Blog

Feb 12, 2025 06:00am

Faith Over Works

211 Views

“Did you know the Rock, Dwayne Johnson, now has his own hair products?”

I asked my husband this question in amazement the other night.

He was shocked, too.

“The Rock? That makes no sense. He doesn’t even have hair!”

Exactly. Why would I buy a product endorsed by someone who has no use for it and can’t tell me how it works for them? It was a horrible example.

Now, Troy Polamalu, the old Pittsburgh Steelers player, was believable! He had some head of hair!

Romans 4:1-8 NLT
“Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God?
2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way.
3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.
5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.
6 David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:
7 “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.
8 Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin.”

Paul knew who he was talking to. These were Jews. If Paul wanted to get a point across to them, he had to use good examples. And who better to choose than their “father,” Abraham, and their beloved king, David?

God declared Abraham righteous not because of anything that Abraham did, but by faith alone. The Jews wanted to believe it was circumcision, an outward act that God required of them as a symbol that they were His people. But Abraham had been blessed long before God called them to be circumcised. When Abraham received God’s call, he was 75. The ritual of circumcision wasn’t introduced until he was 99.

And if it was good enough for Abraham to be counted righteous by faith alone, how did these men believe they could do anything better to save themselves? They couldn’t.

Paul didn’t stop there. He also used King David as an example, not just of righteousness by faith but also of the fact that we could be forgiven AND free from the guilt of our sins.

If anyone could be an example of that, it was David. Throughout 2 Samuel we see David’s poor decisions and the consequences of his sins. But throughout the book of Psalms, we read about him pouring his heart out to God and becoming a witness to one of the most precious and intimate relationships with the Lord. He found forgiveness. And he found freedom from guilt.

Is that what you need today, to know that you can stop trying to work so hard to earn salvation? To hear that you can be free from the guilt you carry?

There is no amount of good you can do that will make up for your sins or will cleanse you from them.

Only Jesus can do that.

He already has.

All you have to do is believe in Jesus as the perfect Son of God and accept the payment He gave for your sins – His death on the cross. Believe that he died and was buried, taking those sins to the grave with Him, and then 3 days later, He rose from the grave, victorious over death and Hell. And that He alone has the power to save you.

Do you believe that?

The scripture says that faith made Abraham righteous. His faith in God saved him. And if it was good enough for Abraham, isn’t it good enough for you?

“9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” -1 John 1:9