Opening: When you were growing up, what chores were you expected to do around
the house? Did your parents pay you? If you grew up in the church as a child or
teen, did you have a sense that there were certain things you were supposed to
do?
Scripture: Read
Romans 4:1-25.
Connect
the Text with Your Life:
- Paul’s wonderful chapter about Abraham’s faith uses the Jewish peoples’ high esteem for the Patriarch, while arguing that it is Abraham’s faith, not his genes, which saves us and credits us with righteousness. What would Paul’s Jewish readers think about this? His Gentile readers?
- Remember our study in the book of Acts, particularly Acts 15. The issue of whether new believers should be circumcised could have divided the Early Church. What would have happened to Christianity if Paul had given in on the issue of circumcision?
- In some religions, forgiveness or grace as a free gift is a foreign concept. You “earn” your way to heaven by doing good deeds. Is this a mindset you have? Do you have the assurance of everlasting life? If not, why not? And if not, isn’t it time you did? Talk to Pastor Gary if you have any questions?
Prayer
Focus: That we would depend “entirely on trusting God and
his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God’s promise arrives
as pure gift. That’s the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it…”[1]
