Everyone lives according to what they believe!

Thoroughly believing in something changes my behavior. If I believe my house is on fire, I will stop what I am doing and run outside. If I believe the grapes in the market are ripe and sweet, I will part with my money and buy them. If I believe my child’s life is in danger, I will protect him. If I believe that Jesus died for my sin, I will stop feeling guilty and feel the joy of a forgiven person.

If “Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God” but this is not what Abraham believed . . .  

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, (Romans 4:2–5)

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:7–8 quoting Psalm 32:1-2)

Believing this changed my life. The greater my understanding of the depth and breadth of both my sin and the gracious forgiveness of God, the greater the change!

A neighbor once said to me, “Maybe you just changed yourself?” I said not yet at the time couldn’t explain why not. I know now that our lives are always based on what we believe. If I believe I could be saved by going to church every Sunday, or by being baptized, or by trying to do the things Christians are supposed to do, I would be living that way without any faith in God, trusting myself for my salvation. God says that is not acceptable. I fall short.

If I believed that salvation was only for those with the outward trappings, I would be saying that people like Abraham are God’s people because circumcision marks them as His. But that cannot be. For one thing, it leaves out women who were never circumcised in Israel, and for another, God says this is not the means of salvation.

Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. (Romans 4:9–12)

Whether circumcision, or any other form of action or behavior, unless it comes from faith, it is mere imitation, different from the life that is changed because I totally believe what God has said. This message is repeated over and over in Romans and throughout the Bible. What I do does not save me or change me. I live according to what I believe and believing what God says results in change. God calls this grace, undeserved blessing that comes through faith, faith like Abraham, faith like generations of believers since this father of faith.

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. (Romans 4:13–17)

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Jesus, every day You show me that the behavior I am not pleased with, or that is not producing love, peace and joy, comes from believing something false, something You do not say. I’m learning new ways to think, learning how I must not conform to the world’s way of thinking, discovering where my mind should focus. If I take care of the innermost me where You dwell, then the outside me does what You want it to do. Focus on Jesus — such an amazing plan for being transformed into Your likeness!

Today’s thankful list . . .

The gift of salvation by grace through faith (even though it is not as easy as it sounds)!

Blessed as I prayed with others.

A great workout and an exceptional trainer.

Fun of watching the men’s soccer team working out and enjoying it.

Google maps on my phone — works wonderfully well.

A hubby willing to not only take me out for groceries but carry them from car to house and help put them away.

Sunshine after a rainy morning.

My idea for granddaughter’s birthday exactly matched what she wants to do.