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Not Obliged

Words of Faith Final

Not Obliged
Words of Faith 8-5-2021
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Romans 4
    [4] Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. [5] However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his Faith is credited as righteousness. [6] David 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. [8] Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

      When we work, we expect a fair wage.  We expect to be paid what is due to us.  We expect the agreed upon compensation.  If we do not get it, then our employer is indebted to us.  We are owed until the account is settled.  If we work and we fail to receive a paycheck, we can even go to court to receive that wage.  
       Paul points out just how foolish we are when we attempt to lean upon our own work for our righteousness.  We are acting as if God is an employer who owes us at the end of a workday.  We somehow think that the God of the universe who created everything and gave every good gift can somehow be made to be indebted to the creation.  No.  It simply cannot be.  God, by His very nature, cannot be incomplete, cannot be indebted, and cannot be caused to owe anyone anything.
       We can only find righteousness by trusting in God who does the work to justify the wicked.  It is by this Faith alone that we are credited righteousness.  Even David discovered this long ago in seeing that transgression and sin can only be covered when we trust in the work of God who will then never count sin against him.  
         But it is so easy to fall into the trap of expecting a wage.  We do a little good and spread a little love, and we begin to think that maybe God owes us something.  Will God reward good works?  Certainly.  But does He owe you?  Never.  Can we really return anything to Him that was not already His?  Not a chance.  
       The truth is that we are like little children who go out to buy their Daddy a birthday gift.  But the catch is that Daddy drives the children to the store, stands on another aisle, and then pays for the gifts that will be wrapped and returned to him.  The child cannot give anything to the Father that did not come from the Father.  The child cannot give anything to the Father that he is unaware of and did not pay for. There is nothing we can do, say, or give that did not originate in His grace and love.  

         Lord, forgive me the thought that I might have worked to deserve anything from You.  Forgive me the thought that You might somehow have been indebted to me.  All I have and enjoy, every breath that I draw, comes from You.  I give thanks.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2021
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2021 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.