I Believe Faith Alone in Jesus Saves Me
Saturday’s Verses:
From Acts 1:12-14 ESV
“Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
I was holding the following story for a while. About six months ago, around Christmas, I was told by a Roman Catholic that I was damned for believing that Mary, Jesus’ mother, had other children. In Roman Catholic dogma, denying the perpetual virginity of Mary puts one’s soul at risk for spending eternity in hell.
When told of this hellish possibility, I mentioned to the gentleman who condemned me at the cancer center that I was glad he wasn’t God. Lutheran theology is simple: Salvation is a grace of God showered upon us sinners through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Or to put it another way, faith in Jesus saves us through the Father who forgives us our sins. Our salvation is not contingent on believing anything else. Faith in Jesus, or as Saint Paul writes in Romans 3:28, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”
This foundational Lutheran belief is supported by Holy Scripture, not by the writings of a church body leader or a Pope. It is God’s word given to us through the inspired Holy Writers. So whether one believes that Mary had other children (I believe she did) or not doesn’t lead me or anyone into eternal damnation. Why? My faith in Jesus saves me, a sinner who deserves nothing but punishment. I am justified by faith in the Son of God. And so are you.
We come to the end of the Easter season this weekend and prepare our hearts for Pentecost next weekend. Let us give thanks to God for redeeming each of us, sending His only-begotten Son into this world to be our Savior. Whether you believe Jesus had other fleshly brothers or sisters born of Mary or not, either position doesn’t earn you salvation or damnation. Faith in Jesus saves.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Grant me patience and grace, heavenly Father, as we end Easter and enter the Pentecost season. May Your Church listen to the Word of our Lord and go make disciples. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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