Matins Devotion: January 13, 2025

Romans 4

When St. Paul notes that Abraham was declared righteous before he was circumcised, his point is quite clear: Before there was a law for Abraham to obey, there was faith. Before Abraham had any commandment from God to follow, he had a promise to believe–the promise that God would bless him and all nations of the world through the Son who would be born to him. Quite simply, before there were works, there was faith. And through that faith alone, Abraham was justified.

Here, Paul shows he is not inventing a new religion when he tells the Roman Christians that they are justified by faith apart from works of the law. This is not a new teaching, a new spin on an old set of doctrines. This is and always has been the religion of God’s people, the religion of the prophets and now the apostles. Christ’s salvation is always a free gift, one that we don’t earn through our works, and one that we don’t receive through our works, which means that our justification, our salvation, our eternal life is not something that we need to accomplish or complete or preserve with our soiled hands and our corrupted hearts. Our justification, our salvation, our eternal life is something that God Himself has accomplished, completed and preserved in us by pouring out the mercy of Jesus upon us through the very faith that He created in our hearts.

You are justified by grace although through faith alone. This is not a novel doctrine invented by Martin Luther in the 16th century, as some claim. This is the very heart of the Christian faith and has been since the days of Abraham, since even the days of Adam. And it always will be.