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Romans 4 - Children of Abraham
Romans 4 - Children of Abraham
Abraham - the great cog in the wheel of redemption!
Notice his faith – not just the belief of a proposition, but his implicit trust in God. We do not know when he became a believer, nor how his faith grew in its early stage, but when we meet him he is has a firm trust in God. The bible never uses him as an example of how one BECOMES a believer. It does use him as and example of LIVING OUT one’s trust.
He had such faith BEFORE the covenant of circumcision! We that were never part of that covenant can follow the example – TRUST God implicitly, like Abraham did, and we can be children of Abraham. He is the father of ALL who trust in God.
Then the short version is found in Galatians 3:26-29. Notice especially, the last verse: “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.” And then in Galatians 4:28: “And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise.” Paul notes this yet again in Romans 9:8: “That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.”
So, study the life of trust that Abraham showed (Genesis 12-22, and Hebrews 11). While the things God has promised us and instructed us to do are different from that of Abraham, our response of TRUST is the to be the same. Are you TRUSTING JESUS?
Hugh DeLong
