Jumpstarter 1 of 10

Direct Answer Holding both phases together portrays God as a Father who freely welcomes and justifies repentant believers by grace, and also as a Judge who “without respect of persons” evaluates the believer’s later life and perseverance. The transcript suggests God’s mercy doesn’t cancel His moral seriousness; it launches a life that will be assessed.

Support from Transcript:

• The speaker contrasts phases: Romans 2 teaches “our final salvation will depend upon how we have lived our lives after we have been saved,” while Romans 3 turns to “the initial phase of salvation…through faith in Christ, apart from the law of Moses.”
• Initial salvation is “freely justified by His grace,” not earned by Mosaic law or “our own godly works,” even if one was “living a wicked life up until…conversion.”
• Yet the transcript stresses ongoing accountability: God “judges according to each man’s work…pass the time of your living here as foreigners in reverent fear.”
• Final salvation is still “the gift of God,” but given to those who “have persevered in faith and walked in an obedient love-faith relationship with Christ.”
• The gift is not “a license to live in sin”; God expects appreciation shown by “living a godly life thereafter through the power He gives us.”