Romans #16 Justification of Ungodly People

There are some things in the Bible you can be uncertain or even mistaken about and still be reconciled to God. We want to have a good grasp of everything that the Bible teaches, but as Peter says about Paul's letters, some things in them are just hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16).

For example, what Paul means about baptism for the dead in 1 Corinthians 15:29 is subject to debate. It is hard to understand. If we do not come to understand that point completely, however, that will not prevent us from being reconciled to God.

BUT, if you are wrong about nature of justification and what it takes to be justified before God, then you will miss the Lord altogether because justification is at the very heart of salvation. That is why the 16th century Protestant Reformers were willing to hold to their convictions on this point even though it meant the division of the Roman Catholic Church and cost some of them their very lives. They divided over what it means to be a true Christian and how to become one. They were willing to be anathematized by the Roman church and to be excluded from it because they came to understand that the Bible teaches that the only way for sinners to be justified before God is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.