There You Have It!

Romans 4 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
    and whose sins are covered;8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Paul is taking us through the mental/spiritual process of understanding salvation by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  As He does so, he takes us back to the Old Testament greats - often Moses and Isaiah, but here the double-barrel witnesses of Abraham and David.  Both believed in the promises of God.  Abraham preceded Moses as the father of the faith, and in a sense, trumps Moses.  The classic statement concerning him is not about what He did, but what He believed, and allowed God to do.  David, the high point of Jewish history, was also the picture of hope.  This psalm is the parallel to the well-known Psalm 51, written after the Bathsheba incident. It is his first-hand count of forgiveness.  The "Man after God's Own Heart", found his acceptance by God not in his perfect lifestyle, but in his accepting the forgiveness God offered through repentance and faith.  Both greats - David and Abraham - tell the same story: We cannot impress God enough to earn His favor; all we can do is humbly admit our failure, our need of Him, and the forgiveness and life He offers us. There you have it.