Romans 4

Daily Devotional from Romans 4--

Verses 3-5

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

As Christians, our salvation is provided by God as a free gift. One reason we can’t earn it is explained above. If we try to achieve salvation by our works, we might falsely believe we deserve it. Of course any effort on our part to restore broken relationship with God could never be enough to bridge the gap between our holy God and His sinful creation.

Instead the way to salvation involves belief - belief that Jesus died on the cross to take the penalty for our sin upon His shoulders, and that He was resurrected and ascended into heaven, where we will one day follow.

We can’t work our way into heaven; we must get there by faith which will be counted as righteousness. Through the work of Jesus we are cleansed of all stain of sin. We are forgiven and are invited to stand before the Father with confidence and without shame.

Rick Bolesta