Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

  • Books
    • After Cancer
    • Loving Your Friend Through Cancer
  • Speaking
  • Blog
    • Videos
    • Guest appearances
    • No Matter What Monday
    • Cancer
    • Family
    • Faith
  • Free Ebook
  • About
    • Writing Coaching
  • Connect

You are Justified by Faith {No Matter What Monday}

February 18, 2019 by Marissa Leave a Comment

I’m really showing off my geek badge here, but it’s true: I love editing. I can’t read anything without wanting to pull out a red pen, eliminate the word clutter, fix the grammatical mistakes, and improve the writing in any way I can. I even self-edit text messages before sending them. (Don’t worry, I don’t edit other people’s texts!) 😉 

When I read Galatians 2:16, I want to reach for my red pen. Paul seems to be running around in circles, saying the same thing over and over: 

“Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)

We’re not justified by works but by faith . . . And we have believed, so we are justified . . . Oh, and did I mention that it’s by faith in Christ and not by works? . . . Right, because no one can be justified by the works of the law. Ok, Paul! We get it! 

Why isn’t Paul being more concise? Did he forget to run this letter by his editor? 

I think Paul is being wordy and repetitive on purpose. He knows we will read this and mentally agree with it, but then an hour later we’ll be out there acting like it’s up to us to earn God’s favor. It’s so ingrained in our human nature to think our value depends on our performance. 

This is good news we need to hear over and over and over again: We are justified through faith in Christ and not by works of the law. To be justified means we are declared righteous by God. He looks at Jesus and sees His perfect record of righteousness. Based on His perfection, we are declared righteous. We could never earn this righteousness, but God gives it to us as a free gift of His grace. 

If you didn’t earn it, you can’t lose it. Justification by faith is a certainty we can cling to even when we fall short, mess up, or even fail miserably. 

No matter what you face this week, you are justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law. 

Share

God Has Proven That He Will Provide {No Matter What Monday}

September 17, 2018 by Marissa Leave a Comment

When I was waaaay too young, I went on a date to a theme park with a boy who was also waaaay too young. The boy had saved his money for months to pay for my ticket and my meals that day. But I didn’t show up empty-handed. I had a couple of twenties stuffed in the pocket of my shorts, just in case. I didn’t trust a 12-year-old kid to provide for my needs for several hours.

Sometimes my confidence in God’s ability to provide falters, too. My needs are many. My needs are significant. My needs seem unending . . . And those are just the needs that I’m aware of! Surely no one can provide all that I need.

But right after Paul tells us in Romans 8:31 that God is for us, he writes that God has proven that He will provide:

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

God didn’t make an empty promise to provide for us. He proved it. Paul makes an argument here from the greater to the lesser. If God has sacrificed that which was most costly to Him—His own Son—we can have confidence that He will give us all the lesser things we need.

Do you wonder if God will give you strength to face your suffering? Look at Jesus and know that He will.

Do you wonder if God will give you wisdom in your pressing dilemma? Look at Jesus and know that He will.

Do you wonder if God will give you forgiveness and mercy when you can’t pull it together? Look at Jesus and know that He will.

Because God is all-powerful and in control, He is able to provide for you. Because God is faithful and loves you, He can be trusted to keep His promise to provide. God did not spare His own Son. He gave Him up for you. You can count on Him to not only have everything you need but also graciously give you all things.

No matter what you face this week, God has proven He will provide.

Share

Our Savior Became Sin {No Matter What Monday}

March 26, 2018 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Our Savior became sin. Biblical encouragement, Scripture, and devotionals for women.

As I stand at the bathroom sink fixing my hair and makeup in the morning, my dog often torments me by curling up in the empty space I just left in my bed. I long to return to that spot—I’m not a morning person—and it makes me crazy to see him lay his little white head on my pillow and doze off.

Most days, I wish I could trade places with him. His life seems so easy: sleep, eat, repeat. But then I remember that he eats the same thing every day and has to go outside to use the bathroom, even in frigid temperatures and thunderstorms.

As we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ this week, let’s remember that He is the One who traded places with us. Our Savior saw our hopeless condition—we were sinners who could not save ourselves. He humbled Himself to take our place on the cross, so that we might have a place with Him forever.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Christ became sin for our sake. In this passage, Paul is talking about reconciliation—specifically, how sinners are reconciled to a holy God. Christ took the punishment for our sin so we could be reconciled to God. Paul says He “became sin,” receiving what our sin deserved.

Christ became sin even though He was sinless. If He had sinned even once, the punishment He received would be His own. Only a sinless Lamb could trade places with us and take our place on the cross.

Christ became sin so that in Him we might receive righteousness. My kids and I call it “The Great Swap.” On the cross, Christ took our place and received the punishment our sin deserved. In exchange, He gives us His perfect record of obedience–His righteousness. We receive what Christ has earned: right standing before a holy God and eternal life with Him.

This Great Swap is the good news of the Gospel: those who are in Christ look at the cross and see their debt fully paid, their sin forgiven, and the righteousness of Christ given to them.

No matter what you face this week, our sinless Savior became sin so sinners might receive His righteousness.

Share

Jesus Christ is your Reconciling Savior {No Matter What Monday}

December 4, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Jesus Christ is your Reconciling Savior. Biblical encouragement, Scripture, and devotionals for women.

I got my first credit card when I was in college. It was meant for emergencies only, but I became very relaxed with my definition of “emergency.” (Is being out to dinner with friends an emergency? What about not having something to wear to a special occasion?)

By the time I graduated, I racked up more than $1000 in credit card debt and had no way to pay it. The debt weighed on me—I felt the burden of it every day. Finally, I had to tell my fiancé that he was marrying into this debt. He was gracious about it, and we used wedding gifts to pay off the debt. But I regretted that I was starting married life with barely a clean financial slate and nothing positive to offer our financial situation.

Here’s what I love about the redeeming sacrifice Christ made for us: He didn’t just wipe the slate clean and leave us to prove ourselves to God on our own. He could have forgiven our debt, put us back at zero, and then let us earn our way into God’s favor. But that’s not what He did.

In His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ did all that was necessary to fully reconcile us to God:

“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19–20)

We have peace with God because of the blood Christ shed on the cross. This is why the baby was born in the stable—to fix the devastation our sin caused in our relationship with God. These verses tell us that His redeeming sacrifice had the power to reconcile all things on earth or in heaven.

Because the fullness of God dwelled in Him, Jesus Christ has the power to reconcile you to God. You don’t need to worry about getting yourself on God’s positive side with your good works.   Christ’s work has perfectly ushered you into a reconciled relationship with your Heavenly Father.

No matter what you face this week, Jesus Christ has fully reconciled you to God.

Share

Next Page »

Welcome

marissahenley.com

I write to remind myself of the truth of God's promises. I share my writing here in case you need to be reminded sometimes, too.

Let's Connect!

Books

Books

Click the image above to learn more about Marissa's books: After Cancer and Loving Your Friend through Cancer

Recent Posts

  • Finding Hope Amid Severe Illness {Guest Post for Ligonier Ministries}
  • God’s Faithfulness in a Winter Season – Part 3 {Guest post for enCourage}
  • God’s Faithfulness in a Winter Season – Part Two {Guest post for the enCourage blog}

Looking For Something?

Copyright © 2025 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in