65. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. For him, without faith it impossible to please God.

22 November 2020
Romans 4
Abraham Justified by Faith
3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.

Romans 4
4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 
5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

Here is something I wrote back in 1 September 2017.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Martin Luther was a village priest in Germany, an apparent troublemaker who just couldn't live and let live as everyone else did (Heroes, book authored by Harold Sala). 

In 1505, when he was 22, he was caught in a thunderstorm that threatened his life. So thankful he escaped unharmed, he vowed to be a monk. 

In 1510, on business travel to Rome for his Order, he was shocked at the practice of buying and selling indulgences, not the dessert, rather a kind of prepayment for sins the buyer had not yet committed; with the money generated used to construct the massive St. Peter’s Cathedral.

As Luther crawled up the Church of the Sacred Steps - thought to be the ones the Lord Jesus walked up as He approached Pilate's judgment hall - he struggled in his mind, how sinful man finds forgiveness, through purchase of indulgences or by what the Lord Jesus did at the cross.

The impact of Apostle Paul's words - the just shall live by faith - finally caused Luther to cry out, “Fide sola!” (Faith alone!). And the Reformation was born.

Martin Luther, in the mold of the Apostle Paul, the man who changed the church which changed the world; he sought to restore the fundamental teaching of the apostles to the first century Christians, which was compromised by the middle age church.

“Lord, I cannot imagine the plight of those who did not have the money to purchase indulgences. Yet, Your Word is so reassuring: For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes (Deuteronomy 10:17). Fear the Lord. And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). Lord, thank You that faith is what pleases You, and not anything else (Hebrews 11:6); by the Holy Spirit, I shall walk in obedience. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.””

From Our Daily Bread
By: Philip Yancey

“It’s tempting to think of faith as a kind of magic formula. If you muster up enough of it, you’ll get rich, stay healthy, and live a contented life with automatic answers to all your prayers. But life does not work according to such neat formulas. As proof, the author of Hebrews presents a stirring reminder of what constitutes “true faith” by reviewing the lives of some Old Testament giants of faith (Heb. 11).

“Without faith,” the author says bluntly, “it is impossible to please God” (11:6). In describing faith he uses the word persevered (v. 27). As a result of their faith, some heroes triumphed: They routed armies, escaped the sword, survived lions. But others met less happy ends: They were flogged, stoned, sawed in two. The chapter concludes, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised” (v. 39).

The picture of faith that emerges does not fit into an easy formula. Sometimes it leads to victory and triumph. Sometimes it requires a gritty determination to “hang on at any cost.” Of such people, “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them” (v. 16).

What our faith rests on is the belief that God is in ultimate control and will indeed keep His promises—whether that happens in this life or the next.” Amen.


As for me, by the Holy Spirit, I shall walk in obedience. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) Amen.

My children's children will someday say, wala ka sa Lolo ko; for him, without faith it impossible to please God.

May you be blessed. Amen.

Maraming salamat.


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