Some Key Words (7/9/00-7/10/00)

Abraham (abraam [11]):

"father of a multitude", son of Terah, founder of the Jewish nation

Found (heurisko [2147]):

to find - with or without a search, to find out by inquiry, learn, or discover, to find for oneself, gain, procure; to come upon, meet with, to find a thing sought, to find by chance, to find by enquiry, thought, examination, practice and experience, to learn, discover, understand, to be found, discovered, to get knowledge of God, to find out for oneself, acquire, procure; to find

Scripture (graphe [1124]):

the Holy Scriptures, or a part of it.; a written thing, the Scripture, or a section thereof; a document, holy Writ

Believed (pisteuo [4100]):

to believe, give credit to, have a mental persuasion, be of opinion; to think to be true, be persuaded of, credit, place confidence in, to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid, saving faith, acknowledgement of some fact or event, intellectual faith; to have faith, to credit, to entrust

Reckoned (logizomai [3049]):

to count, reckon, to count something to somebody, to reckon to a person, put to his account, to impute to a person in a substitutionary manner; to count, compute, calculate, to take into account, to impute, to consider as equivalent to something, to number among, to deliberate, to reckon up all the reasons, infer, to meditate on, to suppose, judge, determine, decide; to take an inventory, estimate

Favor (charis [5485]):

a favor done without expectation of return, absolute freeness of the lovingkindness of God to men; that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness, good will, loving-kindness, favor, the merciful kindness of God which turns souls to Christ, what is due to grace, the spiritual condition of one governed by divine grace, the proof of grace, the gift of grace, benefit, thanks, a recompense, a reward; graciousness of manner or act, the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life

What is due (opheilema [3783]):

debt, that which is strictly due, a trespass that obliges reparation; what is justly or legally due, a debt, an offence or sin; something owed, a due, a fault

Ungodly (asebes [765]):

without worship, godless, without fear and reverence of God, one who actively practices the opposite of what the fear of God demands, one characterized by immoral and impious behavior; destitute of reverential awe toward God, condemning God, impious; irreverent, wicked

David (dauid [1138]):

second king of Israel, Jesus' ancestor; the Israelite king (OT 1732: rarely or fully beloved)

Blessed (makarios [3107]):

possessing the characteristic of deity, the state of the believer in Christ, one whom God has made fully satisfied by Christ's indwelling, to have God's kingdom in one's heart; blessed, happy; supremely blessed, fortunate, well off

Forgiven (aphiemi [863]):

to send away, dismiss, to emit, send forth as a voice, to yield, give up, to forsake, leave, to leave behind, to let alone, to neglect, to suffer, allow, to remit, forgive debts, sins, or offenses, to remove the sins from another, to liberate a person from his sins; to bid to depart as in divorce, to expire, to let go, let alone, disregard, to leave a topic, to omit, to neglect, to forgive a debt, to keep no longer, to allow, to go away from, abandon; to send forth

Sins (hamartia [266]):

missing the true end and scope of our lives, an offense in relation to God, sin as a general characteristic; to be without a share in, to miss the mark, err, be mistaken, wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong, to violate God's law; that which is done wrong, an offence, a violation of divine law in thought or in act, aggregate sin; a sin

Covered (epikalupto [1943]):

to cover over [same root as apocalypse]; to conceal, forgive

Take into account ([3049]):

(same as reckon)

 

Paraphrase: (7/9/00)

1 Just what did Abraham (who is our common ancestor) determine? 2 Well, if he was justified by way of his actions, he has some reason to boast before men, but not before God. 3 But Scripture tells us that God declared him righteous when he believed God. 4 If this belief had been due to Abraham's works, then the righteousness reckoned him would not have been gracious favor, but only what was due him. 5 But, as his belief was not due to his own works, his faith is put to his account as righteousness, 6 which accords with what David wrote regarding the man whose righteousness God declares apart from works: 7 "Blessed are those who have been forgiven their lawless actions, and whose sins have been taken care of. 8 Blessed is the man whose sin God no longer considers."

Key Verse: (7/9/00)

4:5 - Those who do not attempt to justify themselves by their works, but rather believe in the Justifier, are declared righteous in their faith.

People Mentioned: (7/9/00)

Abraham

So named by God when he was 99 (Ge 17:5). The covenant God made with Abraham (to be father of many nations) was to be witnessed to by the sign of circumcision on all his male descendants. After his visitation, he plead with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there be any righteous one there, which request God honored by evacuating the righteous first. Abraham - by his actions with Sarah - showed that it was not for works he was blessed. They bore Isaac, who later was offered on the altar, but God stayed Abraham's hand and provided the sacrifice Himself. He later remarried, and bore many more children. The covenant established with Abraham was renewed with Isaac and Jacob, and thus passed down through the ages of Israel.

David

Shepherd king of Israel. One fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham (from you shall come kings). A man after God's own heart, yet also - by demonstration of his actions - not so by works. A type of the Messianic king.

Some Parallel Verses (7/11/00)

4:1

Ro 1:3 - Jesus was a descendant of David by fleshly lineage.

4:2

1Co 1:31 - If we boast at all, it should be about the what God is doing.

4:3

Ge 15:6 - Abraham believed in God, and belief was put to his account as righteousness. Gal 3:6 - Abraham's belief in God was accounted righteousness by God, Jas 2:23 - and called a friend of God.

4:4

Ro 11:6 - The remnant of the present day is by God's grace, leaving no basis for the choice in the works of the chosen.

4:5

Jn 6:29 - The work God wants of us is to believe on Jesus the sent One. Ro 3:22 - For only through such obedient faith is any declared righteous by God.

4:6
4:7

Ps 32:1 - Blessed is the one whose moral revolt is forgiven, and whose offence is covered.

4:8

Ps 32:2 - Blessed is the one whose depravity and guilt God does not put to his account, whose spirit is not of deception. [not deceived?]

 

New Thoughts (7/11/00)

Our work is to believe. And to believe is work, for it requires us to be diligent in defending ourselves against all that comes to shake that belief. It requires that we come to the Word desiring understanding and wisdom - which will come by the sweat of the brow, as fed to us by the Holy Spirit. To believe, to live belief, daily in the face of ungodly men, is work indeed! Thank God that He can and will strengthen us to that task if we will but call on Him. Lord God, You declare the one whose spirit is not deceived to be blessed. I pray that You would bring me to such a state, that You can bless me. I long for a spirit undeceived with regard to its sinfulness, undeceived with regard to its need for You, and undeceived with regard to the security of its salvation in You. Moment to moment, I can manage to forget one or all of these things. Too easily I can forget my belief, and begin operating in myself once more - even when I seek to serve You. God, help me. Help me to be bold to stand as Your witness to my coworkers. Why, Lord, should I find it so easy to step back into snide cynicism? Why, Lord, the quick slide into character assassination? Why the thin skin and the easy offense? All of these, Father, are just the outworks of pride unbowed, of my flesh rejecting its guide. I don't want it that way, oh God. I want to keep You in remembrance at all times, Your Word constantly in mind, but I cannot do it. Here, as nowhere more, I need Your help, and I come to You seeking Your help. You have promised Your own Holy Spirit dwelling in me to guide and to remind. Let it so be in me. Bring to me the holy boldness, bring to me the ability to stand as a witness to Your glory, to Your working in the lives of men today.