Day 199

1 Chronicles 26:12–27:34; Romans 4:13–5:5; Psalm 14:1-7; Proverbs 19:17

WHEN THE APOSTLE Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, it set off a chain of events that were revolutionary the world over. But before that, Jesus’ intervention was revolutionary for Paul. And revolutions (especially in matters of faith) are typically unsettling experiences. It is not surprising, then, that Paul went back to the beginning of his own faith and pondered Abraham —the first person associated with the Hebrew story. This is one of the reasons Paul references Abraham so often in his teachings.

In today’s reading from Romans, Paul continued to discuss Abraham’s life, to clarify his argument between the life of faith and life under the law.

“If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law,” Paul said, “then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)” (Romans 4:14-15).

For Paul (and us), faith is the essence for interaction with God and finding righteousness before Him. God wants engagement through faith, not just adherence to the law.

Paul’s point was that if his readers went back to their origin story and considered deeply what God had done in the world through Abraham, they would see that it was faith and faith alone that began the series of events that created the Jewish people. It was faith and not the law that embodied their true identity. Paul put it this way: “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” (Romans 4:16).

He then explained that Abraham’s faith allowed Abraham to hope against all odds in God’s promise to make him the father of many nations. This wasn’t a small hope. Abraham was a century old, and Sarah was not far behind. The promise was humanly impossible, but Abraham believed anyway, and it came to pass. If Abraham was to father “many nations,” the blessing and inclusion in that faith would reach beyond the exclusivity that the Jewish people had assumed. For, as Paul put it, “Abraham is the father of all who believe” (Romans 4:16).

With this view, Paul encouraged us that “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).

With this great hope, we can properly interpret the obstacles and trials that visit each of us. They are not purposeless. Rather, they build in us endurance, which leads to character, which leads to great hope in our right standing with God —the kind of hope that Abraham displayed when his faith allowed him to hope in the impossible. Let us rejoice in this today, for as Paul said, “This hope will not lead to disappointment” (Romans 5:5).

MEDITATION:

If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD —and he will repay you!