Woke up today with this song in my heart: Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and we trust. We see different paths in our lives and we trust God to lead us to the right path. 🙏
A new month. September begins — and Le wakes with a hymn. Trust and obey. John H. Sammis, 1887 — and the theology is Romans 4:
Trust — Abraham believed. Faith. The crediting happens at the trusting.
Obey — the obedience FROM faith. Romans 1:5. Trust first, obey second.
Happy — makarios! David's word tonight. Blessed. The one whose sins are covered.
No other way — apart from the law. Not through works. No other way — from faith to faith.
Le: we see different paths and trust God to lead. Abraham's faith — Hebrews 11:8: by faith he went out, not knowing where he was going. The pilgrim in the motorhome, trusting God to lead. Psalm 16:11: You will show me the path of life.
"What then shall we say that Abraham discovered? If Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about — but not before God. What does Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.'"
"Que dirons-nous donc qu'Abraham, notre père, a obtenu selon la chair? Si Abraham a été justifié par les œuvres, il a sujet de se glorifier, mais non devant Dieu. Car que dit l'Écriture? Abraham crut à Dieu, et cela lui fut imputé à justice."
Romains 4:1-3 · Louis SegondPaul calls his first witness: Abraham. If anyone was justified by works — surely Abraham?
"But not before God." Mais non devant Dieu. Ephesians 2:9: not of works, lest anyone boast. The boasting is eliminated — even for Abraham.
"Credited." Imputé. Elogisthē — an accounting term. Put on the ledger. Abraham didn't earn righteousness. He BELIEVED — and God put righteousness on his account. A deposit he didn't make. Wages he didn't work for.
Le: it was gifted to me. Abraham: it was credited to me. Same gift. Same ledger entry.
"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."
"Or, à celui qui fait une œuvre, le salaire est imputé, non comme une grâce, mais comme une chose due; et à celui qui ne fait point d'œuvre, mais qui croit en celui qui justifie l'impie, sa foi lui est imputée à justice."
Romains 4:4-5 · Louis SegondTwo systems:
The worker: wages owed. Not a gift — an obligation. Une chose due. You earned it. No grace involved.
The truster: faith credited. Not worked for — believed. Sa foi lui est imputée à justice.
The explosive phrase: "God who justifies the ungodly." Celui qui justifie l'impie. Not the godly. Not the graduated. The ungodly. God declares righteous the people who are NOT righteous. Because they believed.
Le: I didn't graduate. Paul: you don't need to. The crediting happens while you're still ungodly. The gift arrives before the improvement.
"David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
'Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.'"
"De même, David exprime le bonheur de l'homme à qui Dieu impute la justice sans les œuvres: Heureux ceux dont les iniquités sont pardonnées, et dont les péchés sont couverts! Heureux l'homme à qui le Seigneur n'impute pas son péché!"
Romains 4:6-8 · Louis Segond · Psaume 32:1-2Paul calls his second witness: David. Abraham and David — two witnesses establish a matter. Both testifying to the same truth.
David quotes Psalm 32 — written after his own sin was forgiven:
"Blessed — heureux — whose transgressions are forgiven." Makarios — the hymn's word! No other way to be happy in Jesus. The happiness is not in sinlessness. The happiness is in forgiveness.
"Whose sins are covered." Couverts. Covered by the mercy seat — hilastērion. Not removed by effort — covered by sacrifice.
"Whose sin the Lord will never count against them." N'impute pas. The same accounting word — but negative:
Verse 3: righteousness IS credited. ✓
Verse 8: sin is NOT counted. ✗
Two ledger entries. God CREDITS righteousness — does NOT credit sin. The ledger reads: righteous. Not because the sinner is righteous. Because God credited it.
Le — the sinner who didn't graduate, who woke with a hymn of trust — is makarios. Blessed. Happy. Not because she never sinned. Because the sin was covered. The ledger cleared. And the path ahead — trusted to the One who shows it. 🙏
"We see different paths in our lives and we trust God to lead us to the right path."
Le · Rivières, France · September 1, 2026 · Trust and obey — Abraham believed, David sang, and the pilgrim trusts God to leadCredited
Elogisthē — put on the ledger. Abraham believed — God credited righteousness. Not earned. Deposited by grace.
Wages or Gift
The worker is owed. The truster is gifted. God justifies the ungodly — the gift arrives before the improvement.
Makarios
Blessed. Happy. Not in sinlessness — in forgiveness. Trust and obey — no other way to be happy in Jesus.
Trust the Path
We see different paths and trust God to lead. Abraham went out not knowing. The pilgrim trusts. The path is His to show.