Romans 11:5-6
So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
But if we are saved by pure grace, why should our salvation be such a difficult task—provided it is really grace that saves us? It is precisely because we are saved by grace that God must have arranged matters so that we need nothing but the means by which God offers us forgiveness of sins, grace, and salvation. When God says to the sinner, "Only believe," He is saying, "Accept what I give you; have confidence in Me. What I am telling you is the truth. Just come, lay hold of My gift, and take it." When I hear the gospel preached to me, I am supposed to believe that it is God who is bringing me these glad tidings by means of the preacher's proclamation. At the same time, God is saying to me: "Why do you keep on working to accumulate good works? Christ has acquired all that you need. Just believe, and all is yours. I am not lying." That is what God says.
So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
But if we are saved by pure grace, why should our salvation be such a difficult task—provided it is really grace that saves us? It is precisely because we are saved by grace that God must have arranged matters so that we need nothing but the means by which God offers us forgiveness of sins, grace, and salvation. When God says to the sinner, "Only believe," He is saying, "Accept what I give you; have confidence in Me. What I am telling you is the truth. Just come, lay hold of My gift, and take it." When I hear the gospel preached to me, I am supposed to believe that it is God who is bringing me these glad tidings by means of the preacher's proclamation. At the same time, God is saying to me: "Why do you keep on working to accumulate good works? Christ has acquired all that you need. Just believe, and all is yours. I am not lying." That is what God says.
C.F.W. Walther, Thesis IX
Law and Gospel: How to Read and Apply the Bible,
(trans. Christian C. Tiews; St Louis: Concordia, 2010), 175.
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