Romans 4
This chapter focuses a lot on Abraham. No…not Lincoln (but
he’s a cool guy). Father Abraham. So, if
you don’t know his story I highly encourage you to skim through Genesis 22, I
belive the whole story is 12-25 though. Or if you’re lazy and don’t want to
read all that you can go to this link http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/246612/jewish/Abraham.htm
that summarizes Abrahams story, and it’s .org so you know it’s legit.
So, lets get into this. Romans 4. I
didn’t find a lot that spoke to me in this chapter, but if you do, please share
in the comments J
In verse 5: But to the one who does not work, but believes
in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness; we
are shown/told that our actions do not determine our faith. Whether we believe
or not is up to us, but whether we are saved or not is up to God. In John 14:6
Jesus says “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.”
Flowing into verses 6, 7, and 8 it goes into further detail.
6 – just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits
righteousness apart from works: 7 – “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have
been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. 8 – Blessed is the man whose
sin the Lord will not take into account.” Verse 6 is referring to King David,
who committed a ton of sins, he committed murder, adultery, and lied but he was
still able to experience Gods forgiveness, and so can we. In order to do so
though we need to recognize our sin, ask God for forgiveness, and let go of
that sin and believe that God has forgiven us. By doing this we recognize the
tremendous price He paid for us on the cross.
It is arrogant of us to think that any of our sins are too great for Him
to cover. In 1 John 1:9 is says that any sin s confessed are sins forgiven.
Jumping into my 2 favorite parts of
this chapter: verse 16 and verses 19 through 21! Verse 16: For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so
that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those
who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is
the father of us all (see Genesis 17:5). In the previous verses we were told
that Abraham received his promise while uncircumcised or while being a Gentile
and circumcised himself as the Jews and sealed his righteousness in that way,
in a weird way it was like a baptism. This is just really nice to hear, we are
ALL saved! Jews and Gentiles, those that live by the Law and those who don’t.
If we accept God he pours His grace over us. We are saved only through faith in
Christ, trusting Him to forgive all our sins. I like how Hebrews 11:1 describes
faith: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot
see.”
Verses 19 through 21!
19 – Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own
body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the
deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 – yet,
with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but he grew
strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 – and being fully assured that what
God had promised He was able to also preform.
In my Biblical Literature class last semester my professor,
Dr. Love, told us a lot about covenants, basically a promise, and there are 4
(I think…) major ones and this is one of them. Basically God chose Abraham and
made a promise that He would give him land, more of less, if he would trust
Him. God doesn’t demand an answer right away, He first shows Abraham that His
word is good, and then asks for an answer (or sacrifice) *wink*wink* but to
know more go read Genesis. Anyway…the
thing I Love is that Abraham trusted God when most of us, especially today,
would have just given up and been like ‘naa God, this isn’t worth it’. Abraham Trusted
that God would follow through on His promise.
I really love the way my footnotes evaluate verse 21:
“Abraham never doubted that God would fulfill his promise. Abraham’s
life was marked by mistakes, sins, and failures as well as
by wisdom and goodness, but he consistently trusted God. His faith was
strengthened by the obstacles he faced, and his life was an example of faith
in action. If he had looked only at his own resources for subduing Cannan
and founding a nation, he would have given up in despair. But Abraham looked
to God, obeyed him, and waited for God to fulfill his word.”
Abraham is inspiration at its finest. I doubt God all the time and I have a
huge problem with trust. How am I supposed to sit around and wait for God to do
something? If I look to Him it will become possible. We need to trust God, and
I know I keep saying it, but I also know that it’s hard. Faith isn’t easy,
being a Christian isn’t easy, and living in this world of sin with constant
temptation doesn’t make any of it easier. But when we “Look To Go” He will make
it easier! Trust Him! Trust His word, promise, and plan for you and put your
faith into action. Look at the obstacles you face as a gift from God and use
them to learn from and grow stronger in your faith! Alright…I’m done.
Take some time to thank God for the obstacles in your life
today. Try to see if you can notice how they have helped you grow, or if you’re
currently in them evaluate how God might be using this situation to help you.
Have an awesome day friends, and stay cool. ;)
Song of the day:
Upside Down, Jack Johnson
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