Righteousness Through Faith

Romans 4:1-5 says, “What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather 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 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 we look back on the life of Abraham, we find that there are many things that he passed down to not only Isaac but to us as well. The New Testament records some of those great truths that impact us today. The first one we are looking at in the Romans passage is the idea of justification by faith. This may sound hard to understand, but essentially, it means that when we believe in Jesus, we are declared innocent or righteous in the eyes of God. This is a foundational truth for us if we are going to follow Jesus. It is crucial that we have this belief as a family.  

Paul, the author of Romans, uses an analogy of works and gifts. Think of an allowance. A person receives their allowance when they finish chores. This means that whatever your allowance payment was, you earned it. However, when we receive a gift, it is not because we earned it but because someone wanted to give it to us. This is what salvation is for us. We cannot earn justification in God’s eyes. We receive it as a gift through faith in Jesus.  

What is the best gift you have ever received?  

What is righteousness?  

As a couple, do you model this grace in how your household is run? 

How does it make you feel knowing you cannot earn your salvation? 

Do you ever feel like there is something you have to do to make God happy with you?  

Have you put your faith in Jesus? Why or why not?  

Family Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son to the earth to live and die for us. Help us to follow the example that Abraham left for us, to have faith and believe in You to save us. We pray that our family would believe in what Your Son did for us so that we would be saved. Lead us by Your Holy Spirit to put our full faith and trust in You. In Jesus name, Amen.