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Romans 4: Forefathers of Faith

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I loved interacting with my two grandfathers in many ways as I grew up. I loved going to the baseball card shop and to McDonald’s. I loved going fishing, either in a boat or on shore, because I knew I had an expert fisherman setting the line and baiting my hook. Of course, I loved the meals they both prepared for me ( and Grandma too!). They could really do no wrong in my book for doing such things for me! As I became an adult, though, I think I began to realize and love something else about my relationship with both of them. It wasn’t all the trips to the store, the food, or the fishing that I appreciated and loved the most. I looked up to both of my grandfathers and loved them most for being my forefathers of faith!

The Apostle Paul illustrates how two of most prominent religious forefathers of the Old Testament believed, Abraham and David. Some among Paul’s listeners might have though and said about them, “They could do no wrong!” The opposite is true as laid out in the lines of God’s Word. Abraham believed in the Lord, but didn’t take God’s promise and his protection at his word (Gen 16 & 20). He knew he had nothing to boast about before God. David, King of Israel, believed in the Lord but blatantly committed adultery & covered it up with even more sin (2 Samuel 11 & 12; Psalm 51 & 32). David, too, had nothing to boast about before God. Both Abraham and David knew they had indeed done wrong in God’s eyes. They felt the guilt and they bore the consequences of their sins. They understood from firsthand experience that they could not work their way into a right relationship with God, so they turned to him for rescuing. And that rescue was freely given to them through God’s forgiveness in the promise of Jesus to come after them (4:7,8).

Do you and I ever blatantly sin against God and then try to cover it up? All the time and probably daily! Do you and I ever come up with our own sinful solutions and not take God seriously about his promises and protection of us? All the time and probably daily! My grandfathers, even though I may not have known it as a youngster, understood they had nothing to boast about before God. That’s why they concentrated even more on letting their families, including me, see Jesus through all of sin’s mess. It is only through Jesus that we are freely given God’s gift of righteousness because “he was delivered over to death because of our sins and raised to life because of our justification” (4:25). Thank the Lord for forefathers of faith who believed this and for giving us that message to understanding and believe too!

Reveling in Romans, Pastor Andy