It is so easy for us, as Christians, to turn even ‘faith’ into a work. Faith is not the one thing we ‘do’ to please God & earn his favor. Only the righteousness of Christ can please God. Faith is the means by which we graciously *receive* that righteousness.

This is what the Apostle Paul is getting at in Ephesians 2:8 when he says, “For by grace you have been saved THROUGH faith…” The gift (grace) of Christ comes to us through the means of Faith. Faith is the conduit.

And the beautiful thing about it… is that even that conduit, that faith, is itself a gift! “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

To be sure, Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” We cannot be saved apart from faith! But if we turn faith into a ‘work’, we end up thinking something *we did* is what earned God’s favor. This can cause undue stress to those who wrestle with whether they had ‘enough faith’ and undue arrogance to those who think there’s something about themselves that helped make them right with God.

Praise be to God that our salvation – from beginning to end – is from his gracious hand and not our own striving and effort! Knowing this then allows us to rest/abide/trust/put our faith in Jesus and cling to the incredible Good News of the Gospel.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” – Romans 5:1-2