Theology for Everybody: Romansنموونە

Once again, Paul is talking about internal conviction leading to external action by using the language of a “walk.” That’s obedience predicated upon gifted righteousness. The question is, does everybody come into a saving relationship with God the same way? Do the Jewish people and the Gentile people both come to God in the same way? Do the saints of both the Old and New Testaments and the people in our present day come into relationship with God in the exact same way? The answer is yes.

There’s a difference between a means of relationship with God and a sign of relationship with God. The means of relationship with God is He gives you grace, and you trust Him by faith. It’s not what you do for God; it’s what God does for you. Ultimately, faith is in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Abraham was trusting in the coming of Jesus, David was trusting in the coming of Jesus, and we are trusting in the Second Coming of Jesus. If you want a relationship with God, then you need Jesus. You ask, “What do I give God?” Give Him your sin, and He will give you His righteousness. Give God your worst, and He will give you His best. Give Him your shortcomings, and He will give you His Son. It’s all about Jesus.

Some signs point to a relationship with God. My wife, Grace, and I are in a covenant relationship, and our wedding rings are signs that point to the reality of that relationship. If I take my ring off, then am I still married? Yes, because the sign points to the relationship. The relationship is real whether the sign is visible or not. In Abraham’s day, the sign was circumcision. In our day, it might be something like baptism. Can you go to heaven if you love Jesus but aren’t baptized? Yes, because you have the relationship, whether you have the sign or not. Should you have the sign? Yes. Can you have the sign without the relationship? Some people do. Many Jews were circumcised but didn’t really know and love Jesus. They didn’t trust him. The key is you need both. It’s the means, not the sign, that saves you, though if you do love Jesus, then you should want the sign to point to the relationship,

The Jewish people saw Abraham was circumcised, so they started circumcising their males. They thought circumcision was the means of salvation, not the sign. But God saved Abraham at 75, 24 years before he was circumcised. You can’t have the sign before the relationship. That is what Paul is talking about.

Let me ask you a question: Was Abraham a Jew or a Gentile? His father came from Ur of the Chaldeans, the capital of Babylon (Nehemiah 9:7; Acts 7:2–3). Babylon was a godless, pagan, and horrible nation. Why did God pick the son of a Babylonian? I believe it was to show that God can start with anybody and anything. There is hope for us all. At the age of 99, Abraham circumcises himself, thus beginning the Jewish nation. He was both a Gentile and a Jew, so he is the father of faith for Jews and Gentiles alike. (Continued on Day 96 ...)

Today’s Reflection

How does it encourage you to know that when you give God your sin, He gives you His righteousness?