Paul answers that question
not with slogans —
but with Spirit-inspired questions.
Questions that dismantle pride.
Questions that silence boasting.
Questions that exalt grace alone.
Listen carefully.
▪️“What shall we say then?”
— Romans 4:1
Paul brings Abraham into the courtroom.
If anyone could boast, surely Abraham could.
But Scripture says:
“Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” (Rom. 4:3)
Not worked.
Not earned.
Not deserved.
Counted.
Righteousness is credited —
to faith.
▪️“Where is boasting then?”
— Romans 3:27
If salvation were by works,
boasting would survive.
But Paul says:
“It is excluded.”
Shut out.
Locked out.
Left outside the door.
Why?
“By the law of faith.”
Grace leaves no room for pride.
▪️“Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”
— Romans 6:1
If salvation is free,
does that mean sin is harmless?
Paul answers immediately:
“God forbid.”
Grace is not permission to sin.
Grace changes identity.
▪️“How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
— Romans 6:2
You are not trying to become free.
You are free.
By Spirit baptism (Rom. 6:3),
you were placed into Christ.
His death became yours.
His resurrection became yours.
Sin is no longer your master.
That is not Law reform.
That is union with Christ.
▪️“Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
— Galatians 3:2
This question is devastating to legalism.
How did you receive the Spirit?
By rule-keeping?
By rituals?
By performance?
No.
By hearing the gospel
and believing it.
▪️“Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”
— Galatians 3:3
Grace saves.
Grace sanctifies.
Grace sustains.
You do not start in grace
and graduate to Law.
You stand in grace (Rom. 5:2).
▪️So How Is a Man Saved?
Not by works of righteousness.
Not by ceremonies.
Not by law-keeping.
But by grace
through faith
in the finished work of Christ.
“Christ died for our sins… was buried… and rose again.” (1 Cor. 15:3–4)
That is the gospel committed to Paul.
That is the message for this dispensation.
That is the only ground of justification today.
These questions do something powerful:
• They destroy works-based salvation.
• They silence religious pride.
• They expose legalism.
• They magnify grace.
Salvation is not achieved.
It is received.
And when you receive it,
you don’t boast.
You rest.
Grace alone.
Faith alone.
Christ alone.
