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Read: Romans 4:16-17
In this passage, Paul reminded the Romans about the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham and his offspring. At the time, there were great divisions between Jews and Gentiles and the Jews were convinced that they had “dibs” on favor with God. In present times, the fellowship of Christians is even more diverse. From Poland to Paraguay, our different races and ethnicities, or different socioeconomic backgrounds, etc. we could not be more different from each other and unfortunately these differences create similar divisions in God’s church. What brings you righteousness in God’s sight? There are no acts that we can do to live up to God’s standard or justify ourselves, we are saved by grace through our faith in God. Paul used the example of God’s servant Abraham. God promised Abraham that he would be the “father of many nations.” At the time the promise was made, this seemed to be impossible. Abraham and Sarah were old and infertile. God’s promise of offspring was fulfilled because of Abraham’s faith despite the seemingly unfavorable circumstance that he was in. Who are we? We are characterized as being Abraham’s offspring. Galatians 3:29 states “And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you.” Stop and think about this! The same God who fulfilled his promise to Abraham will fulfill his promise to you! All you have to do is have faith in him. So continue to do your good deeds and bless others and let your life be an example to others whenever you can. God’s name is glorified by these acts and you bring people to Christ. More important however, God’s promises are fulfilled by his grace and through our faith. Have faith in God. Heavenly Father, thank you that there is no Jew nor Gentile in your sight and that you love us all. Please keep us from being distracted by our circumstances so we can be steadfast in our faith that you will keep all of your promises to us. Thank you that you are our father and our God. Amen. Marcia Cort Comments are closed.
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Lent Devotions
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