Romans is one of the most quoted books in all Scripture, and with reason. Personally, it’s a book that feels impossible to skim - every verse has so many implications and raises so many questions. All that being said, some verses do get less play than others. Recently one of these lesser-quoted ones stood out to me:
“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
Go ahead and read that again, just to make sure you know what he’s saying. I had to for sure. This passage is part of a throughline where Paul is breaking down how exactly our human flesh interacts with the Law, and in contrast how that differs from a life in the Spirit. What our relationship with God looks like while under the old covenant of works, and how it can look now; under the new covenant of grace.
The reason this passage leapt out at me this go around is that it perfectly captures the mindset of the faithful Jews of the time. In the old model, if I was found to be righteous under the law it would not be because God gave me anything. I wouldn’t owe Him a ‘thank you’ any more than I owe one to my boss every time I get paid, because I worked for it. I earned it. This is in contrast to the way of grace, which is a perfect gift. It is mysterious in this way, and completely out of our hands.
Now in my experience, and I’d bet this is common, these options are most often presented in sermons as if there is a clear winner between the two. That the new covenant is obviously preferable to the old. And this is very much the case - we are blessed beyond belief that we can be reconciled to God through grace. But the people to whom Paul is writing don’t necessarily see it that way. To them, who included the religious Jews of Rome, the old way was given to them by God and is sacred. Holy. This new way is unfamiliar, controversial, and it takes all of our control away.
Someone asks if you would rather receive a gift, or put in eight hours of labor and get paid. You probably choose the gift. But if instead they tell you that the most important relationship of your life can either be on your terms, or one where you must instead give up everything that even looks a little bit like control, you may be tempted to pick a relationship of works.
In Luke 5:39, Jesus says, “no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’” The old and new wine represent the old and new covenants. To be under the new law of the Spirit is a beautiful thing, but to not acknowledge the new covenant for what it is - not just a bath for your earthly flesh so you can live your selfish life better, but the true and utter end of your life as you know it - is incorrect. The decision to enter into this covenant might not be as much of a no-brainer as you thought it was.
Have you held onto the reigns of your life, white knuckled, and begged Jesus to help you out as best He can? Then you’re mixing the two wines. There is better for you. I have had to learn this lesson a dozen times, and I’m sure I’ll have to learn it again and again still. When that happens, I guess I’ll come back to Romans.