| Believing Unto Righteousness...Romans 4:1-25 By Timothy W. Burnett God made it so wonderfully easy for anybody to be made righteous in His eyes. He loved us so much that He called His first-born son to give his life as the perfect and final sacrifice for all of mankind. And now, anybody who believes with their heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead absolutely shall be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. Now let's shinemore light on believing and righteousness. God gave more details about believing with the heart unto righteousness in Romans 4:1-25, "For what saith the scripture Abraham believed and it was counted unto him for righteousness." (Romans 4:3). The context of this chapter is obtaining the promise by believing versus by works. Abraham was not under the law of God. He believed God for the birth of His son Isaac. His believing was accounted unto him for righteousness. "For the promise that he should be heir of the world was not to Abraham, or to his seed, by the law, but through the righteousness of faith." (4:13). The promise from God was not by the law. It had nothing to do with any commandments. That was because God had not laid down His commandments yet. It had everything to do with Abraham believing God's promise. "And being not waik in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith giving glory to God." (4:19-20). He was not weak in believing and did not consider the circumstances around him. He did not stagger at God's promise by not believing, but stood solid in believing, giving God the glory. "And being fully persuaded that what God had promised He was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed unto him for righteousness." (4:21-22). Abraham was fully persuaded, and had no doubt that God was able to perform what He promised. His believing was imputed unto him for righteousness. God then finished with the following good news, "Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him. But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus from the dead." (4:23-24). God could not have put it any more clearly. It is imputed unto anybody for righteousness when they believe with their hearts that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. According to Romans 10:9-10 with the heart we believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, unto righteousness. The first record of anybody fulfilly this scripture can be found in Acts 2:4 when they were filled with holy spirit. What was available then is still available now. That is because God's word does not change. |