ROMANS 4:13

It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

TO PONDER

The Jewish religious leaders of the first half of the first century were very much into ensuring that the rules and regulations that God had given to them through Moses were kept. Over the centuries, the Israelites had faced many challenges and they were not always able to find specific regulations to deal with specific issues. So, they added more regulations as time went by to try to cover all the situations not specifically covered by the original Mosaic laws. Jewish children were taught from a young age what these regulations were, and then many of the regulations were reinforced by the cultural practices of the Jews and their regular ceremonies.

When Jews became Christians, they didn’t stop being Jews, but carried they Jewish rules and regulations into their new lives as Christians. Then God began to invite non-Jews (Gentiles) to become Christians, with very few regulations imposed on them. This created a massive issue for the Jewish Christians who found many of the Gentile practices offensive to them, and they tried to impose some of the Jewish rules and regulations onto the Gentile Christians, even suggesting that they couldn’t be saved unless they kept the Jewish rules and regulations.

Paul, in writing to the Roman Christians, who comprised both Jewish and Gentile Christians, stresses that God accepts people based on their faith, not on keeping a set of rules and regulations. To illustrate this, he uses the example of Abraham who answered God’s call to leave his home and family and travel to where God was leading him. This was centuries before God had given any rules and regulations to Moses and before God had given the requirement of circumcision to Abraham. All Abraham had ever done was follow God’s call, and God accepted him.

For us, we also don’t have to try to please God by our good lives. Jesus has already lived the perfect life in our place. God now sees us as perfectly holy in His eyes. We are now free to concentrate on listening to where God is calling us through his Holy Spirit and to follow that call.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you again for all that Jesus did to restore us to being your children. Please help us, through the guidance of your Holy Spirit to follow where you are leading us. Amen

Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping