Romans 4:13-18
The Scripture
For The Promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham or his seed through The Torah (Law), but through a Righteousness of Belief (Faith). For if those who are of the Torah are heirs Belief has been made useless and The Promise has been nullified. For The Torah works out Wrath, for where there is no Torah there is no Transgression. On account of this it is of Belief that it be according to Favor for The Promise to be made certain to all the seed, not only to those who are of The Torah, but also to those who are of The Belief of Abraham, who is father of us all – as it has been written, “I have made you a father of many nations: (Genesis 17:5) – in the presence of Him Whom he believed, even ELOHIM, Who gives Life to the dead (Romans 6:4) and calls that which does not exist as existing (Hebrews 11:1-3), who (Abraham) against all expectation did Believe in expectation, so that he should become father of many nations according to what was said, “So shall your seed be” (Genesis 15:5).
So the seed of Abraham (Israel) could not keep the Torah (Law) that GOD specifically presented to them when He called them to be a nation (Exodus 19:5-6, 20:1-21). GOD knew this just as He knew that Adam would sin in the Garden (1 Peter 1:17-21). That is why GOD ordained that CHRIST would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:10-14; Matthew 1:22-23) and die for the sins of the world as The Lamb of GOD (John 1:29-34; Revelation 4:5-7), because The Torah could not save anyone (Galatians 2:16; Hebrews 7:19)!
So JESUS came to fulfill The Law (Matthew 5:17-20; Romans 8:1-4), that means that if we abide in JESUS and He abides in us (John 8:31-32, 15:7-8) that The Law is fulfilled in our life and we can live by The SPIRIT and not by the flesh (Romans 8:5-11; Galatians 2:19-21).
That does not mean that we can do whatever we want! Not even the “Christian” stuff! What do you think was happening in Matthew 7:23-29? JESUS is wrapping up His longest recorded teaching Matthew chapters 5-7 – The Sermon on the mount.
He told the people and therefore us that we are going to be persecuted for following Him and we should rejoice in it (5:10-12); He told us that thinking about sin is the same as doing the sin (5:21-30); He told us that we have to love our enemies and do good to those who mistreat us (5:38-48); He told us to do works that store up in heaven not worldly works and that we cannot serve GOD and the world financial system (6:19-24); He told us not to judge (7:1-6). He told us how to be Blessed (5:3-12); He told us He fulfilled The Law so we can obey it (5:17-20); He told us marriage is sacred (5:31-32); He told us we should not make oaths (swear – promises) based on GOD or His creation (5:33-37); He gave us an example of how to pray to our Heavenly Father (6:5-13); He told us not to worry about earthly things – the issues of life (6:25-34); He told us to seek GOD’s Kingdom and GOD’s Righteousness above everything else (6:33, 7:7-14); He told us to forgive or we will not be forgiven (6:14-15); He gave us the proverb “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (7:12); He told us to beware of what is false (7:15-20)!
Then at the end of the dos and do nots He tells us that we can totally miss the point of our Salvation in His Kingdom in the earth. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘LORD, LORD!” shall enter The Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the Will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me on That Day (the day we stand before Him in Judgment, Revelation 20:11-15), ‘LORD, LORD have we not prophesied in Your Name, cast out demons in Your Name and done many wonders in Your Name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (What!? But He does not stop there He continues telling us who are wise and who are foolish; “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock (Isaiah 28:16; 1 Corinthians 3:5-15)…But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand (James 1:21-27, 2:14-26)…” (7:21-27).
Some may ask “How do I know GOD has a specific plan for my life, “Can’t I just be a Christian?”, well yes you can but as we’ve seen in 1 Corinthians 3 you can be saved but have nothing to show for it when you stand before GOD. Do you want your life to be judged by GOD smelling of smoke with no rewards to lay at His feet; or do you want to stand before GOD with a golden crown and Heavenly rewards earned as a faithful child who had been doing his Heavenly Father’s business?
Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says The LORD, thoughts of Peace and not evil, to give you a Future and a Hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me and I will listen to you; and you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Psalm 139:13-18, “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your Works and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought (fashioned) in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed, and in Your Book, they all were written the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O GOD! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand.”
Ephesians 4:1- “I, therefore a prisoner of The LORD, beseech (exhort) you to walk worthy of The Calling with which you were Called…And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the Saints for the Work of Ministry, for the edifying of the Body of CHRIST, till we all come to the Unity of the Faith and of the Knowledge of the Son of GOD, to a Perfect man, to the measure of the Stature of the Fulness of CHRIST…” (1 Corinthians 12:1, 12, 27-31)
Philippians 2:12-14 “Therefore my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence; work out your own Salvation with Fear and Trembling! For it is GOD Who Works in you both to will and to do for His Good Pleasure. Do all things without complaining (grumbling) and disputing (arguing).”
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