HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1385
R OM ANS 4
page 1015
through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the
penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus
as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right
with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed
his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows
that God was being fair when he held back and
did not punish those who sinned in times past,
26 for he was looking ahead and including them
in what he would do in this present time. God
did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for
he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners
right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our
acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is
based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God
through faith and not by obeying the law.
29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only?
Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course
he is. 30 There is only one God, and he makes
people right with himself only by faith, whether
they are Jews or Gentiles.* 31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget
about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when
we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
The Faith of Abraham
Abraham was, humanly speaking, the
founder of our Jewish nation. What did he
discover about being made right with God? 2 If
his good deeds had made him acceptable to
God, he would have had something to boast
about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the
Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God,
and God counted him as righteous because of
his faith.”*
4 When people work, their wages are not
a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But
people are counted as righteous, not because
of their work, but because of their faith in God
who forgives sinners. 6 David also spoke of this
when he described the happiness of those who
are declared righteous without working for it:
4
7
8
“Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sins are put out of sight.
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared
of sin.”*
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. 10 But 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!
3:30 Greek whether they are circumcised or uncircumcised.
4:3 Gen 15:6. 4:7-8 Ps 32:1-2 (Greek version). 4:9 Greek
is this blessing only for the circumcised, or is it also for the
uncircumcised? 4:17 Gen 17:5.
11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham
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.
12 And 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.
13 Clearly, 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. 14 If God’s promise is only for those who
obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the
promise is pointless. 15 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!)
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.
• Forgiveness
R OM A N S 3:24-28
“I can’t believe it!” someone exclaims
when receiving a wonderful, unexpected
gift. When God gives us the greatest
gift of all—salvation and eternal life—it’s
hard to believe it’s really true. It’s hard
to feel truly forgiven. But an incredible
transaction has just occurred. We have
been declared not guilty. We have been
pardoned. We have been acquitted. We
have a new standing by faith, regardless
of our feelings. When a judge or jury in a
court of law declares the defendant not
guilty, all the charges are removed from
that person’s record. It is as if the person
had never been accused and never done
anything wrong. When God forgives our
sin, our record is wiped clean. We are
justified, which some remember by the
phrase, “It is just-as-if-I’d never sinned.”
God doesn’t call us to focus on our guilt
but to celebrate his grace, praising him
for releasing us from guilt and shame.