July 17- Becoming Righteous By Faith In God

July 17, 2011

Scripture Readings:
1 Chronicles 24:1-26:11; Romans 4:1-12;
Psalm 13:1-6; Proverbs 19:15-16

Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous.  
~Romans 4:3

1 Chronicles 24:1-26:11

A person need only study mathematics and the sciences to see that our God is a God of order. As one looks at the universe from its largest galaxy to its microscopic organisms, each aspect of God's creation reflects design, purpose, and order.  It should be no surprise then that as we read God's perspective on David's accomplishments in the book of 1 Chronicles, we see God highlighting David's organization of Temple worship.  In this section, David establishes how the Temple jobs will be divided among the Levites. The priests are to follow the regulations given to Aaron, while each group of Levites was to follow the duties assigned to them according to the procedures established by God. The musicians, gatekeepers, judges and officials are designated by David through divine lot. 
As David's organizational skills are highlighted, God appears to delight in the fact that David's life reflects God's own character.  God is a God of order.  David is a man of order. It is God's Spirit in David that is accomplishing this. You do not see chaos with God. If your life is being led by God, the results in your life will be order, not chaos.  This is not to say that nothing will ever go wrong, but it is to say that you will see an increasing amount of peace and uniformity in your relationships and work. This will be the result of God's Spirit working in your life.  This is what David's life reflects.

Does your life reflect order or chaos?  Your answer may reflect your spiritual walk with God.

Romans 4:1-12

Many world religions are focused on doing good works.  Perhaps the works are the number of times you pray in a day.  Sometimes they are making sure that you give alms (money) to the poor. It is common for man to try to please God by doing things that benefit other people or benefit the planet, in general.  Deep within mankind is the desire to solve the problem of sin through the work of our own hands.  Remember Adam and Eve attempting to cover their nakedness with fig leaf underwear that they had created on their own.  Remember that God killed an innocent animal to cover their sin with shed blood, instead. 

Today, the Apostle Paul confirms that the work of our hands is not what makes us righteous before God.  He begins by using the father of the Jews as an example.  Abraham, according to Scripture, was declared righteous by God because he believed what God had promised to him.  What had God promised?  He promised to solve the problem of sin in the world through one of Abraham's descendants.  God promised to give Abraham a son. He promised to bless all of the nations through Abraham (Genesis 12:3, 15:3). When Abraham had complete faith in this promise, his faith made him righteous before God.  This is a position before the Creator.  It does not imply that Abraham became a sinless individual.

Paul argues that if you do a job, you should get paid for that job.  People who want to earn their way to God will not succeed.  Paul teaches that faith, not works, is what God is looking for. And faith is a gift from God. It is not something you earn.

King David in Psalm 32:1-2 is quoted by Paul. It speaks of how joyous it is to be forgiven and how fortunate it is to be a person whose sins are no longer counted against you by the Lord.

Paul goes back to the illustration of circumcision, because this was a point of contention among the Jews.  The believing Jews wanted the believing Gentiles to be circumcised as a sign of their belief in God.  Paul is arguing against this practice.  He points out that Abraham was declared righteous by God prior to being circumcised.  This is proof that faith alone makes you righteous and circumcision is not necessary to be declared righteous by God.  This would have been a revolutionary teaching to the Jews.

Are you convinced that your faith in Christ alone has saved you?  Are you tempted to work for God's approval through "good" deeds and behavior?  How's that working for ya?

Psalm 13:1-6

When you feel defeated by an enemy, even if your enemy is your own self destructive patterns, read this psalm to remind yourself to trust in God's unfailing love.

Proverbs 19:15-16

Keeping God's commandments brings life, but we just found out in our readings that faith is what makes us righteous before God and guarantees us eternal life.

What did you notice today as you read?  Please share.

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton