The Resource Hub Bible Studies Saturday 17 October 2009

Saturday 17 October 2009

Bible Book:
Romans

"For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith." (v.13)

Romans 4:13, 16-18 Saturday 17 October 2009

Background

For Paul there were a number of important things about Abraham,an Old Testament character who often featured in his letters.

  • First, he lived several hundred years before Moses, and,therefore, before the Law (Torah) was given. So Israel's earliestidentity as Abraham's descendents, the people of God, the originalcommunity of the redeemed, did not depend on the Law because theLaw came later.



  • Second, the promise God made to Abraham was that he would havemany descendents (Genesis 15:1-5).Abraham was a very old man when his equally aged wife gave birth toIsaac, so his willingness to sacrifice their only son (a very oddstory in Genesis 22:1-19)demonstrated Abraham's absolute trust in that promise - 'hopingagainst hope'. Isaac survived, and through his son, Jacob, the 12tribes of Israel were established. Israel's origins lay in thefaith of Abraham and the grace of God.



  • Third, and this is sometimes forgotten, Abraham did haveanother, older son called Ishmael by his wife's Egyptian slave,Hagar (another odd story in Genesis 16!). InJewish tradition he was the father of the Arab nations, so was notregarded as an ancestor of the Jews, even though he wascircumcised. But as Abraham's son he too shared in God's blessing:"I will bless him and make him fruitful and exceedingly numerous;he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him agreat nation" (Genesis 17:20). So God's promise to Abraham wasfulfilled through Gentiles (non-Jews) as well as Jews. And anyonewho shared Abraham's faith shared in that blessing.

What Paul was trying to do was prove, using the JewishScriptures, that the people of God were defined, not as those whoobeyed the Law, but as those who received God's grace and trustedGod's promises. His argument was directed mainly at JewishChristians who insisted that Gentile converts should be circumcised(if male), observe the Sabbath and eat a kosher diet. No, saidPaul, not if they were true descendents of Abraham.

 

To Ponder

Jews and Muslims both claim Abraham as theirfounding father. Paul's argument was that Christians sharedAbraham's 'spiritual DNA'. How far do you think we recognise theimplications of that argument today?

Sometimes Christians talk about 'the god of theOld Testament' as though that god was somehow different from thegod they worship. Would Paul agree with that?

Is it enough to receive God's grace and trustGod's promises in order to belong to the community of the redeemed?What else is necessary?

Friday 16 October 2009
Sunday 04 October 2009