but the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone [romans 4:23]
when you tell of your salvation, what words do you use?
the more our words reflect the truths of the bible, the more we can rejoice in and encourage others in what happens in the event of saving faith–yesterday, we talked about abraham’s faith in God being counted to him as righteousness, but as paul makes clear here, that isn’t a one time occurrence: it becomes the common experience of every believer.
so when we evangelize, we may be able to tell about the joys of being in heaven, and the rescue from a horrible eternity in hell. we can tell about the fellowship of believers, the freedom of walking in purity, the gift of the Holy Spirit, of Christ living in us, and many other things–what is also compelling is the truth that if we put our faith in God, he counts it to us as righteousness. as believers, we all walk as those who are made righteous by Christ’s life, death and resurrection from the dead.
we do not pay for this righteousness, and yet it is freely offered to all. as those who have been purchased by his blood, we testify and participate in the mission of calling others to be counted as righteous:
the Spirit and the bride say, “come.” and let the one who hears say, “come.” and let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. [revelation 22:17]
today if you are thirsty, desirous and weary, come and drink in the presence of the one who quenches thirst, satisfies, binds wounds, heals sickness and defeats death–rest in the presence God by his Son Jesus–he has purchased rest and righteousness, not just for abraham, paul, or any other number of ‘holy men’–he has purchased this rest and righteousness, and he counts it to you and me, so let us walk in it.
~ce