Sharper Iron From Kfuo Radio

Rev. Joel Heckmann, pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Okarche, OK, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Romans 4:1-12. Justification by grace through faith is nothing new. Abraham, who stood as the greatest example of righteousness among Jews, was declared righteous by God through faith. St. Paul quotes from Genesis 15 to make his point. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Sin is pictured as a debt that sinners owe to God but can never pay back. God, completely as a gift, not only forgives the debt but credits Christ’s righteousness to us. The example of David shows the importance of the forgiveness of sins in the matter of justification. Though both of these men were circumcised, it was not their circumcision that made them righteous; it was their faith. Abraham was declared righteous through faith before he was circumcised. The righteousness of God through faith does not belong exclusively to the circumcised or uncircumcised. Instead, God credits His righteousness to