A note from Pastor regarding his sermon:

The Apostle Paul is often the clearest advocate for what Lutherans have long confessed, that our justification is by faith alone. Instead of looking to our good works, our obedience to God, or our avoidance of sin as reasons we hope to be declared righteous at final judgment, we know – along with Paul – that our salvation is entirely God’s work, and that we are merely passive recipients of the atonement He made by sacrificing His Son on the cross.

Paul uses the example of Abraham to demonstrate how our justification is actually accomplished through Christ’s sacrifice. And our epistle reading for this week contains Paul’s argument that Abraham – despite the things he did because of the faith God had given him in His promises of future blessings – was still declared righteous because of that faith and trust, and not in the things he had done. In the same way, we Christians respond to the good news of our salvation with good works and attempts to live out our faith with the help of the Holy Spirit, but we should always be careful to recognize that it is in Christ’s sacrifice – and not in our imperfect attempts to obey God’s Law – where we place our trust for everlasting life in the new creation.