The exercise, or state of mind, expressed by the word 'faith', as used in the Scriptures, is not mere assent or mere trust; it is the intelligent perception, reception, and reliance on the truth as revealed in the Gospel.

Recently we remembered Reformation Day: the day when Martin Luther sparked the protestant reformation by nailing his objections to the corruptions within the Roman Catholic Church to the church door in Wittenberg. Okay, it may not have been very recently, but time slips by rather quickly, and I am sure that you can still what you did on Halloween. Remembering Reformation Day, together with some questions which I have been hearing, got me thinking about the issue of grace. The issue of grace lies at the very heart of the reformation: that God's will (apart from anything that we do) is enough for our sins to be forgiven. This is possible because the punishment which was due to us for all our wrongs (past, present and future) have already been paid for by Jesus on the cross. Read more …