Many of us have a hard time receiving gifts. We like gifts. But we would prefer to think that we earned them. We don't like to feel indebted to others. A sense of deserving stokes our pride; unmerited receiving humbles us.
This problem becomes more serious in connection with the greatest gift we can receive. The Bible teaches that believers are justified—or judged righteous by God—on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus which sinners receive by faith. We are justified by faith alone, not by works (Eph. 2:8–9).
And that can be a hard pill to swallow. We want the good we do to somehow contribute to our salvation. And some theologians have objected that the teaching of gracious salvation by faith alone will make people spiritually careless—if people believe that they are justified by faith they won't care about works.
But Scripture teaches that good works are necessary for salvation and insufficient for our justification. To understand that we must heed two vital warnings.
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