Romans 4:13-17 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
Greater minds than ours have struggled with the law over the centuries, whether the law determines our perfections and imperfections. Yet as we read God’s Word, one thing seems clear: mankind has fallen far from his once perfect state in the Garden of Eden. We are prone to rebellion and sin. Paul writes: And where there is no law there is no transgression. This is true because without the stated law, we do not have a consequence, but since we are in a state of sin, our hearts condemn us. The law was not given to save us but to measure our imperfections, which are many. These imperfections cannot be eradicated by obedience to rules, regulations, or anything else, for we have within us a rebellion that began with Adam and Eve and is a part of our human nature. In the Old Testament, God tells the Israelites to build a tabernacle, a place where He could abide. Yet, we know God does not inhabit temples made by human hands. However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?” asks the LORD. “Could you build me such a resting place? Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?” (7:48-50) However, in the wilderness, God asks the Israelites to build a place where He could dwell, a perfectly made place where He could settle in their midst. Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you. (Exodus 24:8-9) By giving the Israelite these precise instructions on preparing the tabernacle and its contents, He taught the Israelites that He is a God of order, exactness, completeness, perfection, and holiness. He informed them that if they built the tabernacle according to his exact standards, He would come down and abide with them. His instruction for the tabernacle confirmed God’s exacting nature. All of creation reveals God’s perfection, his rejection of disorder, confusion, or chaos. The intricacies of life, of living organisms, reveals God’s exactness. The Israelites could follow God’s demands precisely when building the tabernacle, carefully measuring and constructing a perfect tabernacle, as they worked with material and space. Even though men can do such things, God chose a special person to head the construction of the tabernacle. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft! (Exodus 31:2-5) God insured the correctness of the tabernacle and everything in it by having Bezalel, a man filled with his Spirit to oversee the project, including the Ark of the Covenant, the furnishings, the beautifully stitched garments, and the anointing oils. By the Spirit’s inspiration, Bezalel and his craftsmen could make a place of perfection where God could dwell.
However, the spirit of man is not an inanimate object, for we are living entities made in God’s image. The law, a measurement of righteousness, will not satisfy God’s requirements of perfection that He seeks from us. When He demands that we provide a board of 32 inches in some area of our fleshly tabernacle, we often come up with perhaps 32 and a half inches or 31, never quite perfect. As we see in the Israelites’ tabernacle, God will not dwell in inexactness. He demands perfection, holiness. Consequently, God cannot dwell within the imperfect. We are contaminated by sin: our failures to achieve, to obey, to repent. Well then, will paying better attention to the measurements demanded by God help us to be living temples of his Spirit? This is the struggle of trying to serve God by obeying rules and regulations. We are trying to satisfy the spiritual needs of our lives by measuring them better, more precisely. Do this! Do not do that! Be nicer, kinder, more loving! Avoid these thoughts, those actions! Measuring up to God’s standards presents a struggle when we try to be a place where God can dwell. However, we are never quite exact and holy for we are not inanimate material. We are living, thriving human beings who are making hundreds of decisions every day. Thousands of words and ideas are going through our minds daily. How can we be perfect? How can every word or thought line up to the perfection of God? Later in this book, Paul writes: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. (Romans 7:21-23) How can we be holy? Today’s scriptures reveals how we can be right with God, completely holy, perfect in his sight at all times. We need the faith of Abraham. Abraham received the promise of rightness before God by faith, long before the law was given. What did he believe? What faith did he hold? Abraham believed two things that make every Christian alive in God. First, he believed in the God who brings the dead back to life. We believe in the Jesus who was resurrected. We died with him by faith, we live IN HIM by faith. Secondly, Abraham believed in the God who creates new things out of nothing. We who are IN CHRIST ARE NEW CREATURES. God has made us new, we are born again. This was Abraham’s faith. He believed God could do what He said He could do, that God would fulfill his promises to him. This is the same answer Paul offers to the Romans as we continue our journey through his message to them. When he asks who can deliver him from his bondage, he says, Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:25)
Breakfast companions, God will fulfill his promises to you if you stand in Christ with the same faith that Abraham professed: believing God resurrects the dead and makes new things out of nothing. We know Christ was resurrected from the dead, so will you be resurrected. Jesus was the first fruit, or the first one to go from the body of death to everlasting life. You, too, will follow him in that transition from death to life. He also, through his blood, has made you a living, eternal creature by transforming that which was dead in sins and trespasses to be alive in freedom and holiness. The tabernacle and everything in it had to be made or built according to God’s holy standard, his exactness. You, dear friends, are not exact, holy, perfect, but there is one who is all of that and more. His name is Jesus Christ. When we have faith in his works and not ours, we are taking perfection into our souls, the exactness God demands. His master craftsman, the Holy Spirit, is perfecting his work in our flesh. As the psalmist wrote: The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of your hands. (Psalm 138:8) God is changing us day by day. We are becoming more like him as we give him authority in our lives. The voice of the Holy Spirit leads us through this life, giving us an understanding of who we really are. We are eternal creatures, lights to a dark world. We need to hearken to his voice and to follow him daily. The Good News that we need to propagate is that Christ in us is our hope of glory and we can abide with God forever. Abraham’s faith made him right with God. Our faith is Abraham’s: This faith believes God resurrects the dead and makes new things out of nothing. We who are IN CHRIST have been resurrected and are completely new. Old things have passed away. Live this life in Christ by faith, believing in his works, not yours. Portray Jesus to the world by your words and actions. Do not go back to the beggarly elements of this world, living as the world does. This will bring chaos into your lives; eternal death will be the result of such living. Nothing but exactness, holiness, completeness, perfection will please God. He will dwell with no other conditions. Christ is the perfect one, the perfect sacrifice. Place your faith and life in his perfection and rest in his love.
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