Thursday Romans 4:1-5

Righteousness comes from faith.

Click here for an online Bible Romans 4:1-5

Abraham was the father of the Jews. God called Abraham to leave his country of origin and move to the land of Canaan. When he got there, God promised the land to his descendants. God also promised to raise up a people through Abraham’s descendants that would be the people of God. Through this people, all of the world would be blessed. Abraham was a righteous man.

Paul raises the question about Abraham. Was he righteous because he obeyed God? Paul answers the question. No, Abraham was not righteous because of what he did. He quotes Genesis 15:6. Abraham was righteous because of his faith. He believed God. He had faith. His belief was strong enough to result in trust. So when God called him to leave everything behind, he did it – not because it made since, but because he trusted God. He had faith. Righteousness comes from faith and faith alone.

If you could earn righteousness through your action, then it would be payment, not a gift. Paul has been saying that righteousness is a gift from God. Faith results in God declaring the ungodly to now be righteous.

So, were does good works fit into all of this? Abraham obeyed God. He did it because he trusted God. He had faith in God. So, faith should prompt us to do good works. Good works are often seen as the evidence of faith. Following Christ involves action. It means doing something. If a person has no evidence in his life of following Christ, then faith seems to be lacking.

We have to ask ourselves, “Is my faith resulting in action?” “Do I trust God enough to live like he wants me to?” None of us are fully there and that means our faith needs to grow. We need to get closer to God. Remember the spiritual disciplines. The purpose is to grow in godliness.