Scripture

People are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God, who forgives sinners.

Observation

In human terms, Abraham was the founder of the Jewish nation. He did not become acceptable to God by his good works but because he believed God.

When we work, our wages are not a gift. But forgiveness comes as God’s gift when we have faith in Him.

This blessing has nothing to do with being circumcised. Abraham was counted as righteous by God before he was circumcised.

Application

The heart of the christian faith is that we are freely forgiven by God through faith in Christ’s death for us on the cross.

We cannot earn God’s favour because the debt of our sin is too great. If God’s standard of behaviour is perfection, then even if I can live up to a perfect life from today, that doesn’t make up for my previous bad deeds.

It is like paying a debt to a so-called loan shark. No matter how much you pay back, the interest is always greater.

People think that God judges us by weighing up our good deeds against our bad deeds. But our good deeds can never be good enough to cancel out the bad ones.

Although we can frame the discussion in terms of good and bad deeds, or righteousness and sin, the truth is that God’s heart is about love. He doesn’t care about what you do for Him; He cares about whether you love Him.

When we approach God on this basis and ask Him to do away with the sins that separate us from Him, then He instantly takes away the guilt and shame of our sin.

Prayer

Lord, I have nothing to offer you, but I come with my life as a sacrifice. Please forgive me for the things that I have done wrong and help me t love you with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. Amen.