Romans - Faith, Hope, and Love

Paul continues explaining that we are justified by faith, or as the council of Trent describes, by God's grace. Not only do we need God's grace, but without it, we cannot even grope after God, and that we must use our free will to accept or reject that grace. This grace puts us at peace with God. Since sin is a natural tension with an all-holy God, this grace puts us at peace with Him. This should give us hope, and we should exult in our hope, but also in our sufferings. Our sufferings produce endurance, through that, character, and through that, an even greater hope. Finally, this justification through faith gives us fruit of love. God has shown his love in that He died for us while we were still sinners. If only we will allow God to love us, we will allow ourselves to be at peace with God.The closing theme is Gerard Satamian's Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com