Victor Scott - Jeremiah's Vow

Romans Series (Pt. 22) – Romans 5:9-11

We Have Life! (5:9-11)
Paul shares with us another benefit of being in relationship with Christ. We are declared righteous by the blood of Jesus. This is an amazing truth. Not only is God’s wrath no longer sitting on us, but we been given access to God our Father because of Jesus righteousness [2 Corinthians 5:21]. The reality that Christ’s death and life has given sinners new life through the spilled blood of Jesus is not an insignificant reality for the believer. Paul makes clear that the full benefits of salvation are a multi-layered reality.

Salvation is not something that just happens. Paul wants the Roman reader to have a clear understanding of what salvation is. Salvation is God’s great gift and this will only be understood by making sure that the Romans (and we, the contemporary reader) have a clear and accurate understanding of the completeness of the salvation that we have been given.

Paul identifies two facets of the salvation diamond for us to examine. Paul says that we are reconciled and saved. Paul separates the two so that we can see that they are not the same thing and so that we can know how they fit together. By reconciled Paul means that our offensiveness to God has been removed. Some may take offense to the thought that God had a problem with us while we were sinners. But we must accept this truth. We are no longer a stench in the nostrils of God.

By “saved” Paul moves us across the gap into the presence of God. It is not enough to be reconciled, to be made un-offensive. We have to recognize that without the grace of God we would not even be able to enter the kingdom of God. Paul appears to point to the fact that salvation is the transference of our citizenship papers from this world into the kingdom of God. Several passages will be helpful here.

¹⁴I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. [John17:14-19, ESV, emphasis added]
¹¹Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. ¹²Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. [1 Peter 2:11-12, ESV, emphasis added]
²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ… [Philippians 3:20, ESV, emphasis added]

This idea of being citizens of God’s Kingdom was language and imagery that the Romans understood, as did Paul. The rights and privileges of being Roman citizens were significant. Paul was trying to help them understand that the benefits of being participants in the heavenly kingdom were not to be dismissed. Or to be taken lightly. The citizens of God’s kingdom must carry a significant responsibility, as we are the ambassadors of Christ to this world [2 Corinthians 5:20].

Paul’s understanding of our salvation is thorough and complete. We no longer have to fear death or hell. Heaven is a real and sure hope for all that believe. Finally, our citizenship is transferred into the kingdom of God. Throughout this section Paul has been setting the stage that God’s character, word, and promises are trustworthy. And it is based upon these truths that we must proceed in our growing relationship with the God.

Romans Series (Pt. 21) – Romans 5:6-8

Our Great Weakness (5:6)
After giving us a brief lesson about perspective we move into a short discussion about the condition of the lost soul. He describes humanity as being weak and ungodly. These are not very flattering references, but we have to see ourselves as God does in order to understand why we need Him. The hardest part of salvation is coming to terms with why we need to be saved. Until this becomes a reality for us we never come to the moment where we truly understand the depth of our need for God.

Separated from God we are weak. Weak here is talking about our ability to climb up to God. We do not have what it takes to get to God. King David asks in Psalm 15 who is able to live on the mountain of God? David responds that only the one who is blameless and righteous can. Even David understood the inability of any man to meet the standards set by God. Paul reminds us that there is no one who is righteous. What are we to do with these two realities? We have to do what Paul does and accept the remedy that God provides. Any other solution to the problem is to miss what God has offered in sending Jesus. At the heart of what Paul is saying is the reason why God Himself had to come down.

It is interesting what Paul says in verse six. He says that “at the right time Jesus died.” The simplest explanation is that God is in control. I think that this is the best way of understanding this. There may be others, but this basic understanding continues to show us that God has us on His mind. He is thinking about us. God knows that we are unable to rise and so He comes down in Jesus Christ.

While We Were Yet Sinners (5:7-8)
Paul then moves to a statement that contrasts the difference between the way that God and men evaluate who will be helped. Craig Keener in the IVP Background Commentary makes this statement with regard to Paul’s reference to a “good person.”

“Well-educated Greco-Roman readers were aware of the Greek tradition in which “the good man” was extremely rare. Greeks considered laying down one’s life for someone else heroic, but such sacrifice was not common; among Jewish people it was not particularly praised” [Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Romans 5:6-9.]

Marvin Vincent in his Word Studies in the New Testament helps us to understand the nuance of what Paul is saying about these two kinds of men. Paul wants to make it perfectly clear that the criteria that men use to decide whom the will help or praise, is not the reason that Jesus came to save.

Righteous — good (δικαίου — ἀγαθοῦ). The distinction is: δίκαιος [dikaios] is simply right or just; doing all that law or justice requires; ἀγαθός [agathos] is benevolent, kind, generous. The righteous man does what he ought, and gives to every one his due. The good man “does as much as ever he can, and proves his moral quality by promoting the well-being of him with whom he has to do.” Ἀγαθός [agathos] always includes a corresponding beneficent relation of the subject of it to another subject; an establishment of a communion and exchange of life; while δίκαιος only expresses a relation to the purely objective δίκη right. Bengel says: “δίκαιος [dikaios], indefinitely, implies an innocent man; ὁ ἀγαθός [agathos] one perfect in all that piety demands; excellent, honorable, princely, blessed; for example, the father of his country.”

Therefore, according to Paul, though one would hardly die for the merely upright or strictly just man who commands respect, he might possibly die for the noble, beneficent man, who calls out affection. The article is omitted with righteous, and supplied with good — the good man, pointing to such a case as a rare and special exception. [Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2002), Romans 5:7.]

There are two features here that have to be noticed. The first is another expression of salvation through grace. “While we were still sinners” tells us that we are unable to make right the broken relationship with God. The second feature to notice in the text is that of love. John in his first letter helps us understand something about the nature of love in relation to our sin.

God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [hilasmos] for our sins. [1 John 4:9-10, HCSB]

This is probably the best biblical definition that we have about the nature of love in general, and of the love of God specifically. Love is given before it can be reciprocated, or given back. Love is seen through its initiation not in its response. The one who acts first is showing love.

John tells us of a particular aspect of this love when he uses the word propitiation. The propitiatory nature of Christ’s love reveals to us that because of Christ the wrath of God is deflected away from us and is absorbed by the Son of God. If ever there was a word to understand and believe it is this one. Lawrence Richard unpacks this word for us.

Propitiation: love’s atoning sacrifice (4:10). Divine love by its nature is unselfish. It is even more: It is self–sacrificing. John proves this by pointing to Christ’s sacrifice as a hilasmos. This word in Gk. thought described an act which in some way averted the destructive powers of the gods and, ideally, won their favor. It is used in the Septuagint to translate kippur, the word for “atonement.” In the O.T. the concept emphasizes the covering of sins by the offering of the life of a substitute in place of the life of the sinner. Jesus’ death for us averted the punishment our sins deserve and enables God to shower blessings on us. [Lawrence O. Richards, The Bible Readers Companion, electronic ed. (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996), 895. (Emphasis added)]

J. I. Packer also provides some helpful insights to what propitiation does for us.

The cross of Christ has many facets of meaning. As our sacrifice for sins, it was propitiation (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2, 4:10; cf. Hebrews 2:17); that is, a means of quenching God’s personal penal wrath against us by blotting out our sins from his sight. (“Expiation” in the RSV rendering of these texts signifies only “a means of blotting out sins,” which is an inadequate translation.) As our propitiation, it was reconciliation, the making of peace for us with our offended, estranged, angry Creator (Romans 5:9–11). We are not wise to play down God’s hostility against us sinners; what we should do is magnify our Savior’s achievement for us in displacing wrath by peace. [J. I. Packer, Growing in Christ, (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1996, c1994), 53.]

We have to keep in mind that while propitiation is “a means of quenching God’s personal penal wrath against us by blotting out our sins from his sight,” this act of appeasing God’s wrath can not be done by any work that we perform.We, as long as we are in sin, are unable to satisfy God.

We should also keep in mind that God does not interact with the world according to His hatred of sin. If that were the case then judgment would have immediately followed the fall. What we see is that God does love His creation in spite of its rebellion. It is because He loved the world that He sent His Son to redeem it (John 3:16). In light of this we have to see that the nature of propitiation in this context is to satisfy the requirement for holiness that God has set, and that sin has made impossible. Due to the inability of humanity to overcome sin God must rightly and judiciously bring His wrath to bear on sin.

His wrath against sin cannot be placated by good works. Only the infliction of the penalty of sin, death, will satisfy the just demands of His holy law which the human race violated, maintain His government, and provide the proper basis for His bestowal of mercy, namely, divine justice satisfied. This is the hilasmos (íλασμος), that sacrifice which fully satisfies the demands of the broken law. It was our Lord’s death on Calvary’s Cross. [Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997, c1984), 1 John 4:10, emphasis added]

It was our Lord’s death on Calvary’s Cross that made salvation not only possible, but sure. God’s wrath against the repentant sinner has been fully extinguished upon Jesus.

Romans Series (Pt. 20) – Romans 5:1-5

Peace With God (5:1)
Paul begins chapter 5 with a word about the effect that all of chapter 4 implies to us now that we have become children of God. It is important to see the connections that Paul is making from chapter to chapter.

What Paul is describing here is not that we have peace because of God’s presence in our lives. Paul is actually describing the relationship that existed between us, the sinner, and God, the righteous. We were enemies of God. Paul is not mincing words or playing games. What has happening is that the way that God looks at us has changed. John Gill summarizes for us what Paul has down up to this point in the letter:

The apostle having set the doctrine of justification in a clear light, and fully proved that it is not by the works of men, but by the righteousness of God; and having mentioned the several causes of it, proceeds to consider its effects, among which, peace with God stands in the first place… [John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, Romans 5:1]

Peace with God is not an incidental reality for the sinner who is now a believer. Peace with God is the wonderful truth and new reality that all have moved from the category of enemy with God to that of sons and daughters of God. We are not longer in danger of hell. Paul is bringing the first four chapters into its finest relief with verse 1.

Adam Clarke in his Commentary on the Bible says this about verse 1 regarding our peace with God:

Before, while sinners, we were in a state of enmity with God, which was sufficiently proved by our rebellion against his authority, and our transgression of his laws; but now, being reconciled, we have peace with God. Before, while under a sense of the guilt of sin, we had nothing but terror and dismay in our own consciences; now, having our sin forgiven, we have peace in our hearts, feeling that all our guilt is taken away. Peace is generally the first-fruits of our justification. [Adam Clark Commentary, Romans 5:1]

The burden of our offense against a holy God has been lifted. This is the very definition of peace with God. To no longer have to fear the judgement of God’s righteous wrath, but rather feel the full measure and expression of His compassionate love, is to have peace with God.

God’s Grace and Love are Ours (5:2-5)
Paul then moves on to say we not only have peace with God because of our relationship with Jesus, but we have much more also. Because we have peace, we have access to grace. We can’t have either peace or grace without Jesus. But there is still more. Having peace with God simply unlocks the door to all that God desires to give to us. One of the benefits of peace with God is that our outlook on what is happening around us changes too. Paul says that we have peace and we have grace so that when tribulations come we see them as opportunities to grow closer to God. These times of trial are God’s means of maturing us into Christ who is our head [Ephesians 4:13-15].

It is not normal to glory, or to be happy in or to boast about difficult times. But when the greatest trouble, the trouble of a lost soul, has been removed all other things appear minor and almost trivial to us. The hymn by Helen H. Lemmel has helped me to make sense of this interesting and difficult passage.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, / Look full in His wonderful face, / And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, / In the light of His glory and grace. [Words & Music: Helen H. Lemmel, 1922]

In 1 Corinthians 4:17-18 Paul says it this way underscoring this new perspective:

¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. [ESV, emphasis added]
¹⁷For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. [NIV, emphasis added]
¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. [NLT, emphasis added]

This peace reminds us that we don’t have to lose our joy in tribulation. In difficult times when we know that there is a spiritual and divine purpose for what is happening. We many not always be able to make sense of it, but the reality of our peace with God helps us to trust God through whatever comes our way. Look at how the God’s Word version of Romans 5:3-5 puts it:

But that’s not all. We also brag when we are suffering. We know that suffering creates endurance, endurance creates character, and character creates confidence. We’re not ashamed to have this confidence, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. [Romans 5:3-5, God’s Word]

Will there continue to be difficult times in the Christian’s life? The answer is a resounding, “Yes.” What the Christian has that the non-believer does not have is that we can see that there is more than meets the eye in our troubles. We can see, as mentioned above [2 Corinthians 4:17-18], that what is before is not all that there is. And we have the Holy Spirit continually reminding us of God’s love in and through or circumstances. We boast not in ourselves, because we know that does no good. We boast in God who is able accomplish what doesn’t seems impossible and which doesn’t make sense in the midst of our difficulties and confusion.

Perspective is helpful, particularly in our faith journey. Are you a half-full or half-empty kind of a person? Consider this story:

The Right Perspective:
When Goliath came against the Israelites, the soldiers all thought, “He’s so big we can never kill him.” David looked at the same giant and though, “He’s so big I can’t miss.” [From SermonIllustrations.com, “Perspective“]

The perspective we have determines the course of action we take. If our perspective is not defined by the Word of God as the Holy Spirit instructs we will find ourselves ill-equipped to handle the obstacles that may come. We must learn to have God’s perspective of things. A “God’s-eye” view. We don’t always have to understand what we see. As long as we continue to trust in God to see us through we will be alright.

Romans Series (Pt. 19) – Romans 4:22-25

Salvation is a Simple thing, but it is not Easy(4:22-25)
Paul concludes his defense of genuine faith by telling us why Abraham is a part of the story. Abraham was the first to receive the imputation of righteousness that comes because of faith in the work of Christ.

Salvation, in the end, is not about doctrines or philosophies. It is not about the right words, or prayer or denomination. Salvation is the joining of two hearts, the heart of God and the heart of each individual that trusts in Him [John 17:20-26]. The events of Abraham’s life were written so that when the time came and some nutty preacher said, “If you believe on the Lord Jesus you will be saved,” you would actually believe Him and be saved. Not because the preacher said so, but rather because Abraham stands as the great example of what true faith in a faithful God looks like.

If the faith like that of Abraham is what God said we need to exercise in order to be justified, then maybe we should agree with Abraham and hope that it could be said of us:

He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. [Romans 4:20-21, The Message, emphasis added]

Salvation is a simple thing. God has not made the matter complicated or difficult. He tells us to believe and salvation will come. Paul’s description and explanation of Abraham’s faith helped the Romans to understand two things. First, there was nothing that they could do to be saved. Salvation of any soul is an act of divine intervention. There is nothing that we can do to merit God’s love for us. What God does is that God extends an invitation to journey with Him throughout our lives.

Second, there was nothing that God desires for us to do to be saved. Faith is not a work because it is not something we do, it is something we are, or better yet, it is is someone we are becoming. As a result the Holy Spirit’s work to conform and transform us [Romans 8:29, 12:2], there will emerge from within us corresponding actions that serve as proof, as evidence of the inner reality that we have been born again [1 Peter 2:11-12]. But these “doings” proceed from our changed hearts. They do not precede our change of heart.

Romans Series (Pt. 18) – Romans 4:17-21

The Content of Genuine Faith (4:17-21)
What we find in the next few verses is what Abraham believed, what was the content of his faith, that was counted to him as righteousness. It is important to remember that faith, in order for it to be Biblical faith, must have a specific content. Faith is not supposed to be ambiguous. Faith is not like trying to grab the fog, but rather it is more like grabbing hold of something solid.

It is almost funny the way that Paul writes it. The Message paraphrase does a good job of capturing the emotion of this moment in both Abraham and Sarah’s lives.

¹⁷We call Abraham “father” not because he got God’s attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn’t that what we’ve always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, “I set you up as father of many peoples”? Abraham was first named “father” and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. ¹⁸When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, “You’re going to have a big family, Abraham!” ¹⁹Abraham didn’t focus on his own impotence and say, “It’s hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child.” Nor did he survey Sarah’s decades of infertility and give up. ²⁰He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, ²¹sure that God would make good on what he had said. [Romans 4:17-21, The Message, emphasis added]

These are some remarkable words. When we begin to understand the story of Abraham and the circumstances of God’s interaction with him, we get a clearer picture of what faith truly is. Whatever we call faith, if it is going to be worthy of that name, must be based on something that is true (God’s Word), undeniable (God’s Faithfulness), and outside of myself (God’s Character) . That is why faith is not a “work” on our part, but a work of God in us [Ephesians 2:8-9]. When we look at the heavens, when we take God at His word and agree that it is only God who is able to do what He has said and promised, then faith has been exercised.

Do we trust in ourselves too much? Are we living according to what we see and not what God has promised? Have we taken the plunge into the promises of God and come up reassured that God is not a man that He should lie about what He is able to do ?

¹⁹God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? [Numbers 23:19, ESV]

These are the questions that should confront us when we consider the life and faith of Abraham. Paul does well in taking us back to him. Any proper and biblical understanding of faith must begin with Abraham. When each of us can embrace this faith, then we too can be considered among the children of Abraham!

Romans Series (Pt. 17) – Romans 4:13-16

Who Do You Trust? (Romans 4:13-16)
The reason that Abraham received the inheritance of being the father of many nations and the reason that his children also were beneficiaries of that promise was not because of who they were, but because of who they believed in. They believed in God and it was counted as righteousness. And this faith had nothing to do with what God wanted them to do—the law. The law were and are the standards of life for those that believe. They point to the covenant that exists. They are not the sign for the covenant. Something that we looked at before. Faith is what makes any command meaningful. Based on this inter-relationship between faith and law as exemplified in Abraham one can say that faith precedes law. Faith was the “means” by which any benefit of the promise of God was honored.

If it is about what we do then faith doesn’t matter and every person that does good would benefit from the covenant made to Abraham. But that isn’t the way that God has structured the relationship that we enjoy with Him . The kingdom is not established according to the works of men, but the work of Christ on the cross [Ephesians 2:4-7, cf., Romans 11:6; 2 Corinthians 5:18; 1John 2:2, 4:10]. The cross of Christ counteracts the effects of the law upon men. Paul tells us as much in verse 15 and 16.

For the law produces wrath; but where there is no law, there is no transgression. This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all [Rom 4:15-16, HCSB, emphasis mine]

The Ever-Present Law (Romans 4:15-16)
One way of looking at what Paul is saying is historically. “The Law” had not been given yet during Abraham’s life (the Law was given about 500 – 600 years after). Paul was not saying that there was no sin [1 John 1:8, 10]. What he is saying is that the special revelation of the Law given to Moses was not present, but because the general revelation of creation was all around them it still served as a sign post to God. Therefore, men were still without excuse (Rom 1:20).

I have often wondered why God took Abraham outside and showed him the stars [Genesis 15:5-6]? God was saying, “If I did this, don’t you think that I can give you an heir.” The heavens were God’s “proof” that nothing was outside of His reach or ability. The God that we are dealing with is not one to go back on His word. That which He says He will do will be done. Look at what the Psalmist says:

⁵He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved. ⁶You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. ⁷At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they took to flight. ⁸The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them. ⁹You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth. ¹⁰You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; ¹¹they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. ¹²Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches. ¹³ From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. [Psalm 104:5-13, ESV]

Our God is not one to back down from any challenge or to be intimidated by any “difficult” circumstance.

One of the implications of the text that Paul addresses is a common philosophy of today — relativism. If there is no standard there can be no wrong. Paul was reminding the Roman readers that there was no such thing as individualistic understandings of reality. God, the ultimate reality, standardizes our experiences and provides a continuity and congruency to life. This is the idea of correspondence (there is a more technical definition of correspondence here).

In the mind of Paul we have to remove the Law from the picture if grace is to be seen in its purest form. (This doesn’t mean that the law is thrown out. The law just can’t serve as a lens for looking at or for understanding the path of or the journey to salvation). This shift will in turn liberate both direct (those of the law) and indirect (those not under the law) descendants of Abraham to receive the grace that God offers. That is why Abraham is called “the father of all who believe” and not “the father of those who obey” (even when obedience is implied as a result of faith).

Romans Series (Pt. 16) – Romans 4:9-12

The Seal of Righteousness (Romans 4:9-11a)
What was the purpose for all of that has transpired thus far in Abraham’s life? Why did God go through all of this trouble so long ago? Why did God make a man who had faith go through the trouble of circumcision if the act had no power in the salvation event? It was because all people need to have moments of commitment. It is during these moments that we come face-to-face with ourselves and with our God and are made to decide where we will stand. Listen to the way that Paul phrases it:

He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. [Romans 4:11a, ESV]

Abraham received the sign not to establish or prove his faith, but so that through that act of sealing, or better understood as covenant, Abraham would never forget that he would never be the same. After that moment of faith, there was no turning back. There was no returning to the Land of Ur. He and God has set out on a new path, in a new direction.

In the Footsteps of Abraham (Romans 4:11b-12)
Paul takes the example and definition of true faith back to Abraham and clearly shows the Roman church that circumcision was circumstantial. Circumcision was not necessary for their faith to be recognized and approved by God. Abraham is the father of those that understand that circumcision is not what saves and of those that live out what circumcision stands for, even if not circumcised.

Any person that walks in the faith of Abraham has been approved by God. That is a startling and wonderful truth. That is why every nation and tongue who surrenders to the name of Jesus will be saved. Because Abraham was one of those outside and was brought into the family of God. This is the heart of salvation — adoption through faith.

Romans Series (Pt. 15) – Romans 4:4-8

Why is Faith not Works? (4:4-5)
Paul is reminding us of God being both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” [Romans 3:26]. Verse four is an interesting one. Why is work regarded as debt, or a wage (NLT) and not grace? It goes to the difference in the methods. Grace is that which is undeserved. The master gives because he chooses to. If salvation is of works the master gives because a debt has been incurred. I, as the worker, am entitled to my wage. This is not the way that God relates to the world or humanity. God does not owe anyone anything.

One of Jesus’ parables would help here. The parable of the master of the vineyard [Matthew 20:1-16], who went out at five different times looking for workers to help finish the work, sheds some light on what Paul is saying. At the end of the day all the workers show up, those that came at the end of the day first and so on back to the workers hired in the morning. Many people make the mistake, I feel, in talking about the workers. The story has nothing to do with the workers. The story has to do with the owner of the vineyard. Access to the vineyard is determined by the owner. The benefit(s) of working in the vineyard are determined by the owner. The key to the text is found in the exchange between the early workers and the owner. Listen to what happens.

And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” [Matthew 20:11-16, NRSV]

Now there is something significant in Matthew 20:4 that we need to see as well. To the last group of workers that the owner found close to the end of the day, the owner tells them that they will receive “what is right.” So here is the important question: Who determines what is right? The one making the offer. Not the worker. There is no favoritism. All are treated the same.

The point of Matthew 20:4 is this: grace is always about the goodness of God and never the merit of the sinner; the goodness of the owner and not the work (or wage) of the worker. This passage in Matthew 20 is about grace because it demonstrates, yet again, the goodness of God toward fallen humanity when it is undeserving of that goodness. My dad put it this way, “Grace is in the calling.” Not in the reward from the calling.

Paul then moves onto another example of genuine faith.

Grace Keeps God’s Wrath Away From Me (4:6-8)
Blessed is the man that does not get what they deserve: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” Paul uses King David as another example here of faith, faith in the image of Abraham’s. David in Psalm 32 talks about the forgiveness of God. The forgiveness that God gives is of such splendor that David just can’t help himself. He must talk about it.

Paul then returns to the issue of circumcision. The reason to do so again is because Abraham was a pre-circumcision believer. The practice was not even in use until Abraham was instructed by God to do it. The need for the Roman believers to understand this would keep them from falling into a lie about God’s expectations. God did not require them to become Jews before become Christians. Faith in God’s promise to saved all who believe, through Jesus Christ is what’s required.

Paul is reminding us of God being both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:26). Verse four is interesting. Why is work regarded as debt, or a wage (NLT) and not grace? It goes to the difference in the methods. Grace is that which is undeserved. The master gives because he chooses to. If salvation is of works the master gives because a debt has been incurred. This is not the way that God relates to the world or humanity. God does not owe anyone anything.

One of Jesus’ parables would help here. The parable of the master of the vineyard (Matt 20:1-16), who went out at five different times looking for workers to help finish the work, sheds some light. At the end of the day all the workers show up, those that came at the end of the day first and so on back to the workers hired in the morning. Many people make the mistake, I feel, in talking about the workers. The story has nothing to do with the workers. The story has to do with the owner of the vineyard. Access to the vineyard is determined by the owner. The benefit(s) of working in the vineyard are determined by the owner. The key to the text is found in the exchange between the early workers and the owner. Listen to what happens.

And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matt20:11-16, NRSV)

Now there is something significant in verse seven that we need to see as well. To the last group of workers that the owner found close to the end of the day, the owner tells them that they will receive what is right (v. 7). Who determines what is right? The one making the offer. Not the worker. There is no favoritism. All are treated the same.

The point of verse Matthew 20:4 is this: grace is always about the goodness of God and never the merit of the sinner; the goodness of the owner and not the work of the worker. This passage in Matthew 20 is a passage about grace because it demonstrates,yet again, the goodness of God toward fallen humanity when it is undeserving of that goodness. My dad put it this way, “Grace is in the calling.” Not in the reward from the calling. Paul then moves onto another example of genuine faith.

(5-8)
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (Rom 4:5-8, KJV)
Blessed is the man that does not get what they deserve: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” Paul uses King David as another example here of faith, faith in the image of Abraham’s. David in Psalm 32 talks about the forgiveness of God. The forgiveness that God gives is of such splendor that David can’t not help himself. He must talk about it. Paul then returns to the issue of circumcision. The reason to do so again is because Abraham was a pre-circumcision believer. The practice was not even in use until Abraham was instructed by God to do it.

Romans Series (Pt. 14) – Romans 4:1-3

Abraham our Father (4:1)
This first question serves two purposes. First, Paul is linking back the heritage of true faith (faith in the one true God) to the father of faith, Abraham. This will be a significant person for Paul because it will help to make the point that all Jews and Gentiles must express faith, in a way just like Abraham in order to be justified before God. Second, this is a question that takes the argument of works verses grace to another level. Because Abraham is seen as “the father of all that believe”it is important, from Paul’s perspective to identify what it was that Abraham “did” so that God accepted his faith as genuine. If Abraham is the prototype of faith, all that have come after him must understand what Abraham had or did that gave rise to the faith that pleased God.

True Faith does not Boast (4:2)
After having considered in the previous chapters the futility of works Paul points us to the example of Abraham, that will serve as the measure of genuine faith. If what Abraham did was according to works, then he had reason to boast. But, Paul tells us that boasting is futile with regards to salvation because God is the one saving [Ephesians 2:8-9]. Paul is telling us that whatever Abraham did it was not something that could give him reason to take pride. Abraham’s faith was grounded in something, rather, someone else.

Here is the heart of genuine faith. Faith that originates within me is not true faith. Faith must be grounded in something sure, something unchanging in order for it to have any power. When we recognize the awesome nature of God faith springs forth from inside of us because we can be sure of what we have believed in. The human heart is designed to resonate at the frequency of hope which is the frequency that God operates on [Colossians 1:27]. This is what made Abraham’s demonstration of faith so amazing. This man from Ur heard God and believed that what God said was true. Faith does not have to see what it has believed [Hebrews 11:1]. Faith knows that what it has believed will come to pass.

The Story of Abraham (4:3)
This verse is a reference to Genesis 15: 3 specifically. But in Genesis 15 we find a very powerful moment in the life of Abraham. Abraham is dealing with the reality that he does not have an heir to pass his name and inheritance to. This is a very big deal. But God takes Abraham out onto the porch (God’s office if you will) and says this.

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And [Abraham] believed in the LORD; and [God] counted it to [Abraham] for righteousness. [Gen 15:1-6, KJV]

Why was Abraham’s faith counted as righteousness? It was because Abraham accepted the word of God as a completed work. That is, if God said it, that was all that Abraham needed. This is an interesting challenge to all those who claim to have faith. Can we take God at His Word? Paul then describes [4:5-6] the difference between the person who exercises faith in God’s provision and the person that attempts to gain access to the promises of God through their own means. It is this distinction that must be understood if faith that pleases God is to be demonstrated. Any attempt to ascend the mountain of God through our own means is incorrect and will ultimately be futile [Psalm 24:3-6].

What if Jesus walked into your town?

Jesus in Your Town
While this question is one that could occupy a conversation for a few hours. What I wonder if it a worthy enough question to challenge us to reevaluate the way that we go about the practice of our faith. The clip below is from a movie called “Joshua”. This is a play on the fact that Jesus’ name is derived from the older Jewish name of Joshua. So the essence of the movie is this: If Jesus walked into town what would He do? How would He act? What would be the response of the people? This is one of the best modern adaptations of the life of Jesus I have ever come across. (I don’t mean to overstate the movie.)

There is one scene in particular that gets me every time. Joshua comes across a camp meeting and walks in just as the evangelist is about the pray. Joshua doesn’t join in. He actually interrupts the meeting and causes a scene. The evangelist is dumbstruck. He doesn’t know what to do. Joshua tells him, “You know, you don’t have to do it this way.” Joshua tells him, “I know you’d like to have the faith to talk to these people. But you don’t know what faith is.”

While the caricature is awful, the perception that it portrays is not that far off the mark. This is how many in the world view the church and it’s bag of “party tricks”. Some charlatans bilking the faithful for their own gain. Others teaching doctrines that are not sound and therefore misleading those hungry for God, His presence and power in their lives. But the clip provides a couple of twists. First, Joshua reveals that the true intention of the evangelist (in this case) is to do what is right. He genuinely desires to help those that have come to the meeting. But he doesn’t know what or how he is supposed to do it. The second is that Joshua speaks the truth and it activates the faith of the people. The truth creates an awkward scene, but a healing actually takes place.

The Cost of Healing on the Healer
This is one of the best depictions of what Jesus’ miracles of healing must have looked like. The transfer of divine power through the human agent is an awesome burden. It has helped to see why Jesus spent so much time praying. It cost Him so much to heal those that were hurting. Healing wasn’t easy because it taxed the limits of the human experience. Jesus accepted the cost of not only bring our salvation through his death, but He also accepted the personal, physical and spiritual cost of touching those around Him with the power of God’s mercy.

This scene in particular reminds me of the woman with the hemorrhage problem in Mark 5:25-34. The story tells us that Jesus “perceiv[ed] in Himself that power had gone out from Him.” I don’t know what that must have looked like, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something like it is shown here.