[Romans Study 9-3]
Grace And Faith [Romans 3:27-4:25]
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Abraham’s Faith, Impossible Possibility
When Abraham was one hundred years old, and when Sarah was ninety years old (Genesis 17:17), there came the promise that a son would be born to them. It seemed to be a promise that was beyond all possibility for fulfillment, since both Abraham and Sarah were well past the age of being able to have children. And yet, once again, Abraham took God at His word, and believed that God’s promises were true and that God would do what He said He would do.
Weren’t the bodies of Abraham and Sarah as good as dead? Yet God gave life to the dead and called things that are not as though they were. Here Paul talks about the story of how God gave Isaac to Abraham through Sarah.
God promised Abraham in the fifteenth chapter of Genesis: “He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”” (Genesis 15:5) But the promise was not granted until time elapsed throughout Chapter 16. Abraham must have been discouraged.
After some more time had passed, now in Chapter 17, Abraham was again given the promise that he will be a father of many nations: “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.” (Genesis 17:5-6); “I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her. Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” (Genesis 17:16-17)
“By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” (Hebrews 11:11-12)
Not only was Sarah well passed child bearing age, but she was also barren, but what was impossible became possible through faith.
Who was the greatest carrier and proclaimer of this faith that makes impossible possible? It is Jesus. Though He died, He opened the history of life through His resurrection.
Was the resurrection a simple event? When Jesus was praying in Gethsemane, his prayer was one of tears and blood. (Luke 22:44; Matthew 26:38; Hebrew 5:7) If we were to witness Jesus when he was offering up these prayers with loud cries and tears, we probably wouldn’t have expected a resurrection but would have thought his end would simply be death just like it was for many others.
However, Jesus was a man of faith. Though he wasn’t yet resurrected, He lived following faith. After his prayer and with the Cross directly before Him, he said: “Rise, let us go!” (Matthew 26:46a) An unwavering faith and determination was firmly settled in Jesus. Though I die, I will live again He must have reasoned. The faith of the resurrection was in Jesus, and this faith opened a new world of life.
What is the way to become a true descendant of Abraham and an heir of Jesus Christ? Only with this faith, the faith of seeing resurrection beyond death, will a man become a true son of God.
God has given us so many precious stories of people of faith through His word. We ought to listen to their stories and today record the history of faith following their faith.
There might be a big gap between our reality and the life following God we wish to aspire to. But just as the ancestors of faith filled the gap with faith in God, not their works, we too must trust in the word of God and never let go of His promise. Your offspring will be like the countless stars in heavens, God tells us. If we hold onto faith and nurture it every day the promises of God will surely be fulfilled in our lives.
The justification of Abraham was not for him alone but for us who are the descendants of faith and believe in the God who raises the dead to life
Amazing Substitution
Our Lord Jesus Christ was delivered over to death for our sins and was resurrected. By doing so he justified us. This is an act is called substitution. The Lord took our sins and gave his life in place of ours. But isn’t substitution normally done between two things of equal value? What kind of absurd substitution was this, that the Son of God was punished in place of us? But again, here we see the great grace of God. He took away our prisoner’s uniform and dressed us with the robe of righteousness. What unimaginable and incomprehensible grace!
The Essence of Christian Faith
We ought to never forget that it is not our works but only by God’s grace that we are declared righteous. This is the essence of Christian faith, the core of Soteriology. We are what we are, not because of our goodness, not because of the way we live our lives, not because of anything in us– rather it all comes from the love of God– that everlasting, and incredible love.
For those who are justified, it is an irrevocable gift that no one can take away. By grace and through faith, it happens to us.
How can we satisfy God? It is never by our works but it is when we receive His love given to us, Then God will be content with us. It is such a refreshing and simple message, yet a critical one that is often missed. If we get sway from this truth then our faith will run dry and our lives will be frustrated.
Therefore, let us not keep ourselves from God’s love, but fling the doors of our hearts wide open to receive it. However, there are so many who open the door slightly but who close it again. Opening our heart just a little bit, we may think that we have received God’s grace and know His word and love. But if we haven’t opened our hearts fully and rejected God’s love, actually, we are sinning.
May we not be these kind of people, but rather, those who listen to the loving call of Christ and those who open the door completely for Him to come inside. And may we be people filled with praise from the joy of salvation.
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20)
[Questions]
1. Based on today’s message, share your reflection on this statement: “It is the supreme discover of the Christian life that we do not need to torture ourselves with a losing battle to earn God’s love, that what we need to do is to accept in perfect trust the love which God offers to us. True, after that any man of honor is under the life-long obligation to see to be worthy of that love. But he is no longer a criminal seeking to obey an impossible law; he is a lover offering his all to one who loved him when he never deserved it.”
2. Thinking about the meaning of grace that we learned through the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in Matthew 20, share your reflection on the response of the landowner to the complaint of the workers who were hired early in the day: “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?” (Matthew 20:13)
3. Based on today’s study, share your reflection on Paul’s confession in this Bible passage: “Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, 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 and is by faith.” (Philippians 3:5-9)
4. Based on today’s message, share your reflection on this statement: “Paul has laid down the great principle that the way to God is not through membership of any nation, not through any ordinance
which makes a mark upon a man’s body; the only way to God is by the faith which takes God at His word, which makes everything dependent, not on man’s achievement or record, but solely upon God’s grace.”
5. Based on Bible studies so far, define ‘justification by faith’ in your own words.
[Prayer]
Lord, we thank you for your word given in this Epistle to the Romans. We have learned about the important message of justification. Not by our works or merits, nor rules and rituals but only by faith that accepts your love and grace preciously and gratefully can this world of righteousness open. All we need to do is receive it. May we never be people that close our hearts and reject your love.
If we have already received your love, may we never stumble with confusion that it could be taken back again. May we always hold onto faith in your grace and never fall into the sin of arrogance but always remember your love that was and is lavished on us each day.
We have learned that true heirs are made by faith. Like Abraham and like Jesus, by faith, we will inherit all things. May we trust in God who gives life to the dead. May the absolute faith of the power of the resurrection grow inside of us day by day. In Jesus name, Amen.
Republished with permission from Dr. Christy Tran, the author of “The Epistle to the Romans: Paul’s Love Letter from God.”