In Accordance With Grace

So one of my new favorite verses is Romans 4:16, which says:

"For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all...."

God clearly defines for us how we are to relate to Him and thereby obtain all the benefits He has to offer us: only through faith are we able to rightly relate to Him and receive His promises for us. In the context of Romans 4:16, this grace is given to all who place their faith in God, whether a Gentile, or a Jew whose status before God formerly depended on the Law.

This biblical faith stands firm in its belief that God justifies the ungodly (Romans 4:5) merely on the basis of belief. (By the way, in the Old Covenant, God called those who justified the ungodly an abomination (Proverbs 17:15). That'll mess with your under-appreciation of Grace.)

I love how the Amplified Bible translates Romans 4:16: "[inheriting] the promise is the outcome of faith and depends [entirely] on faith". WOW!!! Did you see that word "outcome"? In other words, faith in God can bring us nothing but the promises of God!

Until this point I've referred in a general sense to "faith in God". But mentioning only the person's name leaves out the substance of any reason for faith in them. Along with their name, their characteristics must also be numbered. In the case of God, we have faith in His goodness, in His kindness, in His faithfulness toward us, etc, because He IS goodness, He IS kindness, He IS faithfulness, etc.

Here is the main idea I want to present: only the type of faith based on the stability of God can have the outcome of obtaining promises. In other words, if I choose to believe that my performance will bring the promises of God to me, then I will constantly shift and be unstable in my confidence to receive said promises. But when I place my faith in God's person and His characteristics, I can safely rest in His stability to bring me those promises. That is why our righteousness comes through our faith in His gracious nature (remember also that He IS Grace). It is His grace which (and it is He who) is stable and can never fail. Both His person and His grace overcome my doubts and shifting confidence...not to mention my inability to perfectly perform.

One more idea: the thought that scoring a 90% or 95%, or even 99% on performing righteously before God and thus qualifying us to receive reward has no basis in scripture whatsoever. The penalty for missing the mark on perfect obedience is obvious: it is death. There is no slap on the wrist, no second or third place,...no "I'll do better next time" mentality.

Under law, you either obey perfectly, or you don't. If you do, you get the promises. If you don't, you lose, and losing means death. This is why we need grace to bring us under a totally contrasting and new system (not a mixture). Our position is secure under His personhood and His grace. He is our security to receive all His promises and remain in right relationship with Him.

~Jeremy