Passage Introduction
One of the great controversies of the early church was the relationship between the law and faith or grace. Some believed that faith in Jesus alone, trusting in the grace of God alone, was enough for someone to be right with God. Others believed that you also needed to keep the Jewish law. Faith alone wasn't enough, we also had to do something as well. This is the controversy Paul is addressing in this passage.
In some ways, we still have the same controversy today. Is faith in Jesus enough or do we need to do something on our own to earn God's favor, God's salvation? As you read through this passage, consider Paul's teaching, how it applied to the people of his day, and how it applies to us today.
One of the great controversies of the early church was the relationship between the law and faith or grace. Some believed that faith in Jesus alone, trusting in the grace of God alone, was enough for someone to be right with God. Others believed that you also needed to keep the Jewish law. Faith alone wasn't enough, we also had to do something as well. This is the controversy Paul is addressing in this passage.
In some ways, we still have the same controversy today. Is faith in Jesus enough or do we need to do something on our own to earn God's favor, God's salvation? As you read through this passage, consider Paul's teaching, how it applied to the people of his day, and how it applies to us today.
Spiritual Practices: Keyword Listing
Keyword listing is a method of observational Bible study. It doesn’t require any special skills, tools, or training. You can read more about the process of keyword listing here. You can choose any word or short phrase to study using keyword listing. For this passage, we suggest the following keyword(s) to start your study.
Keyword listing is a method of observational Bible study. It doesn’t require any special skills, tools, or training. You can read more about the process of keyword listing here. You can choose any word or short phrase to study using keyword listing. For this passage, we suggest the following keyword(s) to start your study.
- Abraham (and related pronouns) - explore what Paul says about Abraham in this passage
- God (and related pronouns) - explore what Paul says about God
- law - explore what Paul says about the law
- faith - explore what Paul says about faith
- Us/ours- explore what Paul says about how this example applies to us