stephen R Harrison

“The One Who Credits Righteousness”

“But also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—

for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”

-Romans 4:24

I’ve never traced my family tree beyond three or four generations. These days, there are easy ways to find out about our ancestors. In a previous Lent devotional, I mentioned the song “Father Abraham”. It says, “I am one of them, and so are you”, calling those who are in Christ descendants of Abraham. This was somewhat confusing to me as a kid. I didn’t know who my great-grandfather was, so how are we all related to Abraham? How did my Sunday School teacher know that? Were we all related? Someone once said that if you trace our lineage far enough, we are all related to Adam and Eve. While possible, the Bible doesn’t claim that we aren’t descendants of Abraham because of DNA or genealogy. 

God’s promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations includes all who call on the name of Jesus to be saved – that includes you and me, assuming you have asked Jesus to save you. Romans 4:24 says, “For us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, God will credit righteousness”. To be given credit means to be given something we did not earn. It is the extension of grace. The lending of something not our own is expected to be paid back accordingly with interest. In Christ, God credits righteousness to our account. We don’t earn or own it and could never repay it. Jesus paid our account in full!

At one point, Abraham wondered how he could ever be the father of many nations as he could not have a child in his old age. He could not fulfill that promise from his account. Instead of focusing on the improbability of fatherhood, he was “fully persuaded” that God could fulfill this promise from his account. He trusted God in faith, and “this is why it was credited to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:22). We may wonder if God’s promise of salvation can be applied to us, but Abraham was the first to wonder about this! However, he overcame doubt, and God’s grace forgave his disobedience. He became a father of many nations and a son of the Father!

Abraham is the father of our faith. All who have faith in God are called “children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). God didn’t justify the physical descendants of Abraham but the spiritual ones – Jews and Gentiles who called on the name of the Lord for salvation in Christ. Salvation is made possible because “God would justify the Gentiles by faith, announcing the gospel in advance to Abraham” (v. 8). Now, “those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (v. 9). Lent reminds us God is our Father who credits righteousness to our account because of the price Jesus paid on the cross for our sins. “By faith, we receive the promise of the Spirit” (v. 14) to be children of God.

Questions: 

Who are your closest brothers and sisters in the faith?

How is receiving righteousness better than attempting to earn it?

Prayer:

Jesus, we repent of our sins. We are thankful for your gift of salvation, the forgiveness of sins, made available through the cross. Thank you for your compassion, grace, and love. Because of your great salvation, help us return to you in all ways – in every area of life. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Read: 

Romans 4:22-25

Action Step:

List any sins Jesus has forgiven and the grace you received in their place.