Letter to the Romans -- Chapter 4
One of the largest barriers to the gospel is a false understanding of the old covenant and the patriarchs of the one faith who have come before us. The Jews in Paul’s day had a real issue with understanding how “Christianity” was the true extension and fulfillment of the “religion” of their forefather Abraham. Because they, as Israel, had been given the covenant and law of God they believed that it was thru obedience and works that they (and their forefathers) were justified in the eyes of God. They simply could not see a connection to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David with this gospel that Paul was proclaiming. Paul however by the grace of God saw clearly how the faith he was proclaiming was no different than that of Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, and all the patriarchs, and he was determined to illustrate this to the men of his day, and even to us today.
“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:1-3). Paul immediately dives in, to the heart of the issue: the Scriptures proclaim that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. In the midst of their assumption that Abraham was justified by his obedience, the Jews had failed to see in the Scriptures that it was only thru belief and trust that Abraham was righteous before God. Paul goes on to explain the importance of the word “credited”: “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:4-5). The belief and faith of Abraham did not earn him righteousness before God, but instead God graciously chose to credit and give the gift of righteousness to Abraham by means of faith and belief. In this Paul proclaims this key truth of the gospel: “to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.” This very important phrase hits on two important things that must be noted: the fact that it is the man who does not work that has his faith credited as righteousness (meaning the man who does not look to earn righteousness from God in any way), and the fact that the man in faith is the man who trusts that God justifies the wicked (meaning that the man with faith will see himself as completely wicked and undeserving of this righteousness). First off, it is important that it is not the man who works that is credited with righteousness. Fundamentally, God does not want our service, He wants to serve us. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). God serves us so that we are empowered to serve our fellow man. The second key point to note is that God “justifies the wicked.” God does not justify the “good”, the “godly”, the “strong”, or the “healthy”, but instead he justifies the wicked. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32). If we truly hear the Word of God we will realize our utter wickedness and therefore when we hear the good news of Jesus Christ we will understand and believe that God did not come down here to save men who were “good” and didn’t need help, He came down here to save His enemies, the wicked filth and scum of the world. It is thru simple faith in the promise of God to justify us wicked men, in His abundant mercy and grace of the cross and empty tomb, that we are credited with righteousness before God our Father for the sake of Jesus Christ.
In this bold teaching Paul is also in complete harmony with David, as David in the psalms does not talk about man being blessed because he is “good” and “righteous,” but he explicitly talks about the man who is undeservedly forgiven. “David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him’” (Romans 4:6-8). David knows that no man is without sin so he doesn’t say “blessed is the man who is perfect” but instead he says “blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” We are blessed not because of anything from ourselves but are blessed based on what God chooses to do for us (notice the one who is doing the work in the phrase; David does not focus on the man who is blessed but he instead always focuses on what God is doing). “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10). “I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved. He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light” (Job 33:27-28). Truly blessed is the man who stands in the undeserved favor and grace of God. Though we deserve eternal condemnation and damnation we do not get what we deserve solely because of God’s work in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul now poses the question that begs to be asked by those of the old covenant: “Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?” (Romans 4:9). Is the blessedness that was shown to the house of Israel a result of circumcision? A result of being from the physical bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Does our physical and natural father determine our blessedness? “We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!” (Romans 4:9-10). Paul counters the idea that circumcision was the source of Abraham’s righteousness by showing very clearly from the Scriptures that God credited Abraham’s belief as righteousness before the covenant of circumcision was ever given to him! It was only after God blessed him and credited him with righteousness that the covenant of circumcision was established: “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised” (Romans 4:11-12). Because Abraham was chosen to be blessed by God before circumcision he is the father of all men who call on Yahweh as God. It is not only the circumcised who stand in the graces of God, but it is all people who receive the promise God gives in His Word with simple faith. Circumcision was given as a seal and mark to show the physical bloodline by which the Christ would come. But now that the Christ has come (Jesus of Nazareth!), circumcision has fulfilled and completed its purpose in Him.
Paul continues: “It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression” (Romans 4:13-15). To understand this concept of faith that Paul discusses we need to also understand the partner concept of promises. A gift that we are given on a birthday or at Christmas is something that we can receive with our hand since it is a physical and tangible gift. Even a compliment, though it seems more intangible, is a gift that we can receive immediately with our ears or eyes since it is a spoken or written word about here and now. Promises however are unique in that they have no physical way to be received, even though they initially come to us thru the spoken or written word. Promises are different than most spoken or written words because promises look to something to be fulfilled in the future, to something that is to come later, something we cannot grasp today with any physical sense (while on the other hand a compliment speaks to the present and a statement of observation speaks to something we can see, hear, touch, or taste). Promises therefore can only be received by the passive instrument of faith; it is only faith that can accept a promise as reality. A promise never depends on the one who hears it and receives it (you and me) but is always contingent on the one who gives it and fulfills it (God our Father). If our righteousness depends on something tangible that we do or accomplish then the promise (and the faith that receives it) becomes worthless like Paul says. Because the forgiveness of our sins is a promise from God for the sake of Jesus Christ it can only be believed and received by faith. We do not have a tangible box to wrap our fingers around or the immediate fulfillment and experience of a compliment, we simply have the promise from the Word of God that He will act and has indeed already acted on our behalf, declaring us righteous for the sake of Jesus Christ. Faith cannot make a promise; faith can only believe and trust a promise. “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’ He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed” (Romans 4:16-17). God does not want His gift to be contingent upon our works, choices, merits, or even upon “who we are”, therefore He freely gives and restores by way of His promised Word in Jesus Christ. This promise is received in men by way of a simple faith that hears the promise and understands that God Almighty has given it on our behalf.
In light of this Paul goes on to touch on one of the most important facts that the law and gospel of God’s Word reveals to us. He does this by explaining who the God of Abraham truly is; He is “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were” (Romans 4:17). In the law we are nothing but dead men, but by the gospel we are brought to life. The law shows us who we really are, but the gospel calls us, men who are nothing but rebellion and evil in the face of the law, good and righteous for the sake of Jesus Christ. Though we are absolutely dead and helpless in our sin, God has resurrected us to new life in Jesus Christ: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins… we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:1, 3-5). “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins” (Colossians 2:13). This very important concept of God giving life to the dead and calling things that are not as though they were is the heart of God’s Word in Jesus Christ. Though God strikes us down with His law and shows us to be nothing but wicked sinners, thru and thru, He then brings us to life by calling us wicked men justified, forgiven, and righteous for the sake of Jesus Christ incarnate, crucified, and risen. “Yahweh brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. Yahweh sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor” (1 Samuel 2:6-8). In our rebellion and sin God has struck us down and humbled us thru the demands of His law, and yet, even though we are nothing and deserve nothing, God has exalted, lifted us up, and raised us to new life in Jesus Christ.
Abraham therefore exemplifies for us this simple faith in the promise, favor, mercy, and grace of God: “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him. Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead” (Romans 4:18-19). Though the entire world and all his reason was against Abraham, he still believed the Word of God that was spoken to him. Everything that he could perceive with his senses told him that there was absolutely no way he would be the father of the Christ to come, and yet against this overwhelming force the Word of God prevailed. “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20-21). Abraham was “fully persuaded that God had the power to what he had promised.” These are ever so important words for they show us that Abraham simply believed that God was in fact God. He understood that if Yahweh promised the “absurd” that it must still happen and come to be, because God Himself had declared it and He never fails. “This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.’ The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:22-25). Therefore we also should follow in the faith of Abraham and realize that God has promised that we are indeed justified, forgiven, righteous, and heirs of eternal life thru Jesus Christ incarnate, crucified, and resurrected on our behalf. God has already declared this truth once in for all in Jesus Christ, let us not shun that awesome promise that has been given to us despite all our wickedness, failings, and impotence. The accounts of our fathers in the faith were written not for their sake, but truly for our sake so that we might be encouraged by their humble example. Our fathers in the faith are all the great patriarchs of Israel (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, etc.); their trust and faith in the promise of God, the Christ and Messiah to come, is no different than ours today. They too clung with great fervor to what God had promised, completely trusting God’s ability to fulfill what seemed “absurd” and “foolish” to their reason and senses. Let us pray that “against all hope” that we too are kept in the faith, hope, and love that we have only thru, in, and by the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:1-3). Paul immediately dives in, to the heart of the issue: the Scriptures proclaim that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. In the midst of their assumption that Abraham was justified by his obedience, the Jews had failed to see in the Scriptures that it was only thru belief and trust that Abraham was righteous before God. Paul goes on to explain the importance of the word “credited”: “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:4-5). The belief and faith of Abraham did not earn him righteousness before God, but instead God graciously chose to credit and give the gift of righteousness to Abraham by means of faith and belief. In this Paul proclaims this key truth of the gospel: “to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.” This very important phrase hits on two important things that must be noted: the fact that it is the man who does not work that has his faith credited as righteousness (meaning the man who does not look to earn righteousness from God in any way), and the fact that the man in faith is the man who trusts that God justifies the wicked (meaning that the man with faith will see himself as completely wicked and undeserving of this righteousness). First off, it is important that it is not the man who works that is credited with righteousness. Fundamentally, God does not want our service, He wants to serve us. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). God serves us so that we are empowered to serve our fellow man. The second key point to note is that God “justifies the wicked.” God does not justify the “good”, the “godly”, the “strong”, or the “healthy”, but instead he justifies the wicked. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32). If we truly hear the Word of God we will realize our utter wickedness and therefore when we hear the good news of Jesus Christ we will understand and believe that God did not come down here to save men who were “good” and didn’t need help, He came down here to save His enemies, the wicked filth and scum of the world. It is thru simple faith in the promise of God to justify us wicked men, in His abundant mercy and grace of the cross and empty tomb, that we are credited with righteousness before God our Father for the sake of Jesus Christ.
In this bold teaching Paul is also in complete harmony with David, as David in the psalms does not talk about man being blessed because he is “good” and “righteous,” but he explicitly talks about the man who is undeservedly forgiven. “David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him’” (Romans 4:6-8). David knows that no man is without sin so he doesn’t say “blessed is the man who is perfect” but instead he says “blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” We are blessed not because of anything from ourselves but are blessed based on what God chooses to do for us (notice the one who is doing the work in the phrase; David does not focus on the man who is blessed but he instead always focuses on what God is doing). “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10). “I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved. He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light” (Job 33:27-28). Truly blessed is the man who stands in the undeserved favor and grace of God. Though we deserve eternal condemnation and damnation we do not get what we deserve solely because of God’s work in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul now poses the question that begs to be asked by those of the old covenant: “Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?” (Romans 4:9). Is the blessedness that was shown to the house of Israel a result of circumcision? A result of being from the physical bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Does our physical and natural father determine our blessedness? “We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!” (Romans 4:9-10). Paul counters the idea that circumcision was the source of Abraham’s righteousness by showing very clearly from the Scriptures that God credited Abraham’s belief as righteousness before the covenant of circumcision was ever given to him! It was only after God blessed him and credited him with righteousness that the covenant of circumcision was established: “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised” (Romans 4:11-12). Because Abraham was chosen to be blessed by God before circumcision he is the father of all men who call on Yahweh as God. It is not only the circumcised who stand in the graces of God, but it is all people who receive the promise God gives in His Word with simple faith. Circumcision was given as a seal and mark to show the physical bloodline by which the Christ would come. But now that the Christ has come (Jesus of Nazareth!), circumcision has fulfilled and completed its purpose in Him.
Paul continues: “It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression” (Romans 4:13-15). To understand this concept of faith that Paul discusses we need to also understand the partner concept of promises. A gift that we are given on a birthday or at Christmas is something that we can receive with our hand since it is a physical and tangible gift. Even a compliment, though it seems more intangible, is a gift that we can receive immediately with our ears or eyes since it is a spoken or written word about here and now. Promises however are unique in that they have no physical way to be received, even though they initially come to us thru the spoken or written word. Promises are different than most spoken or written words because promises look to something to be fulfilled in the future, to something that is to come later, something we cannot grasp today with any physical sense (while on the other hand a compliment speaks to the present and a statement of observation speaks to something we can see, hear, touch, or taste). Promises therefore can only be received by the passive instrument of faith; it is only faith that can accept a promise as reality. A promise never depends on the one who hears it and receives it (you and me) but is always contingent on the one who gives it and fulfills it (God our Father). If our righteousness depends on something tangible that we do or accomplish then the promise (and the faith that receives it) becomes worthless like Paul says. Because the forgiveness of our sins is a promise from God for the sake of Jesus Christ it can only be believed and received by faith. We do not have a tangible box to wrap our fingers around or the immediate fulfillment and experience of a compliment, we simply have the promise from the Word of God that He will act and has indeed already acted on our behalf, declaring us righteous for the sake of Jesus Christ. Faith cannot make a promise; faith can only believe and trust a promise. “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’ He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed” (Romans 4:16-17). God does not want His gift to be contingent upon our works, choices, merits, or even upon “who we are”, therefore He freely gives and restores by way of His promised Word in Jesus Christ. This promise is received in men by way of a simple faith that hears the promise and understands that God Almighty has given it on our behalf.
In light of this Paul goes on to touch on one of the most important facts that the law and gospel of God’s Word reveals to us. He does this by explaining who the God of Abraham truly is; He is “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were” (Romans 4:17). In the law we are nothing but dead men, but by the gospel we are brought to life. The law shows us who we really are, but the gospel calls us, men who are nothing but rebellion and evil in the face of the law, good and righteous for the sake of Jesus Christ. Though we are absolutely dead and helpless in our sin, God has resurrected us to new life in Jesus Christ: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins… we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:1, 3-5). “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins” (Colossians 2:13). This very important concept of God giving life to the dead and calling things that are not as though they were is the heart of God’s Word in Jesus Christ. Though God strikes us down with His law and shows us to be nothing but wicked sinners, thru and thru, He then brings us to life by calling us wicked men justified, forgiven, and righteous for the sake of Jesus Christ incarnate, crucified, and risen. “Yahweh brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. Yahweh sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor” (1 Samuel 2:6-8). In our rebellion and sin God has struck us down and humbled us thru the demands of His law, and yet, even though we are nothing and deserve nothing, God has exalted, lifted us up, and raised us to new life in Jesus Christ.
Abraham therefore exemplifies for us this simple faith in the promise, favor, mercy, and grace of God: “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him. Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead” (Romans 4:18-19). Though the entire world and all his reason was against Abraham, he still believed the Word of God that was spoken to him. Everything that he could perceive with his senses told him that there was absolutely no way he would be the father of the Christ to come, and yet against this overwhelming force the Word of God prevailed. “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20-21). Abraham was “fully persuaded that God had the power to what he had promised.” These are ever so important words for they show us that Abraham simply believed that God was in fact God. He understood that if Yahweh promised the “absurd” that it must still happen and come to be, because God Himself had declared it and He never fails. “This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.’ The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:22-25). Therefore we also should follow in the faith of Abraham and realize that God has promised that we are indeed justified, forgiven, righteous, and heirs of eternal life thru Jesus Christ incarnate, crucified, and resurrected on our behalf. God has already declared this truth once in for all in Jesus Christ, let us not shun that awesome promise that has been given to us despite all our wickedness, failings, and impotence. The accounts of our fathers in the faith were written not for their sake, but truly for our sake so that we might be encouraged by their humble example. Our fathers in the faith are all the great patriarchs of Israel (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, etc.); their trust and faith in the promise of God, the Christ and Messiah to come, is no different than ours today. They too clung with great fervor to what God had promised, completely trusting God’s ability to fulfill what seemed “absurd” and “foolish” to their reason and senses. Let us pray that “against all hope” that we too are kept in the faith, hope, and love that we have only thru, in, and by the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
4 comments:
Luke,
I saw your comment on Justin Moffat's blog and came and checked out your blog. We seem to have to likes in common, such as LOTR and Les Miserables and a love of reading. I would love to invite you over to conversation at the edge. It's kind of a place that is trying to promote real conversation between Christians and "the people formerly known as lost". Hope to see you over there. Nice to "meet" you.
Ciao,
Benjamin
Justifying the wicked...no wonder people of other religions have such a hard time understanding Christianity. It makes no sense! Why would anyone want to save the wicked? Lord, you amaze me.
Indeed, Shea. It is the justifying the "wicked" that is so important for making Jesus Christ relevant. Men eagerly call Him "Savior" but don't even realize they NEED a Savior. I think the most common reaction to "Jesus is your Savior" is "So what???" "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' They answered him, 'We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?' Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed'" (John 8:31-36).
Like the Jews in this account, people today don't think they are enslaved in sin or wicked and don't think they need help. Preaching forgiveness to these people then is absolutely worthless. People need to know why Christ is relevant and important for THEIR life. And that means preaching the law which shows them the reality of their wickedness. THEN and only then will they see that Jesus is truly the answer, that He is life itself.
Yay! John 8:31-32 is my confirmation verse. :)
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