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Romans 4:23-25
The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 4:23 that these words; this story of righteousness; this act of God’s grace; this act of obedience to God for what He has done for not just Abraham or even for King David, but that this is all for us – for those of the time of Paul, and throughout history, and even for us – for, as Paul states in Romans 4:24b-25 (NKJV), “to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” Paul will tell us later in this same letter of Romans in chapter 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This is the promise to all who will believe in Jesus – our Lord and Savior.
The Apostle Paul has been preaching a lot to the Jewish community of the time in which he wrote this letter by God’s grace and inspiration. But the focus is for anyone and everyone to become aware that we cannot earn our way to heaven; it is a gift from God’s grace to us in sending His one and only Son Jesus to pay the price for our sins so that we may be set free from them by believing in Him. But we must also recognize that in believing in Him is a change in our earthly life and lifestyle. We, as Christians should no longer live as the world lives in the sinful ways of Satan in rebellion to God. We should live as a reflection of Jesus as He has filled our hearts with His Holy Spirit and now guides us in the ways of righteousness – of His righteousness that we, on our own, could never earn or accomplish. Paul tells us in Galatians 5 of the difference between one who walks according to the ways of this world, and of how one walks according to his/her new life in Christ Jesus being filled with His Holy Spirit. Paul states in Galatians 5:16-18 (ESV), “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
This message that the Apostle Paul has been teaching is not just to show us how great God worked in the life of Abraham, but to inspire us to have this same experience in our lives; the experience of freedom from the sinful nature to a righteous life that is only found in Christ Jesus through God’s grace and our faith in Him. Paul is telling us these things so that we too may believe and be saved – in Christ!
Dear LORD,
You have opened the eyes of many people to Your great love and grace to us through this very passage of Scripture. We pray today that You will continue this in opening our eyes to a better understanding of Your word and grace to us through Your Son Jesus, that we too may believe in Him and be saved into a new life free from the sinful ways of this world through the guidance of Your Holy Spirit for all who will believe in You. In Jesus name I pray, amen.