Reading: Romans 4:1-5

Romans 4:5 – “Faith is credited as righteousness… because they have faith in God who makes the ungodly righteous.”

Paul ends chapter 3 stating that through faith we “confirm the Law.” Here Paul is referring not to following the exact letter of the Law but to understanding the Law’s deeper purpose and meaning. We get a practical application of this in the Beatitudes, where Jesus dives deep and unpacks a handful of Laws. Moving into chapter 4, Paul centers in on the faith of Abraham, the founding father of the Jewish faith and the nation of Israel.

Paul reminds his readers that Abraham was declared righteous because of his faith. When Abram obeyed God’s open-ended call to “go,” he did so through a radical faith. God’s promises guided and empowered his decision to be obedient to the call of God. As Paul develops his line of thinking later in this chapter, he reminds his audience that Abram lived long before the Law was ever given to Moses and Israel. Therefore, Abram was declared righteous because of God’s grace, not because he kept the Law – just as the followers of Jesus are declared righteous through God’s grace.

We often think of those “pedestal people” as being perfect. A cursory glance reveals that Abram was anything but perfect. He doubted God and he took matters into his own hands. Remember Hagar and Ishmael? Remember sending them out into the desert to die? God isn’t looking for perfect people to work through. That’s because God didn’t make us that way. Instead, God uses imperfect people to accomplish God’s perfect plans and purposes. And like Abram, we are each called by God, flaws and all. God works in and through our flaws, responding to our faith with a grace that “makes the ungodly righteous.” For this transforming grace, we say, thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for choosing us, the flawed and the faulty. Through your love and mercy and grace you redeem us, refining us for your purposes. Through your guidance and direction you help us to fulfill your call upon our lives. With great patience and steadfastness, you redirect, forgive, and transform us to be your vessels of faith. Thank you for these many gifts. Amen.