Justification by Faith
Yet he [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.’ 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.
Romans 4:20-24
Some 2000 years or so before Christ, God promised Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation with many blessings (Genesis 12:1-4; 13:14-17; 15:1-7; 17:1-8) This seemed impossible because Abraham’s wife had been barren and was past the childbearing age. Abraham believed God in spite of the odds, knowing that God had the ability to deliver on His promise. God immediately credited Abraham with righteousness because of his faith. Through this example, we see that righteousness is divinely imputed based on belief, not deeds. See Appendix “B” for a timeline of Abraham’s journey of faith. Justification comes by faith, not by works. E.g., when a man believes God’s promise of redemption through Christ, he is immediately credited with God’s righteousness and divinely proclaimed as righteous (Romans 4:1-25).Students of the Bible refer to this divine proclamation as justification. Because God is just, the only possible way to achieve redemption was by the sacrifice of Christ. The sin that would have otherwise condemned us was not overlooked or brushed aside; it was weighed, cataloged, transferred to Christ and paid for in full by His death. Now it is forever removed. Moreover, instead of just being back where we started at the state of innocence, believers are credited with the righteousness of God. It is an immeasurable turnaround. It is more than just the removal of a negative; it is also the addition of a positive that was previously far beyond the reach of mankind! The Apostle Paul declared that the death and resurrection of Christ made it all possible. “He [Christ] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25).
Next Section: Sanctification
Table of Contents: The Last Adam
Text for this post has been borrowed from my Kindle eBook The Last Adam (Book 1 of the Grace and Knowledge Series), by Brother Woody Brohm. Copyright 2012.
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New International Version (NIV)
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