The Righteousness of God Comes Through Faith

Romans 4:1-12 

In Romans 4, Paul has set out to explain why “works” alone will not give you justification of righteousness in God’s eyes. Instead, believing in Him is our chance at salvation.  This was first pointed out in Genesis 15:6; 22; “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Paul begins this section of Romans by using Abraham as an example of justification. Abraham is a Biblical character that the Jews, Arabs, and Christians all admire. To the Jews, he is their highly esteemed patriarch; the father of the Jewish nation.  To the Muslims, Abraham was the father of Ishmael who was the father of the Arabs.  Did Paul intend for us to use this as a witnessing tool for both Jews and Muslims? 

I found it very interesting that Paul uses our jobs to describe our relationship with God. Romans 4:4 states “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.”  Although this statement was written thousands of years ago, we can still understand this metaphor today.  When we are paid at our job, we’re obligated to complete our work. The company does not see our paycheck as a gift for the work we’ve done.  

Paul sees our relationship with God as being the opposite. Romans 4:5 continues “However, to the man who does not work but insists God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.” If our payment is salvation, God does not grant us this gift because of the work we do in his name. He grants us salvation because of the faith we have in him.  When we serve at church or in our community, it’s important to remember that we don’t do this so God will show favoritism towards us, but as a way of sharing our faith in God. If we were only able to earn salvation through our deeds, we wouldn’t be saved. Man is naturally sinful.  Our acts would give us what we deserve, and we would be condemned. Unlike our careers, God does not want us to be obligated to him. He has given us a gift; forgiveness of our sinful acts through Jesus. 

Paul sums up his statements with a clarification on a common misconception of the time.  Those who have faith are not justified by God as righteous because they’ve been circumcised. The act of circumcision is not what God is asking for, but the act of faith that was shown by Abraham through circumcision. Abraham’s faith was credited as righteous BEFORE he was circumcised, not after (Romans 4:9-11). The circumcision was a sign and a seal of his faith.  

After reading this section of Romans, I have a better understanding of what it means to serve.  I want to try and remember what Paul is teaching when working on my “6 Commitments” to Richardson East in 2008. The 6 commitments all have ways of serving people, sharing God, and giving to God by how I live my life.  It’s important to remember that I’m not committing to these tasks to earn favoritism, but to show my faith.