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Lesson Five
Romans Chapter 4
Abraham, Justification by faith and The Promises of God.
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Romans 4:1-12
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according
to the flesh? 2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to
boast about, but not before God. 3For what does the Scripture say?
"Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as
righteousness." 4Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted
as a gift but as his due. 5And to the one who does not work but trusts him
who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6just 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;
8blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his
sin."
9Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the
uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.
10How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been
circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11He
received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he
had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him
the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that
righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12and to make him the
father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk
in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was
circumcised. |
Since the Jews looked to both Abraham and the Law, and Paul declares that
the Law is upheld by this new "righteousness of God through faith in
Jesus Christ" (Romans 3:21-22 and 31), the question of "What about
Abraham?" arises (Romans 4:1). How does one understand Abraham’s
relationship with God if he was "justified by works?" (Romans 4:2).
After all, his circumcision was the beginning of a 2000-year-old religious
practice of the Jews! Paul’s response: Actually Abraham was justified by the
faith that he had. The scriptures say, "Abraham believed God, and it was
reckoned to him as righteousness" (Romans 4:3; cf. Genesis 15:6).
 ß
------------430 Years--------à  ß
-----1500 Years-------------à 
Abraham
Moses
Christ
Paul’s proof that this was the case is based upon the fact that the
promise was made to Abraham in Genesis 15:6, however, Abraham was not
circumcised until Genesis 17:22-27, which was over twenty years later (Romans
4:9-10). Circumcision was a sign and seal of the righteousness that he had by
faith while he was still uncircumcised. This made him the father of all who
believe (Romans 4:11). Thus, he became the father of those who walk in the
footsteps of the faith that Abraham had before he was circumcised (Romans
4:12).
In the midst of the argument that he makes above, Paul adds that a second
major person from the Old Testament, King David, had said this was to be
(Romans 4:4-8).
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Romans 4:13-17
For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of
the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of
faith. 14For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs,
faith is null and the promise is void. 15For the law brings wrath, but
where there is no law there is no transgression.
16That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest
on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent
of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the
father of us all, 17as it is written, "I have made you the father of
many nations"—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who
gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not
exist.
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Paul’s conclusion: The promise did not come through the law, but through
the righteousness of faith (Romans 4:13). It could not come through the law
because the law did not exist until 430 years later (see the diagram above).
It depended on faith so that it may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all
(Romans 4:16). See Galatians 3:16-18. This promise is from the God "who
(1) gives life to the dead and (2) calls into existence the things that do not
exist" (Romans 4:17). Could it get better than this?
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Romans 4:18-21
In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of
many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be."
19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as
good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he
considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20No distrust made him waver
concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave
glory to God, 21fully convinced that God was able to do what he had
promised.
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Since Abraham’s faith was the kind that justified, it behooves us to know
what kind of faith it was. Paul describes it as:
· 4:18 – "in hope he believed against hope."
· 4:19 – "he did not weaken"
· 4:20 – "no distrust made him waver…."
· 4:21 – "he was fully convinced that God was
able to do what he had promised."
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Romans 4:22-25
That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness."
23But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his
sake alone, 24but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in
him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25who was delivered up for
our trespasses and raised for our justification. |
The result was that "his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness’"
(Romans 4:22). However, these words were written as much for us as for him.
Paul assures us that, "It will be counted to us who believe in him who
raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses
and raised for our righteousness" (Romans 4:24-25).
Review Questions:
- It would be easy to get caught up in the thought that working our way to
heaven was the proper approach. However, Paul uses the examples of two Old
Testament men to illustrate that righteousness apart from works;
righteousness through faith is the true blessing. Name these two men.
- What are the two words used to describe the purpose of Abraham’s
circumcision?
- The promise to Abraham and his descendents of the "righteousness of
faith" simply "did not come through the law" (Romans
4:13-14). Look at the chart above and Galatians 3:17 to find out how long
it was after Abraham before the law came into existence.
- Paul calls as witness to the power of God two of the greatest acts ever
done. What were these acts that show the great power of God?
- In Romans 4:18-21, four descriptors of the kind of faith that Abraham
had are given. List them.
- In Romans 4:23-24 Paul claims that the words written in the Old
Testament were not written just for those individuals’ sakes but for
ours also. Read Romans 15:4. How was something written in the Old
Testament something for our sakes also?
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