The Nature of Trust

Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness~ Romans 4:4-5

Paul, who has been arguing between  the justification of faith and the work of law keeping (as means to righteousness), makes a huge and critical distinction in  the transaction that takes place through both.

If you are working then you get what is due to you. And you have failed to keep the law, even though you have worked at it. Because if you break the law at any point (and we all do) then you are a law breaker and guilty of breaking the whole law, certainly in regards to righteousness. Then you will get what you are owed.

And what you are owed is nothing.

But the virtue of the other system, of Justification by faith, is that it is not merely a cold legal, contractual obligation from your employer, but rather a free gift, from a loving God.


"The wages of sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"~ Romans 6:23


The key words for me this morning, here in these verses are these; To the one....who trusts God who justifies the ungodly.

You see, it is in God's character. He justifies the ungodly. That is who he is and what he does. Our part is to trust in the nature of that same God.

The nature of trust in God, is to trust the nature of God.

It takes faith to see this nature, and the God you believe in, to some extent, is the God you get.
To those who see him as a tyrannical judge....well, they will never please him, and they get nothing from him, ultimately.

But to those who see his true nature, that he is a Justifier of the ungodly, a merciful and loving God who bestows freely, well then how much easier is it for us to trust the nature of this loving father?

And we are rewarded infinitely. He credits this faith (which in itself is a gift, not that we should boast in it) as righteousness.

It is so much easier to trust in this God.

Seeing his nature opens our eyes to the possibilities of his love, and we even dare to fearlessly believe in him.

We see him as he is, and we turn to him, not in fear and obligation, but in love and gratitude, and the rich nature of his righteous merciful love opens up to us like the locked gates of a secret garden , the pleasures of which we can enjoy from this moment and into eternity.

And as David the Psalmist said,

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me, all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Amen.