Karena COVID-19 dan gangguan pada layanansuratinternasional,
untuksementara kami menangguhkan ‘LayananCetakBuku Gratis kami’.
untuksementara kami menangguhkan ‘LayananCetakBuku Gratis kami’.
Dalam situasi ini, kami tidak dapat mengirimkan buku-buku tersebut kepada Anda saat ini.
Berdoalah agar pandemi ini segera berakhir dan dimulainya kembali layanan pos.
Berdoalah agar pandemi ini segera berakhir dan dimulainya kembali layanan pos.
Subject 9 : Romans (Commentaries on the Book of Romans)
[Chapter 4-3] The Righteousness of Man Is Nothing to Be Proud of (Romans 4:1-25)
(Romans 4:1-25)
“What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.’
Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations’) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’
Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”
(Romans 4:1) “What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?”
Even Abraham, the father of faith, was really a weak man in the flesh. His flesh could not wait for the promise of God, and so he took Hagar, his wife’s maidservant, to bear a child, who later stood against God. In his flesh, Abraham had nothing to be proud of. Out of the weaknesses of his flesh, he had betrayed his wife to save his own life. He had done what he should have never done as a husband. Given this, what could he boast of his flesh before God? There was nothing to be proud of in his flesh.
Romans chapter 4 explains to us what it means to have faith in the righteousness of God. As an example of this, it tells us how Abraham attained God’s righteousness, asking, “What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?” (Romans 4:1) Abraham had nothing to be proud of in his flesh, nor any righteousness. On the contrary, we can see from the Bible that he even failed to abide by the moral standard of mankind. To save his own life, he had betrayed his wife and as we can see from this, Abraham didn’t even have any righteousness of man.
However, because he believed in the Word of the righteousness of God in its entirety with his heart, his faith was approved by God. What, then, happened to his sin of betraying his wife? This sin, too, had already been blotted out by God. God had blotted out the sin of Abraham with the gospel of the water and the Spirit containing His righteousness. This is the power of the true gospel.
What is this gospel that contains God’s righteousness? It is the gospel of the water and the Spirit that has such power. Abraham had no righteousness of man, but he had faith in the righteousness of God. This is how Abraham became the father of faith for all people, because of this faith. The righteousness of God that Abraham received from God was not attained through his own human righteousness.
For us, now living in the 21st century, messages in the Book of Romans may perplex us. Paul said in Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.” Paul makes it clear here that it was not by his works that Abraham received the righteousness of God and was approved by God as a righteous man. On the contrary, Paul explains that it was by believing in the righteousness of God that Abraham’s sins were covered.
Does this then mean that God considered Abraham as sinless even as he actually had sin? No. It means that God’s righteousness blotted out all his sins. God does not call anyone with sin as sinless just because this person believes in Jesus.
However, there are too many Christians today who believe in Jesus without knowing the righteousness of God. Yet their faith is never upright, nor can they blot out their sins with their current faith. If Abraham had been justified by the righteousness of his flesh, then he would have had something to boast about. But the righteousness of God that he obtained came by his faith in the Word of God, not by his own righteousness of man.
Therefore, before God, Abraham was someone who could boast of God’s righteousness. He had nothing to be proud of in his flesh, and yet because of his faith in the righteousness of God, he became a great man of faith. In the Book of Romans, Paul explained what it is to have faith in God’s righteousness. Faith in the righteousness of God means to receive the remission of sin by believing in Jesus Christ, and as a result, be blessed to have our sins covered before God. So it is fitting for anyone who believes in God’s righteousness to be accounted righteous as a reward for this faith. The topic to be developed through the Book of Romans is the righteousness of God.
(Romans 4:2) “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”
Abraham was not accounted righteous by God for his own works. For what, then, was his faith approved? His faith was approved by God because he believed in all the Word of promises that God had given him.
The faith that enables us to obtain God’s righteousness is also like this. Our faith is approved by God not because of the good deeds of our flesh, but because we believe that the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross constitutes the righteousness of God that brings us the remission of our sins.
(Romans 4:3) “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’”
Abraham attained God’s righteousness by believing in His Word, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Abraham’s faith thus became one that was approved by God.
Some Bible scholars interpret the righteousness of God that Abraham attained by believing God’s Word through the lens of the Doctrine of Justification, but this is not correct. The origin of the Doctrine of Justification is this: some theologians who couldn’t get their sins blotted out even as they believed in Jesus came up with the idea that because they believed in God, God would call them His people.
Even now, many people still think that although Abraham had sin, God considered him as one of His sinless people because of his faith. However, the righteousness of God is not like this. Those who believe in the righteousness of God truly become righteous people. Just as God actually gave Abraham the promised son, faith in God’s righteousness does in fact bring real righteousness into every believing heart. Because God speaks and fulfills what He has spoken, those who believe in His Word believe in the Truth, and therefore their faith is approved by God. That’s because God and His Word are true.
For you and I living in this age, if we believe in the baptism that Jesus received from John to blot out our sins, the blood of the Cross, and His death and resurrection exactly as they are, then we, too, can come to have the faith that enables us to receive the remission of all our sins. It is when we believe in the Word of the water and the Spirit that our faith is approved by God. This faith actually brings God’s righteous into our hearts concretely. That’s because Jesus accepted the sins of the world by being baptized, dying on the Cross, and rising from the dead again, all in reality. The baptism and blood of Jesus have blotted out all our sins once and for all. Faith in the Word is the very faith in the righteousness of God.
(Romans 4:4) “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.”
If we had done something meritorious, spiritually or carnally, to attain the righteousness of God, then we would be qualified to receive God’s righteousness, but the reality is that we have failed to do anything upright to attain God’s righteousness. That’s the simple truth. No matter how virtuously we might live, we can never obtain God’s righteousness through our own goodness.
If someone finds a job and is paid for his work, then his wage would not be gratuitous. However, through our own works, it is impossible to receive God’s righteousness. That’s because we are incapable of doing anything that enables us to receive God’s righteousness as a reward. Therefore, the righteousness of God is only attained as a gift, and this gift is given to us only when we believe in the righteous works of God that the Lord has fulfilled. If we have received the righteousness of God by faith, then clearly, this is a gift of faith given by God to those who believe in this righteousness.
Those Who Have Attained the Righteousness of God without Working for Him
(Romans 4:5) “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,”
The Word of Truth is that even though we became sinners by failing to walk by the Law perfectly, if we obtain the righteousness of God by believing that Jesus took upon the sins of the world through the baptism given by John the Baptist, and in His death on the Cross as our remission of sin, then God will approve our faith as the right faith. To know thus and to believe thus is to have the faith in the righteousness of God.
To save us from our sins, who are by nature ungodly, God sent His Son to this earth, made Him be baptized and crucified, raised Him from the dead, and has thereby made us righteous. It is in this God that we believe. We believe in the Truth that Jesus has delivered us from the sins of the world through His baptism and blood. Therefore, it is by believing in His righteousness that our faith is approved by God. God approves the faith of those who know and believes in His righteousness as the right faith.
The Lord spoke about the blessedness of those to whom God imputes righteousness even as they have not worked for God. David said that those who are blessed by God are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. This passage explains the gospel, which is the righteousness of God.
How, then, can we obtain the righteousness of God and receive the remission of our sins? To be remitted from our sins, what kind of faith must we have before God? Since no one can keep the Law, it is only by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the gospel given by God, that we can obtain the righteousness of God and receive the remission of our sins.
There are many people who are trying to have their faith approved by God by leading a virtuous life. Some people say that the Sabbath Day must be kept faithfully, and others say that we must not eat squid or pork. Such notions are derived from the mistaken thought that they should try to get their faith approved by God through their own acts. So in their confused thoughts, they are still seeking after the righteousness of man.
People must realize that it is by knowing and believing in the righteousness of God that they can be saved from their sins. Yet despite this, many people think that if they believe in Jesus, they then must be sanctified gradually, live virtuously, keep the Law, and not commit sin. That is why they end up missing out on God’s righteousness. Confounded by such fallacious beliefs, they believe that their goal in believing in Jesus is to sanctify their lives. However, their faith is an extremely erroneous faith that has gone far astray from the righteousness of God.
Have you attained God’s righteousness by faith apart from works? The faith that has received salvation by God’s help is the faith that believes in the righteousness of God. You may have believed in Jesus as your Savior to be saved from your sins, but if you believe in Him without knowing the righteousness of God, then your faith is all in vain. Are you holding onto the righteousness of God? Because we are fundamentally incapable of being upright before God, unless we hold onto His righteousness, it is impossible for us to be saved.
Human beings are by nature seeds of evildoers. So before the gospel of the righteousness of God came, it was impossible for them to live virtuously. That’s why God Himself came to save sinners, for He had compassion for them. Jesus, who came to save sinners from their sins, fulfilled all the righteousness of God with the baptism that He received from John the Baptist in the Jordan River. By being baptized by John the Baptist and dying on the Cross, Jesus washed away all our sins and has saved us all. All the righteousness of God was held in the birth of Jesus, His baptism, His death on the Cross, and His resurrection. It is Jesus who fulfilled all God’s righteousness when He came to this earth.
In this world, there are those who believe in their own righteousness. Some people even lay down their life for others. This is the righteousness of man. But everything in this world has a reason. Is there anyone who can really sacrifice himself for others without any heed to his own interest? The Lord said, “There is no one who does good, none.” Someone who drowned while trying to save someone else is praised for his virtue. But delivering a drowning man is an act of human righteousness.
In all cultures, there is an underlying moral principle that promotes good and punishes evil. People believe that the virtuous are to be rewarded, while the wicked are to be punished. So people are inclined to manifest the righteousness of man, even though by nature there is no goodness in mankind. People cling to this principle because they are beholden to the righteousness of man. Is there anyone who would willingly lay down his life for someone else, without being motivated to build his own righteousness of man? No. All human beings’ hearts are self-centered. Even when they love, they can only share self-centered, egoistic love, and they can only build virtue according to their own righteousness.
Recently, I heard from one of the deacons at my Church that her father-in-law was about to pass away. I heard this around noon, and then around mid-night, I heard the news that the father-in-law passed away. Hearing the news, I congratulated the deacon for the passing of her father-in-law. I did so because that man knew the righteousness of God and believed in it.
This man had never come to God’s Church in his life, not even once. About a year before his death, when he was under hospital care, some of our ministry workers went to visit him and preached the gospel to him. But he refused to listen, saying that his hearing wasn’t any good. Later, after he was discharged from the hospital, the deacon preached the gospel to him again, and then he said that he believed in the Word of the gospel. He didn’t want to believe at first because he did not know the reason and need as to why he should believe in Jesus. But when his body fell ill, his eldest son went broke, he lost all hope on this earth, and he felt the need to listen to the gospel containing God’s righteousness and he accepted it into his heart. Before he passed away, the deacon confirmed his faith once more, and he professed that because all his sins were passed onto Jesus when He was baptized, he was now sinless.
This man received the remission of his sins by believing in the righteousness of God. In his life he had never come to God’s Church to worship there, nor had he shown any devotion to God or given any offerings. He had not prayed for the spread of the gospel of God either. Yet despite all this, when he heard about God’s righteousness and believed in it, this righteousness of God remitted away all his sins. By believing in the gospel of the righteousness of God with his heart, he became a righteous man. The gospel that he heard was the gospel of the water and the Spirit that was more than sufficient to blot out all his sins. Hearing this amazing gospel of God that contains His righteousness, the man put on its power.
A man who could never be saved from his sins in any other way was saved by believing in the righteousness of God. This is the result of the right faith that trusts in God’s righteousness. In the gospel where the righteousness of God is contained, the mercy and power of God are revealed. God’s mercy is the great love of God that is bestowed on all human beings who do not deserve to be saved at all. Because God had so much compassion for that sinner, He gave him the gift of the remission of sins with His righteousness. God’s mercy is what brings great love and salvation to those who have no qualification to be saved. God has given such merciful love to everyone.
Yet many people still do not try to know the righteousness of God, nor do they believe in it. That’s because they do not appreciate the power of the gospel that is fulfilled by the righteousness of God. The deceased in our story became a righteous man because he came to understand God’s righteousness and believe in it. Although he had never lived his life on this earth perfectly, because he believed in the gospel containing the righteousness of God, he was washed and saved perfectly from all his sins. None other than this is the very salvation that the Bible speaks of, attained by believing in God’s righteousness. Such people who believe in God’s righteousness are all blessed people.
(Romans 4:6-7) “Just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;’”
All those who believe in the righteousness of God, and whose faith is therefore approved by God, are happy even if they could not keep all the Law of God.
Who and what kind of people are the happiest people of all?
First: Happy are those who believe in God’s righteousness and have thereby received the remission of all their sins, whether already committed or yet to be committed.
Second: Happy are those whose sins are all covered by believing in God’s righteousness, and who have escaped by faith from all their sins and all their punishments.
If you had done something terrible against your own country, and yet someone else bore this crime in your place and died for your stead, wouldn’t you be so happy and grateful to the person? Jesus did so for you by being baptized and dying on the Cross, and has thereby delivered you from all your sins. Now, if you could be remitted from all the sins of the world by believing in the Truth of the righteousness of God, wouldn’t you believe in it with all your heart? It is by believing in the righteousness of God that you can become happy. Those of you who believe in this Truth are happy.
Those Who Covered Their Sins with True Faith
(Romans 4:8) “Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”
Those to whom the Lord does not impute sin are those who believe in the gospel Word, the righteousness of God. Those who have received all blessings from God are also those who believe in the righteousness of God. He who believes in God’s righteousness is one whose faith is like that of Abraham. He who believes in the righteousness of God is one who is blessed like Abraham. My fellow believers, who could be blessed by God like Abraham? Those who believe in God’s righteousness have been blessed like Abraham.
The Bible states that Abraham’s faith was approved by God because he believed in everything God said. Like this, for all those who now believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit as their remission of sin, their faith is also approved by God as the right faith. So if you also know what the righteousness of God is, then believe in it with your heart. Then the heavenly blessings that were once bestowed on Abraham will all be yours as well.
What does the Bible say about the happiness of man? It says, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” What would be our lawless deeds before God? Lawlessness before God refers to not believing in His righteousness. Everyone commits sin against God. So everyone must receive the remission of his sins by believing in the righteousness of God.
What, then, is the gospel of the righteousness of God? The true gospel is that Jesus came to this earth, was baptized at the age of 30 to take upon the sins of the world, died on the Cross, rose from the dead again, and has thereby remitted away all the sins of mankind once and for all. How could we cover our sins before God? Will our sins be covered if we live virtuously?
The Bible says that those whose sins are covered are those who believe in God’s righteousness. All the sins of ours can be remitted away only when we believe in the Word of God that contains His righteousness. In other words, it is only when we accept the righteousness of God into our hearts that our sins can be covered. All our sins can be blotted out only when we believe in the Word of the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist, and of His blood on the Cross. It is by believing in God’s righteousness like this that all our sins are covered.
Our sins are not covered by our own good deeds, but only when we believe that the baptism Jesus received from John and His blood on the Cross are the price paid for our sins. It is this faith that can cover our sins. Because of our sins, Jesus came to this earth, was baptized by John the Baptist, and died on the Cross. By believing in this Truth with our hearts, we can all cover our sins. How is this possible? It is because we can put on God’s righteousness that covers all our lawlessness sufficiently when we believe in the gospel where God’s righteousness is contained. It is by believing God’s righteousness that all our sins are covered.
Anyone who has this kind of faith is a righteous person before God. Also, it is such people who are most blessed before God. Just like the father-in-law in our story, you and I, too, will go to God one day and stand before His presence. No one can avoid this. This old man was a blessed man because he heard the good news that Jesus came to this earth, was baptized for him, and bore condemnation for him. And by believing in this gospel, his sins were covered. So even though he had no good work to show before God, his sins were still covered because of his faith.
What kinds of people are happy before God? Do you have the faith that can cover your sins? Are you not, by any chance, trying to be saved from your sins by living virtuously, without the gospel Word that holds the righteousness of God? You must realize the Truth, which enables you to cover all your sins when you know and believe in the righteousness of God. Those who believe in God’s righteousness can all praise God. It is not to be saved from our sins that we praise God. We praise God because we have already been saved from all our sins and we are so thankful for this.
Those who have truthfully found happiness are those who have accepted God’s righteousness into their hearts. Those who believe in the gospel that holds the righteousness of God with their hearts are those whose sins are covered thanks to God.
Whenever a righteous person passes away, I take this person’s funeral as an opportunity to preach the gospel. I do so because it is a good opportunity to testify the righteousness of God to the family that’s been left behind. Those who are truly happy believe in the gospel that holds God’s righteousness and live their lives preaching this gospel.
My fellow believers, you must not try to be saved from your sins through your own good deeds. For your sins to be covered before God, you must believe in God’s righteousness. If a rich man gives a diamond to a poor man as a gift, all that the poor man has to do is just accept it with thanks. Like this, to cover all our sins, God came to this earth and was baptized. If, despite this, anyone still holds onto the belief that although he believes in God he can receive the remission of his sins only if he keeps the Law, or at least tries his best to keep it all to establish his own righteousness, then his sins will never be covered by God. We must all accept God’s righteousness by faith. We must never be stingy with faith. On the contrary, we must accept it liberally.
Salvation Is Received without Good Deeds
(Romans 4:9) “Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.”
This verse speaks about the Law and God’s righteousness. Of these two, Paul is saying here that one becomes happy not by keeping the Law, but by believing in God’s Word.
Paul explains that Abraham was blessed by believing in what God had told him before he was physically circumcised. This is the faith that believes in God’s righteousness, and this is the same belief of the people of faith who have attained God’s righteousness by believing in this righteousness.
Here, the reason why Paul mentioned the timing of circumcision and uncircumcision of Abraham was to teach the Jews that they could be blessed by believing in God’s righteousness. We must believe in God with this understanding. We must remember that Abraham’s faith was approved by God because he believed in the righteousness of God that was manifested in His Word.
In Genesis 15:1-6, God promised to Abraham, “One who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Abraham was childless, so when God appeared before him and wanted to give him something, he told God that his servant Eliezer was to be his heir, since he had no child of his own. God then said to Abraham, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir” (Genesis 15:4). Then God took him outside and said, “Look now toward Heaven and count the stars if you are able to number them,” and went on to say, “So shall your descendants be.” Abraham believed in Jehovah God and God accounted Abraham’s faith for his righteousness. In other words, Abraham became a man of faith whose trust in God was approved by Him (see Genesis 15:5-6).
Our faith is approved by God not when we keep the commandments of the Law given to us, but when we believe that God has blotted out all our sins through the baptism and blood of His Son Jesus. We are accounted as righteous people by believing in God’s Word like this. We receive the remission of our sins and become God’s children not by keeping the Law of God, but only by believing that God has remitted away all our sins through the baptism of Jesus and His blood, for God loves us all. This faith is the faith of Abraham that was approved by God, for he believed in God’s Word.
Just as Abraham became a man of faith by believing in what God said to him, our faith is also approved by God by believing in the Word of the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the Cross. Abraham’s faith and the faith of those in this age who believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit are both the same faith, and it is this faith in God’s righteousness that saves us.
The God whom we believe is the God of righteousness. If we believe in God’s righteousness, then this righteousness of God becomes ours, and therefore our faith is approved by God. The real faith in God and His Word is one that believes in His righteousness. You, too, must believe in God’s righteousness and have your faith be approved by God. Hallelujah!
The Bible says the following about those who have attained happiness: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin” (Romans 4:7-8).
Was Abraham then justified because of his circumcision? Or was he justified before he was circumcised, by believing in God’s promise? Abraham was saved by believing in the Word of the righteousness of God, irrespective of his circumcision. For us also, it is by believing in God’s Word of righteousness that we are saved from all our sins.
In the following verse, Paul asks when Abraham was justified by God. In other words, he asks when Abraham accepted the Word of the righteousness of God. Was it after he was circumcised? Or was it before? If it was after he was circumcised, then one may think that Abraham’s circumcision had something to do with his justification. On the other hand, if Abraham’s faith was approved by God before he was circumcised, then we can see his faith had nothing to do with his acts. The God-given salvation of righteousness is not attained through physical circumcision. When was Abraham’s faith approved by God? The answer is clear. Abraham’s faith was approved by God in Genesis 15:6, that is, 14 years before he was circumcised.
Therefore, because Abraham was approved by God for his faith in His Word, just like him, his descendants also came to be imputed with righteousness by the same faith. Whoever believes in God’s Word of righteousness has his faith approved by God. This is how Abraham became the father of faith who was saved from all his sins by faith. Abraham was justified by believing in God’s Word. He was circumcised as a sign of his faith in God’s Word of promise. Ultimately, it was because of his faith that Abraham was approved as a righteous man and became the father of faith for us. Because his faith was already accounted to him for his righteousness before he was circumcised, he became the father of faith for all those who believe in God.
Paul said that for both the Jews and the Gentiles to attain the righteousness of God, all must return to the faith of salvation promised by God’s righteousness that justified Abraham on account of his faith, not on account of physical circumcision practiced under the Law.
The salvation from all your sins is possible only when you believe in God’s righteousness. All of you are standing on either side, either you have been saved by the righteousness of God, or you still have not been saved at all. That’s because one is justified not by acts, but by faith.
(Romans 4:10) “How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.”
Because Abraham believed in God and His Word of promise spoken to him, God considered his faith as the right faith. What we need to realize from this passage is that God did not just approve Abraham’s faith out of simple generosity and blind love even though it was insufficient.
Although Abraham was weak in the flesh and had so many shortcomings in his deeds, God approved Abraham’s faith because his faith in God and His Word was proper in God’s sight. God did not just consider him sinless without any proper reason. Do you understand this point?
An additional point that must be ascertained from this passage before we move on is the question over the Doctrine of Justification. Is the faith of this doctrine the proper faith in God? The Doctrine of Justification claims that even if someone still has sin, if he believes in Jesus, then God takes this faith into account and considers him as a righteous person and His child. But this faith is not the faith that believes in the righteousness of God. Yet this doctrine appeals to many Christian sinners who still have sin in their hearts even though they believe in Jesus, and so most Christians adhere to this doctrine without any doubt.
But, does God really account sinners to be righteous just because they profess to be Christians? No way! When God looks at our faith, He looks at whether or not we believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that constitutes God’s righteousness, and He approves only this faith as the right faith. If we otherwise do not believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that has become God’s righteousness, and instead believe in Jesus only as a religious figure, then God does not lawlessly consider our sins remitted away just because of this one reason, even as we still retain our sins. Do you understand this?
Curch Christian doctrines as the Doctrine of Justification or the Doctrine of Incremental Sanctification are never the Word that actually constitutes the righteousness of God. On the contrary, they lead us to false beliefs, trying to obtain God’s righteousness by practicing the Law through our own acts, like physical circumcision. Would such faith be approved by God? No, God will not approve this kind of faith. God does not approve crude beliefs that are legalistic and man-made. As evidence, we can see that in the hearts of those who believe in such doctrines as the Doctrine of Justification or the Doctrine of Incremental Sanctification, there is no righteousness of God, and therefore their sins still remain intact, for they have not received the remission of their sins. In contrast, for those who have the faith that is approved by God, we cannot find any sin at all in their hearts, no matter how hard we might try.
The evidence of the fact that faith in the righteousness of God is found in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is that there is absolutely no sin remaining in the hearts of those who believe in this gospel. And even as they are insufficient, they still remain without sin. Such faith is the faith that is founded on the Truth and believes in God’s righteousness.
We should realize that Abraham’s faith was approved by God before he was physically circumcised. Christians do not become sinless in time just because they try to obey the Law of God faithfully everyday, or because they keep offering prayers of repentance time after time whenever they stumble from the Law. Rather, they are remitted from all their sins and become sinless by believing with their hearts in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God when they first believe in Jesus. To thus obtain the righteousness of God by faith like this is to become a believer in God’s righteousness.
When you first believed in Jesus, did you believe in God’s righteousness? And do you still believe in the righteousness of God, even now? If you believe that Jesus is the Savior of sinners, then believe in His baptism and blood as the righteousness of God that has remitted away all your sins once and for all. If you believe in this, then God’s righteousness will become your righteousness. You will then have the same faith as Abraham’s faith. May the blessings of the righteousness of God be with you all.
(Romans 4:11) “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,”
God approved Abraham’s faith while he was uncircumcised, and what we can find out from this is that God has made us possess the faith that attains His righteousness like Abraham by believing in the Word of His righteousness when we had failed to keep His Law. Abraham was a man whose faith was approved by God because he believed in God and what He said to him. For us, who are now living in this age, our faith can be approved by God only if we believe in the Word of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God. Abraham is the eternal father of true faith.
In the Footsteps of the Faith of the Righteousness of God
(Romans 4:12-13) “And the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised. For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.”
By believing in God’s Word, Abraham became the father of faith to all those who are spiritually circumcised. The ritualistic circumcision that the Jews of that time practiced was a circumcision that had no spiritual effect whatsoever for them to have the same faith of Abraham and become his real descendants. It was merely a sign that showed that they were Abraham’s descendants in their blood lineage.
Abraham’s faith was not approved by his physical circumcision, but it was a faith that was rooted in his heart by believing in God and His Word before he was circumcised in the flesh. This is how Abraham’s faith was approved as the right faith. The faith for which Abraham was approved by God was the faith that he had 430 years before God gave the Law to the people of Israel (Galatians 3:17). Therefore, the faith of spiritual circumcision has nothing to do with the Law that God gave to the Jews.
To believe in God and His spoken Word is the true faith that believes in His righteousness. If we believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that constitutes His righteousness, then we will receive the blessing of salvation from all our sins. In short, to believe in this gospel is to believe in the righteousness of God.
We must have the faith of our spiritual predecessors, and we must follow in their footsteps. If we fail to do so, and instead only follow the rituals and acts of the predecessors of faith, then our faith will flounder. So we must discover the faith of the disciples before us, and at the same time have the same faith as theirs. The faith of our predecessors in the Bible was always founded on the Word of the Old Testament.
Through the sacrificial system written in the Pentateuch of the Old Testament, God made the people of Israel receive the remission of their sins by laying their hands on the head of their sacrificial animal and drawing its blood. So in the New Testament also, we must believe according to such a law of salvation. To do so, we must be aware of the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, and at the same time we must also have the knowledge of the gospel of the water and the Spirit in the New Testament.
To become spiritual pilgrims to Heaven, we must have faith in the righteousness of God, and we must be able to deny ourselves. Abraham left his homeland following God’s Word of righteousness. Because of this, Abraham left behind the religious faith that prevailed in that land, and he came to have the faith that followed the righteousness of God. It is for this reason that Jesus told us to deny ourselves everyday and pick up our cross and follow Him (Luke 14:26).
Spiritual pilgrims are characterized by the fact that they follow the righteousness of God. This is the way walked by the disciples of Jesus who embarked on the path of the pilgrims of Heaven. The pilgrims of Heaven leave their religious faith behind, and instead believe in God’s righteousness, deny themselves, and follow the Word.
Abraham left his homeland and lived a life that walked with the Word of God. It is because his faith was placed in the Word of God that it was approved by God. Abraham did not insist on any religious notions that he had or on his own thoughts. Once he began to walk with God, he threw out his religious experiences and instead followed God’s righteousness. This was the faith that he had and this is the true faith that follows the righteousness of God. That is the sound judgment of the pilgrims who believe in God’s righteousness and follow it. Abraham boldly cast aside anything that might cover the light of God and make him forget this glorious memory.
Having left Haran, Abraham never stopped his pilgrimage. What’s more, he was already 75 when he left Haran. He lived for 175 years before going to God. Even when we consider the average lifespan in those days, when Abraham was called by God he was already well into his midlife, and yet he still followed Him believing in His Word innocently. What about you then? Are you also the possessors of pure faith who follow the righteousness of God?
The reason why Paul said the following in verse 18 is also because of Abraham’s faith: “[Abraham], contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” You, too, must have faith in the Word of God “who makes us hope for what cannot be hoped.”
The Righteousness of God Is Attained by Faith
(Romans 4:14) “For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,”
Now in this age, if God were to approve the faith of the Doctrine of Incremental Sanctification or the Doctrine of Justification, which are both oriented toward the acts of the Law, then the right faith that attains God’s righteousness by believing in this righteousness would disappear forever. Paul said that if those who are of the Law are God’s children, then faith in His righteousness is made void. Therefore, if you really long to find God’s righteousness and believe in it, then you should believe with the heart in the gospel Word that has come by the Word of the water and the Spirit, not the acts of the Law, and thereby attain the righteousness of God.
Faith in the righteousness of God advocates the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But legalistic and dogmatic faith rejects the righteousness of God, for it belongs to acts. If we could attain God’s righteousness by placing our faith in our ability to keep the Law of God, as the Doctrine of Justification and the Doctrine of Incremental Sanctification do, then God would not have spoken His Word of promise to Abraham in the first place.
Abraham was a man of faith who attained God’s righteousness in the age of the Old Testament by hearing and believing in the Word of God. His faith has now become an example for all those who believe and follow God’s righteousness.
After approving Abraham’s faith, God promised him through the covenant of circumcision that He would take him and his descendants as the people of His righteousness. It was a special blessing for God to bestow the law of circumcision on Abraham. In this blessing, there is the mystery that enables us to attain God’s righteousness. The faith that is hidden in this mystery is obtained by hearing the Word of God. The righteousness of God and the righteousness of man are diametrically opposed to each other. That’s why we must look for the righteousness of God and believe in it. And we must also reject circumcision as a religious ritual.
Only those who know the gospel of the water and the Spirit where God’s righteousness is revealed can obtain their salvation. God approved Abraham’s faith because Abraham believed in Him according to His Word.
(Romans 4:15) “Because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.”
In chapters 3 and 7 of the Book of Romans, Paul said that the God-given Law is only to expose people’s sins before God. If the Jews at that time really became God’s sinless children just because they were physically circumcised, then we would conclude that we can also become God’s sinless children by keeping the Law. However, the problem of the Jews at that time was that they in fact did not have the faith of Abraham, their forefather. In other words, they only had faith in ritualistic circumcision, and this was their fallacious belief.
For you and I now living in this age, if we do not acknowledge the Word of God’s Law, then we, too, would not know what sin is, and even after sinning, we would not know what sins we might have committed against God. As such, through the statutes of the God-given Law, we must admit that we are depraved sinners and confess the sins we have committed. Coming before Jesus Christ who has fulfilled the righteousness of God, we must believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit; we must thereby become sinless once and or all, turn into righteous people, and glorify God the Father.
In the early church period, the Jews and the Gentiles had fallen into the belief of circumcision and legalism, but now in this age and time, the gospel of the water and the Spirit is being preached openly, and so it is an age when the believers are saved from the sins of the world and forever turned into God’s children. Do you know the righteousness of God that has come by the gospel of the water and the Spirit? If you do, then throw away your legalistic faith and believe in God’s righteousness with all your hearts.
(Romans 4:16) “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all”
The way to become God’s children is not something that is attained through our own acts, but it is what God has given us as the gift of His righteousness. In other words, it is by believing in God and His gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that we can become His children. Everyone must have the same faith as Abraham’s faith.
(Romans 4:17) “(as it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations’) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did…”
Abraham had unwavering faith in God. And he believed unwaveringly that God would infallibly fulfill the Word of covenant that He promised to him. That’s why Abraham became the father of true faith for us, for the Jews, and for the legalists all alike.
Like this, we must remember and believe everything God did—that is, Jesus came to this earth and took upon all the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:15), carried the sins of the world to the Cross (John 1:29), died on the Cross for the sins of the world (John 19:30), and rose from the dead again (John 20:21)—all constitutes God’s righteousness. It is faith in this Word that enables us to obtain God’s righteousness.
The Righteous Who Live by Believing in God’s Righteousness
(Romans 4:18) “Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’”
By believing in God and all that He spoke, Abraham was approved for his faith, and he became the head of faith for all those from every nation who believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that constitutes God’s righteousness.
It was God’s will for Abraham to be raised as the father of faith of many nations. Abraham believed in God and everything He said and for this faith he was approved and blessed by God. It was God’s will. Today, for us, it is also God’s will to be blessed by Him by believing in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that constitutes His righteousness.
At the age of 75, Abraham left Ur of the Chaldeans, his country, his family, and his father’s house, and followed God’s Word. And he believed in God’s promise that He would make his children as many as the stars in the sky. Abraham believed in God’s Word exactly as He said it. Because he believed in God’s Word contrary to what was humanly possible to hope, he was approved as a righteous man.
Abraham’s faith became an exemplar to all those who followed in his footsteps and believed in God, and led them to also become righteous by faith. In the flesh, all the Israelis are Abraham’s descendants. Palestinians, too, are all his descendants. Though Abraham was old, he still begot a son because he believed in God’s Word.
Can a woman 90 years old give birth to a child? No. Sarah was way past menopause and so she could not bear any child. Yet God appeared before Abraham and promised him, “Abraham! Through the heir begotten from your own body, I will give you as many descendants as the stars in the sky.” And Abraham believed in what God told him. This was something that was humanly impossible to hope, but he still believed it because it was what God had said.
The Bible tells us that this kind of faith is true faith. This is what true faith is. It is to believe that whatever God said will all be fulfilled exactly as He said it, even if it seems impossible in human thoughts. Though it may seem impossible in human thoughts, to believe that it will be fulfilled exactly as God said so, precisely because that is what God said—this is true faith.
Therefore, faith is to believe in what is not seen as if it is seen. If we hope for and believe in what God said, then it will be fulfilled according to His Word. Since the Word of God is true, all that we have to do is just believe in it. Even though it may seem impossible in our thoughts, to believe that it will be done because God said so is what faith is all about. Whenever we pray, we ask for the righteousness of God according to His will. And when we believe in His faithfulness, it will be fulfilled just as we believe. None other than this is faith.
If we were to define true faith, it would be the following: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). This faith is the right faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. In other words, if we hope for the righteousness of God and believe in His Word, then everything will be fulfilled according to the Word. So, when we believe and hope for what God said, then it is actually fulfilled.
If you and I believe in the Word of God, then it will be fulfilled according to how we believe. By believing in what God told him, Abraham begot Isaac. After this, Abraham’s faith was tested by God. God told him to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham’s faith was tested greatly. “What do You mean? I got my son because I believed in Your Word that You would give me a son, and now are you asking me to sacrifice this son as a burnt offering?”
If Abraham did not believe in God, he would have stood against God, saying, “What kind of God are You?” However, Abraham told himself, “God promised me that he would infallibly give me a son begotten from my own body, and He also promised that He would make my descendants as many as the stars in the sky. So I believe in this Word. If I sacrifice my son as a burnt offering, God will bring him back to life for sure,” and by this faith he went on his way to give his son as a burnt offering. He believed that since God had given him Isaac, even if he were to kill his son as a burnt offering, God would make sure to bring him back to life.
When Abraham took this son to Mountain Moriah and was about to kill him to offer him as a burnt offering, seeing this faith of Abraham, God told Abraham not to kill his son. It is written, “And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him’” (Genesis 22:12). Abraham killed his son by faith and he brought him back to life by faith. It was by faith that Abraham begot his son, and it was by faith that he begot all his descendants. He begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot twelve sons, and this is how the people of Israel have come to prosper today.
To believe in God is to believe like this. Can we see God with our eyes of the flesh? No, we can’t see Him with our naked eyes. But faith is the substance of things hoped for. We believe in God even though we can’t see Him. Seeing God’s creation, and through His divine attributes revealed everywhere in this creation, we can realize that God exists. We come to believe that there is a God, even though He is not seen by our eyes. While following the Word of God, Abraham went through many hardships. He was also tested, but his test was resolved by trusting in God. Though he faced all kinds of difficult tests, he passed them all by faith.
Many people throughout the whole world now have the faith of Abraham. I am not talking about Abraham here just to tell you about the historical events that happened to him. Rather, what I am trying to convey to you through the faith of Abraham is that you must live by believing in the righteousness of God. You must ask God for His righteousness by faith, and you must preach the gospel throughout the world by faith. And you must live by faith according to the will of God.
Were it not for our faith in the righteousness of God, how else could we follow Him? And how else could we live? Some of you may have received the remission of your sins, and some of you may not, but to those who have received the remission of sin, I would like to say the following: You must have faith in the Word of God; without faith, how else would your hopes and dreams be fulfilled? Only when you have faith can your wishes be fulfilled before God; only when you have faith can you follow the Lord; only when you have faith can you preach the gospel all over the world; only when you have faith can you be blessed by God; and only when you have faith can your heart’s dreams be fulfilled. And according to the Lord’s promise, you can really meet Him even while you are still alive.
Someone who has no faith is like a scarecrow and dry chaff. When the grain is gathered and milled, the husks come off; the empty husks are chaffs. We eat the grain, but what do we do with the chaffs? They are threshed from the grain into a pile, and then they are burnt, put into pillows, or used as fertilizers—the faithless are like this. And the faithless are also like dry straws. They are like completely dry straws, which blow away when the wind picks up; everyone would face this unless he has faith in God.
Therefore, we the believers must deny our own thoughts and believe in the Word of God, just as Abraham believed contrary to his hope. By hoping and believing against hope, Abraham became the father of faith. And the dreams he hoped for before God were fulfilled, and God’s promises all came true because he kept what God had told him until the end by faith. This faith is the true faith that all of us must have.
Without faith, we are nothing. Those of us who have no faith are just like sinners. Trusting in the Lord, we are now preaching the gospel throughout the whole world, but if we were to look at just our situation, it would appear to be an impossible task. But what has actually happened? We believe that it is the Lord’s will to preach the gospel throughout the whole world. We are doing this work because we have such faith, and because we believe that through the born-again, righteous people, God will infallibly fulfill this work that spreads the gospel all over the world.
What about the age of the New Testament then? In the age of the New Testament, God speaks to us through His written Word. God does not speak directly to us with His voice like He called on Abraham’s name in the Old Testament, but He now speaks to us only through the written Word. Therefore, it is through the written Word of God that we can find out His will, and it is by believing in God’s Word that we can build our faith and follow His Word. God’s Word will be fulfilled to us exactly as it is written and we believe in this.
This faith must be continuously applied to all aspects of our actual lives. Since without faith we are incapable of following God’s Word, it is because of faith that we can live out our faith, and it is because we believe in it that everything is fulfilled according to the Word of God. While we face numerous problems, these problems are solved because we believe, and we pray because we believe. And because we believe in the Word of God, we rise up to our challenges by faith, and we get all the problems of our lives solved.
Anyone who wants to have his faith approved by God must have faith in the Word of God. So you need to examine yourselves to see whether or not you really have faith in God’s Word. Do your hearts really have faith, even as small as a mustard seed? You must be able to see it clearly and if there is no faith, then you must have faith in the Word of God. What should you do when you do not even have this faith? Then you must hold onto the written Word.
The Bible tells us about faith like a mustard seed. Our Lord said to His disciples, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6). The Lord told us that He would hear our prayers and answer us according to our faith. Some of you will probably say that you really have no faith in your hearts, and that you just can’t figure out what faith is. Such people must have the kind of faith that holds onto the written Word. Faith like a mustard seed will then spring up; because of this faith that’s like a mustard seed, you will come to have a greater faith; and then because of this faith, the Word of promise will be fulfilled to you and you will come to live by faith before God.
If you have attained God’s righteousness by faith, even as you had nothing to do with Him, then you must follow God and run your race by faith. Do you believe in God’s Word, my fellow believers? When it comes to believing in this Word, you shouldn’t just end at mere knowledge, but you must hold onto it.
The Bible is composed of 66 Books, and of all this Word, if we do not hold onto even a single passage, then the Word is rendered all useless for us. That’s why we must hold onto God’s Word. It is when we hold onto the Word of God that this Word becomes ours, yours and mine. That’s why we must all hold fast onto the Word.
After God promised Abraham that He would give him a child, God fulfilled this promise 25 years down the road. Throughout all these years Abraham’s faith was held fast onto the Word that God promised. In your everyday life and at its every turn and twist, you must also live by faith believing in the Word. When we thus hold onto the Word and pray, faith as a mustard seed will spring up in us. We will then become people of faith and we will be answered and blessed.
There is an old saying in Korea that describes something impossible as “trying to break the rock with an egg.” If we look at it with our thoughts of the flesh, we may wonder, “How on earth will we accomplish this work of spreading the gospel throughout the whole world?” But, if we have faith and believe in God, then this is all possible. We are now preaching the gospel all over the world. Even if our planet is thousands of times bigger than this universe, we can still spread the gospel all over this world if we have faith.
We must live by trusting in God. We must believe in the Word. You, too, must trust in the Word of God. All God’s promises for Abraham were fulfilled because he believed in what God had told him. Abraham begot a son, a son that had been impossible for him to have. God told him that He would bless him, give him the land of Canaan, and bless his descendants as well. Abraham believed in this Word. And so by his faith he got all God’s promises fulfilled.
It is by faith that we live. We live not because of anything else, nor because there is something else out there, but it is only because there is God’s Word that we live by trusting in Him. That’s why our faith is so indispensable, and that’s why we must all believe in God’s Word. And it is here that lies the reason for us to live by believing in the Word even after receiving the remission of our sins by believing in Jesus. This was the faith of our spiritual predecessors.
(Romans 4:19) “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.”
The reason why Abraham’s faith was not weakened is because he had unwavering faith in God’s spoken Word. When someone attains God’s righteousness by believing in the Word of this righteousness, his faith in God becomes as strong as that of Abraham. For all those who believe today in the Word of the righteousness of God, their faith is also strengthened like this.
The gospel Word of the water and the Spirit constitutes the righteousness of God and it gives this righteousness to the believers, and therefore those who believe in it will become God’s children and His servants. No matter how difficult their circumstances might be the believers in the righteousness of God will always triumph by faith, for they have faith in God and in the truth that His Word will be fulfilled.
(Romans 4:20) “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,”
Abraham believed in what God promised to him without any doubt. So it was because of this faith in God’s promises that Abraham came to give glory to God. The same principle holds for today as well. Those who believe in the Word of the righteousness of God hope for the fulfillment of the Word and keep their circumstances under control, for they believe in all the Word that God promised them.
(Romans 4:21-22) “And being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’”
Abraham believed that even if his son Isaac was killed, God would bring him back to life and fulfill His promise that He would make Abraham’s descendants as many as the countless stars in the sky. Because of this, God approved his faith as a truly upright one.
How is your faith? Do you have faith in the Word of God that He blotted out all your original sin and personal sins, even your future sins, through the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross? Such faith is the faith that is placed in the righteousness of God, one that is approved by God.
Those who have faith in God’s righteousness also believe that all their sins of weakness, no matter what, were passed onto the Lord and washed away through His baptism. They also have faith that because of His baptism, the Lord carried the sins of the world to the Cross and died on it for all those sins. And they believe that the Lord rose from the dead again, and He will clothe the believers in the righteousness of God with the glory of the first resurrection. Do you have such faith? If you want to have this faith, then believe in Jesus as your righteousness, in the Lord who has blotted out all your sins by being baptized, carrying the sins of the world to the Cross, and being crucified all for you. The righteousness of God will then become yours.
(Romans 4:23) “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him,”
When Abraham believed in God and His Word, God not only approved his faith and blessed him to become one of His people by bestowing His righteousness on him, but He also made him the father of faith for all the people of true faith to come. To those who actually believe in His Word, God has given the gift of power bestowed by the Word according to its promises. In other words, if we believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit where the righteousness of God is held, then all our countless sins that are thicker than the dark clouds will disappear. The privilege that comes from having faith in God’s Word, which constitutes the righteousness of God, is not confined to just Abraham, but today it is also in our possession, whose faith is just like Abraham’s faith.
(Romans 4:24) “But also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,”
God’s righteousness is for those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit today. Today, those who believe in the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the ones who have faith in God.
(Romans 4:25) “Who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”
Jesus rose from the dead again to make us believers in God’s righteousness sinless (righteous), and to raise us from the dead as well. Jesus came to this earth and blotted out all the sins of the world with His baptism and His blood on the Cross, and what He did to make us righteous is God’s righteousness. God has made the believers in this Truth righteous (sinless).
I admonish you all to believe in this Truth also, cleanse away all the falsehoods that are in you, and live a life that glorifies God. It is my sincerest desire for all the blessings of God to be bestowed on you.
The Lord came to this earth because of us. And because of our iniquities, He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River and took upon the sins of the world. He also carried the sins of the world to the Cross, was crucified to death, and rose from the dead again. All these things were done to save you and me from all our sins. And in doing so, He has made us His believers “sinless,” and has given us the blessing of becoming His children and attaining everlasting life. All these things are for you and me.
Hallelujah!
This sermon is also available in ebook format. Click on the book cover below.
Copyright © 2021 by The New Life Mission