ROMANS 4
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” – Romans 4:13-18
ROMANS 4 GRACE THROUGH FAITH
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When God chose those who will belong to him
Because of his steadfast love, he poured his grace to them
By grace, he blessed his people with the gift of faith
By faith, we are showered with his grace and saved.
The apostle Paul explains in this letter the importance of faith. Faith is a gift from God to those whom he elects to be his own people even before the creation of the world. When Abraham was chosen by God to be the one who will be instrumental to begin his redemption plan, he gave him the ability to believe in him.
Can you imagine being asked to leave the place of your origin and follow where a God you don’t see would lead you to go? Abraham didn’t raise any question or have resistance to follow what was being asked of him to do. By nature, we are control-driven human beings. We want to know what to do, where to go, how to do it ahead of time. We want details and assurance of things that haven’t happened yet and we want to plan ahead. And yet, Abraham was like a meek lamb, just heeding to the instructions to leave his country and go to a promised land he doesn’t know. It was faith given by God that made him do so. The faith came from the outpouring of God’s grace for humankind.
REFLECTION
- What do you think verse 18 means?
