Lesson 421

(Lesson 421)(10-10-12) Romans 4:9-25, "Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 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 our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."

Today's lesson is a furtherance of Paul's explanation as to how salvation comes through faith alone.
He makest the point that being, or not being a Jew, has nothing to do with salvation, and NEVER did. Abraham was saved through faith in God just as you and I are today. Abraham was NOT a Jew in the literal sense, (circumcised). God forgave Abraham BEFORE he was named the father of the Jews. That is the exact same salvation that has been in existence from the beginning.

Therefore, Abraham is not ONLY the father of the Jews, he is the father of all the saved, "that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:"

"For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."

Paul says, "Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression."
This means that sin comes through the law. In other words, where there are no rules, rules cannot be broken. For example, when Adam and Eve were yet in the garden of Eden, before they ate of the forbidden fruit, there was only one possible sin, they could commit, no matter what they did otherwise. As we all know, that sin was the partaking of the forbidden fruit.

Today, the only possible sin that confronts the lost, or unsaved individual, is the denial of God's eternal salvation, freely given, through the blood of Jesus Christ.
To sew this all together, we must remember that today, in modern times, there is NO law by which we will be judged so long as we have accepted the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus stands ready to block anything we do from the sight of the Father, He has already fulfilled that law for us. However, to one who chooses to live by the law of works, and demands perfection within oneself, there is NO redemption, seeing that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God". That one has taken upon him/herself the burden of sin according to the law by which they govern their own lives, unless it is as some point accepted, the grace of God does not apply to them.~