FAITH PLUS NOTHING EQUALS SALVATION
Faith plus Nothing Equals Salvation
Dr. J. Vernon McGee
Galatians 3:26
For ye are all the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)
Our subject could also be called "Faith Minus Works Equals Salvation." If you want the equation (we're told in mathematics that things equal to the same thing are equal to each other), it would be: Faith + 0 = Faith - Works The Epistle to the Galatians comes from the heart of Paul, and in it he is defending the greatest doctrine that we have: Justification by faith, or salvation by the grace of God. This is the epistle that gripped Martin Luther. As an Augustinian monk, he spent nights lying on a cold slab, wearing a hair shirt, fasting, and doing many other things. One time he was going up Sancta Scala in Rome, ascending the stairs on his knees, and it came to him (because he had been studying the Epistle to the Galatians) that man was not justified by works - certainly not by the things he was doing; that works could not bring him into a right relationship with God; that God had made it very clear that He justifies men by faith alone. So this man rose from his knees to go out into Europe and proclaim a gospel that drove back the darkness of the Dark Ages, took the chains and shackles from the minds and hearts of the multitudes of Europe, and brought in what we call today European civilization. In our day, this great civilization has gone by the board - it's through, and it can be restored only by the preaching of the great doctrines that Paul enunciated in this epistle. Not only did the Epistle to the Galatians move Martin Luther, but it also began the great spiritual movement that was led by the Wesleys. John Wesley came to America as a missionary to the Indians, but his mission was a failure. Returning to England in discouragement, he said, "I came to America to convert Indians, but who is going to convert John Wesley?" Back in London, walking down Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 After all, what works do you and I ha ...
Dr. J. Vernon McGee
Galatians 3:26
For ye are all the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)
Our subject could also be called "Faith Minus Works Equals Salvation." If you want the equation (we're told in mathematics that things equal to the same thing are equal to each other), it would be: Faith + 0 = Faith - Works The Epistle to the Galatians comes from the heart of Paul, and in it he is defending the greatest doctrine that we have: Justification by faith, or salvation by the grace of God. This is the epistle that gripped Martin Luther. As an Augustinian monk, he spent nights lying on a cold slab, wearing a hair shirt, fasting, and doing many other things. One time he was going up Sancta Scala in Rome, ascending the stairs on his knees, and it came to him (because he had been studying the Epistle to the Galatians) that man was not justified by works - certainly not by the things he was doing; that works could not bring him into a right relationship with God; that God had made it very clear that He justifies men by faith alone. So this man rose from his knees to go out into Europe and proclaim a gospel that drove back the darkness of the Dark Ages, took the chains and shackles from the minds and hearts of the multitudes of Europe, and brought in what we call today European civilization. In our day, this great civilization has gone by the board - it's through, and it can be restored only by the preaching of the great doctrines that Paul enunciated in this epistle. Not only did the Epistle to the Galatians move Martin Luther, but it also began the great spiritual movement that was led by the Wesleys. John Wesley came to America as a missionary to the Indians, but his mission was a failure. Returning to England in discouragement, he said, "I came to America to convert Indians, but who is going to convert John Wesley?" Back in London, walking down Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 After all, what works do you and I ha ...
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