Romans 10:3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Instead, they are clinging to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. They won’t go along with God’s way. Man! Isn’t this the human way to do things? God has a way for us that is good (and maybe difficult), but we stubbornly persist in doing it our way! We don’t go along with God’s way because, of course, our way makes more sense or seems easier or we “have a good feeling about this”. I know I’m guilty of this. So often I do the same thing over and over and over, ignoring God’s way because I’m too busy doing it my way. I think that’s called tunnel vision. Maybe it’s called pride, too. Sometimes we don’t do things God’s way because we think it can’t possibly be that easy. For example, here it’s talking about salvation. Just believing seems so ridiculously easy that it can’t possibly be the right way. But it’s that simple. It says so just a few verses down – Romans 10:10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. And later in Romans 10:13 For “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. We must like to complicate things… which could be partly because of our guilty consciences and the whispers of the Enemy of our souls, “you’ve got to do more, be better, to be saved.” But Jesus did all the work, and because He loves us so incredibly much, we reap all the benefits simply by believing that His hard work made us right with God. And, yes, it’s that simple.
Romans 4:16 So that’s why faith is the key! God’s promise is given to us as a free gift. And we are certain to receive it, whether or not we follow Jewish customs, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. Interesting story, well, sort of. This caught my attention because it goes back to the question that seems to continually come back to me – why do we follow certain OT rules and not others… and here, Paul is saying that it’s not about the laws and rules that we follow, it’s about faith. That’s part of the interesting story. The second art starts on my Facebook page. One of my friends (thanks Diana!) has posted a link to a blog called Journey Deeper Into God’s Word where the blog author (a pastor) is doing a challenge for 2010 where he’s going to do kind of what I do here – read and post something that he’s studies in God’s word (except he’ll do it every day, hopefully more consistently than I do!). Very cool. But that’s not the interesting part. I go to his January 1 post and here’s the verse: James 2:23-26 : And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Sound familiar? That’s interesting… we’re reading the same verse in different books… coincidence? Probably not. Anyhow, oddly, here James is saying that Abraham’s belief is a good work and that man is justified by works (instead of by faith as in Romans), which contradicts what Paul just said in Romans. However, if works are considered different from following customs, then it makes more sense. Also these works seem to be more a result of faith and not a precursor to God’s justification. And, Paul talks about a Promise (I’m not quite clear about what the promise is – it seems to be the promise that Abraham’s children will outnumber the grains of sand, but I’m not sure how that would apply to us). So, maybe it’s two different ways of looking at the same thing? Now I’ve confused myself. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments if you have more clarify that I do. I feel like I’m swimming in circles.