So what are we going to say? Are we going to find that Abraham is our ancestor on the basis of genealogy? Because if Abraham was made righteous because of his actions, he would have had a reason to brag, but not in front of God. What does the scripture say? Abraham had faith in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Workers’ salaries aren’t credited to them on the basis of an employer’s grace but rather on the basis of what they deserve. But faith is credited as righteousness to those who don’t work, because they have faith in God who makes the ungodly righteous. In the same way, David also pronounces a blessing on the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from actions: Happy are those whose actions outside the Law are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Happy are those whose sin isn’t counted against them by the Lord. Is this state of happiness only for the circumcised or is it also for those who aren’t circumcised? We say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” So how was it credited? When he was circumcised, or when he wasn’t circumcised? In fact, it was credited while he still wasn’t circumcised, not after he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that comes from the faith he had while he still wasn’t circumcised. It happened this way so that Abraham could be the ancestor of all those people who aren’t circumcised, who have faith in God, and so are counted as righteous. He could also be the ancestor of those circumcised people, who aren’t only circumcised but who also walk in the path of faith, like our ancestor Abraham did while he wasn’t circumcised. (Romans 4:1-12, CEB)
We earn a salary, a wage for the work we do. It is not gifted to us. We put in the work and we make the money. If we do not work, we do not get paid.
But Grace doesn’t depend on us doing anything. We get grace because God wants to give it to us. We can not brag about the fact God loves us, because there is no one or no thing that God doesn’t love.
We are loved by God because God wants to love us. We can not earn that love, and we can not unearn that love. This does not mean we are free to not love and to be evil in the world. Ephesians 2:8-10 says this plainly. Here is my paraphrase: By grace you have been saved through faith, not of your own doing, it is a gift of God, not from your work, so that no one can boast. We were made in the image of God and set apart for the good works God set for us to do. We can not earn grace, but grace moves us to be agents of God’s love in the world.
Love like Jesus.
Loving People. Loving God.
aSacredRebel 