Year 2, Day 27: Romans 4

No Works will bring about Righteousness

Here is a great chapter against works righteousness – perhaps one of the chapters most influential in Martin Luther’s own understanding of “salvation by the grace of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.”  It begins with a quote from Genesis 15:6.  Abraham believed the Lord, and it was credited to Him as righteousness.

Now here’s the interesting thing.  In order to believe, you must first have an experience.  I’m not going to believe a word in any book unless I first read the book.  I’m not going to believe a word that a speaker says until I have heard the speaker talk.  The same is true with Abraham.  He could not believe in God until God had come to Him.  Abraham’s belief is not a work of righteousness.  Abraham’s believe is a response to the righteousness of God that comes to him.  As a response, it is credited to Abraham.

We are no different in Christ.  Our belief in Jesus, our belief in His death being able to pay the debt of our sins, our belief in God’s ability to conquer death in us as He did in Christ – all of these beliefs are not works of righteousness.  They are responses to the righteousness that came to us in Jesus Christ and as such are “credited” to us.  But the truth is that we do nothing but respond to the grace of God that is perpetually before us.  We may act, but we our actions are always responses to the gift that God has put before us in the first place.

This is a vitally important understanding for us to have.  As Paul says, if we are able to earn salvation, then salvation is due to us.  If we work our way into salvation, then salvation is not a gracious gift but simply an economic transaction.  If salvation was able to be earned, it would not be credited to us but rather due to us.  Thus, because the Bible tells us that it is credited to us, we can know that salvation is grace given by God to which we can then respond rather than something that is owed to us by God because we are righteous.

When was Faith Reckoned

Paul then gets into a discussion about when faith was reckoned to Abraham.  Paul says that the reckoning occurred well before the act of circumcision.  We know this to be true. Abraham is credited in Genesis 15 while Abraham wasn’t given the covenant of circumcision until Genesis 17.  Abraham’s faith came before any act.  Abraham’s salvation comes as a gift from God, and his faith is on account of his response to God’s gift.  In any case, it is not because of some act that he performs.

Again, we are no different.  We are not saved because of any act we perform.  We are not saved because we were baptized (whether as an infant or an adult).  We are not saved because of some “sinner’s prayer” that we prayed.  We are saved as a gift of God that He has lavishly granted to all through Jesus Christ.  All we must do is to receive the gift.  God gives the gift, we respond.  As a part of our response, we faithfully do things like baptisms, prayer, evangelism, teaching, preaching, service, communion, etc.  None of those things save us, but they are phenomenal responses to the salvation that God has offered to us in the first place.

The Significance of Our Response

I love the way Paul ends this chapter.  As it was counted to Abraham, so it shall be counted to us if we believe.  It is not our belief that saves us, yet our response is not lost on God, either.  When we receive the gift of salvation, it is counted to us as righteousness.  When we believe in Christ, it is counted to us as righteousness.  When we evangelize and proclaim Jesus Christ to the world it is counted to us as righteousness.  When we serve in Christ’s name, when we give a cup of cold water to the thirsty, when we visit the sick or imprisoned, and when we do anything else that demonstrates the grace and compassion of God it will be counted to us as righteousness.  It is righteous because God’s righteousness has come to us and we have responded to His righteousness.

We can have confidence as Abraham had confidence.  We can look to God and believe His promise.  He was with Abraham and fulfilled what He promised.  He was with David and fulfilled what He promised.  He was with Jesus and fulfilled what He promised.  He is with us, and He will fulfill what He promises to us as well.  Have faith, believe.  Rest in the fact that your salvation is not based on your own works but on the grace of God and the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Then, respond!

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