Sunday of Abraham (NTA)

Romans 4:13-25

¹³ For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵ For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

¹⁶ That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, ¹⁷ as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. ¹⁸ In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰ No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹ fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. ²² That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” ²³ But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, ²⁴ but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, ²⁵ who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

I think of all the troubles in this life and all the things that could lead us to unbelief. There are people struggling in their daily life. You have friends and neighbors if not yourself who is questioning the Love God has for us. Abraham was faced with old age, death, a barren wife, but nothing caused his faith to waver.

If we could all have faith like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, or even Peter. If would could stand before heathens like Paul, or even the Princes of Germany standing before their Emperor all on account of their faith. There will be times in each of our lives when we are given an opportunity to stand before the mob and confess the truth.

It is not in these times that our faith will falter; it is in the continued struggles of life. It is sickness, death, and sorrow that will continue to cause us to struggle with our faith. It is not the mob but real life struggles that really cause problems. These struggles do not disappear with faith, but become intensified.

It is during these times when people will either fall away, or hold on stronger. God is seizing his elect during those times of struggle. Even through the tough times in life we do not stand alone, but God is with us. He is there in his Word. He is there in the power of the Holy Spirit, friends and family. He is there hanging on the cross for the forgiveness of all your sins. He is there outside the empty tomb pointing you to the future.