Romans 5:18-21

Passage

Consequently, as through one trespass the condemnation is into all mankind, thus through one righteous deed justification of life is into all mankind.  For just as through the disobedience of one man many were being made sinners, thus through the obedience of one man the many will be made righteous.  And the Law slipped in unnoticed in order that the trespass grew.  But where sin grew, grace grew in excess over what is expected in order that just as sin reigned in death so also grace should reign through righteousness into eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Again we hear Paul reinforcing the point that one man’s actions can indeed change the world.  If sin entered the world through Adam – and continues to spread like a plague through each of us – then righteousness should be also able to enter through a righteous Adam, Jesus Christ, and likewise spread through us.  Many people ask how it is that a single person’s death on a cross two millennia ago can make a difference in my life.  The answer is this logic.  If sin can enter through the very nature of Adam and spread to all who are like him, then righteousness can enter through Christ and spread to all who are like Him.

Have you ever wondered how it is that one death could cover the sins of all and be effective in life?  How does Romans 5 speak to this issue?

Second Thought:

Paul says that the Law slipped in unnoticed.  This doesn’t mean that the Law “sneaked in.”  Rather, it means that the Law is a subset to a bigger plan.  The presence of the Law didn’t change anything or propel anything forward.  At best, the Law focuses things.  For example, Adam and Eve received grace when they should have received condemnation.  After all, they were merely kicked out of Eden and were allowed to live.  Noah and his family received grace on the Ark and were permitted to live – even though they surely had sin in their lives.  Abraham received grace in a personal relationship with God even though he surely had sin in his life.  God has always been a God of grace.  Christ was always God’s plan to resolve our problem through grace.  So when the Law comes on the scene it doesn’t change anything.  Rather, the Law helps us understand why we need grace.  The Law is the mirror into which we look and realize just how much we need grace through Jesus Christ.

Have you ever thought about how much God’s grace reigned from the beginning and was the plan all along?  Why do we often think of grace just as a New Testament concept?  Do you see how the Law doesn’t change anything but merely give us a lens through which we can look?

Third Thought:

Paul tells us that where sin grew, grace grows even more than expected.  Through the Law, we can see ourselves as truly sinful.  But God’s response is to give us more grace.  He could easily have said, “See?  This is why you were condemned.”  He could have acted in grace and allowed us to be saved, but saved into some third-class heavenly being below Himself and all the angels.  But this is not what God does.  God saves us and through Christ allows us to become His children – heirs to His kingdom!  God’s love for us is greater than we deserve and greater than we can imagine!

Where does God’s love abound in your life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 6:1-4

Romans 5:15-17

Passage

But the trespass is not like the gift.  For if by the trespass of one many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gift in grace of the one man Jesus Christ abound in many!  Also, the gift is not as through one man’s sin.  For on one hand the judgment is out of one into condemnation, but on the other hand the gift is out of many trespasses into justification.  For if death reigned through the one by the trespass of one, how much more will the ones who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one Jesus Christ!

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul wants us to see that there is a difference in how sin and grace interact in the world.  At first it seems like they act the same.  After all, sin came through Adam and we all die because of sin.  Christ conquered sin on the cross and we all are forgiven because of the cross.  It seems like the actions of one man are affecting everyone involved.  That part is true and the same about both.  But Christ does much more.  Whereas Adam’s sin only brought death, Christ’s death on the cross not only conquers death but brings a restoration to eternal life.  Christ on the cross is much more than Adam’s sin.  Christ cancels the problem with sin and restores life.

How blessed are we all to have God take care of our sin for us?  Do you see the pattern that explains how one man’s death can affect the whole world?  If one man’s sin can establish a pattern of sin and death, doesn’t it make sense that one man’s sacrifice would be capable of undoing sin and death?

Second Thought:

Paul talks about the abundance of grace.  God doesn’t just give us grace.  Nor does He simply undo what has been done and walk away.  God comes alongside of us, forgives us, restores us, and then invites us to go further into a deep relationship with Him.  God isn’t simply looking to cancel things out.  God is looking to bring us into so much more than we could ever hope.

How has God’s grace abounded in your life?  Where has God not only undone where you have sinned but actually brought you into a life more rich than you could ever imagine?

Third Thought:

 Paul also speaks of the gift of righteousness.  Think for a moment about all of the sinfulness in your life.  Think about how people have hurt you and how you have hurt others.  Think about all of the selfishness and self-centeredness you experience in your own thoughts and actions.  Think about the many ways that you have gone against God’s ways.  Now think about standing before God and hearing Christ proclaim over you that through Him you are righteous.  Because He gave all, you are righteous.  Not because you deserve it, but because God made it possible.

How does this thought make you want to respond?  When we look at life through this lens, is there any reason to not be humble before God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 5:18-21

Romans 5:12-14

Passage

Therefore, because sin entered into the world through one man and death entered through sin, death also came into all mankind because all have sinned.  For sin was in the world up to when the Law came.  But sin is not counted where there is no law.  But death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over the ones who are not sinful in the same manner of transgression as Adam – who is a type of the one to come.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

In this passage we understand why death is a part of the world.  God did not create the world to experience death.  However, because we have free will and our nature is to choose sin in our self-centeredness, death comes to us.  Death is not by God’s design.  Rather, death is from human choice.  God’s original design for creation was for us to live forever in relationship with Him.  Because of our sin, that reality ceased to exist.

Have you ever thought deeply about the reality that when God created this world He created it with the desire that we live in relationship with Him forever?  How does this help you think about why Christ was important and necessary to restoring God’s original plan for relationship?

Second Thought:

Paul then says that where there is no law, sin is not counted against people.  However, certainly there was still sin.  Certainly people still died.  People died from Adam to the giving of the Law to Moses.  Even if sin wasn’t being counted, there was still the consequence of sin.  People die because we are sinful, whether we are conscious of the Law or not.  This demonstrates that all of us are a part of one collective.  We are all part of those who sin against God.  The fact that we all die is proof of our sinful condition.  It is proof that we all belong to Adam.  It is not the Law that condemns us.  It is our own sinful testimony against us from which our condemnation comes.

Where does the fault of our sinfulness really lie?  Is it fair to blame Adam?  Is it fair to blame God?  Who is ultimately responsible for my sin?  For your sin?

Third Thought:

Paul then speaks about Adam as being a type of those who come.  After all, there are many ways to be disobedient to God.  Adam ate fruit that He was not supposed to eat.  He lied about it and tried to hide it from God.  Others hide murder and lust and anger and selfishness in their hearts.  There are many ways to disobey God.  But each and every manner of disobedience before God leads to destruction.

Do you think that there is an end to the many ways that human beings can rebel against God? 

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 5:15-17

Romans 5:9-11

Passage

Therefore, how much more after now being declared righteous in His blood will we be saved from wrath through Him!  For if while being enemies of God we were being reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more after being reconciled will we be saved in His life!  And not only that, even while boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ – through whom we now received reconciliation.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul makes a keen argument tying the blood of Christ to his earlier comments.  Paul has already mentioned that the Law brings about wrath.  The Law demands a sacrifice for transgression against the Law.  Here in this verse we hear that Jesus Christ is the sacrifice that satisfies the Law.  We are sinners.  We deserve wrath.  But through the blood of Christ – we who humbly receive God’s grace can be spared from the very wrath that we deserve!

How does it feel to know that you deserve wrath but do not have to receive it?  Can you remember another time in your life where you deserved one consequence but did not get it?  How does this feeling of grace resonate within you?

Second Thought:

Yet, Paul goes further than that.  Paul does more than just tell us we are sinners and deserving of wrath.  Paul tells us that we were enemies of God.  We were enemies of God deserving His wrath.  It’s one thing to go against God.  It’s another thing to be classified as someone’s enemy.  Yet this is precisely what we are.  Without the blood of Christ being shed on the cross, we are God’s enemies because of our nature.  Yet, God loved His enemies.  God loved His enemies enough to go to them and provide the way to life for them.

Have you ever thought of yourself as an enemy of God?  What does it mean to you to know that you have been rescued out of that fate?  How does this understanding help you hear God’s command to us to love our enemies?

Third Thought:

Not only do we receive reconciliation, we receive life.  It’s one thing to ignore your enemies and not pick a fight with them.  It’s another thing to love your enemy.  It’s even more to forgive your enemy.  But to provide the means for life for your enemies is unheard of among people.  Yet this is actually what God does through Jesus.  God asks Jesus to live among His enemies for their sake and then die for them so that they can receive the free gift of eternal life.  That is what God has done for us.

In this light, are you grateful to God?  How does hearing this make you feel with respect towards your love for God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 5:12-14

Romans 5:6-8

Passage

For while we were still in weakness, according to the proper time Christ died on behalf of the ungodly.  For rarely will someone die for a righteous person.  Perhaps someone dares also to die on behalf of a good person.  But God demonstrates His love into us.  While we were still sinners, Christ dies for us.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul now gets specific to our problem.  Up until now, Paul has made the case that we cannot live up to the Law.  Here, Paul names the reason.  We are weak.  We ruled by our human passions and are powerless to live up to the selfless standard of God.  We are too weak to consider others before ourselves.  We are too weak to live for something besides ourselves.  We are weak in our self-centeredness.  Because of this, we all fall into the category of ungodly.

Do you believe that you are weak?  Without God, are you powerless against your sinful nature?  What response does this concept evoke within you?

Second Thought:

Paul then indicates that it is rare for a person to die for someone who is good.  It is rare for a person to be willing to give himself up for someone who actually deserves it.  Again, Paul speaks to our selfish nature.  We would rather continue living than to sacrifice our own life for someone who deserves to live more than us.  We are cowards most of our life.

If push came to shove, would you be willing to give up your own life?  Under what circumstances might you even be able to think about doing that?  From where would the power to do such a selfless act ultimately come?

Third Thought:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Christ was perfect.  He never sinned.  He was righteous in every way.  He lived life perfectly while being surrounded by people who constantly let Him down.  If anyone knew what it felt like to be better than everyone else, it was Him.  Yet He voluntarily surrendered His life to die.  He went to the cross because none of us could do it.  He surrendered perfection, taking our sin upon himself.  That is selflessness.  That is self-sacrifice at its best.  That is the love of God.

How are you inspired by this example?  How does hearing about what Christ did for us make you feel inside?  What might God be saying to you through His example?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 5:9-11

Romans 5:3-5

Passage

And not only this, but we boast in our suffering having known that suffering brings about patient endurance.  Patient endurance brings about genuine character.  Genuine character brings about hope.  And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was being given to us.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul tells us that we boast in our sufferings.  This is a very challenging concept, but it is an essential one for the faith.  I don’t know a single person who looks forward to being challenged, confronted, stressed, put under suffering, etc.  But the one who has submitted to God can accept the suffering because they trust that God will bring them through it and they will be closer to God for the journey.

Who in their right mind enjoys suffering?  Do you think Christ suffered here on this earth (besides the crucifixion, obviously)?  How can we look to Christ and His disciples for a faithful example when we endure suffering?

Second Thought:

Paul then gives us a process for spiritual growth.  Suffering leads to patient endurance, patient endurance leads to genuine character, genuine character leads to hope, and hope leads to the Holy Spirit.  Now, I don’t know a single Christian who doesn’t want the Holy Spirit.  I don’t know too many people in general who reject hope.  But how many of us are genuinely willing to embrace suffering?  How many of us are willing to patiently endure the suffering?  Note both words there: patience and endurance.  How many of us are willing to go through the process of developing genuine character?  In order for God to truly develop character – which leads to hope and the Holy Spirit – we must patiently endure the passage through suffering.  It isn’t easy.

Why do human beings develop more character through suffering than through times when everything goes great?  What is it about being challenged that brings about growth?

Third Thought:

How is it that we know that we have received God’s love?  We have the Holy Spirit.  God has given us the Holy Spirit and as Ephesians 1:13-14 says, the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our salvation until we should take hold of it ourselves.  The Holy Spirit is the culmination of our spiritual walk with God.  As we go through life, the closer we draw to God the closer we walk in the Spirit.  God does not desire to be distant from us but to dwell within us.  That is why He has poured out His Spirit within us!

What does it feel like to you to have the Holy Spirit?  What does it feel like when you stray away from God and the Holy Spirit becomes less present in your life?  What does it mean to you that God desires to dwell within you through the presence of the Holy Spirit?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 5:6-8

Romans 5:1-2

Passage

Therefore, after being declared righteous out of faithfulness we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained access by faithfulness into this grace in which we have stood.  And we boast upon a hope of the glory of God.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Once more Paul asserts that we are justified out of faithfulness.  Again, it is important to understand to where this statement points.  We have been justified out of the faithfulness of the cross.  This is precisely the point of the verses that come immediately before this section.  Christ was faithful to God and died on the cross.  We are justified through that act.  We are declared righteous because of Christ on the cross, not by any act of our own.

Why do you think Paul continues to drive this point home?  Why is the fact that we are saved only through Christ’s act upon the cross central to what we are about as followers of God?

Second Thought:

The faithfulness of Christ brings us peace with God.  It is important to understand three points about this peace.  First, it is peace with God, not peace with the world.  That should be self-explanatory and the effects of this point are significant.  Second, this peace comes because our sinful nature has put us at war with God.  Christ’s death on the cross ends the war for those who accept God’s gift of peace through Jesus Christ.  Third, this peace comes to us, not the other way around.  We did not sue God for the terms of peace.  In the midst of our rebellion from God, He made peace possible.  It is God who comes to us and presents terms of peace to us.

What does peace with God feel like?  How does all of Paul’s earlier focus on the faithfulness of Christ help identify the terms of God’s peace?  How does submission to God play into God’s terms of peace?

Third Thought:

Not only do we have peace with God, but we have been granted access to God.  Remember that in Abraham’s day God had to come to him.  In the days of the Hebrew nation, they had a temple that everyone could enter but only the consecrated priests could truly partake in the presence of God.  Through Christ, everyone in Christ has access to God.  No longer do we worship by proxy.  No longer do we have to search blindly for God.  Instead, we all can have direct access to God the Father.  You can know God personally.

What does it mean to say that you have access to God?  What does that access look in your life?  How are you using that access in your life?  Is there any way that access to God can become deeper and richer?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 5:3-5

Romans 4:22-25

Passage

… Therefore, it was being credited to him as righteousness.  And it was not being written that “it was being credited to him” only for his sake but also for our sake.  It is about to be credited to us, the ones who are in faithfulness upon Jesus our Lord who was raised up out of the dead.  He was being handed over on account of our trespasses.  He was being raised up on account of our justification.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul wants his readers to understand that the expression “it was being credited to him as righteousness” does not apply only to Abraham.  This is the great point to which he has been building this whole chapter.  If Abraham received righteousness while he was still outside of the Law and the covenant of circumcision, then all who humble themselves before God will fall under this same expression.  All of us – inside or outside of the Law – will be credited with righteousness so long as it comes from God and is not through our own efforts.  We simply receive.  We only trust in God.  Everything else comes from God and it is credited to us whether we deserve it – or more likely, don’t.

How does it feel to realize that your righteousness is not your own but a gift from God?  How does it feel to know that your righteousness is completely a gift from God?  How will you respond to this grace?

Second Thought:

In Jesus, we come to a full understanding of how God deals with our unrighteousness.  To satisfy the Law, Jesus was handed over to die.  God desires to give us grace, but our sin must still be atoned.  Christ came so that He could atone for our sinfulness.  Christ came so that there would still be punishment for our sin.  Christ’s death freed God to pour out His grace and love upon us fully while knowing that the problem of human sin had received the sacrifice that was necessary.  We are justified in the moment of His death.

Do you realize that you are saved through no effort of your own?  How does it make you feel to realize God did all the work on your behalf?  What response is evoked by this understanding?

Third Thought:

As a sign of our justification, Christ rose.  While we are justified in the moment of Christ’s death, we are made righteous in the moments after our justification.  We call this the process of sanctification.  I was saved – justified – when Christ was on the cross.  But I am made holy – sanctified – day by day as I live out God’s promise and work within me.  Because of the justifying work of Christ, I can respond faithfully in God’s grace.  My response is not the work that saves me; my work is the response to the understanding that it is God who has saved me.

What’s the difference between working to be saved and working because you are saved?  How is God actively sanctifying your life right now?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 5:1-2

Romans 4:18-21

Passage

Against hope he believed upon hope in order that he would become the father of many nations according to what has been said, “In such a manner your offspring will be.”  And after not being weak, by faithfulness he correctly perceived that his own body has been ceasing to function – while being about a hundred years old – as well as that Sarah’s womb was barren.  And he did not waver by unbelief in the promise of God, but he was being strengthened by faithfulness after giving glory to God after being completely certain that He is able to even do what He has promised.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I love the expression that Paul uses to open this passage.  “Against hope he believed upon hope.”  This is the expression of Christianity.  We as Christians believe fully that we deserve nothing.  In fact, if we are honest with the hard parts of Romans that we’ve been studying so far we must acknowledge that we deserve wrath.  We cannot obtain salvation through our own effort.  So while on one hand we have no reason to hope, we still hope.  Against hope, we hope.  We hope not in what we can accomplish but in what God can accomplish in us.

Have you ever had a time where you were so filled with hopelessness that the only hope you had was the hope of God?  How can this place be a difficult place to be?  How can this place be exactly where God needs us to be?

Second Thought:

Here is the reason that Abraham had no hope.  He was a hundred years old.  For all intents and purposes, his body had ceased to function.  To put it bluntly, there was no way that his hundred year old body was going to be able to impregnate Sarah.  His time of virility had passed.  He literally had no hope of offspring.  His only hope was God’s ability to bring life to his body that had ceased to function.

What – or perhaps who – do you think gave Abraham the ability to hope?  Even in this story, how can we see that it is God’s work within Abraham that is credited to Abraham?

Third Thought:

Abraham is strengthened by faithfulness.  In his moment of absolute despair – when he knew that his body could not function on its own internal working – Abraham found strength only in God.  When Abraham was reduced to the point of being unable to rely on himself, God enters into his life and works through him.  Abraham is strengthened in his moment of weakness.  It is not when we are strong that God is strong in us.  It is when we are weak and humble and broken that God is strong in us.

Do you believe this to be true?  If this is true, then why do we as followers of Christ still try to avoid moments of weakness?  Why do we have an aversion to weakness if that is when God is at His strongest within us?  How can moments of weakness be so great and so frustrating at the same time?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 4:22-25

Romans 4:16-17

Passage

Because of this it is out of faithfulness in order that it is according to grace and that the promise is secure for all the descendants.  It is not only for the descendants out of the Law but also for the descendants out of the faithfulness of Abraham, who is the father of all of us.  Just as it has been written, “I have caused you to be the father of many nations.”  In the presence of Him he believed God, who gives life to the dead and who summons the things that are not as though they are.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul talks about the need for grace and the promise to be secure.  This is another rather astute point for Paul.  If salvation depends upon our obedience then it is never secure.  The loss of salvation is always one mistake away if it depends upon my character.  In order for salvation to truly be secure, it cannot come from anything that we do.  In order for salvation to be secure, it must depend upon God’s character and what God can do.  In order for salvation to be secure, it cannot come from the Law but only through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ which is credited to those who humble themselves before God.

Have you ever struggled with the security of your salvation?  Why is it easy to doubt – especially if we are in a mindset of earning God’s love?  Why does it make sense that salvation must be a gift given by God and received by us even though we don’t deserve it?

Second Thought:

Again Paul reminds us of the relationship between God and Abraham.  God came to Abraham and extended relationship.  Abraham received it.  God promised to Abraham that he would be the father of many.  Abraham believed it.  Abraham did not earn the promise.  He did not demonstrate his greatness before God in order to evoke an outpouring of God’s blessing.  Rather, Abraham received what God poured out of His own character.  Abraham accepted that it wasn’t through his own greatness but through God’s greatness.  Abraham believed God when God came to him.

How has God come to you?  What promises has God made to you?  Do you believe God?

Third Thought:

Paul reminds us of the character of God.  God gives life to the dead.  God is powerful enough to bring into existence the things that do not exist.  God created life out of nothing.  This is the power of God.  This is a neat point, because it reminds us that God does not always follow human logic.  God can conquer death.  God can create out of nothing.  If these two things are true, then it also helps us believe that God would give grace to those who cannot attain it.  God is the God who supersedes logic.  It doesn’t matter if we can understand why God gave us grace and allows us to enter into eternal life through it.  He is a God that goes beyond our understanding.

Is there comfort in knowing that you do not have to understand grace in order to receive it?  Is there comfort in knowing that God is capable of doing things and understanding things that you cannot?  How might these ideas inspire faith?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 4:18-21

Romans 4:13-15

Passage

For the promise to Abraham and his descendants for him to be an heir of the world is not through the Law but through the righteousness of faithfulness.  For if the heirs are out of the Law, then faithfulness has been emptied of its power and the promise has been abolished.  For the Law causes wrath to be.  But where there is no law there is no transgression.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul reminds us that it is out of the Law that wrath comes.  This makes sense.  First of all, the Law is God’s standard that we as humans cannot attain.  If we cannot attain it, then the Law demonstrates the fact that we fall short.  Additionally, it is the Law that points out specifically how we fall short.  The Law demonstrates not only how we as a human race fall short but specifically where each of us as individuals falls short.  The Law demonstrates why each of us is guilty of sin.  This is what Paul means when he says that the Law brings wrath.  The Law shows us how we have fallen short of God.

Do you believe that you are guilty of sin?  Do you understand how it is the Law that demonstrates how we fall short?  Does it make sense to you that it is out of the Law – and how we fall short of it – that God’s wrath comes and God’s wrath is justified?

Second Thought:

Paul also tells us that if there are heirs through the Law, then faithfulness is emptied of its power and God’s promise of love is no more.  The logic behind this thought goes like this.  If it is possible to earn salvation by upholding the Law, then Christ’s death on the cross becomes some cheap shortcut to true strength of character.  If it is possible to attain the standard of the Law, the Jesus is no longer grace but something that enables us to remain in our weakness.  In other words, if we can earn salvation through the Law then grace is emptied of its power because it has no positive benefit.  It is no longer grace, but something oppressive that enables us to remain weak.  Let this not be so!

Can you think of an example of a person or an object that enables us to remain in our weakness?  What is the ultimate effect of such things on our life?  Do you think God would give us something that allows us to remain weak if we actually had the ability to succeed through another way?

Third Thought:

Instead, Paul knows that we cannot follow the Law.  We cannot work ourselves into perfection.  No matter how hard we try, we cannot attain the Law.  God didn’t give us Christ because the high road is difficult; God gave us Christ because the high road is impossible!  We cannot obey the Law.  If salvation comes only through the Law, we are all condemned.  God had to give us Christ for any of us to be saved.  Christ is not some cheap shortcut, He is the only way.  It begins with us humbling ourselves and admitting that the way of the Law is more than hard, it is impossible.  It begins with us humbling ourselves and acknowledging that we cannot do it.  Only through that humbleness can we remove ourselves from the picture and it no longer becomes about us.  Through our humbleness, it all becomes about Christ.  Since we cannot earn God’s love by attaining it, we must humbly receive it through His grace and His desire for us to have it anyway.

Why is it difficult to realize that we cannot earn God’s love?  Why is it difficult to humble ourselves?  How great is God for providing the only way to salvation?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 4:16-17

Romans 4:9-12

Passage

Therefore, is this blessing upon those of the circumcision or also upon those of the uncircumcision?  For we say, “Faithfulness was being credited to Abraham into righteousness.”  Therefore how was it being credited?  While being circumcised or in uncircumcision?  Not in circumcision but in uncircumcision!  He received a sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of the faithfulness in uncircumsion in order for him to be the father of all the ones who are faithful in uncircumcision in order that righteousness would be also credited to them as well.  Also, he is the father of circumcision to the ones not only out of circumcision but also to the ones who walk in the footsteps of the faithfulness in uncircumcision of our father Abraham.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul makes quite an astute argument.  Paul wants to clarify when it was that Abraham received the credit to his faithfulness.  The truth is that the quote to which Paul continues to refer is from Genesis 15:6.  Abraham doesn’t receive the covenant of circumcision until Genesis 17.  Clearly, Abraham receives credit to his righteousness while being uncircumcised!  God didn’t start His relationship with Abraham after he was circumcised; God started His relationship with Abraham while he was a Gentile!  Therefore, Paul’s conclusion is that circumcision is not of ultimate importance.  It is important, but not of ultimate importance.

Are you surprised to realize the force of Paul’s argument?  Why is it significant to realize that God had a relationship with Abraham before he was obedient to God?  How does this speak to you about whether God loves people because they are obedient to Him or if people are obedient to God because He loves them?

Second Thought:

Paul then makes the connection from Abraham to all Gentiles.  If Abraham can be in relationship with God prior to his obedience in covenant, then anyone can be in relationship with God outside of the covenant.  In other words, Abraham is not only the father of the Jews but also of the Gentiles who are faithful to God.  Abraham is the father of all people of faith, because faithfulness does not come from us but from God.  As it is God who gives us the ability to be faithful in any case, it is not obedience to the Law that makes one an offspring of Abraham but rather a humbleness to God for Him to create faithfulness within us.

Have you ever considered yourself to be an heir to Abraham?  How easy is it for you to accept that it is God who creates faithfulness in us rather than we who create faithfulness in ourselves?  How easy is it for you to accept that it isn’t what you do that makes you an heir but what God does through your humbleness?

Third Thought:

In the last verse of this section – admittedly a very long and convoluted verse – Paul makes the claim that even those of the circumcision are really following the faithfulness of Abraham before he was circumcised.  Clearly, Paul would agree that obedience to God is a good thing.  Thus, Paul isn’t saying that the Jews are any worse.  In fact, he is actually saying that they are in a better position because of their obedience.  However, it is not their obedience that saves them.  Rather, they are saved through the faithfulness that God instills within them.  Their obedience is merely evidence that God’s faithfulness is within them.

Why is it easy to take pride in our work?  Why is it important to remember that it always goes back to faithfulness – God’s work in us?  What role do good works have for us?  Why is it important to do good things if they aren’t what saves us?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 4:13-15

Romans 4:4-8

Passage

And to the one who works, the wages are not credited according to grace but according to what is due.  And to the one who does not work but while being faithful on the basis of the one who declares the ungodly to be righteous, faithfulness is credited to him into righteousness.  Just as David also says about the blessing of the man to whom God credits as righteous apart from works, “Blessed is the one whose lawlessness was being forgiven and whose sins were being covered.  Blessed is the man for whom the Lord should surely not count sin.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul uses an analogy with respect to work.  When an employee works for someone, they expect to be paid.  At the same time, the employer expects the work to be done properly.  There is no grace in this scenario.  If the work is done correctly, the employee is paid.  If the work is done incorrectly, then the employee is released from employment.  If we wish to relate to God in this manner, we should expect the good and the bad.  We should expect God to evaluate us on our merit.  To be honest, if we wish to relate to God in this manner, we should expect to be released from “employment.”  The truth is that we cannot live in the manner that God asks us to live on our own merit.

If you had an employee who messed up as much as we sin against God, what would be the prudent way to handle that employee?  Why can you be grateful the God does not see our relationship with Him in the same light as an employer views employees?

Second Thought:

In order to set up his point, Paul turns to David.  Remember David’s legacy.  He is called “a man after God’s own heart.”  There are few people in the Bible – especially in the Old Testament – who have the personal relationship that David had with God.  However, also remember the David and Bathsheba and Uriah story.  Remember the conflict David had with Absalom.  Remember how many wives David had.  Certainly David was not perfect and did not abide by God’s Law in all things.  Therefore, David cannot be righteous because of his own merit.  He is certainly righteous, but righteous through God and not his own merit.

How smart is Paul to use David as an example of the point that he is trying to make?  Why is there often comfort among believers when thinking about God’s relationship with David in spite of all the sinfulness that David had?

Third Thought:

Paul makes a clear point at the end of this reading.  What is important is not how great my works are but how blessed I am to have God not count my sinfulness against me.  For me, this is the nail in the coffin to the salvation by works argument.  No matter how many good things I do and no matter how much I convince myself that I believe, I have to realize that when I do things based on my own strength I am guilty and need to be forgiven.  If we are going to start counting the things I do on my own strength, I’m going to be in the hole pretty quickly when it comes to sinful behavior.

How blessed are you to hear that God does not count sin against those who humble themselves before God?  How does this thought make you feel about your relationship with God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 4:9-12

Romans 4:1-3

Passage

Therefore, what will we say to have found Abraham as our ancestor according to our flesh?  For if Abraham was being declared righteous out of works, he has reason for boasting – but not before God.  For what does scripture say?  And Abraham was faithful by God, and it was being credited to him as righteousness.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

As Paul continues to unpack this idea of salvation and what makes us special in God’s eyes, Paul turns to Abraham.  After all, it is with Abraham that God first promises to have a special relationship with someone.  So Paul wants to go to Abraham as an example and say that what is true for Abraham is probably true for every single person who follows Abraham.  Whether Jew or Gentile, if God came to Abraham and developed relationship with him for a reason, that reason is important.

Why do you think God developed a relationship with Abraham?  Why is it that God came to Abraham and wanted to develop something personal?  Do you believe these same reasons would translate to you as well?

Second Thought:

Paul says that Abraham was indeed faithful.  Abraham believed.  But Abraham did it by God’s power.  Yes, Abraham was obedient to God, but he got there through God’s power rather than his own.  Abraham’s faithfulness is first about submission and then about obedience.  It is not Abraham’s work that makes Abraham great.  It is God’s ability to work through Abraham that makes him great.

How good are you at letting God work through you?  How good are you at stepping back and allowing God to work through you?  How much do you understand and promote God’s name in the moments of your success?

Third Thought:

Finally, we are told that Abraham’s faithfulness was credited to him as righteousness.  God working through Abraham is credited to Abraham as righteousness.  Here again we see that the importance isn’t on Abraham’s work, but God’s work.  And we see that Abraham is the recipient of a gift.  God credits Abraham for what God does through Abraham.  This is a precursor for how we receive Christ.  Jesus died for our sake, yet God’s work is credited to us.

How do you feel knowing that God graciously credits you for His work that He does through you?  Does this make you more or less willing to submit to Him?  How will that submission impact His ability to work through you and therefore credit more to your account?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 4:4-8

Romans 3:27-31

Passage

Then where is boasting?  It was being excluded.  Through what kind of law?  By works?  No.  But through a law of faithfulness.  For we consider mankind to be declared righteous by faithfulness apart from works of the Law.  Is God only of the Jews?  Isn’t He also of the Gentiles?  Yes, He is also of the Gentiles.  After all, God is one – who will justify those of the circumcision out of faithfulness and those of the uncircumcision through the faithfulness.  Do we not cause the Law to cease to exist through faithfulness?  Let it not be so!  But we uphold the Law.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul continues to talk about faith/faithfulness in this passage.  It is important to remember that when Paul talks about being justified through faithfulness (or faith) that he isn’t talking about a human work.  My “ability” to believe in Jesus Christ is not what saves me.  Christ’s faithfulness on the cross and His death is what saves me.  After all, if my salvation is based on my “ability,” then it is simply a work that I perform.  If I cannot keep the Law perfectly, how can I perform any necessary work perfectly?  No, salvation cannot be through my works but through Christ’s work.

Why is it easy to translate God’s gift through Christ’s faithfulness into some work that I perform?  Why is it easy to believe that it is my ability to believe that saves me rather than Christ’s death on the cross that saves me?  Why do you think Paul spends so much time on this point?

Second Thought:

Paul makes his overarching point once again.  God is the God of the Jews and the Gentiles.  God will save both through the same means.  There isn’t a “Jewish way to God” and a “Christian way to God.”  The only way to God is through the atonement of sin and the only true and permanent atonement of sin is gained through Christ.  Every human being who has ever lived in any place upon the earth will be justified only through the blood of Christ.  There is no difference between Jew and Gentile.  All have sinned and all come to God only through Christ.

What does this demonstrate to you with respect to your need for Jesus?  Do you always live as though Jesus is the only way to God?  Do you truly believe that there is only one way to God – through Jesus Christ – regardless of who you are and what you’ve done?

Third Thought:

Paul’s final point in this passage is that it is not his intent to cause the Law to go away.  He does not desire that the Law be ignored.  He is in good company, for Jesus Himself even says, “I did not come to abolish the Law or the prophets but to fulfill them.”  Paul does not desire the Law to go away.  Rather, Paul desires that the Law have its proper place.  Salvation comes through the faithfulness of Christ on the cross.  The Law shows us why we need Christ and then guides us in how to live once He has found us.

Why is it important to keep the Law around?  What happens to a person who embraces grace so much that the Law becomes invalidated in that person’s life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 4:1-3

Romans 3:25-26

Passage

God brought Him forth through faithfulness as a means to forgiveness in His blood.  This is evidence of His righteousness through the disregard of the sins that have happened previously, in the patient endurance of God, for the demonstration of His righteousness in the present age, in order that He is to be righteous even while declaring righteous the one out of the faithfulness of Jesus.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

There are two words in today’s reading that are spoken again and again by Paul.  The first word is faithfulness.  The second word is righteousness.  These two concepts are interconnected.  Jesus is righteous because He was faithful.  The forgiveness of sins comes to us because Jesus was faithful.  Our righteousness is therefore connected directly to the faithfulness of Jesus.  I am not declared righteous because I have faith in Jesus.  I am declared righteous because Jesus was faithful.  I merely receive that gift of righteousness that has been offered to me through the faithfulness of Christ.

Do you see the difference between saying “I am declared righteous through the faith in Jesus” and “I am declared righteous through the faithfulness of Jesus?”  When push comes to shove, would you rather have your salvation based upon your ability to believe or upon Jesus’ ability to be faithful?

Second Thought:

Because of Christ’s faithfulness, the gift of salvation has been offered to us.  Yet, we must receive it.  Christ died for all – that is, so that all may be offered the gift of salvation.  Salvation based upon the faithfulness of Christ is offered to all.  Yet, we all have the ability to receive it or reject it.  This is why Paul concludes this section by speaking about God declaring righteous “the one out of the faithfulness of Jesus.”  There are those who are saved out of Jesus’ faithfulness and those who reject salvation out of Jesus’ faithfulness.  Either way, though, salvation is still solely because of Jesus’ faithfulness.

What does it mean to you to receive the gift of salvation?  What does it look like for you to live out that salvation?  Why did you choose to receive salvation?

Third Thought:

God has disregarded our previous sinfulness.  That alone is incredible.  God could have been just and let us perish.  But to demonstrate His righteousness He patiently endured our rebellion, sent us Jesus to atone for our rebellion, and then declared us righteous through Jesus in spite of our rebellion.  This is the true character of God.  God is not an angry God who seeks to punish us.  God is one who loves us into a relationship we do not deserve for no other reason than it is His character.

Why is it easy to be angry with God and see Him as a vengeful and wrathful God?  Why is it easy to overlook God’s true character of love?  When is the correct time and a place for focusing on both judgment and forgiveness?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 3:27-31