What does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:3
The four motivations are Incomparable power (Ephe. 1:19), The pleasure of God (Heb. 11:6a), Reward Heb. 11:6b), and God will often act according to our faith (Matthew 9:29).
Read Romans Chapter 4. What jumps out at you in this chapter? Take a look at verse 12. What kind of legacy did Abraham leave behind? Do you want to leave that kind of legacy? Take a moment to reread verse 3. Meditate on verse 3! This statement is also originally stated in Genesis 15: 6. This must be important to God to have it reemphasized in the New Testament. In fact, it is stated numerous times in Romans and the books of Galatians and James. What is the concept of verse 3? When it is repetitive, we must really pay attention to what needs to apply to our lives. What facts do we find in Romans 4 belief credited as righteousness applies to you and me?
Now let’s focus on Romans 4:23-24. What does verse 23 say? Yes, our faith is what God credits as righteousness. It is not just for the people before us, but also for us NOW!!! Why do you think this is a big deal? Or why is this concept so important? We all may have different reasons for this. However, we all have to remember that we are all humans. WE are not perfect, nor will we be perfect until we stand before God. In light of that, Why is this statement so important? God does not credit our righteous acts as Righteous! What a relief! Read Isaiah 64:6. What does this verse say about righteous acts?
Let’s clarify something right here and now. When we are genuinely building our relationship with God, He looks at our beliefs. Believing God It’s our faith that is building our relationship with God. As we build that relationship, we will want to be in obedience to him, and therefore our acts will line up with what God says. Will we be perfect at it? NO! However, as we keep building our relationship with God, He will show us what is sin in our lives. With our belief and faith and love for God, He will break the cycle of sin in our lives. Some of the sins in our lives will take a while, while others will be so easy for us to let go of. However, that is another topic for another day.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your grace. Thank you for not crediting our righteous acts as righteous, but by our faith.
In Jesus Name
Amen
