No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Romans 4

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Romans 4:20-21

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at "faith for the impossible."  In this devotion John Piper refers us to Paul's text in Romans 4 where Paul highlights Abraham as the model for our faith.  Abraham believed in the promises offered by God in the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12), "in spite of all human evidences to the contrary."  God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations, even though Abraham was about a hundred years old and his wife Sarah was barren.  Piper describes how Romans 4:20-21 highlights Abraham's faith as it "glorified God [and]...called attention to all the omnipotent, supernatural resources of God that would be required to fulfill it." As I posted yesterday, Hebrews 11 examines faith and how this well known text (aka Hall of Faith), defines faith (Hebrews 11:1) as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."  Related to faith is worry - something God wants us to avoid.  Worry makes us anxious, and causes us to be impatient or frustrated if things don't go as expected. We all have hopes, concerns, trials, etc. but we can rest (as Abraham) in knowing that God loves us, is faithful and good, always at work in our lives, and able to do what He promises.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, I know You are good and able and I can rest in Your faithfulness and power.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You bless me. My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.       

[I]n you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Genesis 12

[I]n you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis 12:3c

I continue to lean on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today looks at how those who believe in Christ "and follow him in the obedience of faith are Abraham’s descendants and heirs of his covenant promises."  In this devotion, John Piper starts by sharing how, even though in Genesis 17:4 God promises to Abraham that he will be "father of a multitude of nations," God intends for people throughout the world in redemptive history following Abraham that believers "would somehow enjoy the blessings of sonship even though physically unrelated to Abraham."  Piper refers us to Galatians 3:29 where Paul makes the same claim. The implication is that if we share the faith of Abraham, then it would not matter where we live or where we are born.  The key of course is sharing the faith of Abraham, who was obedient to God to the point of being willing to sacrifice his own son Issac.  In Romans 4:20-21, Paul describes this faith as "[n]o unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." We are urged to have such faith - again, similar to my post yesterday where I highlighted Hebrews 11:1, "assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Piper wraps today's devotion by sharing "why Abraham could obey God even when obedience looked like a dead-end street. He trusted God to do the impossible — like raise his son from the dead."  We should all trust God to do the impossible.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are good and You are able to do all, of course the impossible - You reign over all things...and You are so good to me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love. My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Romans 4:18-25

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Romans 4:20-21

This afternoon, I continued my study of Romans.  Using my commentary - Exalting Jesus in Romans (eBook) - I continued with my review of chapter five Faith Alone, which covers the entirety of Romans 4.  My focus today is Romans 4:18-25.  The verses today are rich with both intent and application - as is all scripture (see also 2 Timothy 3:16). First it starts off with v18 where Paul does not seek to confuse us but instead points to where believers often fall down by placing hope where it does not belong as our hope should be in Jesus. Abraham did not misplace his hope.  The clarification from Paul comes in v19 where we see where Abraham did not place faith in his or his wife's body to conceive a child at their ages....instead scripture says that "[n]o unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." What an incredible set of verses!

My commentary draws an analogy from Isaac's birth to Jesus' resurrection as a it refers to Isaac's conception as a "preview of things to come." The commentary then describes three "marks" of Abraham's faith: 

1. He believed in a situation that seemed hopeless; the commentary writes that "[s]aving faith is hope-filled faith.  Abraham believed God could do the humanly impossible, and God fulfilled his promise to Abraham, making him the father of many nations.  
2. Abraham's faith did not waver.
3. Abraham gave glory to God (v20).
4. Abraham believed that God was able to fulfill his promises (v21); my commentary DOES say that Abraham initially "questioned God's ability to fulfill his promise (Genesis 17:17-18)...he became convinced of God's ability to fulfill his promise (Genesis 17:21-27)." We are encouraged to see how faith is not "automatic" and that we are on a journey - growing in faith.
   
5. Abraham's faith illustrates how God counts people righteous through faith alone

After describing the "marks of Abraham's faith," my commentary looks at v23-25 as Paul "applies the faith of Abraham" to all believers. 

We can all find ourselves in Abraham's faith story!

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who provides for all of my needs!  Thank You Jesus!  I can trust in You!  Yet I am undeserving of how You provide for me.  My sin of worry, etc. continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.