“So, the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.”
Romans 4:16 NLT
If Abraham’s faith rested on God’s promise of a son and descendants, what is the promise that God had made to us that changes our status from guilty to righteous?
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”
Romans 5:1-2 NLT
This is a loaded statement!
In the midst of humanity’s puny efforts to reach God, which failed every time, God did something monumental…momentous…outrageous…unthinkable! He came here Himself…in person…in human form…just like us. He lived the exact life He wanted us to live…and then we killed Him for being who He was… the God-man, the Son of God, but…His death wasn’t an assassination…a crime, or a mistake. It was a sacrifice, an offering given willingly for us. It was an exchange…His death for our life…our sin for His righteousness!
“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT
The promise is therefore that…
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”
Romans 10:9-10 NLT
Two words in this promise, correctly understood, are the key to this exchange…”Lord” and “faith”, and the two are closely intertwined. If we confess that Jesus is Lord and declare our faith in Him, we are trading all our self-sufficiencies, our independence from God and all the ramifications of that independence…for utter reliance on Jesus as our supreme authority. We give back to Him what rightfully belongs to Him…our bodies as His temple, our self will for His will, and our lives for His purposes.
Faith is more than assent to a Biblical truth. Faith is our anchor to the one who did everything for us…our trust in and obedience to our Master who bought us with His blood. This faith is the key that unlocks the door to everything inside the covenant that God cut with Abraham.
“I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:3 NLT
When Jesus died, we died in Him. When He rose from the dead, we rose in Him to a new life in a new realm. Our old lives of selfish independence and the consequences ceased to exist.
“For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”
Colossians 1:13-14 NLT
We have an obligation to a new master, to live in and for Him because He paid for our release from sin’s bondage. This new status has major benefits which we shall continue to explore.
To be continued