Romans – Week 4

ROMANS 4:1-3
4 Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

There’s a big difference between being credited righteousness versus being made righteous. 

GENESIS 17:15-16

15 Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. 16 And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”

GENESIS 17:19

19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.

GENESIS 18:12

12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

GENESIS 18:13-14

13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

GENESIS 18:15
15 Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.”
But the Lord said, “No, you did laugh.”

ROMANS 4:18-19

18 Against 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.” 19 Without 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. 

“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.”

-Greek Proverb

When you see what God wants to do with your life, don’t laugh.

Don’t laugh, believe. 

ZECHARIAH 4:10
10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…

NEXT STEP QUESTIONS
1. What goals, dreams, or visions has God given me that I need to take a step of faith towards?

2. What goals, dreams, or visions has God given others around me that I could support?

HEBREWS 11:1

1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

JOHN 6:28
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

JOHN 6:29
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.

We want to DO righteousness, but we can’t DO righteousness we have to RECIEVE righteousness.