Which came first? Your faith or your religious expression of it?
Romans 4:9-17 (NIV)
CONTEXT: We began reading Romans 4 yesterday as we work through this important chapter coming to understand that salvation in Christ alone is not just for us as New Testament Christians, but also applied to God's chosen people who lived long before Christ.
9 Is this blessedness [that comes from having sins forgiven] only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
13 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, 15 because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
Canons of Dordt
Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election
Index for Articles 1-7
Article 8 - A Single Decree of Election
This election is not of many kinds, but one and the same for all who were to be saved in the Old and the New Testament.
For Scripture declares that there is a single good pleasure, purpose, and plan of God’s will,
by which he chose us from eternity
both to grace and to glory,
both to salvation and to the way of salvation,
which God prepared in advance for us to walk in.
Summary
No doubt you've spent long nights contemplating the age old conundrum of whether or not the chicken preceded the egg, or vice versa. While the answer to that problem makes little difference in the grand scheme of things, the cause / effect relationship Paul writes of in today's passage has a huge impact.
Was Abraham saved because he was circumcised (a sacramental rite that signified inclusion with God's covenant people), or was he circumcised because he was saved? If the former, it would mean a person first needs to get his religious house in order in before he could even begin to hope that his efforts were sufficient to earn God's grace.
But thank God this isn't the case! Abraham believed first, and then he received the sign of the covenant. The sign is just that - a sign. Circumcision, baptism, or any other religious symbolism is meaningless apart from the faith that it signifies. It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise, Paul writes, therefore, the promise comes by faith.
This, of course, helps explain that the Jews who lived before Christ were saved by faith, just as you are. But the implications are even deeper and more personal. For if you depend on the law (whether it's your own morality, religious rituals or you're just riding the Christian coattails of previous generations), whatever 'faith' you may have means nothing and the promise is worthless!
Dig Deeper
Once again, scripture makes it clear the one thing you need in order to have peace with God: you need perfect righteousness. Deep down you know this, because everyone knows this, because God's law is written on our hearts. The one fact that gives you infinite value as a person - that you are an image bearer of God - is also what presses down upon your conscience, because you know the God whose image you bear is holy and sinless and that you are not.
So it's no wonder that all throughout history, every civilization and culture developed some sort of religious laws, rituals and sacrificial systems in order to placate their tormented and restless souls. It seems to make sense that if we just try really hard and do our best, the gods will mercifully smile upon us and show grace.
Certainly the laws, rituals and sacrificial systems practiced by the Hebrews differed greatly from those of the rest of the pagan world. They were, in fact, given to them from above from the one true and living God. But these laws were never the solution. They simply illustrated the problem and pointed forward to the promised Messianic solution.
The perfect righteousness you so desperately need does not come through the law. Rather, the promise comes through the righteousness that comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all who have the faith of Abraham.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the God of Abraham and the God of the Church;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for His gift of faith through which you have the perfect righteousness you need to have peace with Him;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 19
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