Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

The Example of Abraham

4 So what can we say about Abraham, the father of our people? What did he learn about faith? ² If Abraham was made right by the things he did, he had a reason to boast about himself. But God knew different. ³ That’s why the Scriptures say, “Abraham believed God, and because of this he was accepted as one who is right with God.”^[a]

⁴ When people work, their pay is not given to them as a gift. They earn the pay they get. ⁵ 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. ⁶ 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:

⁹ 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. ¹⁰ So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? God accepted him before his circumcision. ¹¹ 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. ¹² And Abraham is also the father of those who have been circumcised. But it is not their circumcision that makes him their father. He is their father only if they live following the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

God’s Promise Received Through Faith

¹³ Abraham and his descendants received the promise that they would get the whole world. But Abraham did not receive that promise because he followed the law. He received that promise because he was right with God through his faith. ¹⁴ If people could get God’s promise by following the law, then faith is worthless. And God’s promise to Abraham is worthless, ¹⁵ because the law can only bring God’s anger on those who disobey it. But if there is no law, then there is nothing to disobey.

¹⁶ So people get what God promised by having faith. This happens so that the promise can be a free gift. And if the promise is a free gift, then all of Abraham’s people will get that promise. The promise is not just for those who live under the Law of Moses. It is for all who live with faith as Abraham did. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷ As the Scriptures say, “I have made you a father of many nations.”^[b] This is true before God, the one Abraham believed—the God who gives life to the dead and speaks of things that don’t yet exist as if they are real.

¹⁸ There was no hope that Abraham would have children, but Abraham believed God and continued to hope. And that is why he became the father of many nations. As God told him, “You will have many descendants.”^{[c] 19} Abraham was almost a hundred years old, so he was past the age for having children. Also, Sarah could not have children. Abraham was well aware of this, but his faith in God never became weak. ²⁰ He never doubted that God would do what he promised. He never stopped believing. In fact, he grew stronger in his faith and just praised God. ²¹ Abraham felt sure that God was able to do what he promised. ²² So that’s why “he was accepted as one who is right with God.”^{[d] 23} These words (“he was accepted”) were written not only for Abraham. ²⁴ They were also written for us. God will also accept us because we believe. We believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from death. ²⁵ Jesus was handed over to die for our sins, and he was raised from death to make us right with God.

Right With God

5 We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² Through our faith, Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are very happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory. ³ And we are also happy with the troubles we have. Why are we happy with troubles? Because we know that these troubles make us more patient. ⁴ And this patience is proof that we are strong. And this proof gives us hope. ⁵ And this hope will never disappoint us. We know this because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts through the Holy Spirit he gave us.

⁶ Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves. We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us. ⁷ Very few people will die to save the life of someone else, even if it is for a good person. Someone might be willing to die for an especially good person. ⁸ But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.

⁹ We have been made right with God by the blood sacrifice of Christ. So through Christ we will surely be saved from God’s anger. ¹⁰ I mean that while we were God’s enemies, he made friends with us through his Son’s death. And the fact that we are now God’s friends makes it even more certain that he will save us through his Son’s life. ¹¹ And not only will we be saved, but we also rejoice right now in what God has done for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus that we are now God’s friends.

Adam and Christ

¹² Sin came into the world because of what one man did. And with sin came death. So this is why all people must die—because all people have sinned. ¹³ Sin was in the world before the Law of Moses. But God does not consider people guilty of sin if there is no law. ¹⁴ But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, everyone had to die. Adam died because he sinned by not obeying God’s command. But even those who did not sin that same way had to die.

That one man, Adam, can be compared to Christ, the one who was coming in the future. ¹⁵ But God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace that people received from God was much greater. Many received God’s gift of life by the grace of this other man, Jesus Christ. ¹⁶ After Adam sinned once, he was judged guilty. But the gift of God is different. His free gift came after many sins, and it makes people right with him. ¹⁷ One man sinned, and so death ruled all people because of that one man. But now some people accept God’s full grace and his great gift of being made right. Surely they will have true life and rule through the one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ So that one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people. But in the same way, Christ did something so good that it makes all people right with God. And that brings them true life. ¹⁹ One man disobeyed God and many became sinners. But in the same way, one man obeyed God and many will be made right. ²⁰ The law was brought in so that more people would sin the way Adam did. But where sin increased, there was even more of God’s grace. ²¹ Sin once used death to rule us. But God gave us more of his grace so that grace could rule by making us right with him. And this brings us eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.