The Primary Thing
Dec 4, 2015 1147
To as many as received Him, them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe (John 1:12).
About a dozen times Romans 4 uses the Greek word logizomai which means to credit, to account, to impute. This chapter tells us the law and the prophets illustrate the Gospel. The law meant the Pentateuch.
Remember Abraham, father of the faithful? He lied to Abimelech; he also took Hagar but in the story of Abraham we read in chapter 16, verse 6, that Abraham believed God, trusted God and it was counted to him for righteousness.
Faith is not a work, something you have to gear up. Faith is God’s gift when you hear that God loves sinners; he gives it to everyone who will not resist it. The Bible never teaches justification because of faith, it teaches justification through faith. Faith is just the channel. It does not earn anything. You give an apple to a young child, the boy’s hand does not make the apple, does not deserve the apple, but it can take the apple.
To as many as received Him, them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe.
Receiving is believing; believing is receiving. But I cannot have true faith in Jesus until I have learned to have unfaith in myself. I cannot trust Him until I have learned to distrust myself.
Throwing yourself on Jesus in all your emptiness, all your neediness: that is what is primary. Forgiveness of sins, that is primary. When you and I confess we have no strength, then the blessing comes.
Des Ford: Adapted from “The News that Shook the World” Part 2.
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