Then God said to Abram...Full Stop!

Do people really even care about righteousness anymore? Not even a blip on the radar, I'd say. Well, really, some do...but most don't.

I was reading this morning in Romans 4, thinking about my friend Kunny's question to me about Romans 4.15: what does it mean when Paul says: "...where there is no law there is no transgression." There's so much to say about this....

As I thought about the 4th chapter in Romans and the broader theme in general, I was drawn away to Genesis 15, which Paul is simply referring to in Rom 4.
Check out these words from God - don't miss that - GOD, to Abram, the nomad! Notice the weight of the sovereign, free, unconitional grace promise God communicates to Abram. This is huge. Notice it says Abe "believed God"... What did God say (promise) Abe that he believed? God's full free forever promise of grace(in the form of giving he children he didn't deserve)...full stop! A promise! Take close note of the PERIOD. IT'S HUGE! If you don't find these words to contain something of the sense of "incredible", you need to have yourself checked! WOW, do these words carry weight or what? So does the flow of thought here in Romans. Paul refers back to the Promise God made to Abe saying:

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. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring...Romans 4.13-16

You want to see the glory of God in Jesus Christ as proclaimed in the gospel? You want to be brought back to the Greatest Reality there is, barr none? You want to reflect the glory of God in your life, find a full, free and forever righteousness that radically changes everything in your life? You want to stand before the eyes of Him who "discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart"? And before Whom "no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account?" Want that without righteousness? Don't think so.
Read Genesis 15 and Romans 4 again, and may the Spirit of God make crystal clear the glory of Jesus Christ, The Righteous One, once again, to you...and me!

Salvation, righteousness or whatever you call it, depends completely on what God has said and done, through Jesus...not about what you / I do, in any way shape or form...
Faith sees PROMISE, and only PROMISE!
Soli Deo Gloria!