Read Romans 4
Key Verse: “16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring – not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the Father of us all.”
Observations: In this chapter, Paul is refuting the rite of circumcision as it is living in the tree of knowledge of good and evil and it is a dead gospel and a false gospel based on works. Earlier Paul stated that if we could work our way into heaven the reward would be an obligation and there would be no grace in that. Later (6:23) Paul states when we do works the wages of our sin is death. So he plays on this whole idea of wages and obligations. This is the danger and downside of the law. It sets up impossible salvation. The standard is so high it cannot be achieved and so the wages of not living up to that law’s standard is death and that is what we all deserve but it is the free gift of grace that allows us to be Abraham’s children. It is following in Abraham’s footsteps who had faith before there was circumcision and that is what counts or is important. When we come to have faith, Abraham becomes our father, we are his offspring in this spiritual lineage whether we are Jewish or not.
Application: I have to ask myself, am I attempting to be “Good Enough” to get into heaven, or am I really leaning on faith and God’s grace? The struggle which then ensues is to balance the two. I lean on grace but I also know that grace and love result in obedience and a changed lifestyle. So if my lifestyle is not completely obedient to God, do I not have enough grace? To solve this, I must go back to the truth that God loves me. He loves me so much that He gave me His grace in the first place. That simple truth should be my motivation to live as best I can to please him. A good way for me to look at this is how I wanted to please my dad. I could never be as good as my dad, who extended a lot of grace to me as a child. To this day, I still long to please my dad, I long to live in such a way that he would be proud of me. I guess that is a good way to look at how grace and works balance in my life with my heavenly father.
Prayer: Jesus, it is in the midst of this tension that I live and I need your insight, your love, your direction, and your help. I know you have given me your grace and I now want to live in obedience to you, but I know I fail so often. Help me feel your love and acceptance and then help me like a child who desires to live out of that life that is obedient to you. Help me to know that you are my good father.
