Heirs of a Great Dad
SCRIPTURE: Romans 4:1-15 
Read the passage
BIO: My name is Amy Heck. Originally from Evansville, IN (otherwise known as the center of the universe), I graduated from Ball State University and then worked for 8 years in ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ, which eventually led me to Orlando. From there I went on to earn a master’s degree in philosophy and theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. I currently serve in the Mission and Evangelism Departments at FPCO and get to be a part of some amazing things that God is doing in people’s lives, including After School Outreach Ministry, LIFE Communities, and teaching an adult education class called Rooted.
KEY VERSE: Romans 4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
CENTRAL TRUTH: Neither keeping the rules nor being born into the right family make one a child of the Father, only by faith in HIM alone!
DEVOTIONAL: Heirs of a Great Dad
Paul makes it really clear all through the book of Romans that there is no way we can earn our way to God’s favor. The gulf created by our sin is too vast and too deep. We have a tendency to think of sin as a manageable load as we cross our fingers and hope that our good outweighs our bad. We often times live (whether we admit it or not!) like we can somehow earn God’s pleasure and offset the balance. But the gospel does not leave us here in our delusion.
He reminds us earlier in 3:11 that “there is no one righteous, not even one.” His deepest desire is that his readers will not be lulled into thinking that they can do enough good—even if they are the children of Abraham. He reminds the Jewish believers that it is neither through their circumcision (their parentage of family heritage as Jews) nor through their works (the keeping of their laws) that will reconcile them with God. It is through the faith alone: the kind that Abraham had. Abraham didn’t have much else to go on except for God’s promise. He had to trust God for who He revealed Himself to be. He had to trust in God’s character and personhood. So many people talk about faith, but it’s not faith in itself, it’s faith in the right person.
It’s interesting that Paul makes the distinction between being heirs and those who keep the rules. It reminds me of the parable Jesus told about two sons in Luke 15:11-31. One son goes out and wastes his entire inheritance, disrespecting and disregarding his heritage and his own father. The other son looked pretty good from the outside, but turns out to have just as many issues as his brother. But ultimately, neither receives his inheritance apart from their Father. The Gentile believers, those whose ancestors—like the younger son—denied and disregarded the God of Israel were now returning, running back into the arms of their loving Father with nothing to offer but their hearts. It was only because they believed and had faith that the Father embraced them; they had nothing else to offer or recommend them. But the Jewish believers had been there all along: toiling away keeping the law and then even responding to Jesus as the Messiah when so many of their countrymen missed Him. They were much like the older brother who felt cheated when he saw his younger brother come back and receive his inheritance and love from his father for doing less than nothing—for essentially cursing him and wishing he were dead. They were relying on both their position by birth and their outward obedience to the law to make themselves acceptable to God. But the father in Jesus’ story, just like Paul, reminds them that it is by their faith and trust in a good and loving Father that they receive the inheritance. Neither son in the parable, nor the children of Abraham o the Gentile believers could become heirs because they earned it. They became heirs because they were sons of the Father. And it’s the same way with you and me. We aren’t heirs of the kingdom because of who our parents are or because of what we do. We are heirs by grace through faith, because our Father’s promise is sure and our Father is the fullness of love.
QUESTION 1: Which son do I more identify with?
QUESTION 2: In what ways do I go to God with a sense of entitlement? (I deserve for God to give me _________ because I did _____________ or because I am ___________.)
QUESTION 3: What am I trusting in to please God rather than just my faith and trust in his character as a loving Father?