Romans 4:1-8 (NIV)
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?
2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God.
3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

Perhaps you remember me saying from time to time that the issue for the Lake Country area is the matter of law versus grace or works versus faith(both of these encompass the same problem.) I do believe it is the issue for our area, but as you can see it is an issue for a lot of people. What drives us to want to help God out on this salvation thing? What makes us finite human beings think that we have something that God needs?



Paul goes to the O.T. in order to prove his point that it has never been of works or of the law. He takes the example of Abraham and then quotes the Scriptures that when Abraham believed it was there that he received his righteousness. It was later on that Abraham was circumcised and not before. Paul then turns to wage earning as another example of why God's salvation has to be a gift. When a person works he or she collects a wage and not a gift.



Paul again quotes the O.T. to argue more on behalf of grace and this time he turns to David. The blessed life is when one knows the forgiveness of God apart from works. The reason the person is blessed is they know they are forgiven upon the basis of God's goodness. When a person tries to work off their sins they will never know if they have worked enough. There is no rest for those who try to earn forgiveness. Remember God's grace is against earning not against effort. Are you blessed?