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?
Friday, March 19, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Romans 3:22-25 (NIV)
22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--
Romans 1:17 (NIV)
17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
How can a sinner become righteous? How can a sinner really have life? How can a sinner come to know in a personal way the righteous God? If you have read Stott's discourse on Romans chapter one verse seventeen you will recall that this statement, "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed..." is not as easy to understand as it first appears. Basically he asks is it a quality of God, or is it an activity of God, or is it a gift from God? This discussion begins in his commentary on page 61. His conclusion is that this verse covers all three. The righteousness from God has to first be something that God is or it could not be from God. When God acts He has to stay true to who He is and therefore acts in a righteous way. Finally, for us it is a gift because we on our own could never achieve righteousness on our own or through the law, therefore it has to be given to us by a righteous God in Christ. In verse 22 of chapter three the argument is picked up again as Paul is driving the point home that we have to believe in order to become righteous and therefore that will give us life. In Paul's mind to become righteous in God's eyes is life. As he quotes, "The righteous will live by faith." We have been given a choice to continue to live in our sins and die for we are already dead. The other choice is to believe in Christ and enjoy life here and forever for those who believe have now come alive. Remember life begets life and if you have it you get it.
God does not justify us because we are worthy, but by justifying us makes us worthy.
Thomas Watson (c. 1557–1592)
22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--
Romans 1:17 (NIV)
17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
How can a sinner become righteous? How can a sinner really have life? How can a sinner come to know in a personal way the righteous God? If you have read Stott's discourse on Romans chapter one verse seventeen you will recall that this statement, "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed..." is not as easy to understand as it first appears. Basically he asks is it a quality of God, or is it an activity of God, or is it a gift from God? This discussion begins in his commentary on page 61. His conclusion is that this verse covers all three. The righteousness from God has to first be something that God is or it could not be from God. When God acts He has to stay true to who He is and therefore acts in a righteous way. Finally, for us it is a gift because we on our own could never achieve righteousness on our own or through the law, therefore it has to be given to us by a righteous God in Christ. In verse 22 of chapter three the argument is picked up again as Paul is driving the point home that we have to believe in order to become righteous and therefore that will give us life. In Paul's mind to become righteous in God's eyes is life. As he quotes, "The righteous will live by faith." We have been given a choice to continue to live in our sins and die for we are already dead. The other choice is to believe in Christ and enjoy life here and forever for those who believe have now come alive. Remember life begets life and if you have it you get it.
God does not justify us because we are worthy, but by justifying us makes us worthy.
Thomas Watson (c. 1557–1592)
Monday, March 15, 2010
Romans 3:21-26 (NIV)
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--
26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
I cannot put into words what a tremendous privilege it is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with strangers, or friends and family of the church. From the different people that I talked to over the weekend it would seem that many lives were touched in our different services. It is my understanding that we had 2267 for our services. It is also my understanding that over 200 follow up bags were taken--praise the Lord. When I gather the exact numbers I will let you know what they were.
The passage today covers what we attempted to do over the weekend and that is teach and preach that a righteousness from God has been revealed apart from the law. We are now freely justified by His grace--Hallelujah. One man handed me a card and he wrote, "I am on who does not believe." He closed with these words, "Maybe you could help me." I would appreciate your prayers as I attempt to meet with him in the coming days. You know as well as I do I am only a vessel and at times a weak one at that.
Let freedom ring in the name of Jesus Christ. Please pray for the many that prayed with me this weekend that they would listen to God's voice. May they continue looking at the cross and have faith in Jesus who was our atonement for our sins. God bless you all! God bless our Church--amen!
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--
26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
I cannot put into words what a tremendous privilege it is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with strangers, or friends and family of the church. From the different people that I talked to over the weekend it would seem that many lives were touched in our different services. It is my understanding that we had 2267 for our services. It is also my understanding that over 200 follow up bags were taken--praise the Lord. When I gather the exact numbers I will let you know what they were.
The passage today covers what we attempted to do over the weekend and that is teach and preach that a righteousness from God has been revealed apart from the law. We are now freely justified by His grace--Hallelujah. One man handed me a card and he wrote, "I am on who does not believe." He closed with these words, "Maybe you could help me." I would appreciate your prayers as I attempt to meet with him in the coming days. You know as well as I do I am only a vessel and at times a weak one at that.
Let freedom ring in the name of Jesus Christ. Please pray for the many that prayed with me this weekend that they would listen to God's voice. May they continue looking at the cross and have faith in Jesus who was our atonement for our sins. God bless you all! God bless our Church--amen!
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