Note from Celeste:
Before we look at today’s lectionary reading, I’d like to draw your attention to my Holy Week Bible Study book.
Go and Find a Donkey is the latest installment of the Choose This Day Multiple Choice Bible Studies series.
The daily devotionals take 10-15 minutes and include:
- Scripture passage (World English Bible)
- Fun, entertaining multiple choice questions focused directly on the Scripture passage
- Short meditation that can be used as a discussion starter.
Use them on the suggested dates, or skip around. Designed to be used during Holy Week, this nine-day Bible study takes you from Palm Sunday through Easter Monday.
Use this book personally during a coffee break or with the family in the car or at the breakfast table.
Order Go and Find a Donkey today to prepare your family for this year’s Easter season!
CLICK HERE for Amazon’s Kindle book of Go and Find a Donkey.
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AND NOW, BACK TO TODAY’S LECTIONARY READING:
Abraham believed God
START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM
OBSERVE:
Here Paul addresses the vital doctrine of justification by faith. He points out that this doctrine is not a new one. It is rooted and grounded in the story of the great Patriarch of the Hebrews — Abraham himself.
At first glance it would seem that Abraham had plenty of grounds for boasting — the father of many nations, the fountainhead of the people of Israel, and on and on. But it is not for his accomplishments that Abraham has grounds for hope at all. He has no grounds for boasting in his own works, because a right relationship with God cannot be earned, it is a gift of God.
The central words here are these:
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Righteousness, or justification, was given to Abraham as a gift, not something he had earned by his works or because of obedience to the Law (which hadn’t been given yet!) but because of his faith. It was truly grace. A gift of God.
Paul dismisses the notion that obedience to the law brings righteousness or true relationship with God. He will elsewhere clarify the role of the Law as the source of conviction that drives sinners to Christ, but here he simply states that the law is insufficient to fulfill the promises of God. Though the law reveals the holy character of God, humans are incapable of fulfilling it perfectly in their own strength. Therefore, faith is the means that God has ordained to satisfy the requirements of righteousness.
Paul points out that because faith is the means by which we inherit the promises of God, then it is those who are believers who are truly Abraham’s descendants and heirs of the promises of God:
For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace, to the end that the promise may be sure to all the offspring, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations.”
In other words, not only the Jews but also Gentiles may be included as children of Abraham because of their faith, not because of the Law.
APPLY:
The Apostle Paul demonstrates that the great doctrine of justification by faith is not something that he or the early church invented — it is grounded in the experience of Abraham revealed in the ancient texts of his people.
Abraham wasn’t justified or made right with God because of what Abraham did, but because of what God has done. It is through faith that Abraham appropriates the gift of God’s righteousness.
This great doctrine of faith was at the heart of the Reformation, taught by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and later by John Wesley. For those who have been burdened by guilt and driven by futile self-help efforts to please God, this is great news! Our right relationship with God begins with God and ends with God.
Our inheritance from Abraham doesn’t come because of genetics — we don’t have to be Israelites or Ishmaelites — but because we have followed his example in placing our trust in God. All who share in his faith in God are offspring of Abraham!
Paul ends his description of Abraham’s faith by reminding us of the one who is the focus of our faith — Jesus. The promise that it was “credited to him for righteousness” doesn’t only apply to Abraham:
Now it was not written that it was accounted to him for his sake alone, but for our sake also, to whom it will be accounted, who believe in him who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead, who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification (Romans 4:22-25).
RESPOND:
Paul makes it clear that we have no grounds for boasting or pride because of our relationship with God. We haven’t earned anything from God. Our relationship with God, and our salvation, is a free gift of God, received by trusting in the Giver.
So I just have to ask, do our works mean anything at all to God? We know that works cannot earn God’s favor; but after we have been justified, we still have work to do. Ephesians 2:8-10 says it very well:
by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
We are saved by God’s grace, and we are created by God to do his works. They are not our works, but God’s works in us!
Here is an analogy. Years ago I was on the playground with my children. I noticed a piece of paper underneath the swing set. When I picked it up I saw it was a report card. A very good report card. All “A’s.” But I didn’t know the kid who had earned the grades. I didn’t want to leave the scrap of paper littering the church playground, so I threw it away.
Now, even though they were good grades, they meant nothing to me because I didn’t know the kid. But if they had been my own kids’ grades, I know my feelings would have been very different. I would have shown the card to my wife, I would have put the report card on the refrigerator, I would have rewarded my kids with a pizza!
What was the difference? Relationship. The truth is, even if the grades had all been “F’s” on my own kids’ report card, I would still have loved them, because they were my kids. I might have spent more time helping them with their homework, or finding a tutor, and I would have done so because of our relationship.
Justification by faith means that we have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ — that we are accepted and loved. He has work for us to do, but the works don’t make him love us any more or less. And they are the works that he has tailor-made for each of us to do.
Lord, thank you for the gift of grace, and for the faith to receive that gift. I’m relieved to know that my salvation depends entirely on you, and not on how good I am. Help me to live as your child, and to do the works that you have designed just for me! Amen.
PHOTOS:
“Abraham believed God” by Ted is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.
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