Faith

 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Romans 1:17 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.17.ESV

The good news is that bad people like us can be made good through faith in Jesus. People debate whether criminals can be reformed. The good news of the gospel is that we can change.

It requires faith to be made good by God. We're bad by default. So we don't become good by osmosis.

The quote is unpacked in Romans, Galatians and Hebrews. Righteousness is described by Romans. The Christian life is explained in Galatians. Faith is defined in Hebrews.

Our faith is a gift of God so there's no room for boasting. It's not about the quality of our faith. The object of our faith is what really matters.

'Lord our God, please give us the faith we need to become good. In Jesus' name, amen'

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