WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!!

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.

Today’s reading (Romans 4) is a continuation of yesterdays reading. Obviously the people of Rome whom Paul wrote this letter to were struggling with the proper observance of the Law of Moses. Paul has heard about this and is trying to help them in their understanding of the Laws place. You see many Jews who became a Christian believed that they had to still follow the Law of Moses, and they even tried to force Gentile Christians into following it. Now there is nothing inherently evil about the Law, in fact it is very good for us to know. The Law reveals what is detestable in the eyes of God, which points to sin, and shows us whom God desires us to be. However, when we seek salvation through the Law we are wrong.

So Paul uses Abraham as an illustration. You see Abraham lived somefour hundred years before the Law was even given to Moses. He was not saved by the Law, he was saved by his belief in God … “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Basically what Paul is trying to show the church in Rome was that their observance of the Law, while a good thing, was not a saving thing. Paul is saying … “There is nothing you can do to save yourselves. It is the power and work of Christ that brings you salvation.” Remember yesterday’s post on Justification.

So what does that mean for us … we must remember that there is nothing we can do for salvation. Salvation is a gift from God that we are able to freely accept from him. It is our choice to accept it. It does not matter how good of a life you live, unless you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior there is not salvation. But that also does not mean that because we have been justified we should live a life less pleasing to God. If we are truly grateful for the Salvation we have that should spur us to please God in a form of thanksgiving for the salvation he has offered. Let me ask you this, does your life reflect a heart of thanksgiving for the salvation you have been given by God for you faith in his son as Savior? If not then maybe you need to reexamine you heart!