Day 40 "The Promise We Received Through Abraham's Faith" (Romans: Chapter Four)

Our ability to be justified by faith resulted through the promise that God, by his own oath, made to Abraham as a result of Abraham's faith in God.

Verse 3: "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as right- eousness."

Verse 4: "Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation."

Verse 5: "However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness."

Verse 8: "Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

Verse 21: "being fully persuaded(Abraham) that God had power to do what he had promised."

Verse 22: "This is why it was credited to him as righteousness."

Verse 23: "The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone,"

Verse 24: "but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead."

Key verses for me:

Verse 13: "It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

Verse 16: "Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring."

Verse 25: "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."

Jesus provided for our justification. Since Jesus did it all, there is nothing more we need to add to it by our actions. If that was not so, then Jesus did not completely justify us before our Heavenly Father. But he did! Therefore, be at rest from anxiety and fear. He set us free!

"Therefore, there is, now, no condemnation for those in Christ." Romans 8:1

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The church has a difficult time with radical grace. The fear is if people believe they are completely free from the penalty of sin because of grace that they will give in all the more to temptations and live a life full of sin. But the church is forgetting one important aspect of living our relationship with God- the motivation of love. We don't act a certain way to achieve God's love and strive to be in good standing with him. No, it is because we are already unconditionally loved by him and are already in good standing with him because of Christ that we live the way we do. We believe that God's ways are best. And God's way is to love.

"He who does not love me will not obey my teachings." John 14:24

I invite you to consider the ways of the world and contrast them to God's ways as expressed through Christ. Radically different! One is for self. The other way is for others. It couldn't be much simpler. Besides, how attractive is sin anyway?

"What benefit did you reap at the time from the things you are now ashamed of?" Romans 6:21

With sin, someone always gets hurt.

See you tomorrow...