The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification. ~ Romans 4:13-25
Paul gets into some pretty heavy theology here, most of it which ended up being a foundation for our own Lutheran theology.
But what is it that is at the crux here? Read this again. Where is your heart drawn to?
And next, what words jump out at you? What word pops up over and over again?
There are certainly some big theology words: justification, righteousness, reckoning.
And then there is faith. Over and over again.
Faith that God will do what God promises to do.
There is good news in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. How that works, and exactly what that means has been and will continue to be debated by theologians.
But God keeps God's promises. That's at the heart.
And we can have faith in - trust that.
Thank you, great Promise Keeper! Help me to continue to trust in your Word. Amen
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