Romans 4:4-8

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Hello. This is Dr. Bill Branks, author of Love the Word. I'm reading from Romans 4, verses 4-8. Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due. And to the one who does not work, but believes in him, who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. Here is an excerpt from the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 verses 14 to 30 from the New Living Testament version. Again, the kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last, dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. The servant who received the five bags of silver began investing the money and earned five more bags. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money. The parable of the talents has a clear message. We mustn't squander the abilities, time, and opportunities the Lord gives us to serve him. When we do nothing, there is no reward. When we do what we are called to do, the reward is multiplied. Our Heavenly Father is generous and loving. He also has high expectations for us because he equips us for what he has called us to do. He pours out great blessings to his children one hundredfold. Those blessings follow as we persevere in obedience and faithfulness to Christ. Today's text sheds more light on God's goodness. As Paul chisels away at the false teaching of works-based salvation, it is easy to equate it with faith-based salvation, but faith and works are not just equal options. It is not an equal choice, even if works could save us. The blessings of faith-based salvation offer so much more. Paul writes now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due. We work for an agreed amount. We earn it, and rarely thank our employer for his generous gift on payday. The expectations were set and met, and wages were due for the labor. It is a simple economic exchange, and we return the next day to repeat it. Working for wages is a one-for-one deal. We get what we deserve, unlike salvation through faith, where we deserve nothing but are blessed beyond measure. Attempting to earn salvation should never be appealing. It is a cheap, selfish, short-sighted ambition, not to mention fruitless. Most importantly, it is an insult to the price Christ paid for our true righteousness. God's forgiveness and covering, our sin is to be much preferred over earning heaven. We short-sell ourselves if we choose to attempt to be good enough to earn our way to heaven because God's grace and mercy are never realized. The parable of the talents sets a precedent for God's goodness. There is no reward for the wicked who choose their own way. But there are abundant blessings for the humble and faithful who trust in Christ for forgiveness, salvation, and the right to be called a child of God. We must acknowledge our unrighteousness and wretched state, and realize only divine righteousness allows for eternity with Christ. Paul makes it clear to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. Those who seek to be good enough must understand that God counts righteousness apart from works. Apart means we do not gain God's mercy and forgiveness through any form of works. When we trust in Christ for salvation, we are blessed in many ways. Paul mentions two. First, verse 7 says, Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Christ's great sacrifice, entirely at his cost, and for our benefit, is to be celebrated. We are blessed because we have trusted in him, and he has forgiven all our lawlessness. Christ covers it all. We have a tremendous bill to pay for our sin, but the blood of Christ covers it and leaves us with a zero balance. This is something that humans could never do alone. Even our good works are lawless because they are anti-gospel. Earned righteousness contradicts the lifeblood of the gospel. Second, verse 8 says, Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. When we seek forgiveness and righteousness through faith in him, we become without sin. We are blessed to no longer be at enmity with God, but at peace. He holds no sin against us, not one. They are wiped away, and the Lord declares us truly blessed, because our faith alone has been counted as righteousness, that is, his righteousness, shared with us for all eternity.