Romans 4:1-8 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”
Are you declared righteous without working for it? Who justifies you, puts you in right standing with God? In today’s verses, we understand that God creates a work of righteousness within us. No effort on our part other than faith in God’s work through Jesus Christ can cleanse us of ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. No police, governing authority, organization, or person can reliably know everything about us as God does. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7) The stamp of absolute approval comes from him, not man. We might even believe we are behaving rightly before God at this present time; however, we cannot really predict our future behavior and attitudes. We cannot say for a surety that we will always please God in everything we do, never erupt in a way that is contrary to God’s will. At this time, we might be as a placid stream of water meandering through the valley of life, safe, refreshing to everything around us, but our future might hold circumstances difficult for us to handle. Then we might become a roaring flood, overflowing the banks, the parameters of goodness in our lives, destroying everything and everyone in sight. God knows the inclinations of the heart. He is aware of the triggers for destruction in our lives. He knows when we will not treat our neighbors or acquaintances well, when our love for others will fail and darkness rather than goodness will inhabit our lives. God made us, He knows us. Many men and women have fidelity towards each other when they marry. With good intentions, they desire to stay with their selected mate forever. Their vows were not said lightly, but often with tears in their eyes. Nevertheless, for too many marriages, the dissolution of the relationship comes far too soon, even in the first couple of years. Rather than abiding in love forever, rather than keeping their vows, the couple develops a coldness that turns to disdain. A destructive flood, causing irreparable harm replaces the sweet stream of their union. Hatred and bitter feelings move in to encapsulate the marriage in divisiveness. The angel of darkness crept into their lives, destroying the love, unity, and fidelity. Given the erratic flow of life and the unpredictable environment in which we live, we must depend on a power higher than ourselves. Our rightness, our holiness, is not dependent on our determination, for we cannot control all the variables in our lives. Our place of righteousness, goodness, wellbeing, depends on God’s work, his ever-loving mercy and grace. We depend upon his stability, not upon our erratic behavior. We do that by believing in Christ’s work, not our work. With Father Abraham, we believe God, our righteousness.
What law can bring this righteousness to us? Paul wrote: I consider them (all things) garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. (Philippians 3:9) Perfection in God’s eyes comes only through the work of Jesus Christ. He alone ALWAYS did the Father’s will. As Christians, we attempt to do good, to be a quality ambassador for God. Our intentions are admirable, but we often fail to fulfill the laws of God, the laws of man, and the laws we place upon ourselves. We tend to rebel against laws and we tend to stray from what is right in the pressure of the moment. If you are a parent how many times have you done or said something with one of your children that you said you would never do? You may have said your mom or dad shouted all the time, so you would never raise your voice in anger to your children, and then there comes a time when you find yourself yelling. As the Bible says, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) True righteousness is a gift from God that we do not earn through work. We inherit the gift because of God’s mercy and grace. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5) From the beginning of the Bible, we see God’s desire to have a people, made in his image, that he could fellowship with, known as his children. In the story of Adam and Eve, to the patriarchs, to the Jewish kingdoms, through the prophets, and finally to Jesus Christ and his church, we find God’s desire and design is to make children who are righteous, who can claim him as their Father. Following the resurrection, God gave his people the Spirit who will keep them in constant communication with him. We are those children. We are the blessed ones. Our place in the family of God did not come through our works or efforts. For we are not that consistent in following laws; we are not that predictable in being good. We are like that stream of water, sometimes within the banks and sometimes outside of the banks. But God has not left us alone to battle this nature of ours. The Holy Spirit came to lead us. Yes, we are completely righteous in God, but we are still in the flesh. Consequently, God has asked us to hear his Holy Spirit. His Spirit in us wants to direct our lives in the flesh. He is to be the priority in all of our thinking. He is the first one we talk to when we awake; he is the last one we talk to before we go to sleep. We consciously allow him to speak to us during the day. He is the song in our hearts, the warrior to fight our battles. He goes before us and behind us.
We know that voice because we have been changed, made new through the transforming power of the cross of Christ. We are a new creation. Our spiritual DNA is no longer the same. We have been adopted into a new family. We were orphans, lost and alone, searching for our parents, wandering, yearning for a lasting home. Jesus said, I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:18) This was the will of the Father, to lead us home, to make a way for the lost ones, for his sheep. When the Israelites first left Egypt, God set a trap for Pharaoh and his army. He told Moses to go back towards Egypt to camp. Pharaoh erroneously thought the Israelites were confused about the wilderness, for if they knew the area, they never would have gone back towards Egypt to set up camp. Thinking that, he gathered his army to chase down the Israelites to kill them. He had murder in his evil heart. But God had made plans for him. When the Israelites realized Pharaoh was coming to kill them, they did not react in faith. They hysterically blamed Moses for their predicament. Moses told them to be calm and to see God’s deliverance. The Holy Spirit, manifesting himself by a cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night, departed from being in front of the Israelites to the rear of the assemblage, separating the Israelites from Pharaoh’s army. Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. (Exodus 14:19-20) The Holy Spirit separated them that day from their enemy. As we know, the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, led them to the Promised Land. God did not leave them as orphans. Likewise, the Holy Spirit will lead us through this wilderness to the Promised Land. He will protect us when Pharaoh’s armies come to overwhelm and defeat us. The angel of God will be there to aid us in the battles of life. The battle of righteousness already has been won because we have been redeemed and brought to life through faith in Jesus. The blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed us of all sin and placed us in right standing with God. As sons and daughters of the Most High God, we are now free from the slavery of this world, but we need the Spirit of God to lead us through this life as God’s ambassadors.
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