Faith and Salvation Part V

5. The Ground of Faith One final lesson we must draw from the passage I mentioned above in Matthew 25. Jesus, as the judge, states his relationship to those he is judging. He says that their treatment of his brethren was the way they had treated him. Given the relationship Jesus now has with the world we live in - he is its King and Lord - I would be remiss to leave our discussion without making it quite clear that faith comes as a result of a relationship. "Abraham believed God," we are told, "and it was counted for him as righteousness." His actions all followed on the heels of his relationship to God. A relationship of trust and affection - Abraham was called the friend of God.

What a beautiful thing to be called. And what a picture of the closeness that comes to those who walk, like Abraham, by faith. We know we do not do things as we want to in serving our Lord, but the closeness of our relationship means we can come to him and ask him to show us how to do better. We may see things happening that cause us to fear yet, when we come and seek his glory we can rest assured that he has everything under his control. The Bible is full of wonderful pictures of the relationship between the believer and God. Pictures which show the attitude between them and the things each does for the other.

It is not for nothing that an old Catechism tells us that the chief end of man is to glorify God, which we do by obeying his commandments, and enjoy him forever. Both the good and the wicked will spend their time after the final judgment in the presence of God. For the wicked this will be an eternal torment that even though they make their bed in Hell, they cannot not get away from him. For the good this will be eternal joy that no matter where they turn they are in the presence of the one they love above all else and who, without regard to merit on their part, loves them in return.

The five solas hang together as parts of a rich tapestry of our understanding of the nature of God and of his actions on behalf of man. I hope I have supplied enough to help that understanding become a little clearer so we may love him, and serve him a little more faithfully.

Go back to Part IV