"Now it was not written for his [Abraham's] sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on Hime that raised us Jesus our Lord from the dead: Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification."
Romans 4:23-25
Part 2
Yesterday: Abraham’s Example of Salvation by Faith
“Now, it was not written for his sake alone.”
Paul’s letter is for us as well. This teaches us that justification is by faith.
“That it was imputed to him.”
Abraham’s faith God counted as “righteousness!”
Today: Faith in Christ is the Key to Our Righteousness
“But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed.”
And as this verse says, this writing about Abraham’s justification is not for his sake alone. But this is for our benefit as well! Or at least for all those who have believed in Christ. Their faith has been “imputed,” counted as righteousness. When God imputes righteousness to a believer, what does this mean? God treats the believer as forgiven. God no longer charges the believer’s sins to him or her. The believer is then free from punishment! Being pardoned from sin, the believer is treated by God as righteous and no longer a guilty sinner.[1]
“For us also.”
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:38-39).
God’s beautiful plan of salvation was prepared to include us and our generation, and it is for the next and the next…!
“If we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
Genuine faith is the key to salvation. Note, our faith is in the God who raised Jesus from the dead, and it is in the person and work of Jesus. The Gospel contains all of the good news of Jesus, His sinless life, His sacrificial death for us, His burial, and His literal, physical, bodily resurrection from the dead. In these truths, we find the “power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16).
“If we.”
Yes, that’s correct, you and me, “if we” will believe, we may have God’s salvation.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:14-16).
Dear friend, have you put your faith in Jesus, God’s Son? Please, don’t wait! Tomorrow, we will see what it means that Jesus “was delivered for our offenses.” Come back and be with us then.
Quote: “Our righteousness is in Him [Jesus], and our hope depends, not upon the exercise of grace in us, but upon the fullness of grace and love in Him, and upon His obedience unto death”[2] (John Newton).
[1] See Albert Barnes Commentary on the Romans, p. 105. Downloaded: Saturday, April 10, 2021. From: https://libraryoftheology.wordpress.com/2019/02/15/quotes-on-justification-imputed-righteousness/.
[2] Newton’s quote Downloaded: Saturday, April 10, 2021. From: https://www.christianquotes.info/quotes-by-topic/quotes-about-righteousness/.