Reacting against penances and indulgences.

The Reformers spoke against the penances and indulgences practiced by the members of the Catholic Church. When they said we are saved by faith alone they meant faith apart from penances, indulgences and the other requirements of Catholicism. They did not mean faith without righteous, holy living because the New Testament is one long exhortation to righteous, holy behaviour accompanied by dreadful warnings if we Christians continue walking in sin.

Let us repeat the verse we are examining:

However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. Romans 4:5-NIV))

The key to understanding what Paul meant is the expression "who does not work but trusts God."

Certainly this could be interpreted to mean there is nothing we are to do but trust God, believing Christ died for our sins.

The problem here is that of taking one verse of the Bible without referring to the remainder of the Bible. We all understand this is something we are not supposed to do, and yet the practice is common.

The remainder of the Bible, especially the New Testament, reveals clearly that Paul did not mean there is nothing we are to do but trust God, believing Christ died for our sins.

We have lifted a verse from its context and are using it as a mold over which all other verses must be hammered into shape. The result has been and continues to be an abundance of every sin imaginable on the part of Christian people.

What, then, did Paul mean when he said God justifies the wicked who trust in Him?