Daily Devotion – February 24, 2021 – Pastor Erick Thompson
Romans 4:13-25
13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already[a] as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 Therefore his faith[b] “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23 Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Paul’s letter to the Romans is considered one of the greatest Christian writings. It is most likely one of Paul’s last letters, and presents Paul’s theology quite clearly. Paul presents his argument about Law and Gospel to a group of people focused on how certain other people behave. The Romans addressed in the letter have decided they get to judge who’s good and who’s bad. Paul argues that no one judges except God, and Paul goes even further, suggesting that it is only grace and faith that God is worried about. This leads us to the line we find in verse 14: “If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.” Basically, Paul calls the judgmental Romans faithless and negates God’s promise for them.
For Christians, we like to look at how a person acts in order to figure out who’s a good person and who’s a bad person. Yet, God is not interested in our actions; God is only interested in God’s actions. We have a very difficult time understanding this because human relationships are based so much on how we treat one another. If someone treats you poorly, that hurts your relationship. If they do something nice for you, your relationship improves.
God has a different agenda. In verse 16, Paul talks about the promise being guaranteed to all people because of grace. This guarantee reminds me of a warranty (they come from the same root word), and basically Paul is saying that in Christ, we have a lifetime warranty. This lifetime warranty doesn’t cost us anything extra and can’t be invalidated. Instead, it is guaranteed by our gracious, loving God. Yet, as Paul warns us repeatedly in the first half of Romans, this doesn’t mean we can do anything we want to. What it means is that we are free: free to love our neighbor; free to not worry about if our neighbor is doing the right thing before God; free to enjoy God’s gift of life. And, yes, God has plans for you, but first, you have to understand that grace has set you free!
Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for this amazing gift of life. Help us to rest in the knowledge that your love with triumph over anything we do, and that we are free to listen for your call. Amen.
