UNSHAKEABLE: Abraham, by his example of faith, became the “father of us all.” That means as our spiritual father, he set the tone and established the pattern for our faith by his response to God’s grace. If we were to analyze and summarize Father Abraham’s life, we would find that ruthless trust in God’s sovereign love was the chief authentication or outworking of his faith. More than anything else, he offered God his trust, and there was no work of righteousness more pleasing and honoring to God than that. Trust became Abraham’s “work,’ if we can call it that, or his response of righteousness.
Unshakeable Living // Romans 4:4-5
Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.
Take note of that phrase: “who justifies the ungodly.” That is a rather startling statement, wouldn’t you say? It seems contrary to what Scripture teaches about the wicked, yet here we find that God justifies the ungodly because there are no godly for him to justify. That is why God put our wickedness on Christ so he could put Christ’s righteousness in us, and by that he would have some who are righteous.
So, as we have seen so far in Romans, and we will see again, salvation is by God’s grace through faith alone, and not by our works of righteousness. But the question then arises about what place our works of righteousness have in the salvation equation. Where do they fit in the scheme of things if righteousness is what we are, and not what we do?
As I understand it, verse 11 deals with this quite clearly: “Abraham received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.” In other words, Paul is explaining that Abraham’s works were simply the proof, the authentication, and the natural outflow of his belief in God. Abraham believed, so he obeyed.
Now at this point, I have a feeling you might be saying, “Okay, I get it. We’re justified by faith and not by works — and Abraham’s case illustrates that. I get that works flow out of our righteousness. But what does all of this mean to me right now?”
Going to verse 11 again, we find that Abraham, by his example of faith, became the “father of us all.” That means as our spiritual father, he set the tone and established the pattern for our faith by his response to God’s grace. If we were to analyze and summarize Father Abraham’s life, we would find that ruthless trust in God’s sovereign love was the chief authentication or outworking of his faith.
When God said to Abraham, “Leave your home and go to the land I’ll show you,” Abraham said, “OK God, I’ll trust you on this.”
When God said to this childless ninety-year-old man, “I’ll make you the father of many nations,” Abram said, “OK God, I’ll trust you on this — call me Abraham, the father of many nations.”
When God said to Abraham, “Take your son and sacrifice him on the alter to me,” Abraham gulped and said, “OK God, I’ll trust you on this.”
More than anything else, Abraham offered God his trust, and there was no work of righteousness more pleasing and honoring to God as that. Trust became Abraham’s “work,’ if we can call it that, or his response of righteousness.
Brennan Manning writes, “The splendor of a human heart which trusts that it is loved gives God more pleasure than the Westminster Cathedral, the Sistine Chapel, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, the sight of ten thousand butterflies in flight, or the scent of a million orchids in bloom. Trust is our gift back to God, and he finds it so enchanting that Jesus died for love of it.”
Our childlike surrender in trust is the defining response of our lives to God’s gift of righteousness. Our uncompromising trust in the love and goodness and wisdom of God is the work, if you will, that best proves our faith and most pleases God. To be convinced of God’s reliability is the essence of ruthless trust.
I wonder if you’re convinced of that!
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.