QT 11/5/2024 Rom 4:16-17, Saved by faith alone

Romans 4:16–17 (ESV) —

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 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.

 

NOTE: To a man like Martin Luther, steeped in Catholicism of the time, this verse, in fact the whole book of Romans, must have hit like a sledgehammer. Everything depends upon faith, not upon works. I realize that Luther had his issues, but when one reads Romans, there is no other conclusion. There never should have been an argument among the nations. But, the nations were wrong because they saw religion as a key to power as opposed to truth that needed to be consumed. I wonder how many Kings really believed the gospel or just saw it as an expedient way to control the people. Even England's creation of Anglicanism was only because one King could not get his own way, and he coveted the riches of Catholicism. No one was interested in truth to the questions:

• How is one saved?
• Why did Jesus have to die if we need good works?
• What is God's holiness and how does it apply or not apply to me?
• How can anyone be good in God's eyes?
• What then is faith and what does it do?
• Why is there a law?
• Why does the bible say the law was nailed to the cross and the book of Hebrews tell us that the old Covenant is null and void?

There are so many more questions that scripture answers but no one ever wanted to research. It was a world blinded by a religion that carried a name "Christian" without any (or at least very few) actual Christians.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I still, deep down, believe in works -- that my good deeds must outweigh my bad deeds?
2. Or do I absolutely trust in the completed work of Christ on the cross where by faith I exchanged my sinful self for this righteous glory (at least in the eyes of God)?

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you for calling me out of religion and into a relationship with you. I am totally unworthy. It was mercy and grace poured out upon me. There is nothing I can do or say, … but I will say, sheepishly because of my unworthiness, thank you.