Romans 4:1-12 – September 9
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Romans 4:1-12 – Abraham Justified by Faith
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”
9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Forgiven! | Rebecca Hoyt
Scripture
Romans 4:7
Observation
Application
I need to forgive because God forgives me!
Prayer
Posted on September 9, 2015, in Uncategorized and tagged Bible, Bible Study, forgiven, Paul, righteousness, Romans, SOAP. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
Boy am I glad it’s not my actions of feeling that I am saved by but by my faith in God alone. My bible hits on something I’ve worried about before. The struggle of feeling like I might not have enough faith at times. It says he is strong enough to save us no matter how weak our faith. Jesus offers salvation as a gift because he loves us, not because we have earned it through our powerful faith. Lord thank you for the amazing gift of salvation and forgiveness that I truly do not deserve. Thank you for always standing by my side even when I have little faith. You Lord are so faithful!
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Great point, Ashley! Thanks for sharing! If it were a contest on who has the most faith, then there’d be that opportunity for boasting again, and as sinners do, we’d all fall short. No matter what, we can’t justify ourselves; Jesus has to do that for us.
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I’m noticing a fake it till you make it theme. By faith, we move forward in this life. We try our best to live out our faith. Taking God at face value when he says, I forgive you so you forgive others. It doesn’t happen automatically but if we keep putting one foot in front of the other, it does occur eventually. Noah by faith built the ark. In the end the Rainbow was the seal on the promise. Abraham believed and kept living, was given a child and sealed with circumcision. We all need to walk out our faith each day. We are/will be sealed for the promise of eternity. Faith comes and takes us by the hand. You can do it. The reward is great. Trust in the promises. Baby steps. 🙂
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