Romans 4:13-25 (NRSV)
Read Romans 4:13-25 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. Verse 14If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. Verse 15For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. Verse 16For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,
Verse 17as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") -in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Verse 18Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become "the father of many nations," according to what was said, "So numerous shall your descendants be." Verse 19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. Verse 20No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, Verse 21being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Verse 22Therefore his faith "was reckoned to him as righteousness."
Verse 23Now the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, Verse 24but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Verse 25who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Devotion
When we say something is "too good to be true," we
are expressing skepticism about an offer. When I get
a postcard in the mail that promises that I "may have
already won" something big, I tell my children that it is
"too good to be true." No, we didn't win a cruise. No, we
didn't win a new car.
Paul writes about something that seems too good to
be true: the grace of God that justifies us through the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And yet, miracle
of miracles, it is true! This is the God who promised a
son to Abraham and Sarah in their old age, when they
were "already as good as dead," the God "who gives life
to the dead and calls into existence the things that do
not exist." Abraham and Sarah trusted God, though the
promise seemed too good to be true, and they received
a son whom they named Laughter. We trust that same
God whose promise is good and true and we receive life
abundant in God's Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer
God of life, we give thanks that your promises are trustworthy
and true. Give us the faith of Abraham and Sarah as we wait
and hope for the fulfillment of your promises. Amen.