Romans 4:13-17
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.
The Faith of Abraham
13 Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. 14 If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. 15 For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)
16 So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. 17 That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
For the descendants of Abraham, the Jewish nation, obedience to God’s law was the aim but they always missed the target. The law was good to identify their sin and show them their need for the Messiah. When God fulfilled His promise of the Messiah, those who placed their faith in Jesus were/are rewarded with right standing with God, just as was faithful Abraham.
How sad it is that many Jews continue to aim at keeping the law (still missing the target), have also missed the Messiah. How sad it is for anyone who is missing out on the blessing of God’s promise. That is why those who have faith and believe must be about our Father’s business … sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
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