Study Desk

When we do wrong, that shows more clearly that God is right. So can we say that God does wrong when he punishes us? (That's the way some people think.)

Of course not. If God could not punish us, how could he judge the world?

Someone might say, "When I lie, it really gives God glory, because my lie makes his truth easier to see. So why am I judged a sinner?"

There is no one who understands. There is no one who is trying to be with God.

"They have no fear or respect for God."

because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin.

But God has a way to make people right, and it has nothing to do with the law. He has now shown us that new way, which the law and the prophets told us about.

God makes people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. He does this for all who believe in Christ. Everyone is the same.

They are made right with God by his grace. This is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ.

God gave Jesus as a way to forgive people's sins through their faith in him. God can forgive them because the blood sacrifice of Jesus pays for their sins. God gave Jesus to show that he always does what is right and fair. He was right in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. And in our own time he still does what is right. God worked all this out in a way that allows him to judge people fairly and still make right any person who has faith in Jesus.

I mean we are made right with God through faith, not through what we have done to follow the law. This is what we believe.

God is not only the God of the Jews. He is also the God of those who are not Jews.

There is only one God. He will make Jews right with him by their faith, and he will also make non-Jews right with him through their faith.

If Abraham was made right by the things he did, he had a reason to boast about himself. But God knew different.

That's why the Scriptures say, "Abraham believed God, and because of this he was accepted as one who is right with God."

But people cannot do any work that will make them right with God. So they must trust in him. Then he accepts their faith, and that makes them right with him. He is the one who makes even evil people right.

David said the same thing when he was talking about the blessing people have when God accepts them as good without looking at what they have done:

Is this blessing only for those who are circumcised? Or is it also for those who are not circumcised? We have already said that it was because of Abraham's faith that he was accepted as one who is right with God.

So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? God accepted him before his circumcision.

Abraham was circumcised later to show that God accepted him. His circumcision was proof that he was right with God through faith before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all those who believe but are not circumcised. They believe and are accepted as people who are right with God.