Verse of the Day - weekend 7/31

Through the Bible - Psalms 65-69, Romans 4

 

Good morning,In yesterday's passage in Ephesians 2 we considered God's grace.  In that passage Paul was teaching his readers then as he teaches us today that it is " by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, "NKJV

 

For this weekend's verse we'll go to Romans 4 which is this weekends reading in the "read through the Bible" plan above.

 

Rom 4:4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.   NIV

In some "Christian circles" and even in today's political arena year hear talk of "collective salvation".  There may be a collective salvation where there is deliverance for an oppressed group, like the Israelites being delivered from the bondage of Egypt.  But this is different than our personal, eternal salvation with Christ and that is achieved through Christ by the grace of God through faith.

In his book "What is Faith", early 20th century theologian J. Gresham Machen writes - "Acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ, as He is offered to us in the gospel of His redeeming work, is saving faith. Despairing of any salvation to be obtained by our own efforts, we simply trust in Him to save us; we say no longer, as we contemplate the Cross, merely 'He saved others' or 'He saved the world' or 'He saved the Church'; but we say, every one of us, by the strange individualizing power of faith, 'He loved me and gave Himself for me.'

When a man once says that, in his heart and not merely with his lips, then no matter what his guilt may be, no matter how far he is beyond any human pale, not matter how little opportunity he has for making good the evil that he has done, he is a ransomed soul, a child of God forever."

As Machen so aptly describes, our salvation is a personal matter, acknowledging, believing,  and taking it to heart that  "He loved and gave Himself for me".

I'll close with Romans 4:16 from the Amplified Bible which begins with "therefore".  Go back and read through the passage and see what it is there for.  As mentioned the other day, the root word for grace is "charis" from which we get "charity" which is the word translated as love in 1 Corinthians 13, the "love chapter".  As you go through Paul's letter you will see a recurring theme of faith, hope, and love (including grace).

Romans 4:16 (Amplified Bible) Therefore, [inheriting] the promise is the outcome of faith and depends [entirely] on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants--not only to the devotees and adherents of the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is [thus] the father of us all.

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV
Rom 4:1-9

 

4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about — but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." 

 

4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

 

7 "Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."     NIV