Blessed by God: A Matter of Life and Death—Yours!

March 8, 2018

Blessed by God: A Matter of Life and Death—Yours!

Romans 4:6-8

Cecelia Barriere

Central Truth

God loves you and wants to bless you by counting you right with Him. He saves you by His grace, through your faith, apart from works. The Lord forgives and permanently covers your sins by the blood of His Son Jesus. God does not count forgiven sins against you later on.

6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

I was 24 when I accepted Jesus as my Savior. However, I failed to follow the Lord at that time, chasing instead after the numerous fleeting and empty things the world offers. I didn’t fully trust God, so I didn’t pursue knowing Him. Needless to say, I did not have His perfect peace because I isolated myself from wise counsel and did things my own way.

Fortunately, I came to understand God’s undeserved grace in 2011 when I decided to completely trust and follow Jesus. My faith in Him opened the door to a deeper relationship. I know God loves and cares for me. Through my chronic health challenges, He has provided a way for me to comfort others as He comforts me (2 Corinthians 1:4).

Today’s verses are about salvation by grace through faith. God blesses us by counting us right with Him (righteous). He forgives our sins and does not count them against us later. We can be like Abraham, whom Paul points to in this chapter. Abraham was blessed by God and counted righteous because he believed the Lord (Genesis 15:6). Abraham was not saved by deeds or works, and neither are we.

In verses 7-8, Paul refers to David’s words in Psalm 32:1-2 in making the point in verses 9-12 that this blessing is for the circumcised (Jews) and the uncircumcised (Gentiles) who are also included in God’s plan (Genesis 12:3). "Those whose lawless deeds" (verse 7) indicates that God forgives the sins of both Jews and Gentiles. Forgiven sins of God’s blessed ones are covered and not counted against us at some later time.

God blessed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before they sinned (Genesis 1:28). After their sin, God gave them animal skins for covering (Genesis 3:21). Before Jesus’ death, animal sacrifices were temporary coverings for sin and were required on a regular basis. However, in accordance with God’s timing, the blood of His Son Jesus became the permanent covering for sin (Hebrews 9-12). Jesus died "once for all" (1 Peter 3:18, NASB) and fulfilled the law (John 19:30; Matthew 5:17-18). Therefore, we are saved by God’s grace through our faith and counted righteous (blessed) apart from works.

This month's memory verse

10 as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.

– Romans 3:10–11

1. Can you be counted righteous apart from works?

2. How can your lawless deeds (sins) be forgiven? Will God count your forgiven sins against you later?

3. Does God cover (put out of His view) your forgiven sins?

4. Are you sure that you are blessed (counted right) with God right now? If not, what do you need to do?

5. Are there others you know who need to be blessed by God (counted right with God)? How will you reach out to them?