July 18th

By Randall L. Broad

Read: 1 Chronicles 26:12-27:34; Romans 4:13-5:5; Psalm 14:1-7; Proverbs 19:17

The reading in the One Year Bible found in the book of Romans serves to remind us faith and grace are not unique to the New Covenant but represent the earliest manner by which Yahweh was made known to His people in the Old Testament times.

Before the Law was given to Moses–God promised Abram:

¹The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

²“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

³I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

⁴So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. ⁵He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

Genesis 12:1-5

The above promise found in the book of Genesis, begins the Patriarchal histories and forms the covenant promise whereby Abram would become the father of many nations. Most people today think of countries like America, Russia, or Israel as nations, but in biblical times that term had a significantly different meaning. For Abram and Paul nations had less to do with government and more to do with a group of people who shared a common language, history, culture, and most importantly for them–religion. Ironically modern definitions of the term omit the mention of faith, but for every biblical author God would have been an essential key to their understanding of the term. In their times, the dominate form of government was empires and kingdoms who might rule over vast territories encompassing many people groups bonded into nations distinct from one another.

When Genesis and Romans speaks of nations; they are not referring to political actors or nation-states. Nowhere in the Bible is Rome referred to as a nation; yet the Roman Emperors ruled over many nations at the height of their power in about 116 A.D. The political history of the Israelites was one of conquest and struggle defined by the shifting tides of empires and kingdoms. Rome was an Empire in the time of Christ; as were the Egyptians who enslaved the Israelites; the Babylonians who conquered Judah; the Greeks of Alexander the Great; the Ptolemy’s of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria who dominated Judean politics before the rise of Rome. Yet in the time of Abram the nation of Israel did not yet exist. In Paul’s time it did, but it was under the rule of the Roman Empire. Later in his missionary travels Paul will be called to evangelize people of many nations and he will witness first-hand the struggles of his own people to maintain their own national identity in a secularized Hellenistic world.

Despite their distance and separation from one another the Jews remained a singular nation dedicated to the piousness of their Mosaic Law and their faith in the monotheistic God–Yahweh. In our reading today, Paul is referring to the people who shared a common descent from Abram and that will be known by their belief in Yahweh.

Paul writes of Abraham:

¹³It 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. ¹⁴For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

Romans 4:13-15

We have to understand here the law was not yet known in the time Paul is referring to … Abram received the promise by grace, in a lawless time. Yet over generations after Moses the leaders of Israel and the interpreters of the law forgot that and substituted ritual, religious rites, and legalism in place of faith and grace. The prophets fortified this change as they warned repeatedly about the punishment and suffering that would come from not obeying God–which to those being warned meant obedience to the law. The Hebrews understanding changed into believing God only revealed Himself through the law and the law became a barrier between them and God rendering grace meaningless and bringing wrath upon their nation time and time again. Paul had this same reverence for the law–until the Spirit of God came upon him on the road to Damascus. He understood and had experienced the reality that all people must return in essence to the thing that made Abram righteous in the eyes of God–which was faith in something greater than themselves­–faith in God’s grace.

¹⁶Therefore, 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 have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

Romans 4:16-17

The language here is significant because grace is guaranteed to all of Abraham’s offspring … those born of his blood and those born of his faith (v. 16). This is why Abraham was called the father of faith. At times in his life his blood and his flesh would cause him to fail God (c.f. Genesis 16:1-4; 20: 1-13). But the spiritual grace in which he was chosen would be passed down through his bloodline and made available to every nation and individual who has the same deep spiritual faith that led Abraham to obey God and leave the land of his birth and go to Harran.

¹⁸Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. ²⁰Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ²²This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Romans 4:18-22

The language found here illustrates an important distinction between hope and faith. The difference between hope and faith is our belief. The person with hope wants something to happen–the person with faith believes it will (or that it already has). Even today the Jewish community who don’t believe the Messiah has already came still hold onto the hope he will … believers who have faith know that He already has. In this passage Paul uses the story of Abram and Sarai who were old and yet when God said they would have an offspring they both believed differently. Sarai had little faith and less hope. On the other hand Abram … did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith (v. 20). Abram was … fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised (v.21). And for this his faith was credited to him as righteousness (v. 22).

²³The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, ²⁴but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Romans 4:23-25

Paul goes on to remind the Romans we can all have that same “place” before God through our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Have faith because in the modern world we are united in ways never before possible. The internet and modern technology allows people who live in the far corners of the earth to communicate on a daily basis. It is creating a common understanding of history and a truly global culture. As you watch these tools be manipulated for evil, remember, God promised Abram and redeemed us through the blood of His Son so that we could all share in the Kingdom of God. What matters most is we don’t lose sight of where we came from, what was sacrificed for us, not the nation-state we live in, but the ‘spiritual nation’ of God born in the faith of Abram.

Walk with the Lord …

Ephesians 1:17

(RLB230718)

© Copyright 2020: Randall L. Broad

Disclaimer: This commentary is written by Randall L. Broad. It is in no way affiliated with or represents any denomination, university, church, or pastor. Any errors or omissions are purely my responsibility.