YEAR 1, WEEK 21, Day 2, Tuesday, 21 May 2024

https://esv.literalword.com/?q=romans+4

Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Tuesday, 21 May 2024:

Romans 4 – Listen to this outstanding message by Michael Reeves on justification by faith — https://www.ligonier.org/learn/conferences/after-darkness-light-2018-regional-conference/here-i-stand-belfast

Romans 4:11 – He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.

We are not saved by our obedience; our obedience is evidence that we were actually saved, empowered by the Holy Spirit to overcome our sinful nature and obey.  We are not saved by obedience, but we are sanctified through obedience.  Do not outrage the Spirit, grieve the Spirit, quench the Spirit, or get out of step with the Spirit through disobedience.

• Ephesians 2:8-9 — For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

• Hebrews 10:26-29 — For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.  Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.  How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

• Ephesians 4:25-32 — Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.  Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.  Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:12-23 — We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.  And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.  See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.  Abstain from every form of evil.  Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

• Galatians 5:16-26 — But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.  I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Romans 4:16 – That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all….

The children of Abraham are children in faith, not children in blood or genealogy.  Faith is not handed down from one generation to the next, it is received individually by God’s grace through Jesus Christ. Nonetheless, parents are called to pray for the salvation of their children as they demonstrate and proclaim the Gospel to them while teaching them God honoring behavior.     

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 21 May 2024:  Today, renew your commitment to lead your family in wholehearted service to the Lord, and build a spiritual family that is united in the love of Jesus.  (Romans 4:16)