Book of Common Prayer

The Promise Was Not Through The Law But Faith, Making It Firm To All

¹³ For the promise to Abraham or to his seed^[a] that he should be the inheritor of the world was not through the Law^[b], but through the righteousness of faith! ¹⁴ For if the ones of the Law are inheritors, faith has been made-empty^[c] and the promise has been nullified^[d]. ¹⁵ For the Law brings-about wrath. But where there is no Law, neither is there transgression^[e]. ¹⁶ For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be based on grace, so that the promise might be firm^[f] to all the seed— not to the seed of the Law only^[g], but also to the seed of the faith of Abraham,

Abraham Is The Father of All Who Believe

... who is the father of us all— ¹⁷ just as it has been written [in Gen 17:5] that “I have made you a father of many nations”— before God^[h] Whom he believed, the One giving-life-to the dead and calling the things not being as^[i] being,

He Believed God’s Promise, Contrary To All His Human Circumstances

¹⁸ ... who believed contrary-to^[j] hope, upon hope, so that he might become^[k] the father of many nations in accordance with the thing having been spoken [in Gen 15:5]: “So shall your seed be”. ¹⁹ And not having weakened in faith, he considered^[l] his own body already having become impotent^[m], being about a hundred years old, and the deadness of the womb of Sarah. ²⁰ But he did not waver in unbelief with reference to the promise of God, but became-strong in faith— having given glory to God, ²¹ and having been fully-convinced that what He had promised He was able also to do.

His Faith Was Credited To Him As Righteousness, And So Is Ours

²² Therefore indeed it was credited to him for righteousness. ²³ And it was not written for his sake only that it was credited to him, ²⁴ but also for our sake to whom it is going-to be credited— the ones putting-faith upon the One having raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ Who was handed-over for^[n] our trespasses and was raised for^[o] our justification.

The Priests Ask, By What Authority Do You Do This?

²³ And He having come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came-to Him while He was teaching, saying, “By what-kind-of ^[a] authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” ²⁴ And having responded, Jesus said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I also will tell you by what-kind-of authority I am doing these things— ²⁵ From where was the baptism of John, from heaven or from humans?” And the ones were discussing among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven’, He will say to us, ‘Then for what reason did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From humans’, we fear the crowd. For they all are holding John as a prophet”. ²⁷ And having responded to Jesus, they said, “We do not know”. He also said to them, “Nor am I telling you by what-kind-of authority I am doing these things.

One Son Feigns Obedience, One Disobeys But Repents. Which Did The Father’s Will?

²⁸ “But what seems right to you?— A man had two children. And having gone to the first he said, ‘Child, go, work today in the vineyard’. ²⁹ And the one, having responded, said, ‘I will not’. But having regretted^[b] it later, he went. ³⁰ And having gone to the other, he spoke similarly. And the one, having responded, said, ‘I will, sir’, and he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of the father?” They say, “The first”.

You Priests Feign Obedience To God, But Did Not Believe John, God’s Messenger

Jesus says to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going-ahead-of you into the kingdom of God. ³² For John came to you in^[c] the way of righteousness and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And you, having seen it, did not-even regret it later, that you might believe him.