WESLEY SERMON #11

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH

It is the covenant of grace that God through Christ has established with people in all ages, but in paradise (and in the minds of many people today) there was/is another covenant… a covenant of works.

The covenant of works was available to Adam/Eve. It required perfect obedience. The first couple would have had to be perfect inwardly and outwardly, perfect to every degree, and perfect in an uninterrupted manner in order to receive the benefits of that covenant. Obviously, however, the first couple failed in all of these ways.

And how foolish it is for anyone else to think they could possibly be saved by this covenant. What person, since The Fall, could even come close to making a claim to perfection? Who avoids outward, let alone inward sin? Who has a perfect past? Who could create such a future?

The covenant of grace is the only hope for humanity, for it is not based on the achievements of sinful people, but on the achievements of Jesus. Only the covenant of grace reaches out to sinners and pays the price of sin. It is the only covenant God is offering and, in any case, the only one that works.

Stop wasting your time trying to be saved by works. Don’t make excuses about why you can’t, right now, receive salvation by grace through faith. There are no prerequisites. Besides, the only good that you could possibly offer is found only on the other side of grace.