{"id":22924,"date":"2022-09-02T22:00:43","date_gmt":"2022-09-03T05:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/romans-3_21-31-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-08-09T21:20:49","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T04:20:49","slug":"romans-4_9-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/romans-4_9-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s Your Daddy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Romans 4:9-16\u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Romans 4:9-16.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Romans 4:9-12 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.<\/em><\/p>\n

Verses 9-12:\u00a0 To show that righteousness by faith is a gift that God makes available to everyone and not only to Jews, Paul goes back to the example of Abraham.\u00a0 Paul notes that Abraham received his righteousness by faith\u00a0before<\/em>\u00a0he was circumcised (v10).\u00a0 In this way, Abraham is a father of faith (that is, a great example and a forerunner of what it looks like to receive righteousness by faith) for all of us who are not circumcised, i.e. who do not come from a Jewish background (v11).\u00a0 In addition, since Abraham is the founding father of the Jewish people, Abraham receiving righteousness by faith is also an example for everyone who is circumcised, that is, who comes from a Jewish background.\u00a0 Praise God.\u00a0 Whether we are Jewish or Gentile, we see from Abraham\u2019s story that righteousness by faith is a gift that God makes available to all of us regardless of our background.<\/p>\n

Romans 4:13-15 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It was not through 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.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless,
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 13-15:\u00a0 These verses can be a little hard to understand so let me try to unpack them.\u00a0 God had promised Abraham that he would be \u201cheir of the world\u201d (v13), that is, that Abraham would be the father of so many offspring he would not be able to count them (Genesis 15:4-5).\u00a0 How did Abraham receive this promise?\u00a0 Abraham received this promise \u201cnot through law\u201d \u2013 that is, not in connection with how well Abraham obeyed God\u2019s law \u2013 but in connection with Abraham receiving righteousness\u00a0by faith<\/em>\u00a0(v13; see Genesis 15:4-6).\u00a0 Paul here is emphasizing the importance of having faith in God\u2019s promise as opposed to trying to earn something from God by obeying God\u2019s law.\u00a0 For if Abraham could become the father of many nations by trying to obey God\u2019s law, then having faith in a promise would no longer be necessary (as verse 14 says, \u201cif those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless\u201d).\u00a0 But that\u2019s not why God gave the law.\u00a0 Rather, God gave the law to make people conscious of their sin (for \u201cwhere there is no law there is no transgression\u201d \u2013 v15b) and to show people the reason for God\u2019s wrath (\u201cbecause law brings wrath\u201d \u2013 v15a).\u00a0 \u00a0That is why when you study the life of Abraham in Genesis, you\u2019ll find that God gave Abraham the promise of becoming a great nation alongside Abraham receiving righteousness\u00a0by faith<\/em>\u00a0(Genesis 15:4-6).\u00a0 In other words, the giving of God\u2019s promise had nothing to do with the giving of any laws.\u00a0 In fact, God would not formally institute the law until centuries later through Moses.<\/p>\n

All this shows the importance of having faith in God\u2019s promise.\u00a0 Our obedience to God\u2019s commands can never take the place of having faith in God\u2019s promise.<\/p>\n

Romans 4:16a (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring–not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 16a:\u00a0 Paul seems to suggest here that the reason God decided to make righteousness available by faith was for two reasons: (1) so that no one could say that they earned it (\u201cso that it may be by grace\u201d); and (2) so that righteousness could be accessible to as many people as possible (\u201cnot only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham.\u201d) \u00a0For if righteousness were available only by obeying God\u2019s law, none of us could ever get righteousness since we have all broken God\u2019s law. \u00a0\u00a0But if righteousness is available by faith, then people everywhere and regardless of background are able to get righteousness.<\/p>\n

Romans 4:16a (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n\u2026He is the father of us all.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 16b:\u00a0 When I was a kid growing up in church, my Sunday school teachers would teach me a song.\u00a0 The lyrics went like this:<\/p>\n

Father Abraham had many sons
\nMany sons had Father Abraham
\nI am one of them and so are you
\nSo let\u2019s just praise the Lord!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It must have looked a little weird for a Chinese boy like me living in 21st<\/sup>\u00a0century North America to be singing about how his father was a middle-eastern man from Mesopotamia who lived thousands of years ago.\u00a0 So why sing that song?\u00a0 It\u2019s because the one thing that a Christian today has in common with Abraham back then is that both Abraham and Christians today received their righteousness from God the same way: by faith.<\/p>\n

Back in Paul\u2019s time, both Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles) were coming to faith in Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Since Jesus was a Jew, many Jewish Christians insisted that it was necessary for everyone who came to faith in Jesus Christ to also submit to Jewish customs as well, the biggest of which was circumcision.<\/p>\n

Paul counters this argument by showing how in the Old Testament God declared Abraham to be righteous BEFORE Abraham was circumcised (see verse 10).\u00a0 In other words, God didn\u2019t require Abraham to be circumcised before God gave him righteousness.\u00a0 Rather, Abraham received his righteousness 100% by faith.\u00a0 Circumcision was something Abraham would do later as an outward sign of his faith (verse 11), but it was Abraham\u2019s faith in God, and not circumcision itself, that secured righteousness for Abraham.<\/p>\n

Like Abraham, you receive righteousness from God by faith in what Christ has done for you on the cross.\u00a0\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to be circumcised in order to receive the righteousness that God makes available through Jesus Christ.\u00a0 You receive that righteousness by faith alone.\u00a0 We then express that faith today not by getting circumcised but by getting baptized.
\nWhen we place our faith in God\u2019s ability to make us righteous and not in our own ability, we are following in Abraham\u2019s footsteps of faith (verse 12).\u00a0 That\u2019s why you and I living in 21st<\/sup>\u00a0century North America can call Abraham our father!\u00a0 We’ve got the same faith DNA as Abraham!\u00a0 As verse 16 says, \u201cHe is the father of us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Father, how amazing it is that we don\u2019t have to do anything to be called righteous in Your sight.\u00a0 Instead, like Abraham, we simply need to receive the gift of God\u2019s righteousness by faith.\u00a0 Thank You that You did it this way so that as many people as possible could have righteousness, regardless of our background.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Romans 4:9-16.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Romans 4:9-12 (NIV)
\n9\u00a0\u00a0Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.
\n10\u00a0\u00a0Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
\n11\u00a0\u00a0And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
\n12\u00a0\u00a0And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
\n\u00a0
\nVerses 9-12:\u00a0 To show that righteousness by faith is a gift that God makes available to everyone and not only to Jews, Paul goes back to the example of Abraham.\u00a0 Paul notes that Abraham received his righteousness by faith\u00a0before\u00a0he was circumcised (v10).\u00a0 In this way, Abraham is a father of faith (that is, a great example and a forerunner of what it looks like to receive righteousness by faith) for all of us who are not circumcised, i.e. who do not come from a Jewish background (v11).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22924"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22927,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22924\/revisions\/22927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}