“…it was credited to him…” Romans 4:22

As we saw yesterday, “…Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him: ‘So shall your offspring be.’” (v.18) We discovered that faith in God through the new covenant established through Jesus’ sacrifice is what will unite Persians, Jews, and Christians alike… for they all trace their roots back to Abraham. (Read 4:1-17)

Abraham and Sarah were as good as dead when it came to reproduction. However, they both believed God’s promise and were rewarded by God awakening their bodies to be able to produce a son, Isaac. Paul used this premise to show how Jesus died and rose again. God, who gives life to the dead, can call things that are not as though they were (v.17). Paul concludes that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness (v.22), then he provides an explanation of the phrase… the same five words we consider today:

“The words, ‘It was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in Him Who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (vv. 23 – 25)

All of chapter four leads up to the above statement. Paul skillfully revealed how God established one’s acceptability before God on the basis of faith – not works. He reviewed how the practice of circumcision began – as a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. Then, Paul explained how the old covenant pointed to the new covenant through Jesus Christ – which was also achieved through faith. In both instances, one’s works – how one lives out life – are empowered through faith.

So, we discover today that our faith, like Abraham’s, is credited to each of us – just as it was to Abraham! It’s the way God established it to work. So, how is this to affect our living today? To answer a question with a question, I can only ask: Why do we keep feeling the need to check the boxes of our Christian practice? What things are we doing out of a sense of false guilt or from a self-imposed expectation based on the lives of others?

You know what I’m talking about. We imitate the practices of others who call themselves faith-walkers, even when they aren’t getting it right. What Paul is pointing us to is the process of transformation through faith and how that process is enhanced through time in God’s Word. It was the sacred texts that Paul pointed to in his message to the church at Rome. The Word is alive and sharper than a surgeon’s scalpel for performing spiritual surgery (Hebrews 4:12)… cutting away the cancers of doubt, despair, and defeat, while also removing sin’s guilt and damage as it transforms one’s thinking and living.

Aren’t you glad IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM as righteousness? And we will receive the same favor through the mercies and grace of God’s riches!

Have a blessed day…