Hebrews 4:2, For if Abraham were justified by works, he has whereof to glory; but not before God.
3. For What says the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for Righteousness.
4. Now to him who works is the reward not reckoned of Grace, but of debt.
5. But to him who works not, but believes on Him Who Justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for Righteousness.
6. Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes Righteousness without works,
7. Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Do you want to be justified the way Abraham was? I hope your answer is yes, because the way Abraham was justified is the only way in which anybody can be justified.
WAIT A MINUTE
If you are saying,” Wait a minute, Abraham was born and lived long before Christ was born. Aren’t we Christians supposed to be justified by Faith in Jesus Christ?” Yes, we most definitely are. But I’ve got news for you, if you haven’t figured it out yet: The Jewish folks of the Old Testament were justified the same way.
“ Whoe there,” I think I just heard someone say, “What about the Laws which they lived under? Didn’t they gain their Righteousness by the doing of the Law?” Well, the Laws showed them that they were sinners, and thus needed a savior, the same as it does us. But Romans 4:13, says, “For the Promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the Law, but through the Righteousness of Faith.”
RIGHTEOUSNESS
Psalms 4:1, says, “Hear me when I call, O God of my Righteousness.”
This tells us exactly where Righteousness comes from. All Righteousness, any Righteousness, comes exclusively from God. Simply put, there is no other Righteousness. That’s right, the only Righteousness to be found, (anywhere, anytime) is the Righteousness which is of God. The only way for us to receive that Righteousness is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And the only way to receive that Righteousness through Jesus Christ, is by Faith.
Even in the dispensation of the Law, Righteousness was really only given by God because of the Faith of some particular individual, or individuals.
Hebrews 4:2, says, “For unto us was the Gospel Preached, as well as unto them (the Israelites): but the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them who heard it.”
So we see, they also received the Gospel and were either saved by believing; or rejected the Gospel, and those who had unbelief in their hearts were condemned to Hell, the same as unbelievers are today.
There are some differences however, such as, they looked forward to the Messiah; whereas we look back. But, either way it was by Faith that redemption was brought about. Also, they did not receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (there is a lot could be said about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit here, but for now I’m going to leave that alone).
FAVOR WITH GOD
The Law was what many of the Jewish People did, trying to gain favor with God. But it was supposed to be what they did in order to be obedient to God. The same is true today. The Law today is fulfilled in one word, even in this,
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Gal.5:13)” And Romans 13:8 says, “he who loves another has fulfilled the Law.” However, we also, are to do this in obedience, not in order to gain favor.
I believe the problem with doing things in order to gain favor with God, is that it leads one to believe that the things which he is doing are somehow contributing to his salvation (this will cause you to place your faith in something other than what Christ accomplished on the Cross).
Actually, the good things we are to do; in order to simply walk in love and be obedient to God, are done to prevent us from going back into sin, i. e., if you do not love your neighbor the only alternative is to sin in one fashion or another (this is why it is so important to be obedient to God in this manner: not because it will get rid of sin, or make you righteous. That can only be done by Faith in the Blood of Christ. However, if you are not loving your neighbor, neither are you walking after the Spirit, and whether you realize it or not, you will find yourself sinning).
It was the same for the Jews and the Laws which they were supposed to adhere to. They were to have faith in a coming Messiah, just as Abraham did. But they needed to follow the Law as best they could as an act of obedience in order to try to prevent ( I say try because there is really no way for unredeemed man to live his life without sinning) the very sins which the Messiah would be coming to pay the price for.
The problem the Jewish People had, was that not only did they make up traditions and call them laws, but they ( at least many of them) begin to believe that their salvation was actually in the Laws.
The same is true today in the Christian world. Many are believing that by doing their best to adhere to the law of loving their neighbor (and many times they are adhering to some other law, doctrine, or ordinance), they are somehow gaining salvation.
Again, just as the Israelites could not have salvation by any means other than Faith in the coming Messiah; neither can people of today have salvation by any means other than Faith in Christ and what he accomplished by his Death and Resurrection.
Let me remind all who are reading this, “salvation is not gained by anything we do, but only by the Faith of Jesus Christ.”(Galatians 2:16)
For we are save by Grace through Faith, not of works, lest any man should boast. Romans 4:4, says, “Now to him who works is the reward not reckoned of Grace, but of debt. 5. But to him who works not, but believes on Him Who Justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for Righteousness.
Galatians 3:6, Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for Righteousness.
7. Know you therefore that they which are of Faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through Faith, Preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, In you shall the nations be blessed.
9. So then they which be of Faith are blessed with Faithful Abraham.
