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Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Rm4:8 St. Paul referring to David’s writings mentions the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputed righteousness without works. It is the man whose iniquities are forgiven and his sins are covered (v6, 7). For the man who has received the Blessing there is complete freedom and mobility and he is free of judgment and condemnation. The man to whom God will not impute sin is the person who lives by faith, walks by faith and not by sight, and enjoys all the blessings of God. That person is truly blessed. Unfortunately, the sober truth is that we don’t meet too many of those kinds of people. Most people who call themselves Christians never come out of religion, never come out from being under the Law, never experience the indwelling of the Spirit, his fruit and his gifts. They live in fear of judgment: the judgment of God and the judgment of man. They are still under the Law and are content to practice their religion. Though the word of God is proclaimed every week, they fail to hear it. Unless they put the word of God into practice, faith without works is dead being alone, they will never change. They will never be born-again and begin the journey to blessedness. Living by faith is St. Paul’s theme in Romans, mentioned both in Galatians and the book of Hebrews, and is the cornerstone of the New Testament. Learning to live by faith means that we learn to meet the challenges of life, the attacks of the devil, and learn to love God and man as St. Paul describes in one Corinthians thirteen. It also means living in the Truth, the truth of scripture, and not in facts, the facts of the world. As we assimilate the word of God, know, understand, and confess it, as we begin to exercise our authority as Christians and speak to every mountain and circumstance, as we enter the Spirit and begin to live and walk in Him with praise, thanksgiving, and worship, as we move out of believing only what we see and into what scripture teaches, we enter the race to cross the finish line whose crown is glory, righteousness, and the Blessing. For the fearful and unbelieving there is no inheritance in the kingdom of God. For those who fear what it means for God not to impute sin, do not know what it means to be led by the Spirit of God. God, like a line on a fishing pole, casts you out in deep waters then begins to pull you in. At some point the hook catches the fish and you receive the Blessing. Don’t be afraid to move beyond logic and reason. Don’t be afraid that God will forsake or abandon you. Swim like the fish and fly like the butterfly. One day you will walk in the Blessing too. Amen |