Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear ones.

Becki and I took too much time talking. Now we need to scramble…without a walk/jog. After church we will be hosting a visit from a Japanese friend who lived next door to us for a while in Vanuatu. And by tomorrow afternoon, we need to be loaded and ready to take off for the south Washington coast where I will do at least two days of sawmill work. Becki, along with our granddaughter, Callie, will be coming along. It will be the first time to haul the camper and tow the sawmill at the same time. No room for boredom.

Blessings on your Sunday…or whatever day you’re facing today.

Love, Dad/Ray.

I believe it is possible to add some clarification and expanded meaning to these words from Paul by exchanging the word “law” for“religion,” and the word “faith” for “reality”. It becomes even more meaningful to define “religion” as WHAT MAN DOES TO REACH GOD and “faith” (or “salvation” or “relationship”) as WHAT GOD DOES TO REACH MAN. Defining these terms in this way helps to explain why I have a general disrespect for religion—why I frequently tell people, “You need ‘religion’ about like a fish needs a bicycle! (…or something similar.) But you do NEED relationship (faith, real connection) with your Maker!” It is easy to recognize the popular pretense of people who like to create the illusion that these concepts are one and the same—that their religious boasting is a description of REAL BIBLICAL FAITH. But they’re just not necessarily the same—too often not even close.

Verse 22 states: “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” In the margin of my Bible I made a comment some time ago connected to the word “believe”—I wrote, “This is the hinge.” Indeed it is that—the hinge on which the whole matter of destiny turns. This FAITH is ESSENTIAL. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). It is not something that man can generate by an effort of his will. BIBLICAL FAITH is actually something only God can IMPART as the condition of BELIEF is met. We do the essential BELIEVING and God does the essential IMPARTING.

Paul clarifies it very well in Ephesians 2:8-10. Let’s read it again carefully. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”