That salvation, justification and grace is only received by faith in the Messiah who made the way for all mankind to be clean before the Lord. Therefore, chapter 4 highlights two great fathers of the faith - one, Abraham, being justified before the law, and the other, David, being justified after the law – and also highlights both salvation and faith. As Paul established the precedent and legitimacy of salvation only by faith and not by works. Abraham understood the principle of justification by faith; it is by believing – not by boasting, works, nor earning (1 Corinthians 4:7) – that Abraham trusted the words of God (Genesis 15:1-6). Similarly, David, a man fully in love with the Father, put his entire trust and dependence on the God who would always save and deliver him. As David stumbled countless times, God continuously came with a love beyond comparison. Thus, David was accepted, without any personal strife, in which the Lord still imputed to him righteousness by justification. By first introducing the great spiritual giants of the faith, Paul establishes the concept of salvation by faith. As both fathers received the love of God, they believed in the goodness/character of the Lord, even before they could see any fruit. Thus, there was full confidence in a personal God who would fulfill the promises that He …show more content…
Justification is peace with God. As our natural bodies war against all that is holy, God allowed us to be made new by the revelation of His great love and grace for us. Grace to accept his love and to accept his power in our life. A life rooted in love triumphs over sin and death, by Christ. And, as we come into greater revelation of Christ, by faith, we begin to understand the access that we possess to everything that is His. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). Therefore, by this great level of justification, the only acceptable response is to be joyous in the Lord; “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). On that same theme of hope through grace, Paul begins to address the transition that takes place in a believer at the moment of salvation. For as all were born into the family of the first Adam, we were all condemned to eternal separation from God. And, as no human could work their way out of the reign of sin, Jesus – the second Adam – chose to redeem