for can only sit at the foot of the cross and be amazed at the love of God that was shown for us in Christ. When it comes to our own justification we bring nothing to the table. There is no act of contrition or penance that adds forgiveness to our account. Christ has paid it all and we trust in him by faith.

It does not matter who you are or where you were born. Those children of Israel who were born as heirs of the covenant are saved by the Messiah, Jesus. Those Gentiles who were born far from the promises of God are brought near to the throne of grace by faith in Jesus Christ alone. Justice is accomplished in Christ and in Christ alone. We are joined to Christ and the benefits of Jesus through our faith in him.

Here is the gospel of grace. Jesus died and rose again to bring salvation to sinful people. Are you trusting in him? This is of eternal significance to you. You do not want to appear before the throne of God with any list of good works that you have done. There is not enough righteousness in you to get you into heaven. You do not want to go through this life without the righteousness that God has provided in Christ Jesus. Do you want to appear before the throne of God with anything less than the righteousness of Christ? That righteousness is given to everyone who is trusting completely in Christ. Are you trusting in Christ?