The gospel presented a further matter of concern for those with a Jewish background. What about their religious heritage? The Jews placed confidence in the fact that they were Abraham’s descendants. The implication being that they were automatically right with God. The apostle Paul’s teaching in this letter did not sit well with their misunderstood privileges and practices.

Here in Chapter 4 Paul takes time to show them that although Abraham had plenty of good works, this was not the basis of his standing before God. Rather, he “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”. Jesus said that Abraham “rejoiced to see My day.” Like Abraham, many people, before Jesus came, looked ahead by faith to Him as the promised One whose life would be an offering for sin. Paul’s teaching was not new.

Many people know about the gospel. That the word means ‘good news’ and that it is something which Christians believe and want to tell others about. Very few people, however, really grasp the wonder of the message. This final part of the first section of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome  shows more of the ‘how’ of the gospel …… how this free gift was achieved by Jesus ….. how people were saved before He came …. how to respond to this ‘good news’ by trusting,  by not boasting and by living right.

There are many ways in which people try to justify themselves. It can be the things a person accomplished ….. work success, important positions, athletic achievements. It can be posessions or relationships. But the gospel is entirely different. It does not require anyone to try to justify themselves. It ‘justifies the one who has faith in Jesus’. Its all about what HE accomplished at the cross as a substitute. In this way it can be offered to people who are poor or rich, people who are from all nationalities and all ages. It sets a person free and is truly ‘good news’.

Scripture passage

King Saul reacted badly to a stern message he had received from the prophet Samuel. People must not quit like he did when things don’t work out to please them. Saul needed to learn that, as the King of Israel, everything must be done for God’s glory. If Jesus, the King of kings, had been proud He would never have gone to the cross.

Saul’s son, Jonathan, however, did not quit but went into battle against the Philistines. Jonathan acknowledged God’s power rather than his own. He trusted in God and won a great victory. When people trust in Jesus they find that His blood, shed on the cross, stops them from wanting their own way.

In the passage we see that the barrier between Jew and Gentile is broken down. The message of grace in Jesus Christ, the free gift of forgiveness, unites and reconciles people from all kinds of different backgrounds. We are told that ‘….  you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.’ No longer does a person have to become a Jew in order to be near God.

The ‘building’ of a new humanity is what God Himself is doing and in which He dwells ….. God’s household. Jesus is the cornerstone of this building and everything in the building is set in reference to Him. Dividing walls such as language, cultural backgrounds, nationality, race, age, gender and fear are no longer able to separate people in Christ.

God’s grace changes everyone and everything. The message in this passage can be looked at in two related ways. Grace changes our relationship with God and, therefore, grace also changes the meaning and purpose of our lives.

Through receiving something which was undeserved, forgiveness, people are changed. Once not physically dead but dead to God …. not wanting a relationship with God …. they come from this darkness into the light of life in Christ.

In Christ ….. united to Him by faith ….. people find that their lives have new meaning and purpose. They have been ‘purchased’ by the death of Christ as a substitute and are now willingly dependent on Him. There is no room for boasting or thinking of being better than others. Grace leads to humility.

Testing of faith is not judgement but more like refinement. It proves the genuineness of faith. The trials that come are actually helpful when viewed in a right way. They are painful but necessary.

Testing often occurs in having to wait for something. It is easy when things happen in a way that can be seen but what about the things that cannot be seen. The passage shows that king Saul was relying on what he could see ….. he wasn’t really considering the things he could not see.

As a result of this Saul forfeits God’s blessing. His heart was not after the Lord. The Philistines came against him with a much stronger army and the people became afraid. Both he and his soldiers should have trusted in almighty God, not what they could see.

Once people really see the cross they know that they can trust God in anything.

In these verses we see that Jesus laid aside His heavenly glory …… took on flesh ……. suffered and died on the cross, to offer us forgiveness and His righteousness This gift is offered to all people because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It cannot be earned or deserved in any way. It is received through faith (trust) in Him alone.

Faith is sometimes compared to a garden hose. One end is connected to Jesus and what He has done. The other end is connected to us when we trust in Him. The water of life, forgiveness ….. making us right with God, comes to us so that we can drink freely of it. We then seek to live in a way that is honouring to Him.

This passage from the book of Ecclesiastes shows what to many is the ‘meaningless’ activity of our lives. There are two questions which the writer asks. The first is ‘What do people gain from all their labours at which they toil under the sun?’ He then describes the repetitive cycles of the created world …. ‘generations come and generations go’ ……. ‘the sun rises and sets’ ……. ‘the wind blows to the south and turns to the north’  ….’ the streams flow into the sea  yet the sea is never full’. He then concludes ‘all things are wearisome’.

The second question asks ‘Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”?’ then the writer laments …….’it was here already, long ago; it was here before our time’ …….. ‘even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them’.

This sadly leaves out the most wonderful part …. the marvelous plan of the Creator God and Saviour.  When we see Him by faith as the one who is perfectly ordering all these things, the unsatisfying becomes full of meaning and purpose. One document poses the question …. ’What is the chief end of man’. The answer is given ……  ‘to glorify God and enjoy Him forever’.

In this passage, the Old Testament prophet, Samuel, speaks to the people of Israel after God had provided them with a visible king. Samuel reminds them not to forget that God had delivered them in the past from their troubles when they had called upon Him.

He then points out to them that they had done evil by asking for a king. By doing this they had rejected God, the one who had delivered them. In spite of this terrible thing they had done, Samuel tells them not to fear because they are God’s people but he also gives them a stern warning …….. if they persist in doing evil both them and their king will perish.

This message points forward to something marvelous ……. Jesus has come as both God and King for all those who turn to God and trust in what He has done at the cross. They are not to forget Him and they are not to fear because He is in control.

This verse links back to what Paul said in Chapter 1 …. “for in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed”. Jesus is God’s righteousness (right-ness). He is completely without wrong of any kind because he was and is and always will be God. He is always right. The Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament writings) pointed to Him and now He has been fully revealed to us.

The earlier parts of Romans have shown just how great is the ‘unrighteousness’ of mankind. There is, however, good news … Jesus came as a substitute and sacrifice to give a most wonderful ‘garment’ to everyone who trusts in Him. This beautiful garment of is like putting on an item of clothing …… it is an exchange of His ‘right-ness’ for our unright-ness. It is given to us as a free gift.