“A Work-Free Righteousness”
Text: Romans 4:1-8, 13-17 (John 3:1-17)
3-1-2026
In the name of Him who makes us righteous by His blood, dear friends in Christ. Do you think it’s a good thing to be unemployed? Well, it wasn’t all that long ago when some politicians tried to paint a happy face on our nation’s high unemployment rate. They told us that not having a job can actually be a good thing because it frees you up to sleep in, go on leisurely walks, spend more time with your family or whatever. Well, there’s a saying that applies to this: “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” No matter how desirable you try to make it, for most people, being out of work is stressful and depressing. However, when it comes to your salvation, St. Paul says that a work-free environment is exactly what you need. In our Epistle he describes the work-free righteousness which justifies sinners before God. Paul does so by pointing us to the icon of the Jewish faith: Abraham. This Old Testament patriarch was saved through justification by faith alone. His was a work-free righteousness. And what was valid for Abraham is also valid for his descendants. Having the same faith, we are his spiritual descendants and heirs of God’s covenant of grace.
The reason why Paul had to write about this to the Romans is the same reason why we need to hear it today. People are forever screwing up this simple but vital teaching. It’s in the DNA of our sinful nature to take credit for something which is all God’s doing. So, work-free righteousness needs to be taught again and again to each generation. Because if we mess up what we believe about this doctrine, our souls are in jeopardy.
It may be subtle but the truth of this can be seen in God’s call to Abraham which is recorded in our Old Testament reading. First and foremost, it’s important to recognize that Scripture never says that God chose Abraham because he was better or more righteous than other people. No, it was an act of pure grace on God’s part. His undeserved mercy and kindness selected Abraham for this honor. Just look at the pronouns that are in the promised blessings. Repeatedly, God said, “I will...” The Lord was the doer. All Abraham had to “do” was obey and receive the blessings. Which he did. When he reached the promised land God repeated the promise. And what was Abraham’s response? He built an altar to worship his divine benefactor and it says he “called on the name of the Lord.” Both of those actions are nothing less than acts of faith. If he didn’t believe and trust in what God had told him, he would have stayed put in Haran. A little later in chapter 15, when the Lord repeated the promised blessings, it says “{Abraham} believed the LORD, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”
“Oh, but wait a minute, Pastor. Abraham did do something. He obeyed what God told him. He got up and went where God directed him. So, his righteousness wasn’t work-free, right?” Wrong! If I cook a lavish meal and invite you to come over to my house for a fabulous dinner, are you going to take credit for it? I mean, after all, you drove over, you lifted your fork, you chewed the food and digested it. Those are all works that you did, right? Not hardly. You simply received a gracious gift. And that’s precisely the argument that St. Paul makes about Abraham. Faith is not a work. But our faith does lead to works. Those works of being obedient to God’s calling are the fruit of our faith. They are the result, not the cause, of our faith.
And something else needs to be pointed out here. The very fact that Abraham had faith was because it was given to him as a gift from God. The Bible is quite clear that we sinners cannot generate our own faith. God has to create it within us. So, Abraham was acting by faith which in itself was a free and undeserved gift from God. Utilizing the gift of faith, he was able to receive the blessings of God and trust in those promises. How then could he boast about them being some kind of good work on his part that deserves credit? St. Paul says he couldn’t and didn’t. He humbly believed, obeyed, and received. Work-free.
This has everything to do with the conversation that took place between Jesus and Nicodemus in our Gospel reading. The reason this aged man was struggling to understand the words of Jesus was because he was steeped in a religious system that had taught him that righteousness was not work-free. All the sacrifices, all the rituals, all the laws and commandments were seen as meritorious works. They were considered as the means by which a believer was made righteous and holy before God. That’s the mindset that Nicodemus was operating with. However, as Paul explained with the example of Abraham, that’s all backwards. It is faith that makes a believer righteous before God. It was faith that received and grasped onto the gracious gifts of God. All those sacred works were simply the result of their faith, not the cause of it.
The illustration that Jesus used here is profound. He used the process of childbirth to explain what happens to us spiritually. He said that in order to enter God’s Kingdom of Grace you must be born again. Remember now, Nicodemus had been taught to think in terms of what works he must do to be saved. So, he struggled with this concept because physically he didn’t see how it was possible for him to go through the birthing process again. In fact, it seemed ridiculous. And it was! Unless, of course, you’re talking about a spiritual birth. Then it all makes sense.
The comparison to our physical birth is vivid and instructive. Let me ask you: What exactly did you do when you were born? If you think it through, you will quickly conclude that you were a passive participant. Your mother did all the work, that’s why it’s called “labor pains.” You were comfy and cozy in the womb and had no desire to leave. So, her body had to expel you. You didn’t even do any mental work as in choosing when you would be born. It all happened to you. You were given the gift of life and born into this world and it was totally work-free on your part.
Jesus said that’s how it is for us spiritually. The Lord creates this life in your soul. And the means by which you are born into His Kingdom of Grace is through “water and the Spirit” in Baptism. Just like your physical birth, you were a passive participant. That is to say, God the Holy Spirit did all the work. The only thing you had to “do” is receive this gift of eternal life. It’s given to you totally work-free on your part. It’s a work-free righteousness like Abraham had and you received it as a gift by faith. And since it’s work-free, there’s no room for you to boast or claim credit for “deciding” to follow Jesus or “deciding” to be Baptized. Any good works you may do later are the fruits of your faith, but not the cause of it.
You’ve heard me say this before but I love Baptizing children. Of course, I like Baptizing anyone of any age because of the miracle of grace that’s going on. But it’s even more dramatic when it’s an infant because it’s the most beautiful expression of what Jesus was teaching in our Gospel. Also, when you meet someone who doesn’t understand or rejects infant Baptism, this is a powerful and undeniable explanation of why we do it. Think this through. Those little babies can’t do anything for themselves. Not physically, and certainly not spiritually. They can’t make a profession of faith. All they can do is passively receive this gift of God. You don’t work for a gift. You graciously receive this gift and then live a life of gratitude for what God has done for you in this Sacrament. That’s the way the Lord designed it.
But this whole discussion begs the question, “Why do we need this work-free righteousness?” Perhaps a very personal story will help answer that for you. Over the years, on Ash Wednesday when we do the imposition of ashes, I’ve had to apply those ashes to little infants and children. It kills me inside to have to declare to them, “From dust you came, and to dust you shall return.” And yet, it’s true. They came into this world, dead spiritually. Because of the sinful nature they inherited, going all the way back to Adam and Eve, they were born as sinners condemned to hell. However, I’ve also had the privilege of pouring the sacred waters of Baptism over those same little heads. When I do, you have no idea how difficult it is for me to maintain my composure. Tears of joy well up inside of me as God reverses the curse of damnation. Right then and there, they receive the gift of work-free righteousness. God, as the doer, creates the new life of faith within them. And with it, they receive the promise of eternal life in heaven.
If you are Baptized, you also have received that same gift of work-free righteousness. Knowing how you got it, then it should be obvious that there is nothing here for us to boast about. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that since it was received work-free, your faith can somehow remain inactive. God does expect our faith to produce good works just as an apple tree is expected to bear fruit. It’s what that tree was created for, and good works done to the glory of God are what your faith was created for. Keep in mind that just as you could do nothing to create your faith, so also you can’t do anything to sustain it. God has to be the doer there too. And He does so through the means of grace. So, abandon the idea that by coming to worship you are doing a righteous work which God should pat you on the back for. Abandon the idea that by doing so you are somehow increasing your righteousness before God. You’re not. Rather, in worship you are once again receiving the Lord’s work-free righteousness. He sets the table and invites you to feed your faith in Word and Sacrament. All we can do is graciously receive those gifts with gratitude.
You see, the only reason why your righteousness is work-free is because someone else did the work for you. On the cross, Jesus sacrificed Himself as the greatest work of righteousness ever known. His innocent suffering and death was His labor of love which bought for you eternal life. His holy righteousness is now credited to you. No work is left to be done in order for you to receive it. All you have to “do” is spelled out in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Believe it, receive it, and be saved. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!