Date: 11 February 2009 D - 10
Events:
Yesterday was a great and restful day. It hailed last night (golf ball sized), check out the pictures. I Made plans to go snow skiing with my brother Tyler…I leave this evening, spend the night with Tyler in Denver then dirve up to Keystone tomorrow morning where I will ski Thusday and Friday then fly home Friday night. Very quick trip but I didn't want to spend too much time away before I deploy.
Bible:
Rom 4
Abraham Justified by Faith
4 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,and whose sins are covered;8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."
9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
The Promise Realized Through Faith
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
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, 17 as 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. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be." 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead ( since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness." 23 But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Bible Thoughts:
Events:
Yesterday was a great and restful day. It hailed last night (golf ball sized), check out the pictures. I Made plans to go snow skiing with my brother Tyler…I leave this evening, spend the night with Tyler in Denver then dirve up to Keystone tomorrow morning where I will ski Thusday and Friday then fly home Friday night. Very quick trip but I didn't want to spend too much time away before I deploy.
Bible:
Rom 4
Abraham Justified by Faith
4 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,and whose sins are covered;8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."
9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
The Promise Realized Through Faith
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
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, 17 as 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. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be." 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead ( since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness." 23 But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Bible Thoughts:
1. This entire chapter is a beautiful commentary on how we are saved by faith apart from works. It is a concept that Paul has already introduced well and his argument in this chapter are streight forward and need little elaboration.
2. Abraham, our forefather Paul has chosen Abraham as an example because the Jews consider him the patriarch of their religion. Abraham’s Faith credited him with righteousness in Genesis 15, two chapters and 10-20 years before the sign of circumcision (Gen 17) and 600 years before the law was given to Moses. As I said in discussing Rom 2 and 3, the Jew’s of Paul’s day (and in-fact today) had misunderstood the very foundation of their religion. Assuming themselves to be saved by the lineage of Abraham and Old Testament Law and ceremonies, they had forsaken the true foundation of their righteousness, Faith.
3. 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about. As I have said before, salvation is Sole Deo Gloria (For the Glory of God alone). In thinking that we can somehow earn our salvation by our good works or decisions, we pridefully steal the Glory due our savior and keep it for ourselves. Paul later says in Gal 2:21 “21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” The sin of a works based religion is not only in who gets the Glory (me vs God) but in the insult it is to Christ’s finished work on the Cross. When I try to take a personal role in earning my salvation or paying my debt (as if in purgatory), I insult the work and suffering of Christ. I fear God will not take lightly those “Christians” who trample the work and suffering of his Son. The very purpose faith has been instated as the mechanism by which Christ’s righteousness is accounted to us is that it is not a work, faith is not something we can invent. As opposed to works that magnify the worker, faith magnifies not those who have the faith but the object of that faith (Christ). It is for Christ’s honor that Faith is the channel through which salvation flows. Honor for Christ is all we can bring to the equation, and even that is thanks only to God’s gracious enabling.
4. "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." I reviewed the story of Abraham in Genesis 13-17, and neither man nor his faith were that impressive. In fact, I will go so far to say that Abraham and his faith was no more impressive than any true Christian walking the earth today. A Lying adulterer who just before and after he “believed God” he demonstrated his lack of belief in demanding signs to support his faithfulness. But somewhere within Abraham was given a saving faith, be it smaller than a mustard seed that imputed the Righteousness of God (Christ). My point is not to slander Abraham, but to encourage believers that far from the pillars we hold these Old Testament characters to be, they are just like us, fallen, broken, sinful, doubting and sadly in need of a savior. I do not like the “Dare to be David” type of bible lessons as they seem only falsely elevate a group of saints who themselves would likely shun such glory. These lessons ignore the humanity that is clearly demonstrated in the Old Testament in order to compel us to be better, more faithful, believe stronger etc… But the reality is that these passages were not meant to show us the greatness of Abraham’s faith, David’s obedience, or Samson’s strength but, quite the contrary to show us God’s faith, obedience and strength. When we taken these characters out of the specific context of their demonstrated humanity we put up standards that no human can achieve (not my neighbor and not Abraham himself) and run the risk of appearing holier than thou in our pious admonitions. Shout out to the hard core Baptists, love you guys :)
5. 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, Beautiful.
6. 9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised… The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well... It is true, circumcision was the sign of the covenant, but it was only the sign. The external circumcision was always meant to Identify the Jew’s as a people to whom the covenant was given and to be an external reminder of what Paul called in Romans 2 the “circumcision of the heart.” This “circumcision of the heart” was Faith in the promised righteousness that would come from God. The sign of circumcision has been replaced by the sign of baptism in the New Testament; both serving as a tangible, visible reminder of an inner reliance on the Giver of the signs (God), not the administrator of the signs (minister) or the receiver of such signs (Me). Thus, inner righteousness has never and will never be imparted by an external sign, not baptism and not circumcision. These sacraments only signify a communities reliance upon God’s promise to impart this righteousness (through faith). Though we may not have the Old Testament ceremonial circumcision as a sign of our inclusion in the covenant, we as Christians, do have the faith of Abraham and as the promise relies on faith and not the circumcision, we Gentiles are truly grafted into God’s covenant and imputed God’s righteousness.
7. 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, 17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations" As we Gentiles are brought into the people of God through the faith of Abraham, we too may claim his lineage and promise. In a time when nations were divided by lineage this promise may not have made much sense but today as we sing of “Father Abraham” his promise has been fulfilled.
8. who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Through the grace of faith and imputation of Christ’s righteousness, God has given life to the spiritually dead (unbelievers). Just as God spoke the world that did not exist into existence, God has now called a people (the gentiles) out of this world that he had not yet called. He has called the Gentiles to exist, to live, in the same faith as Abraham.
9. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. A good definition of faith, though not the saving faith required today as we now have the full revelation of the Gospel see the next quote.
10. "counted to him as righteousness."... It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. The gospel. Before the full revelation of the gospel a saving faith relied on God's ability to save his people. Now that the gospel, as God's mechanism for the salvation of those both before and after Christ has been fully revealed, a saving faith looks relies at the historic work and death of Jesus Christ.
Sun Tzu:
Sun Tzu:
“If people know they will be richly rewarded if they overcome the opponent, then they will gladly go into battle”
“This just means establishing rich rewards – if you let the troops plunder at will, they may get out of hand.”
The Intellectual Devotion (Kidder, D. & Oppenheim N. The Intellectual Devotion, Rodale. NY, NY 2006):
“This just means establishing rich rewards – if you let the troops plunder at will, they may get out of hand.”
The Intellectual Devotion (Kidder, D. & Oppenheim N. The Intellectual Devotion, Rodale. NY, NY 2006):
The Rosetta Stone: In 1799 French soldiers in Napoleon’s army discovered this black rock buried in the sands near Alexandria Egypt. The Stone was dated to 196BC and described the good deeds of the 13 year-old Greek Ptolemy V. In an effort to convince his Egyptian subjects of his divinity, the story was written in both Greek and Egyptian Hieroglyphics that had thus far been indecipherable. By lining up the Greek text with the hieroglyphics, a French scholar named Jean-Francois Champollion was able to decode the complex Egyptian language. Historians and archeologists in the nineteenth century were able to develop a much fuller understanding of ancient Egypt.
