What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his due.  And to one who does not work but trusts Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.  So also David pronounces a blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:  “Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man agains whom the Lord will not reckon his sin.” ~ Romans 4

We become what we are regarded as. I remember a class with my 5th grade teacher Mr. Breeding.  In this class we sat in desks of four.  Cubes littered throughout the classroom.  In my cube, my friends were making me laugh, and it was one of those moments where once the laughter started, it wasn’t going to end.  It started with a squeak, continued with a giggle and broke out into full on hysterical, belly laugh.  Mr. Breeding was not amused.  He peered out over his large spectacles, and told us to stop.  This just made the laughter belch out all the more.  He then warned us of impending discipline if we could not stop, of course, we could not, would not.  Finally he said to me, as I controlled my laughter the least, that he feared for my sanity, and that if I couldn’t stop, I was off to the nurse’s office.  With this declaration, I did what 5th graders do — I laughed some more.  And he then ripped out, “Justin, go to the nurses office right now! You are insane.”  My laughter was hushed and quelled with tears.  As I left the room, I sobbed, and then entertained Mr. Breeding’s words — maybe I am, am I?  As I entered the nurses office, tears decorating my face, I let out between heaving breaths that my teacher said I was crazy.  The nurse was forlorn and quieted my tears with her warm and friendly hug, assuring me that I was not what I was told. 

But was I?  We become what we are regarded as.  A more scientific phrase is “self-fulfilling prophecy.”  Children become what they are regarded to be.  Whether its parents, teachers, bosses, friends or co-workers, when we are berated with cursing or criticism, those words have great power to form and shape us.  There is power in these words.  The word becomes performative, and it does something to us — we become what we are regarded as. 

Here in Romans 4, the Apostle Paul tells us what God’s Word is able to do.  Fleming Rutledge says, “God’s Word is performative; it creates what it names.”  His Word brings something out of nothing.  His Word brings new people out of old ones — transformation.  Paul tells us that our sins have not been reckoned against us and instead we have been reckoned as righteous.  God’s performing Word does what it does.  It creates what it requires. 

Rutledge shares the story of Gideon as a further example of the performing work of God’s Word.  Gideon was out squeezing wine out of grapes, when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and called him a mighty man of valor.  At this point Rutledge says that Gideon was not even remotely such a man.  In fact, he leaves the press and seems even more unsure and unsettled.  He protests to the Lord, “how can I deliver Israel?”  My clan is the weakest, and I’m the weakest of my clan.  But God says to him, I will be with you and you shall smite the Midianites.  Rutledge’s says, “God’s Word creates valor where there was no valor.”

We see something similar in the life of Peter following his great trial and failing.  Jesus reinstates Peter with the words, “Do you love me…feed my sheep?”  Jesus reckons Peter to be a shepherd.  Become what you are Peter.  My Word will make it so in you. 

You become what you are regarded as.  Here in Romans 4, Paul says, that God reckons us as righteous.  Here the end time Word of God’s blessing invades our world in the now and declares that we are righteous.  His end-time Word into the now — You are righteous, and this is a great blessing.  Become what you are! 

This is the power of benediction.  The good word is pronounced over us, into us.  God blesses us and makes us good, makes us just, makes us righteous.  We are blessed not just because our sins are forgiven.  We are blessed not just because we are declared righteous and that God’s judgments  have been removed.  We are blessed, because God has reckoned us as righteous.  This is not legal fiction.  This is God’s ex nilo Word, through God’s living Word, producing real transformation in us by God’s Spirit…we are righteous.  This is what God’s benediction does.  It makes us into something we weren’t, something we can’t be apart from it, something that we now are by and through the life and death and resurrection of God’s Word in the flesh — Jesus.  This good word re-creates us, and the application — become what you are regarded as.  You will.  That is the good news of Romans 4.  The Word does what we cannot do.  It makes us who we were not.  We become a people who were once not a people, we become men and women of valor who have no valor, we become shepherds who were just deniers, we become righteous who were quite simply and honestly unrighteous.  God’s good word does this — this is the power of benediction. 

~ Rev. Justin Edgar

1. Rutledge, Fleming. The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2017. Note: This article is inspired by the section:  Logizomai: Spoken (Worded) into Righteousness pgs. 331-335