Bible Studies

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The Letters
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 - An Issue of Faith
Key Verses: (MSG)

• 1: "So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things?" - Paul is exploring how the Abrahamic Covenant, the basic model for faith, is incorporated into the Gospel of Christ.
  
  
• 3: "What we read in Scripture is, 'Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.'" - We do not earn blessings or righteous by our works. Instead, we become right by trusting God and following where He leads.
  
  
• 4-5: "If you're a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don't call your wages a gift. 5But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it's something only God can do, and you trust Him to do it--you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked--well, that trusting-Him--to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift." - Trust, faith, and centering our lives on God, these are the doors that open the flood gates to God's blessings.
  
  
• 13: "That famous promise God gave Abraham--that he and his children would possess the earth--was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed." - Paul is saying that God's promise to Abraham came before there were spiritual laws to follow. Even the rights of circumcision were developed after the promise was made. Everything that God provided was as a result of Abraham's faith.
  
  
• 16: "This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and His way, and then simply embracing Him and what He does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father--that's reading the story backwards. He is our faith father." - Faith is the only pathway to salvation that works. Only following the law, its statutes and guidelines, and measuring our good works leads to failure.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• Do you feel "right" with God? Are you striving to do the right things to be close to God? Is there anything you can do to earn God's love? Have you come to realize that if your pathway to heaven were based on certain steps and actions you were to take you would never arrive to your destination? Abraham trusted God and because of this He was made right with God. (Gen 15:6) Do you trust God with your entire life? Have you handed everything, including the proverbial kitchen sink, over to God's care?
  
  
• Are you obedient? Is the example of Abraham a lesson on obedience? Or is it only an example of trust? In your relationship with God do you feel you are being rewarded when you do things you feel God wants you to do? Wouldn't this type of relationship be more like that of a dog and his owner? Does God call you to 'sit' or 'heel'? Are His blessings dependent on how well you obey these types of commands? Paul writes that our relationship with God is based on our trust that God will do those things in our life that we can not do alone. Do you trust God with those things that are outside your control?
  
  
• Which is it 'faith' or 'belief'? Has God's promise to Abraham been replaced with the new promise of Jesus Christ? In John 3:16 it says that "whoever believes in Him shall not perish…" Does this mean that being made holy and right by God is dependent upon the action of belief? If this is true, then how is that different then the concept of works where we earn our way into heaven? Isn't belief just another action or type of step that is dependant upon our ability to take it? Is your relationship with God based on your beliefs or is it still based on trust? Can you see you are being called to trust God and that these statements of faith or belief are only valid within this framework of trust?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

Circumcision or no-circumcision - this is the debate to which Paul speaks. Do we have to do certain things in order to be a Christian? Are there steps to holiness that are dependent on our actions or deeds? Paul said no and he uses Abraham as an example to prove his point. Abraham simply trusted God. He centered his life on listening to God's guiding voice and through his trust, was led into blessedness and righteousness. There was no law to follow - the commandments came later. There were no circumcisions, prayer rituals, or sacrifices required. We are to focus on God and have the faith that everything in our lives will be handled by Him. Christ coming into the picture did not change this basic premise of faith. Yes, as Christians we believe that "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NLT) But it is not the action of belief that makes this statement true. It is the trust in the knowledge that God loves us to this magnitude and that He has freely given this gift of love without strings attached. It is through this trust and faith we are made right with God.

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