Romans 4
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The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Romans and his Study guide. Additional material taken from sources listed at the end
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Abraham Justified by Faith ( ( 4:1-8 )
( Rom 4:1-8 ) “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered. “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.””
— Satan would like nothing more than to keep men in his sins
— If Satan can cause confusion and error in regard to the doctrine of Salvation he has succeeded
— Every false religion is founded on some form of salvation by works
— Paul uses Abraham as his example who lived 2,000 years before Paul wrote this letter
— Abraham demonstrates that salvation by faith and not by works is nothing new in Judaism
— The majority of Jews in Paul’s day believed that Abraham was made right with God because of his own righteous character
— Like many cults today, the took certain scriptural passages and twisted or interpreted them out of context to support the preconceived ideas
— Habakkuk 2:4 was often rendered , “The just shall live by his faithfulness,” rather than “by faith”
— Instead of understanding faithfulness as being the fruit of the spirit, they taught that justification could be earned by one’s efforts to be faithful
— Several Jewish apocryphal books taught that Abraham was justified by keeping God’s law
— In Ecclesiasticus (also know as The Wisdom of Sirach), Abraham is said to be right with God because of his obedience ( 44:19-21)
— The Prayer of Manasseh said that Abraham was sinless:
“Therefore thou, O Lord, God of the righteous, hast not appointed repentance for the righteous, for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who did not sin against thee (v. 8 )
— The Book of Jubilees says, “Abraham was perfect in all the days of his life” (23:10)
— By using Abraham as an example of justification, or salvation, by faith alone, Paul is storming the citadel of traditional Judaism
— if Abraham could not be justified by works, no one could
William Hendriksen
— Abraham was the father of not only the Jews but also of Ishmaelites and Edomites
— Hence, even in the physical sense he was the father of Jews and Gentiles
— The very purpose of Paul in Romans 4 was to show that in sense Abraham was the father not only of Jews but also Gentiles (c.f 4:11,12)
Abraham was not justified by his works ( 4:1-2 )
( Rom 4:1-2 ) “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”
— Paul has just argued that neither Jew nor Gentile can be justified in God’s sight
— Paul brings Abraham into the pictures (exhibit A) , the greatest of Jewish patriarchs, their forefather according to the flesh who was used by the Rabbis as the ultimate example of man being justified by works
— But Paul will demonstrate that even Abraham was saved by his faith alone
Abraham was justified by his faith ( 4:3-5 )
( Rom 4:3-5 )“For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”
— When Abraham was called by God he lived in Ur of the Chaldea ( Gen 11:31; 15:7 )
— Archaeologists have estimated that 300,000 people lived there during Abraham’s time
— The people of Ur were highly educated in math, agriculture, weaving, engraving and astronomy
— Contrary to the claims of liberal scholars of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it has been proven that by Abraham’s time the Chaldeans had developed a system of writing
— The Chaldeans were polytheistic, having multiple gods, the foremost of which was called Nanna, the moon god
— Because his father, Terah, was an idolater (Josh 24:2), Abraham obviously was reared in paganism
— God commanded Abraham to leave his country and his relatives and go to a land that the Lord would show him ( Gen 12:1 )
— Because he only partly obeyed God, however, bringing along his father and his nephew Lot, Abraham wasted fifteen years in Haran, where the group lived until Terah died ( Gen 11:32 )
— By the time Abraham was seventy-five years old, and as he continued the journey to Canaan, he also continued to obey God only partly by taking Lot with him ( Gen 12:4 )
— Abraham’s faith was not perfect, just as no believer’s faith is perfect
— The first test that he had to face was a famine in Canaan
— Abraham went to Egypt for help instead of to God
— That disobedience put him in a compromising situation with the pharaoh
— He claimed that his beautiful wife was his sister, fearing that the pharaoh might kill him in order to have her for himself
— Abraham dishonored the Lord and caused plagues to come upon the pharaoh’s family (Gen 12:10-17)
— Despite his imperfections, Abraham always came back to the Lord in faith
— The Lord honored that faith
— God miraculously caused Sarah to bear a son in her old age
— Abraham did not waver in his trust of the Lord when God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac, the only human means through which the promise of God could be fulfilled
Heb 11:17-19 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”
— Neither Abraham nor his immediate heirs - his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob - ever owned any land in Canaan
— Only a small field near Mamre in which he buried Sara ( Gen 23:3-11 )
( Rom 4: 3 ) “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
— Because Abraham believed God, and he was credited righteousness
— This is one of the clearest statements in all Scripture about justification
— Abraham was a man of faith but faith is not a meritorious work and it is never the ground of justification
— Faith is a channel through which it is received, and it, too, is a gift ( Eph 2:8)
— To be “credited” righteousness means to take what belongs to someone else and credit it to another’s account
— It is a one sided transaction — Abraham did nothing to accumulate it
— God took his own righteousness and credited it to Abraham as if it were actually his
R.C Sproul
When Paul speaks of Abraham’s justification as being by faith, that is shorthand for saying that Abraham was justified by the righteousness of Christ. The only difference between our justification and Abraham’s is that Abraham looked forward to the promised one. He trusted in the promise of the Redeemer, whereas we look backward to the work of Jesus.
That is important to understand, because the dominant theology in our country today tends to see a strong disjunction between salvation in the Old Testament and the salvation in the New Testament. The Old Testament is viewed as the age of law and the New Testament is viewed as the age of grace; therefore, God’s way of salvation is differed in the two covenants.
( Rom 4:4 ) Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due
— In the parable of the vineyard Jesus illustrated God’s impartial grace ( Matt 20:1-16)
—From a human perspective, the men who worked all day deserved more than those who worked only the last hour
— By God’s standard, every person falls short of earning the redemption that only God provides
( Rom 4:5 ) But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”
— Until a person confesses that he is ungodly, he or she is not a candidate for salvation, because this person trusts in their own goodness
— That is what Jesus means when He said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” ( Lk 5:32)
— Those who are righteous in their own eyes have not part in God’s redemptive work of grace
Saving F.A.I.T.H
“F” Facts
— Faith is not a blind leap into the unknown
— It is based on the facts of God’s redeeming work through His Son Jesus Christ ( 1 Cor 15:1-8 )
— Paul said to the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith is vain…and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are sill in your sins” ( 1 Cor 15:14, 17 )
“A” Agreement
— It is one thing to know the truth
— It is another to agree with it
— The believing heart affirms the truth and receives from God’s Word
“I” Internalization
— The desire to apply the truth of the gospel to your own life
— It is a genuine desire to obey Christ as Lord
— If you abide in My Word”, Jesus said, “ then you are truly disciples of Mine” ( John 8:31 )
“T” Trust
— Trust in some ways is a synonym for faith
— But it also carries the idea of having unreserved confidence in God
— The parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price ( Matt 13:44-46 ) both teach the necessity of a believer’s surrendering all he has for the sake of Christ
“H” Hope
— Every believer is saved in the hope of going to live eternally with God in heaven
— Biblical hope is not wishful thinking but affirmation of a promise given
Justification brings blessing ( 4:6-8 )
( Rom 4:6-8 ) “just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered. “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.””
— Paul cites David in order to establish that the greatest king of Israel understood and taught that justification is by faith alone
— Paul turns for support of his argument to Ps 32:1, a penitential psalm written by David after his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband ( 2 Sam 11 )
— In spite of the enormity of his sin and the utter absence of personal merit, David knew the blessing of imputed righteousness
— The person of genuine faith is blessed, David proclaims, because by God’s gracious provision his lawless deeds have been forgiven, because his many particular sins have been covered, and because the basic sin and depravity of his fallen nature the Lord will not take into account.
RC Sproul
Num 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’”
That great Hebrew benediction is expressed in a literary form called parallelism, in which there are three stanzas. In this case each stanza is saying the same thing, only with different words. The first segment of those three lines is the one we are most concerned with. The two lines “The LORD bless you” and “The LORD make His face shine upon you” are called synonymous parallelism. The second line has the same idea as that contained in the first line. To be blessed of God is to have God make His face shine upon us. The idea is reinforced even more strongly in the third line: “The LORD lifted up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” The Jews understood blessedness always in terms of proximity that one had to the presence of God.
In the garden before the fall, Adam and Eve rejoiced when God came in the cool of the day. They rushed to be in His presence and enjoy the light of His countenance, but once sin marred that relationship, they, and we, were expelled from the presence of God. The mandate came from God: “You cannot see My face, for no man shall me Me, and live” ( Ex 33:20 ). In fact, in the Bible the imagery of hell is the place of outer darkness where not the slightest glimmer of light penetrates from the countenance of God. To be cursed by God is to have God turn His back upon someone and remove His grace and take away all hope of peace
Abraham justified by Grace ( 4:9-17 )
( Rom 4:9-17 ) Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised. For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
— There are many works-centered religions and all of them are hellish, damning deceptions of Satan
— Every year myriads of Catholics crawl on their hands and knees for a quarter mile to the Shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico devoted to Mary
— Every twelve years Hindus celebrate the Hindu religious festival called Maha Kumbh Mela
— Some worshippers stare at the sun until they are blinded
— Others take long knives and pierce their tongues in order to sentence themselves to eternal silence
— Others intentionally cause their limbs to atrophy in gestures of worship
— Paul continues his argument that Abraham was not saved by works/law but through faith by God’s grace
— His argument goes like this
— Abraham’s justifying faith did not come by his circumcision ( vv 9-12)
— It did not come by keeping the law ( vv 13-15 )
— But rather it came solely by God’s wonderful grace ( vv 16-17)
Q: If Abraham was justified by his faith alone, why did God demand circumcision of Abraham and all his descendants?
Abraham was not justified by circumcision ( 4:9-12 )
( Rom 4:9-12 ) “Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.”
— Paul anticipates the question that the Jews must be asking at this point: “Why did God command Abraham to be circumcised?”
— Most Jews believed that circumcision made them acceptable to God
— It also saved them from Hell
Going Deeper
The Jalkut Rubem taught that “Circumcision saves from hell” (num. 1), and the Midrash Millim says that “God swore to Abraham that no one who was circumcised should be sent to hell” ( fol. 7, col. 2). The book of Akedath Jizehak taught that “Abraham sits before the gate of Hell, and does not allow any circumcised Israelite should enter there” ( fol. 54, col. 2)
Such beliefs were so strong in Judaism that many of them were carried over into Christianity by Jewish converts in the early church. Circumcision and following the law of Moses became such issues that a special council of the apostles and elders was called in Jerusalem to settle the matter ( Acts 15:19-29 ).
In the region of Phrygia, which bordered Galatia, the dominant pagan religion involved the worship of Cybele. The Cybelene priests normally castrated themselves as an act of sacrificial devotion, and that is perhaps the mutilation to which Paul refers in Gal 5:12. If so, he was suggesting, in effect, that if the Judaizers thought the act of circumcision was such a religiously meritorious act, why did they not continue to the extreme self-mutilation of the Cybelene priests?
Why Circumcision ?
— Circumcision was the racial mark of identity for His people
— Circumcision was also a mark of God’s covenant, setting Abraham’s descendants apart as uniquely His chosen people
— Circumcision was a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he, that is, Abraham, had while uncircumcised
— In other words, every time circumcision was performed God’s people were to be reminded of God’s righteousness that Abraham through faith apart from circumcision
— Finally, circumcision was a reminder of the depravity of sin that is passed down from generation to generation and our need of a saviour
— Circumcision is a sign and does not save — neither does baptism nor communion
( Rom 4:10 b ) Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;
— When Abraham was circumcised, Ishmael was thirteen years old and Abraham was ninety-nine ( Gen 17:23-25 )
— But when Abraham was declared righteous by God ( 15:6 ), Ishmael had not yet been born or even conceived ( 16:2-4 )
— When Ishmael was born, Abraham was eighty-eight ( 16:16)
— Therefore, Abraham was declared righteous by God at least fourteen years he was circumcised
The Obedience of Faith
( Romans 4:12 ) “and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.”
James Montgomery Boice
Abraham’s faith is measured by several clearly defined steps
— First was his calling by God
—Second his response to that call while he was in Ur of the Chaldeans ( Gen 12:1-9; Heb 11:8 )
Two important things about this initial step of faith by Abraham
— First, it was initiated entirely by God
— Abraham did not seek God of himself any more than we do
— He was a worshipper of false gods and had no appreciation of the true God at all ( cf. Josh 24:2 )
— He was in the category of those who have repressed the truth lest the knowledge of the true God sprint up to force a change
— The fact that Abraham did follow God was all due to God’s initiative
— Gen 12:1-3, 7 ) Describe God’s call to Abraham in a series of 7 “I will”s.
I will show you [a land]
I will make you a great nation
I will bless you
I will make your name great
I will bless those who bless you
I will curse [those who curse you] and later, after he had reached Canaan
I will give [you] this land
— Abraham does nothing to merit the appearance of God to him
— He contributes nothing to God’s promises
— It is a matter of election, as in our own salvation
— Second, Abraham obeyed God
“But surely Abraham did something?” someone queries. That is true, of course, and it is the second important thing about Abraham’s initial step of faith: Abraham obeyed God ( Heb11:8 ). But notice, this came after God’s commands and was provoked by it. God told Abraham, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (v.1 ) and Abraham did. The text says, “So Abram [Abraham] left, as the LORD had told him...” (v. 4). This is why Hebrews refers to this step as obedience.
We would think about the Christian life more accurately than we do if we would learn to think of our own responses to God in this way. And our presentation of the gospel would be more accurate, too. The way we usually present the gospel suggests that we think of becoming a Christian as a work of ours — “deciding for Jesus” or “letting Jesus into our hearts.” But that makes it all man-centered. It would be better if we thought of faith simply as obedience to what God tells us to do.
Abraham was not justified by the Law ( 4:13-15 )
( Rom 4:13-15 ) “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.”
— Paul’s second point is that Abraham was not justified by circumcision but also not justified by keeping the law
— When Abraham was justified the Law had not yet been given
— God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants was that he would be heirs of the world ( Gen 12:3; 15:6; 18:18; 22:18 )
— The promise involved a land ( Gen 15:18-21 )
— The promise involved a people ( Gen 13:16; 15:5; 17:5; cf. Rom 4:17 )
— The promise involved a blessing of the entire world through Abraham’s descendants ( Gen 12:3 )
— The fulfilment of the promise would be in the giving of a Redeemer
— Jesus told the unbelieving Jewish leaders, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my Day, and he saw it and was glad” ( Jn 8:56 )
— The purpose of the Law was to reveal God’s perfect standard of righteousness and show men that they are unable in their own power to live up to those standards
Gal 3:24 “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”
R.C. Sproul
If God had not set any standards or imposed obligations on us, then we would be autonomous. We would be free to do whatever we want to do. As Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky said, “If there is no God, all things are permissible.” We live in a society that seeks to banish the very concept of sin from human consciousness, but in order to do that we must first banish God from the equation.
If God had never given any law, there would be no transgression. Without the law there is no sin, which is what the apostle is saying here. However, there is a law, and it manifestly reveals out sin.
We must banish from our minds forever any thought of justifying ourselves by our behavior, good deeds, merits, or works. Just as Dante posted above the entrance to hell the words “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here,” so we should abandon all hope of entering the kingdom of God by virtue of our obedience to the law.
Abraham was justified by God’s Grace ( 4:16-17 )
( Rom 4:16-17 ) “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.”
— The power of salvation, or justification, is in God’s grace, not in man’s faith
— Were it not for God’s sovereign grace providing a way of salvation, even a person’s faith could not save him
— Grace is that unmerited favor that God shows guilty sinners
Salvation by Divine Power, not Human Effort ( 4:18-25 )
( Rom 4:18-25 ) “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
Donald Grey Barnhouse
Now Abram was an Oriental. He was used to the palaver of the Orientals. Furthermore, he was strategically located athwart the roads of the camel caravans that carried the commerce of the ancient world between Egypt and the North and East. He owned the well, and his flocks and herds were great. The Scripture says that “Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold” ( Gen 13:2 ). When the caravans of the rich merchants came into the land, either from the north or from the south, they stopped at Abram’s wells. The servants of Abram took good care of the needs of the camels and the servants of the traders. Food was sold to the travellers. And in the evening time the merchants would have come to Abram’s tent to pay their respects. The questions would have followed a set pattern. How old are you? Who are you? How long have you been here? When the trader had introduced himself, Abram would be forced to name himself: Abram, father of many.
It must have happened a hundred times, a thousand times, and each time more galling than the time before. “Oh, Father of many! Congratulations! And how many sons do you have?” And the answer was so humiliating to Abram: “None.” And, many a time there must have been the half concealed snort of humor at the incongruity of the name and the fact that there were no children to back up such a name. Abram must had steeled himself for the question and the reply, and have hated the situation with great bitterness.
… Father of many — father of none. The possibilities were varied, and I believe that it is possible to detect in the psychology of the narrative the fact that there was much gossip about it. The servants who heard the jokes and who saw Abram’s embarrassment repeated the details with embroidered variations. It was a world of cloth and goat skins, were all lived in tents, and where there was little privacy from the eyes and none in the realm of ears. There must have been many conversations on the subject — who was sterile, Abram or Sarah? Was he really a full man? Oh, he was the patriarch; his word was law; he had the multitude of cattle and the many servants, but — he had no children, and his name was “father of many”
— Such pressure undoubtedly was a strong contribution to Sarah’s suggestion that Abram have a son by her Egyptian maid, Hagar ( Gen 16:2 )
— When Hagar became pregnant the question of who was sterile was settled
— Abram at last had an heir but it was of his own sinful contriving and human virility, not the divinely-promised and divinely-provided heir to who only Sarah could give birth
— Abraham’s name was changed to a father of many nations ( Gen 17:5-8 ) and he asked the Lord if Ishmael might become the promised heir ( Gen 17:18 )
— The Lord replied, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him” ( Gen 17:19 )
— It is a profound lesson to learn that God’s promises can only be fulfilled by God’s power, and human efforts to effect His will, no matter how sincere or clever those efforts might be, are doomed to failure, and bring dishonor rather than Glory to God ( Gal 4:21-23 )
— Just as God would not recognize Ishmael as the son of His promise to Abraham because that son was naturally conceived, He will not recognize as His spiritual children those who trust in their own goodness and accomplishments
The Analysis of Abraham’s Faith ( 4:18-21 )
( Rom 4:18-21 ) “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.”
— Paul gives us 7 aspects of God-given faith in this verse
( 1 ) The apostle declares of Abraham that in hope against hope he believed
— He had hope when, from a human perspective there was no justification
— Despite the seeming impossibility he believed it would happen as God said
( 2 ) The apostle declares that Abraham believed God without becoming weak in faith
— To become weak is to allow doubt to cloud our undermine our faith
— Abraham even believed he could raise Isaac from the dead, although as far as we know, he never witnessed such a miracle before
( 3 ) Paul tells us that Abraham’s faith prevented him from becoming discouraged by his own natural weakness
— he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old
— Abraham placed his faith in the supernatural God who created him in the first place
( 4 ) Abraham did not doubt God when his circumstances seemed impossible
— The deadness of Sarah’s womb was no more a hindrance to Abraham’s faith than was the impotence of his own body
( 5 ) With respect to the promise of God, Abraham did not waver in unbelief
— He did not vacillate between faith and doubt as many unbelievers frequently do
— When things are going great, it is easy to trust God
— When things are falling apart, it is even easier to distrust Him
— It would seem that Abraham did waver, as when he said, “Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”” ( Gen 15:2 )
— But struggling faith is not doubt, just as temptation is not itself sin
— The very fact that Abraham was trying to understand how God’s promise could be fulfilled indicates that he was looking for a way of fulfillment but could not yet see a way
( 6 ) Paul says that Abraham’s faith was characterized by his giving glory to God
— Godly faith glorifies God
— Conversely, any faith that does not glorify God is not of or from Him
— When King Nebuchadnezzer ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to worship the golden image or else be thrown into the furnace, their overriding concern was to honor, obey and glorify God ( Dan 3:16-18 )
( 7 ) Abraham was fully persuaded that God’s promise was certain and his power sufficient, being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform
— His faith in God was complete and unqualified
The Answer to Abraham’s Faith ( 4:22 )
( Rom 4:22 ) “Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness.”
— The heart of the entire chapter
—In response to Abraham’s faith, God graciously credited or reckoned it to him as righteousness
— The good news of salvation, “the gospel of God” ( Rom 1:1 ), is that the Lord will take the faith that He himself has enabled a person to possess and count that faith as divine righteousness on the believing sinner’s behalf.
— Jonathan Edwards said, the only thing that we contribute to our salvation is our sin
The Application of Abraham’s Faith ( 4:23-25 )
( Rom 4:23-25 ) “Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
— The story of Abraham and his faith is important to us today because men are now saved on exactly the same bases on which Abraham was saved
— Trust in God
R.C. Sproul
… there is a double imputation in our salvation. God reckoned or imputed our sin to Christ in His work for us and in His atoning death upon the cross. When we say that Jesus died for us, we mean that His death was vicarious, He did something for us in our place as our substitute, and that God accepted the transfer of our guild to His Son. The imputation is dual in the sense that while our sin is reckoned to Christ, His righteousness is imputed to us. He gets our guild; we get His merit.
( 4:25 b ) was raised because of our justification
— The resurrection provided proof that God had accepted the sacrifice of His Son and would be able to be just and yet justify the ungodly
Additional Resources
Barnhouse, Donald Grey. God’s Remedy: Romans 3:21-4:25. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1954.
MacArthur, Romans. Romans 1-8. Moody Press, 1987.
MacArthur, Romans. Romans 9-16. Moody Press, 1991.
MacArthur, John. New Testament Commentary. Moody, 1985.
Sproul, R.C. Romans: The Righteous Shall Live by Faith. Romans an expositional commentary. Ligonier Ministries. 2019.
William Hendriksen. Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995.