September 18, 2025 -- Romans 4:18-25 -- Faith
/People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!
In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Romans 4:18-25 ESV
Each Wednesday evening our bible study group has been following Dr. Michael Kruger’s Study of Romans. The passage before us prompts an important question: “What is faith?” Is it an emotion? Is it a feeling that rises and falls with every impulse in our lives? Here is Kruger’s explanation, in my own words.
Faith is the on-going act of trusting and relying on Jesus. Faith can grow, develop and strengthen. It is obedience to Jesus in daily life.
Faith is trusting in the promises of God. All His promises are given to believers through Jesus and are written in the Word. That is why the Bible is critical for all believers. We know how secure we are in Jesus by the promises of God.
Faith is trusting in the Word of God even in hard times. In the passage, Abraham and Sarah were too old and the natural bodily systems required for conceiving and bearing children did not function for them. According to the promises of God, He restored their ability to have children. They believed, though many forces and factors pushed against this in their lives.
In this lesson (Session 13 in his series) Kruger gave a wonderful clarification of how believers are saved and how faith is active in this.
We are saved by Christ—He is the focus of our faith.
We are saved by faith—faith links believers to Jesus. It is not the strength of our faith that saves us, but the strength of the One in Whom we place our trust.
We are saved by grace—grace is the “why” of our salvation. God moves towards us in love, according to His covenant promises made before time began, and accomplishes this salvation through Jesus and guards it in us by the gift of the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.
Father in heaven, thank You for the privilege we have of calling you our Father through the accomplished work of Jesus. Thank You for this new and full life that is ours in Jesus and for the guardianship of the Holy Spirit Who will not let us go. Spirit of the Living God, when the storms and trials of life rise to a howling pitch in our ears and our confidence is at its lowest ebb, remind us of the promises of God, every single one of which is “yes” and “amen” in Jesus. Amen.
https://youtu.be/cY6k2QhdCn0?si=A4F2sdmHaUDHJ2_B How Firm a Foundation
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