Thrive Creative Journaling Devotional Bible - Flipbook - Page 16
ROMANS 5 . . . page 1398
9 Now, is this blessing only for the Jews,
or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles?*
Well, we have been saying that Abraham
was counted as righteous by God because
of his faith. 10But how did this happen? Was
he counted as righteous only after he was
circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham
before he was circumcised!
Dear God,
Help Your daughter to walk
in faith, free from guilt. Help
her to embrace Your love,
mercy, and grace. Give her
the ability to become an
extension of You.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
11 Circumcision was a sign that Abra
ham 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. 12And 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.
13Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole
earth to Abraham and his descendants was
based not on his obedience to God’s law, but
on a right relationship with God that comes
by faith. 14If God’s promise is only for those
who obey the law, then faith is not necessary
and the promise is pointless. 15For 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!)
16 So 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. For Abraham is the father of all
who believe. 17 That is what the Scriptures
mean when God told him, “I have made you
the father of many nations.”* This happened
because Abraham believed in the God who
brings the dead back to life and who creates
new things out of nothing.
18 Even when there was no reason for
hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing
that he would become the father of many
nations. For God had said to him, “That’s
how many descendants you will have!”*
19And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even
though, at about 100 years of age, he figured
his body was as good as dead—and so was
Sarah’s womb.
20 Abraham never wavered in believing
God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21He
was fully convinced that God is able to do
whatever he promises. 22 And because of
Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It
was recorded 24for our benefit, too, assuring
us that God will also count us as righteous if
we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus
our Lord from the dead. 25He was handed
over to die because of our sins, and he was
raised to life to make us right with God.
Faith Brings Joy
Therefore, 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. 2 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.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into
problems and trials, for we know that they
help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and
character strengthens our confident hope of
salvation. 5And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God
loves us, because he has given us the Holy
Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ
came at just the right time and died for us
sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be
willing to die for an upright person, though
someone might perhaps be willing to die
for a person who is especially good. 8 But
5
4:9 Greek is this blessing only for the circumcised, or is it also for the uncircumcised? 4:17 Gen 17:5. 4:18 Gen 15:5. 5:1 Some
manuscripts read let us have peace.
