Applying What You Need

Romans · Romans 4 · July 26, 2026

You don’t need to learn something new. You need to live what you already know.

We’re forgetful people. We forget what we had for dinner last week, whether we fed the dog, when we last checked the mail. How much easier is it to forget God’s Word? Most of us don’t need new knowledge. We need to put into practice what we already know: the Bible isn’t a list of ways God disqualifies you. It’s the story of how God gave you access to Him.

Last week in Romans 3, we saw that we are justified (someone else took our sentence), atoned for (covered) and redeemed (bought and set free). “A person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law” (Romans 3:28). Yet our habits and old survival instincts often don’t line up with that truth.

Abraham believed God

Romans 4 looks at Abraham: “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:2–3). He didn’t earn it with secret knowledge or good works. He believed.

“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). When you first came to Jesus, you didn’t hand Him a résumé. You came with nothing to offer but faith.

When we start keeping score

Over time it’s easy to drift. We hear about someone else’s answered prayer and think, “Why not me? Maybe I’m not praying hard enough or reading my Bible enough.” Suddenly the relationship is about what we offer God, and we start acting as if He owes us a miracle.

Imagine a teenager who takes $5 from your wallet and your car to buy milk, then hands you a bill for $20. That’s how we sound when we tell God what He owes us. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). Even the body we work with belongs to Him (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). And we definitely don’t want our wages, because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

Heirs, not employees

Abraham was declared righteous before he was circumcised (Romans 4:10–11). You weren’t loved because you joined God’s family; you were welcomed because you were already loved. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

That doesn’t mean our work is meaningless. It means it’s far more valuable than wages. “Since we are his children, we are his heirs” (Romans 8:17). God owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). We’re “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10), not to earn His love but because He gave us purpose. So don’t tell God what He owes you, and remember He isn’t looking for ways to disqualify you. “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17).

Scripture references

Romans 4:1–25 · Romans 3:23–28 · Romans 2:1 · John 3:16 · James 1:22 · 1 Corinthians 13:1–3 · Romans 5:8 · Psalm 24:1 · 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 · Psalm 50:10–12 · Romans 8:17 · Galatians 3:29 · Galatians 4:7 · James 2:18 · Ephesians 2:8–10 · Colossians 3:12–14, 17, 23 · Numbers 6:24–26

More from Romans

New here? Plan your visit. Sundays at 8:45, 10:30 and 12:15 in Henderson, NV.