By faith in accordance with grace

Romans 4:13-5:5 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; ¹⁵ for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.

¹⁶ For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, ¹⁷ (as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. ¹⁸ In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” ¹⁹ Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; ²⁰ yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, ²¹ and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. ²² Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. ²³ Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, ²⁴ but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; ⁵ and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Today’s text begins saying: The promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified;  for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.  Some people take this out of context saying that it is the law which creates sin; that if there is no law, there is no sin. For them then the solution is to disregard the law. That causes them to be disobedient to God, so they also disregard Him.  The next verse of today’s text reveals the problem with their reasoning. It says:   For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.   Yesterday, in Romans 3:20 it said:  By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.  Many people confuse grace with presumption, believing that because of grace they can continue in sin. Faith is what truly allows us to walk in God’s grace. Having an awareness of sin, we believe that Christ died so that we could be forgiven. If we disregard the law then we also disqualify ourselves from His grace. In Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus, the instrument of God’s grace says:  “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”   Grace did not replace the Law. By grace Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Law for us.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.   Without faith, believing that Jesus died for our sins, we cannot have peace with God. Disregarding God and His Law does not take negate the consequences of disobedience any more than disregarding a speed limit sign or a red light absolves us from the consequences of disobedience to the traffic laws. Grace under our human legal system is rarely shown to the one who remains defiant. Rather it is shown to the one who acknowledges that they were wrong. God’s grace and His perfect justice are available to all who believe; to all who have faith and acknowledge their sin.   In our society and culture today, there is a great deal of unrest and dissatisfaction. We see it expressed in words and acts of violence and hatred. Violence, hatred and rebellion is not what holds the key to hope for our future. Rather, we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Just as there is no grace without knowledge of the Law, there is no hope apart from the love of God. 1 John 4:19 says:  We love, because He first loved us. Our ability and our capacity to truly love is based on our acceptance of the love of God for us.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part;  but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.  When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.   Amen. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, by Your grace, through faith, may I walk in Your love.  Amen.