{"id":470,"date":"2013-04-02T17:08:26","date_gmt":"2013-04-02T22:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/?p=470"},"modified":"2014-11-25T10:17:59","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T16:17:59","slug":"faith-trusting-in-the-promise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2013\/04\/02\/faith-trusting-in-the-promise\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith: Trusting in the Promise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Romans 4:1-5, 13-16
\n1 What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to
\nthe flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast
\nabout, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? \u201cAbraham believed\u00a0God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.\u201d 4 Now to one who works,\u00a0wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. 5 But to one who
\nwithout works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as
\nrighteousness. 13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to\u00a0Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of\u00a0faith. 14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and\u00a0the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law,
\nneither is there violation. 16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the
\npromise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to
\nthe adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he
\nis the father of all of us,…) (NRSV)<\/p>\n

What a great text for the time of Lent. We are waiting in anticipation of so
\nmuch during Lent. All of it finally culminates in the promises made in Christ,
\nupon the cross. We are fortunate to be able to sit here as Christians and know
\nwhat is done for us by God in Christ Jesus, in his death and resurrection. We are
\nby no means close to that yet in Lent, with it being only the second Sunday.
\nHowever, we know the story, we wait in anticipation of…..Of what do we wait for? \u00a0That is a question I asked myself, just what is it that Christians are waiting for?<\/p>\n

Do we wait for a promise? How can we wait for this promise, a promise that
\ndespite our human sinfulness, through God\u2019s grace in God\u2019s attitude towards us
\nsees us at righteous, not by anything that we do but by the power of the Holy
\nSpirit who instills faith in us in what is done by God in Jesus Christ. Even the
\nfaith we have as Christians is what God does for us, not what we do.<\/p>\n

Faith is what saves not works. It is the faith in Christ Jesus who was
\nconceived by the Spirit and was born as the Son of God. We need faith in God
\nbut also in Jesus, for if Jesus is the Son, how can we separate the two? In
\ngospel of John it says,<\/p>\n

16 \u201cFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who
\nbelieves in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 \u201cIndeed, God did not\u00a0send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world\u00a0might be saved through him.<\/p>\n

We have a promise, a promise to not be condemned but to be saved because
\nwe believe. Faith, is the trust of a promise made by God. If we have faith, then
\nwe have accepted the promises of God and are willing to take a chance on the
\npromise. Faith is unconditional. Faith does not say, yes if, but only. Faith
\nattaches nothing to it but the trust in the promise of God as heard in the word.<\/p>\n

Paul Althaus a famous German theologian says; \u201cFaith exists only as a
\nresponse to God\u2019s word.\u201d (Althaus 43) \u2026.”Faith and the promise of God belong
\ntogether”. (Althaus 44) \u201cFor this reason the hearing of the word precedes faith, as\u00a0both Luther and Paul repeatedly emphasizes. (Althaus 44)<\/p>\n

So I say, is this not what happens with Abraham? Did he not hear the word?
\nBecause he heard the word, which proceeds faith as Paul and Martin Luther say,\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
Abraham hears and believes<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

he believed. Our text says, \u201cAbraham believed God, and it was reckoned<\/span>
\nto him as righteousness.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is Martin Luther who says, \u201cIn Faith you must put everything except the word of\u00a0God out of your mind…Faith depends only and simply on the word, never lose
\nsight of it, and sees nothing else.\u201d (Althaus 44) There is great value in faith, not
\nonly for us but God. Althaus says, \u201cWe honor God most in our faith, seriously
\ntrusting that God is who God is.\u201d (Althaus 44).<\/p>\n

Works, for righteousness sake are of no value. Let\u2019s face it, if we could do
\nworks to earn our righteousness, what need would there be for Christ on the
\ncross. Would it then not be all for not? Besides, how can we ever know that we\u00a0did all that is needed to be considered righteous by God. If it is works of the law\u00a0that we are righteous, then as Paul says; faith is null and the promise is void.<\/p>\n

There was a man who was sick and visiting his doctor. He was very
\nconcerned about his future. He turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to
\nleave the examination room and said, “Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what
\nlies on the other side.” Very quietly, the doctor said,
\n“I don’t know.”
\nYou don’t know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?”
\nThe doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side of which came a
\nsound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into
\nthe room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. Turning to the
\npatient, the doctor said,
\n“Did you notice my dog?
\nHe’s never been in this room before. He didn’t know what was inside. He knew
\nnothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang
\nin without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know
\none thing…I know my Master is there and that is enough.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As we journey together this Lent, trusting in a promise, a promise here but
\nalso yet to come, let us remember that as God\u2019s people, sinful and broken, that
\nwe can trust that God is who God is and because of that, we also can trust in the\u00a0promises of God. God did not send God\u2019s Son, into this world to condemn the\u00a0world but to save the world for all that believe in God\u2019s Son, Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

Bibliography<\/strong><\/span>
\nAlthaus, Paul. The theology of Martin Luther. THEOOFLUTHER.logos4 ed.
\nPhiladelphia:Fortress Press, 1996.
\nThe Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 2012th\u201312th\u201310T15:47:45Z
\nNRSV.logos4ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Romans 4:1-5, 13-16 1 What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? \u201cAbraham believed\u00a0God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.\u201d … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,21,3,10,36,83,31,35],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-admin","4":"post-470","6":"format-standard","7":"category-eternal-life","8":"category-faith","9":"category-grace","10":"category-jesus","11":"category-promise","12":"category-sermon","13":"category-theology-of-the-cross","14":"category-trust"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2m6h5-7A","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2949,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2022\/09\/18\/god-for-us-i-believe\/","url_meta":{"origin":470,"position":0},"title":"God for us, I believe","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"September 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"9-18-2022Narrative Lectionary 102:\u00a0 Call of Abraham Genesis 12:1-9 (NIV)Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/videos\/sermons\/2022\/9-18-2022-God-For-Us-I-Believe.mp4","rel":"","context":"In "Attitude"","block_context":{"text":"Attitude","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/attitude\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2011\/10\/10\/grace-vs-law-wedding-feast\/","url_meta":{"origin":470,"position":1},"title":"Grace vs. Law, Wedding Feast","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"October 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"When I began to study the Gospel reading for today, I first said to myself,\"hey, this is an easy lesson. Everyone will get this. It's obvious that heaven is where the banquet is and we have been invited, yet some will refuse.\" End of sermon, right? 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