The Faith of Abraham
Study Scripture: Romans 4: 1 – 12
Background Scripture: Romans 4: 1 – 12
Lesson 8 July 17, 2021
Key Verse
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”
Romans 4:3
INTRODUCTION
In his letter to the Roman church, Paul had stressed that the righteous God had made every provision so that man would quite rightly recognize Him and worship Him. All men had every opportunity to know and to worship God, but most had rejected Him, and were not thankful to Him, but rather were rebellious.
All therefore, who had despised God and His laws by not being obedient, would be punished. God would judge the secrets of men one day.
He had stated that the gospel of Christ had power, for it was the power of God to save every one who believed. Both believing Jew and believing Gentile would be saved through the Gospel.
In Romans chapter 3 the Apostle Paul had been forced to deal with the question as to the source of salvation after his analysis that everybody was guilty before God. Everybody includes the one who considers themselves to be a rebel, the moralist, the legalist, the philosophers who tried to parse and dissect language in such a way that they try to rule out any personal responsibility for anything, as well as those who try to create all different kinds of belief systems and religions for themselves in opposition to the one laid on by God.
When you look around you see all kinds of religions and in these religions structures, sects, and cults there are also lots of subgroups for people simply cannot agree with each other based on their human reasoning.
In our Lesson Study in Romans 4 the Apostle Paul states categorically that no one would ever know God without following the example of Abraham. This is so because in his unique way he went on a journey of faith that all genuine believers before him and since him have followed.
The human predicament is therefore that people do not like to be told that their mouths should be shut and they should listen to God’s answer to the human predicament that we are all in. The plain fact is according to the apostle Paul that we have been offered a surprising gift apart from any contribution by those who will receive it. God has acted to make His righteousness known and available to all of us because of the death of Jesus on the Cross. There can therefore be no boasting.
The Apostle’s advice is quite clear. One writer sums it up as follows:
“We must refuse to be impressed with our contribution in any sense, but having received the opportunity to experience the righteousness of God, we must do so by faith and with appreciation for the giver of the gift”.
It is so amazing that the path to salvation is so simple. Because this path is so simple human beings try to crowd on it all kind of humanistic explanations and try to add their little piece, their very little contribution to it. But note
“That redemption that is in Jesus Christ is received by the instrumentality of faith and salvation is one that is ours on the principle of grace”.
Most just do not want to believe. Believe therefore is the basic human sin which leads to the Lake of Fire.
There was however an objective basis for this justification. God could not declare a person “justified” or “righteous” without dealing with his sin. There had to be a payment, so that this sinner could be released. That payment was made by the death of Christ on the Cross.
God’s answer to the continuing sinning of both Jew and Gentile was the “Sacrifice of atonement” of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was therefore the “propitiation”. Jesus came to ‘satisfy by a sacrifice, that is, to propitiate’. This word also indicates “to have mercy” (Luke 18: 13), and to “make Atonement”. (Hebrews 2: 17).
This work of Christ could only be appropriated by faith. A believer therefore only had to place his faith in Christ.
By acting in such a way God had demonstrated His judicial righteousness. He had held back or delayed from punishing since the past times, because He had anticipated His provision for sin in the death of Jesus Christ.
God the Father had therefore showed that He was just, satisfying His own righteousness and the strict implication that this had meant for sinners, for sinners would have had to bear the punishment of death and eternal separation from Him. At the same time it showed His love, mercy, and grace in restoring rebellious, ungrateful sinners.
God had acted purely by His grace to justify sinners who had been unable to live up to the standards of the perfect Law of God. This applied to both the Jews and Gentiles who had always been sinning.
The Apostle therefore rightly concluded that a man could only be ‘justified’ (declared righteous) by faith, apart from works of Law.
The Apostle Paul is therefore now answering some questions in the minds of some believers who had slipped into false ideas about personal salvation. He gave illustrations to help them understand the truth.
Then Paul insisted that the true and living God was not the God of Jews only, for He was the Creator and the Sovereign Lord of all peoples. God had dealt equally with all people for many years before He called Abraham, for it was many, many years after the Creation that He had called Abraham and chosen one from his line to be the Father of Israel, His special people.
The one true God had not nullified the Law by this faith, but had confirmed the purity of the Law. The Law was there to point man to God, and propel him to accept the salvation He had provided through Christ, the Atonement.
Paul, in our Lesson today, now began to illustrate the truth of salvation by faith, by pointing to a living person who all Jews agreed was the greatest person of their nation. Would the experience of Abraham corroborate Paul’s central claim that human beings were accepted on the basis of faith? Would the experience of Abraham show that the Law could not be identified with Israel to the extent that practicing distinctive Jewish rites, and participating in Jewish privilege should lead to boasting? Or that universal salvation did not contradict or avoid the terms of the special offer of grace to Israel?
The people of Israel had always believed that Abraham was the model of piety and faithfulness to the Covenant. It was probably felt that he had always observed the Law, though it had not yet been written in the form of the Mosaic Law.
They believed this because in Genesis 26:5 God had stated that He would bring great blessings to Abraham and his seed
“Because that Abraham obeying my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statues, and my laws.”
Abraham was thus a man of God “par excellence” and a paradigm of faithfulness.
Surely therefore, his experience would make or break Paul’s arguments about the nature of salvation, and its relationship to the Law.
You might be startled to think that anyone could believe that Abraham was justified by works. But rabbinic Judaism taught exactly that. One scholar helps us understand that position by quoting one of the statements in the rabbinical Judaism writings:
“So you will find that our father Abraham became the heir of this and of the coming world simply by the merit of the faith with which he believed in the Lord, as it is written, he believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness”.
Now, notice the expression, “By the merit of faith”, so that for them Abraham was justified by the merit of faith. His faith is the thing that gained him merit before God, and enabled him to be justified. In fact, in other passages in the rabbinic Judaism referring to that same passage in Genesis 15: 6, “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness”, you will find in some of the rabbinic literature the text cited in this way, “And he believed in the LORD, and he counted it to him for merit”.
So that Abraham is conceived to be an individual who is justified by merit before the Lord. His faith is regarded as a work that Abraham does which merits salvation”.
So note carefully that for some in Israel Abram was justified by the merit of faith for that is the thing that gained him merit before God and enabled him to be justified.
There are many people who believe that by doing “things” that they consider to be “good” those things will justify them or declare them righteous by God. They seek to create “merit” by themselves.
Some religions have been created by men and teach self-actualization or self-development to some kind of perfection. They think that by regular chanting, meditation, practices such as yoga exercises, making charitable contributions and other activities that those things will get them into bliss or Nirvana and they will not suffer for their evils done physically or mentally.
Some of course simply reject the idea of God and say that there is no personal God and that they can live and disappear into the nothingness of Nirvana.
The Apostle therefore has to bring these believers in the Roman church face-to-face with the reality of God and His will.
It is therefore critically important for us to understand the truth about salvation and not think that we can do things in the flesh to gain merit before God.
We cannot properly at the same time ignore the fact that where there is saving faith this will manifest itself into action of a particular kind. The Book of James as well as other apostolic teachings deals with this matter in great detail.
THE TEXT
Verse 1. Paul therefore asked the key question as to how Abraham had attained to such a high position of privilege and favor with God. This position of Abraham was a fact, for James 2:23 repeats that Abraham was “the friend of God”.
Note that we will be looking at Paul’s comparison using the term “the law” where he is referring to the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses.
Did Abraham do this by living a lifetime of good works? Abraham was a man just like us, and was the chief of the fathers, the head of the Jewish nation. Did Abraham find out about righteousness and salvation by his own efforts or in his own strength! Given the rhetorical nature of the question, the Apostle Paul understood the answer he would receive as No!
Verse 2. Paul’s argument was that if Abraham could argue that his justification or righteousness was due to his own effort or works, Abraham could boast in the fact that he had done enough good works so that God had no alternative but to give him something. If Abraham therefore had done enough good works of his own strength, and by his own effort lived a pious life, he had a right to boast about that before men. But even if that was so Abram could not boast before God about his works or achievements, because God certainly would have seen all the failings and infirmities that plagued him. God was too pure and perfect for any man, finite as he was, to stand before Him and boast about himself.
Some of these issues were dealt with in Romans 1:17, but however a reminder is in order.
The verse mentions the righteousness of God; it is of God’s appointing, of God’s approving and accepting. It is so called to cut off all pretensions to a righteousness resulting from the merit of our own works, or specifically to our Lesson today, Abraham’s own works. It is the righteousness of Christ, who is God, resulting from a satisfaction of infinite value.
Some have said that the words of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle James are at odds with each other concerning faith and works, but if one truly looks at what is said concerning faith, and looks at how works come out of it, then their words are reconciled with one another, as this faith to faith. One writer, Matthew Henry discusses faith and its relation to work and explains how the righteousness of God is revealed. He puts it this way.
It is said to be from faith to faith, from the faithfulness of God revealing to the faith of man receiving (so some); from the faith of dependence upon God, and dealing with him immediately, as Adam before the fall, to the faith of dependence upon a Mediator, and so dealing with God (so others); from the first faith, by which we are put into a justified state, to after faith, by which we live, and are continued in that state:
and the faith that justifies us is no less than our taking Christ for our Saviour, and becoming true Christians, according to the tenor of the baptismal covenant; from faith engrafting us into Christ, to faith deriving virtue from him as our root: both implied in the next words, The just shall live by faith.
Just by faith, there is faith justifying us; live by faith, there is faith maintaining us; and so there is a righteousness from faith to faith. Faith is all in all, both in the beginning and progress of a Christian life. It is not from faith to works, as if faith put us into a justified state, and then works preserved and maintained us in it, but it is all along from faith to faith, as 2 Co. 3:18, from glory to glory; it is increasing, continuing, persevering faith, faith pressing forward, and getting ground of unbelief”.
Verse 3. Paul stated that the answer to why Abraham found favor with God was to be found in the Scriptures, the authority that everyone would acknowledge.
Paul had already pointed out in chapter 1:2 that God had made promises through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. Now he again refers to this in chapter 3:21,
“Now the righteousness of God apart from the law is manifested on being witnessed by the law and the prophets” so that the church in Rome would understand that he was not preaching a different doctrine from the one that had been preached throughout the past centuries. The law and the prophets and the gospel had been talked about constantly in the gospel of God for that gospel was promised long before his message.
Abraham knew this gospel and so he knew that he had nothing to boast about before God. He had simply not kept the whole law of God perfectly either by intuition or anticipation. So what was Abraham’s posture before God?
Paul therefore quoted from Genesis 15:6, showing that Abraham believed in the promises that God had given him, promises which had included the coming of “the seed of the woman”, Christ the Messiah.
Abraham believed that God would graciously fulfill His promises, for God had the ability to perform what He had promised.
Abraham’s object of faith and trust was not in himself, his possessions, or his own righteousness, but in God.
We must understand that the meaning of the word ‘believe’ has been twisted. But here it means that Abraham simply committed himself to God. One writer states that really what Abraham did was to ‘make room for God in his life. He simply, in his sin and failure, made room for God and God made him righteous. He practiced God.’
It is interesting to note that when Abraham believed, God imputed righteousness to his account. The word used is “credited”, and it is an accounting term.
When there is this belief in Christ, just as Abraham believed in Christ the coming Messiah, our faith is really just the instrument that puts us in possession of the blessings that God graciously bestows on us.
The mere act of mere believing, which is as much a work as any other thing we are commanded to do dutifully, was not what was counted as full obedience. His faith was simply the instrument. It was the promised seed, the Messiah, and His righteousness, which Abraham looked into and believed in, that made God credit or impute righteousness to his account. This trust, obedience in, and commitment to God made Abram obey God and move out of Ur of the Chaldees to a land that he did not know and had never seen, Abraham’s own righteousness had nothing to do with it at all.
Abraham therefore when he got into a disagreement with his nephew Lot, he allowed Lot to take any place he wanted even the finest and most fertile land around which God had already given to Abram anyway. Abram believed in God and God’s promises when God told him that he should look in every direction north, south, east, west and it included Lot’s property for he was going to get the entire area according to the promise of God.
Abram loved God and he believed God and so he was willing to in obedience offer Isaac on the altar as evidence of his faith because he knew God’s promises which would of course involve restoring Isaac to life so that His promises would be fulfilled. Abram believed in the promise from God of the promised seed even though he was barren and Sarah was barren.
It is best to think in these terms, it is not the perfect faith that is required to justification (there may be acceptable faith where there are remainders of unbelief), but the prevailing faith, the faith that has the upper hand of unbelief.
Verse 4.
As one writer said Abraham simply believed. He did not achieve. So Paul would now be able to say,
“Now to him who works the wages are not counted as grace, but of debt”.
Abraham did not work but he received this free gift which of course is of grace and that is what believing is.
As Paul’s argument continues therefore he deals with two individuals, who have different things accounted to them, yet in a different manner. One is represented as working, while the other, not! One might think that the term worker can be from God’s perspective applied to spiritual things. The regenerate man is disposed to work for God for this man has the Spirit of God and so is capable of working, or producing a good work, as he has the grace of Christ, and strength from Him, and so he can work well. But note that this worker is he that believes in Christ and works in a right way; he that loves Christ, works freely, and from a right principle. He that has Christ’s glory in view works to a right end.
But from God’s perspective he is a non-worker and is therefore justified in spiritual things. He has been the recipient of the grace of God, receiving a free gift not by doing but by non-doing things. There is nothing that this person could have done to have the right to be able to stand before God. When this person stands before God it is by the faith that God has given of that person in the Lord Jesus Christ, for then he or she would have the righteousness of God and can boldly stand there. Remember that after we have done everything to the perfectly holy and righteous God who lives in unapproachable light, we are still unprofitable servants.
In contrast however are the other workers who work upon nature’s principles, and with selfish views. It is he who works in the strength of nature, trusting to, and glorying in what he does, seeking righteousness by his work, and working for eternal life and salvation. However, grace and works can never agree together, for if the reward is reckoned for the man’s works, then it is not of grace. This worker can never be justified.
This leads to an inevitable conclusion about performing all the works of the law, that even if it is said to yield perfect obedience, there is still some “thing” that is lacking. It is impossible for a guilty man to make God a debtor to Him, as it is impossible to please God, as sin still remains.
Verse 5.
The argument is this, that Abraham’s reward was God Himself.
Gen. 15:1, I am thy exceeding great reward. If Abraham had merited this by the perfection of his obedience, it had not been an act of grace in God, but Abraham might have demanded it with as much confidence as any labourer in the vineyard demanded the penny he had earned. However, God meant grace to be free to all, for grace’s sake (John 1:16).
Belief in Christ is a matter of grace. So it should be understood that the believer does work because he or she is now a regenerated person doing what the will of God and the direction of the Holy Spirit calls for. The regenerate does not seek justification by his or her doings, but as with Abraham, put his or her belief in Him that justifies the ungodly. There is no way of justifying one’s own ungodliness. The ungodly will cast themselves on the mercy of God and in this position they will be credited with righteousness.
Abraham was a person in a state of un-regeneracy, meaning he was an ungodly person, as all God’s elect are in a state of nature, and are so until God justifies them, being without a righteousness of their own, wherefore He imputes the righteousness of another, even that of His own Son unto them. Though He justifies the ungodly, He does not justify their ungodliness, but them from it.
Verse 6.
Paul also cites David when he makes mention of the man in whom God imputes righteousness apart from works. David is here referred to because he has received part of the fundamental Abraham covenant promises which flow from the promises to Abraham for God told Abraham that Kings would come out of him. David refers to this man as one who is most happy. This blessing is freely bestowed, and graciously “imputed” by God.
We recall that Adam’s sin is what is imputed to us as his descendants and is linked to the flesh. We can also consider that in the same process, in the same way of imputation how out sins became Christ’s, and His righteousness becomes ours. Actually between verses three and 11 Paul uses the word translated impute, count, reckon eight times to make us understand that these words simply mean to ‘put’ to ones account.
We have no righteousness of our own when God justifies us; this must be done by reckoning to us the righteousness of another. Righteousness can be imputed to us in no other way but by the righteousness of another; by imputing it to us. This is done without works by the ungodly person, but it comes from a work done by Christ. This is where the righteousness is derived from; it is separate and distinct from the creature or from any consideration to them.
So as seen, righteousness cannot be the righteousness of the law, or man’s obedience to it, for that is righteousness with works. It is a man’s own, and not imputed, and indeed is not righteousness in the sight of God.
Further to that point, a man’s blessedness does not and cannot lie in it, or come by it, or be instilled by it, saved by it. One cannot attain to heaven and eternal happiness by means of it.
The acceptable righteousness is the righteousness of Christ, called the righteousness of God, and it is better than that of angels or men; it is complete and perfect and by it the law is honoured, and justice is satisfied.
Verse 7.
The words used here are those found in Psalm 32:1 and contain the proof of the happiness of justified persons, and also goes to show that Paul is making use of the Old Testament in order to prove Christ. The citation is one that encompasses all men, both Jew and Gentile, when Christ is considered in this. Everyone is blessed and in a state of happiness whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. This can only be done by God who justifies by imputing the righteousness of His Son to them. He removes their iniquities from them, which is meant by their being “forgiven”. That applies to the Jews first but then also to all man.
The Scriptures take an account on the Day of Atonement when Satan comes to accuse Israel. However, Satan has a lifetime of sins that he will continually put towards our account, but this is what our Holy Blessed God does for us, He takes away the sins out of the account and hides them, and when Satan comes and finds no iniquity there, he can no longer accuse us (Jeremiah 50:20, Psalm 85:2). This is the mercy of God covering the sins of His people; the blood of Jesus is what makes this possible.
Verse 8.
Those who are justified by Christ, and by His righteousness will have no more sins counted against him or her due to the blood of Christ. God will not impute sin towards those individuals. Further, according to Paul’s argument, it is the imputing of righteousness without works.
We can see this is wholly a gracious act of God, not dealing with us in strict justice as we have deserved. Our sins are imputed to His Son, He has been made to bear them. Voluntarily He took them away from us, having made full satisfaction for them, so that these persons will never be charged with them, so that they may appear before the Throne without fault. They are blameless and in the sight of God protected from attacks. Therefore they must be eternally happy, for God will never think of their sins any more to their hurt. This is what it means to be blessed or to be in a state of blessedness, one who is pardoned of all their sin. Only pardoned people are blessed people.
Verse 9.
The design of these words with the following is to prove that the blessing of justification belongs to Gentiles as well as Jews, and that it is by faith, and not by circumcision; which is done by observing the state and condition Abraham was in when justified.
Abraham’s faith was counted for him while he was yet uncircumcised. Abraham is expressly said to be justified by faith fourteen years (some say twenty five years) before he was circumcised. Abraham was pardoned and accepted in uncircumcision, a circumstance which as it silence the fears of the poor uncircumcised Gentiles, just as it would lower the pride and conceitedness of the Jews, who gloried in their circumcision, as if they had the monopoly of all happiness.
Verse 10.
We are here considering when Abraham was justified? Or was he justified or his faith reckoned to him for righteousness, when he was a circumcised or uncircumcised person?
Again referencing Gen.15:6 Abraham was then uncircumcised, and remained so many years after. This was before the birth of Ishmael, and Ishmael was thirteen years of age when he and his father Abraham were circumcised. So Paul asserts that the declaration of being justified was made while in a state of uncircumcision, meaning this could not be the cause of his justification, since it followed it.
So now that it is established that Abraham was uncircumcised but was a justified person, as it is certain he was, why may not uncircumcised Gentiles be justified also, especially in light of the fact the covenant made with Abraham was done when he was in the same situation as the Gentiles? So Gentiles can be included among the faithful.
Verse 11.
There are two reasons why Abraham was justified by faith in uncircumcision. Firstly, circumcision is a seal of the righteousness of faith and secondly, that he might be the father of all those that believe.
First, that circumcision might be a seal of the righteousness of faith. The tenor of the covenants must first be settled before the seal can be annexed. Sealing supposes a previous bargain, which is confirmed and ratified by that ceremony. After Abraham’s justification by faith had continued for several years, a pardon by parole, for the confirmation of Abraham’s faith God was pleased to appoint a sealing ordinance, and Abraham received it, he submitted to it.
This is what Matthew Henry has to say on the topic of the circumcision and Abraham:
(1.) The nature of sacraments in general: they are signs and seals-signs to represent and instruct, seals to ratify and confirm. They are signs of absolute grace and favour; they are seals of the conditional promises; nay, they are mutual seals: God does in the sacraments seal to us to be to us a God, and we do therein seal to him to be to him a people.
(2.) The nature of circumcision in particular: it was the initiating sacrament of the Old Testament; and it is here said to be,
[1.] A sign-a sign of that original corruption which we are all born with, and which is cut off by spiritual circumcision,-a commemorating sign of God’s covenant with Abraham,-a distinguishing sign between Jews and Gentiles,-a sign of admission into the visible church,-a sign prefiguring baptism, which comes in the room of circumcision, now under the gospel, when (the blood of Christ being shed) all bloody ordinances are abolished; it was an outward and sensible sign of an inward and spiritual grace signified thereby.
[2.] A seal of the righteousness of the faith. In general, it was a seal of the covenant of grace, particularly of justification by faith-the covenant of grace, called the righteousness which is of faith (ch. 10:6), and it refers to an Old-Testament promise, Deu. 30:12. Now if infants were then capable of receiving a seal of the covenant of grace, which proves that they then were within the verge of that covenant, how they come to be now cast out of the covenant and incapable of the seal, and by what severe sentence they were thus rejected and incapacitated, those are concerned to make out that not only reject, but nullify and reproach, the baptism of the seed of believers.
Secondly, it should be known that there were those who were justified by faith before Abraham, but of Abraham first it is particularly observed, and in him commenced a much clearer and fuller dispensation of the covenant of grace than any that had been before extant.
Abraham is known as the father of all that believe, because he was so eminent a believer, and so eminently justified by faith. He is a standing precedent of justification by faith, as the liberties, privileges, honours, and estates, of the fathers descend to their children. Abraham was the father of believers, because to him or under him this covenant relationship was renewed.
Abraham and Zaccheus were both justified by faith. Abraham being uncircumcised was never a bar to being justified. This means Gentiles can have all fears and doubts removed as a precedent is set for them being able to meet with the same anticipations as all believers, even though uncircumcised, but knowing righteousness will be imputed to them also.
Circumcised and uncircumcised are all an example of the faith that Abraham followed. This makes them genuine children and lawful successors of those that were the church’s fathers, notably starting at Abraham. But more importantly as we follow in the steps of Christ we can look to Him as the Messiah our Saviour, this is our profession as Christians.
Verse 12.
The Jews refer to Abraham the head of those that are circumcised, but he is also the father to them who are not of the circumcision. This means those who walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had, being yet uncircumcised had the same faith they have. Those who walk by faith imitate and follow him in the exercise of faith.
We might not think that this sign of circumcision would have been so critically important for the Jewish people in Paul’s day. But note that circumcision was the point of entry for life under the Law of Moses. For the Jews circumcision meant that they were true descendents of Abraham but despite this they ignored the fact that they should be walking in the steps of the faith that Abraham walked in. One writer notes the shock to Jews of what Paul was saying:
“Our father Abraham is an important phrase that the ancient Jews jealously guarded. They did not allow a circumcised Gentile convert to Judaism refer to Abraham as “our father” in the synagogue. A Gentile convert had to call Abraham “your father” and only natural born Jews would call Abraham “our father”. Paul threw out that distinction, and says that through faith, all can say “our father Abraham”.`
It must have been a shock for the Jewish readers of this letter to see that Paul called Abraham the father of uncircumcised people! Faith, not circumcision is the vital thereby firm, Link to Abraham. It is far more important to have Abraham’s faith (and the righteousness imputed to him because of it) than it is to have Abraham’s circumcision.
William Barclay explains that the Jewish teachers of Paul’s day had a saying: “What is written of Abraham is also written of his children”, meaning that promises given to Abraham extend to his descendents. Paul heartily agreed with this principle, and extended the principle of being justified by faith to all Abraham’s spiritual descendants, those who believe, who also walk in the steps of the faith of Abraham.
CONCLUSION
Let us therefore understand that circumcision is not the means by which we are saved. It is a sign, a seal of righteousness of faith which Abraham had before he was circumcised. The lesson is clear. It is a token, a seal, like a label on the box or on a bottle.
One writer points out that the label is worthless apart from its contents and we should never allow the label to become more important than the content. The label is worthless apart from the reality.
This scholar applies the lesson from Paul to us and he states:
“What the Jewish people of whom he was speaking, and any Gentiles too who believes that salvation is by Baptism, what they have done is to rip off the imprint of the box and they are boasting in the imprint, and the contents, the reality, the justification by faith is discarded as being worthless….
This, of course, was the fatal mistake of many of the old Testament men, or men who lived in the Old Testament times and had some contact with biblical things. They made the fatal mistake of thinking that justification was by circumcision. Circumcision does not secure salvation. Circumcision secured nationality. It was something practiced with Isaac and his seed so that circumcision was something that pertained to Israel or to Gentiles who became a part of Israel. That was their fatal mistake. What they did practicality was to take Isaac, in his eighth day old circumcision for the model of the saved , rather than taking Abraham in his uncircumcised state as a model of the saved man”.
So as we consider acts of doing things visible to others let us understand that salvation is not by works of the law, it is by grace. In our modern times remember that salvation is not by baptism or circumcision for it is the product of faith just like circumcision was supposed to be.
So when we do things let us remember that we must always look at our insides and realize that faith is an attitude of trust in God.
The promise of salvation is a sure thing and the Apostle wants us to know this. It is only a sure thing if it is given on the principle of grace as a free gift. It must be received or appropriated through faith. Then and only then you will have no tension.
So be careful that you do not transform grace into a work. Do not think that the things you do determines your salvation. Your salvation must come from the grace of God for it is a non-working faith. You really cannot do works that will please God for you are too imperfect. You must be justified by having the righteousness of Christ.
It is sometimes difficult for us to grasp what one writer assures us:
Under grace we have the favour of God. I know that Abraham might have said, “But Lord, suppose I get out of Thy will?” God says, “I will bless thee”.
Abraham again, “But Lord, suppose my posterity shall become idolaters?” God says,
“I will bless thee and I will make of thee a great nation”. (Again)
“Lord, suppose my descendents should crucify the seed when the seed should come?
“I will bless thee and thy seed”.
It is sometimes difficult for us to understand that we are saved by unmerited grace and not by our faithfulness. One writer comments,
“It is God’s faithfulness in his whole program, from electing grace down through the cross and on through the operation of the Holy Spirit, who works in the lives of individuals, brings home to them their sin, brings them to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and as Abraham, brings them to the foot of our great Saviour, God praising him for the grace that he manifested to unworthy, guilty, unrighteous despicable sinners, which is what we are”.
It should make a dramatic change in your motivation when you know that you do not have to try everything you can THINK OF to earn God’s love, His favour and His forgiveness for it is already yours.
Your sense of worth does not come from other people. You do not have to keep on maneuvering and manipulating and show that you’re clever and a person of great significance. The only standing that counts is your standing before God.
So take it easy and relax and give people love without demanding anything back. Being in Jesus has given you a fantastic and great gift for that is what your personal relationship with Jesus is all about.
Thank God always.
Love your neighbour as yourself.
Keep on believing in Jesus.
Walk in the footsteps of the faith of Abraham