So how do we fit? by Ann-Louise
There has been much discussion recently about what is necessary for salvation. This concerns me greatly for many reasons. As you read, I ask that you would pray with me that the Lord will open our hearts and minds (mine included) to His Word and give us a better understanding of His plan and provision of salvation.
I'm not a huge fan of the Message version, however, it does do a good job at times of bringing complex truths to a level that is more easily attainable for our finite minds. Let's take a fresh look at Romans chapter 4 and see what God has to say. Please read the chapter at the link below (it will open in a new window so you can refer back to it if you would like to):
Romans 4, The Message at onlinebiblestudytools.com
Romans chapter 4 poses an important question and gives a very detailed answer. "So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things?" (v 1)
In other words, how does Abraham's experience contrast with ours? And, what can we learn from him? The next verse provides a very important point, which is key to understanding the entire chapter, as well, as God's plan of salvation for mankind. " But the story we're given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story." It's really not about Abraham and what he did; it's about God and what He has done. It's not about us and what we have done; it's about God and what He has done.
"Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own." (v 3)
Lord, may we all have that same turning point in our lives, and enter into what YOU are doing for us, trusting YOU alone to set us right.
Verses 4 & 5 point out that salvation is a gift. If we had earned it, it would not be a gift, but wages. Perhaps it is grammatically incorrect, but here never was a better invented verb than the one we see here - "trusting-him-to-do-it." May we all, both for our salvation and in our walk with Christ, be found to be "trusting-him-to-do-it."
v 6-7 God is in the business of keeping accounts (Col. 2:14). He sees our sin and with or without attempting to keep the law, we are all in the red. We fall short. We are in debt. If we believe on the One who is the Justifier (placing our trust in Him alone), the One who can impute righteousness to our account, and wipe the slate clean, then our FAITH is counted for righteousness. David knew, experienced and embraced forgiveness. His slate was wiped clean. How? By keeping some ritual or careful observance of Torah? No! David was justified in God's sight by trusting "God to do the putting-everything-right."
v9-11 Abraham was justified before he was given the ritual of circumcision, long before the law was given, long before any ritual cleansings were given to his descendants. So how was Abraham justified? God says, "..it was by embracing what God did for him that Abraham was declared fit before God.." The ritual did not save Abraham; it didn't have the power to make him right with God; the ritual was powerless to impute righteousness; it could not save him; it could not provide justification. The ritual was ".. evidence and confirmation of what God had done.."
v12 Those who " embrace what God does for them " are called "set right by God and with God"!" This is accomplished apart from any ritual. As we noted above, " But the story we're given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story." It's really not about Abraham and what he did; it's about God and what He has done. It's not about us and what we have done; it's about God and what He has done.
v13-15 God's promise to Abraham and his promises to us are not based on what we do, but rather, "based on God's decision to put everything together" for us! If we have to do something to get what God has promised, "That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal." (v14)
v16 "This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift." A "pure gift" leaves no room for us to add or earn anything.
v17 "Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing." Do we dare trust God to do what only He can do? Or do we think He somehow needs our help to fulfill His promise of salvation?
v18-22 Abraham "didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions." Do we? Do we wonder, "Well, maybe I really ought to do this or that, just to make sure." Abraham "plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right." We, too, are declared fit before God by trusting Him to set us right, not by anything we have done. Remember, it's a God-story, not a me-story.
v23-25 "But it's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God." How were the "conditions equally hopeless"? We were and are powerless to do anything to justify ourselves before God, just as is and was any ritual. ONLY "The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God."
The Word of God is very clear - it's all about Him and what He has done; it is not about me and what I have done. Our rituals, our works and our deeds are all powerless to bring salvation. Rather, as with Abraham, the things we do in obedience to God are a confirmation and evidence of what He has done!
"The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us.
And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him..
Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us.
Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift.
He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. <br>Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public - to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured.
This is not only clear, but it's now - this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.
What we've learned is this:
God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does..
But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don't we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it." (Romans 3:22-26,31 The Message)
I'm not a huge fan of the Message version, however, it does do a good job at times of bringing complex truths to a level that is more easily attainable for our finite minds. Let's take a fresh look at Romans chapter 4 and see what God has to say. Please read the chapter at the link below (it will open in a new window so you can refer back to it if you would like to):
Romans 4, The Message at onlinebiblestudytools.com
Romans chapter 4 poses an important question and gives a very detailed answer. "So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things?" (v 1)
In other words, how does Abraham's experience contrast with ours? And, what can we learn from him? The next verse provides a very important point, which is key to understanding the entire chapter, as well, as God's plan of salvation for mankind. " But the story we're given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story." It's really not about Abraham and what he did; it's about God and what He has done. It's not about us and what we have done; it's about God and what He has done.
"Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own." (v 3)
Lord, may we all have that same turning point in our lives, and enter into what YOU are doing for us, trusting YOU alone to set us right.
Verses 4 & 5 point out that salvation is a gift. If we had earned it, it would not be a gift, but wages. Perhaps it is grammatically incorrect, but here never was a better invented verb than the one we see here - "trusting-him-to-do-it." May we all, both for our salvation and in our walk with Christ, be found to be "trusting-him-to-do-it."
v 6-7 God is in the business of keeping accounts (Col. 2:14). He sees our sin and with or without attempting to keep the law, we are all in the red. We fall short. We are in debt. If we believe on the One who is the Justifier (placing our trust in Him alone), the One who can impute righteousness to our account, and wipe the slate clean, then our FAITH is counted for righteousness. David knew, experienced and embraced forgiveness. His slate was wiped clean. How? By keeping some ritual or careful observance of Torah? No! David was justified in God's sight by trusting "God to do the putting-everything-right."
v9-11 Abraham was justified before he was given the ritual of circumcision, long before the law was given, long before any ritual cleansings were given to his descendants. So how was Abraham justified? God says, "..it was by embracing what God did for him that Abraham was declared fit before God.." The ritual did not save Abraham; it didn't have the power to make him right with God; the ritual was powerless to impute righteousness; it could not save him; it could not provide justification. The ritual was ".. evidence and confirmation of what God had done.."
v12 Those who " embrace what God does for them " are called "set right by God and with God"!" This is accomplished apart from any ritual. As we noted above, " But the story we're given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story." It's really not about Abraham and what he did; it's about God and what He has done. It's not about us and what we have done; it's about God and what He has done.
v13-15 God's promise to Abraham and his promises to us are not based on what we do, but rather, "based on God's decision to put everything together" for us! If we have to do something to get what God has promised, "That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal." (v14)
v16 "This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift." A "pure gift" leaves no room for us to add or earn anything.
v17 "Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing." Do we dare trust God to do what only He can do? Or do we think He somehow needs our help to fulfill His promise of salvation?
v18-22 Abraham "didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions." Do we? Do we wonder, "Well, maybe I really ought to do this or that, just to make sure." Abraham "plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right." We, too, are declared fit before God by trusting Him to set us right, not by anything we have done. Remember, it's a God-story, not a me-story.
v23-25 "But it's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God." How were the "conditions equally hopeless"? We were and are powerless to do anything to justify ourselves before God, just as is and was any ritual. ONLY "The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God."
The Word of God is very clear - it's all about Him and what He has done; it is not about me and what I have done. Our rituals, our works and our deeds are all powerless to bring salvation. Rather, as with Abraham, the things we do in obedience to God are a confirmation and evidence of what He has done!
"The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us.
And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him..
Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us.
Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift.
He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. <br>Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public - to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured.
This is not only clear, but it's now - this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.
What we've learned is this:
God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does..
But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don't we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it." (Romans 3:22-26,31 The Message)