Summary: Paul has just made the bold claim that we aren’t made right with God based on obeying a list of rules. As an example, he appeals to Abraham, the father of the Jews. God had made a promise to Abraham that he would be the heir of a great land and the father of many nations. Despite the fact that he was an old childless man with a barren wife, he believed God in faith. It was this faith, before he kept the commands which God would give him, that justified him in God’s sight. Paul argues that things haven’t changed since then. It is still those who believe God in faith who are counted as righteous.
Romans 4:1-25
[1] What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? [2] For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. [3] For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” [4] Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. [5] And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, [6] just 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;
[8] blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
[9] Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. [10] How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. [11] He 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, [12] and 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.
[13] 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. [14] For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. [15] For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
[16] That 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, [17] as 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. [18] 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.” [19] He 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. [20] No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, [21] fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. [22] That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” [23] But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, [24] but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, [25] who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (ESV)
Q: Consider verses 3-5. Do our works in any way contribute toward our status as righteous before God? And on the other hand, do our wicked deeds in any way contribute against our status as righteous before God? If not, why do we tend to sometimes feel like God is pleased with us and other times he’s not? How can we fix it?
Q: In verse 15, Paul states that law brings wrath and that without it there is no transgression. What does this mean? Is God’s law a benefit to us or a hindrance?
Q: It seemed as if Abraham’s circumstances were stacked against him in verse 19. By anyone’s estimation, he had only two choices regarding the son God had promised. Either he should have a child by another woman (something he tries in Genesis 16) or he would have no son at all. But as is so often the case, God proposes a third way – the miraculous birth of Isaac. Think of a struggle you’re facing right now. Do you only see bad possible outcomes? What would it look like to trust that God could provide a possible “third way”?
Q: I think the plainest description of what saving faith looks like is described in verse 21, “fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised”. Are you exercising this sort of saving faith in your life right now? Is there a situation in which you need trust in God’s ability to fulfill his promises?