Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith. When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ NLT

Paul begins to explore the deeper meaning of Scripture. He didn’t thumbsuck to help his readers get into the nitty gritty of righteousness by faith. Despite the rules and rituals of the Old Covenant which seem to dominate, the way to gain acceptance with God by faith is buried deep in the pages of the Old Testament. 

He begins with Abraham, the father of the nation. How did Abraham step into the realm of God’s favour? Did he work for it? No, he trusted something that God had said. 

 Works and faith…what’s the difference?  

Works…doing what God requires…earns wages. One gets paid for what one does.  Unfortunately, as Paul concluded…all our that works earn, no matter how hard we try to do the right thing, is death. 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Faith, on the other hand, dumps self-effort as futile because, even if one could live perfectly from this moment, one’s past is always there to accuse and condemn. 

God has made another way, a way that rests on Him, not on us. He asks us to trust Him because of what He has done. He promised that Abraham, despite being old and childless, would be the father of a great nation. “Look up at the stars, Abraham. Can you count them? Your descendants will be like that, as numberless as the stars!” 

The Scripture concludes…

“For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What God had promised Abraham was something he could never work for or earn. He had to believe what God had said and stake his life on it. That step of utter commitment to God’s word catapulted him into a new standing with God.  He was declared righteous. From then on, Abraham’s obedience didn’t earn God’s favour. It flowed from God’s favour. 

Only after his new status did God instruct Abraham to circumcise himself and later his descendants. This act did not make him righteous. This act was a sign that he and his descendants were already in covenant with God. A sign…not a reason. 

“Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So, Paul’s argument from Abraham’s experience lays the foundation for us to understand the nature of God’s righteousness…what it is and what it does. 

To be continued