Are we blessed because of what we do or what God does?
6David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7“Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
Romans 4:6-8 (NIV)
After showing that Abraham was considered righteous by faith before he did any good works, in Romans 4:6–8, Paul talks about another important person from the Old Testament—King David. Paul explains that David was also blessed and happy because God forgave his sins, even though he didn’t deserve it. This is described in Psalm 32:1-2
Paul probably chose to use this psalm because rabbis believed that when the same word is used in two different parts of the Bible, they can help explain each other. (The words “credited” in Genesis 15:6 and “count” in Psalm 32:2 are the same in the original languages.) Notice that David does not say: “Blessed are those who do not transgress, those who through obedience avoid sin.” He acknowledges he is a transgressor, a sinner—and yet he knows he is still blessed, because “the Lord will never count [his sin] against him”.
But there’s a deeper reason why David was given righteousness he didn’t earn: it was because of his faith! David had broken three of the Ten Commandments by wanting another man’s wife, committing adultery, and murdering Uriah—and the Old Testament sacrifices couldn’t make up for sins done on purpose like this. That’s why David cried out in Psalm 51:16-17, “You don’t want sacrifices, or I would bring them; you don’t like burnt offerings. The sacrifices God wants are a broken spirit; a broken and sorry heart, O God, you won’t reject.”
David’s situation seemed hopeless. There was nothing he could do except throw himself on God’s mercy. F. F. Bruce, a Bible scholar, says that when we look at the rest of Psalm 32, it seems that David was forgiven simply because he admitted his guilt and trusted in God’s mercy.
Paul calls David “blessed,” and David calls himself “blessed” twice because when there was no work that could make up for his sins, he was forgiven by faith alone! So the idea of being made right with God by faith alone was clearly shown in the life of Israel’s greatest king—a “man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). There’s nothing you and I can ever do to make up for our sins. Our only hope is “a righteousness from God, apart from law … to which the Law and the prophets point. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:21-22).
Think about a time when you did something wrong and felt sorry about it. Did you try to make up for it by doing good works, or did you ask God for forgiveness and trust in His mercy?
[The ideas for this week’s materials on Romans 4:1-25 were drawn from Kent Hughes’ book “Romans: Righteousness from Heaven“]
There was certainly a time when anytime I did something wrong and felt sorry about it, I would attempt to make up for it by doing good works. I had this idea that somehow, if the good that I did outweighed the bad, that is what would make me righteous. Looking back and looking deeper, I can see that this was really just my way of trying to manipulate things to my own benefit, one way or another, with no regard to the motivation of my heart. As I’ve come to know God, and more of His grace, I’ve come to recognize that there is no amount of “good works” I can do that would put me in right standing with Him. It is only by what He has done for me that I can be “made right.” So, today, when I do something wrong, or even when I recognize that the intents of my heart are wicked, I turn to Him first. I ask for His forgiveness and trust in His mercy, and ask what He would have me do. And He has been faithful in His mercy as well as His guidance. I no longer put any trust in myself nor my own righteousness, for I have seen the depravity of my own heart. But I have full confidence in Him, and what He has done, is doing, and will do to make me the man He wants me to be.
My whole life, I always try to do good because I want others to see me as good. From my upbringing I also believe that doing good compensate for those times that I wasn’t good. Or sometime I do something I feel bad about and even if no one know, I would try to “fix” it by doing something good in return but the I would announce it to get attention for it – get points so to speak – of course that makes me feel even more bad because I know I didn’t do it for the right reason. Also, sometime I do something good and when others don’t acknowledge or reciprocate, I would be resentful inside.
All these nonsense goes away now because I know I’m never going to be good enough to meet God’s standard so I’m free from trying. I also know that anything I do that’s good should be attributed to God and I’m free from the concern of trying to balance some scale.
Everything good is God’s work and nothing I do can be good enough. It is so freeing to understand this! Thank God for all He has done! I pray to Him for mercy and grace and He has granted it because He loves me…and that’s all I need.