Romans 4.7-Justification By Faith in Jesus Christ Results in the Forgiveness of Sins
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday January 16, 2008
Romans: Romans 4:7-Justification By Faith in Jesus Christ Results in the Forgiveness of Sins
Lesson # 119
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 4:1.
This evening we will study Romans 4:7 in which Paul teaches that justification by faith results in the forgiveness of sins.
Let’s read Romans 4:1-8 and then concentrate on verse 7.
Romans 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.”
In Romans 4:7-8, Paul is quoting Psalm 32:1-2, which David wrote after he confessed to God his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah the Hittite.
Psalm 32:1-2, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.”
Let’s look at Romans 4:7 in detail.
Romans 4:7, “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.”
“BLESSED ARE THOSE” is the adjective makarios (makavrio$) (mak-ar-ee-os), which refers to the spiritual benefits that result in spiritual prosperity and produces a happiness that is divine in quality.
It refers to the spiritual benefits that the sinner receives as a result of exercising faith in Jesus Christ and receiving the gift of righteousness through imputation and being declared justified by God.
These spiritual benefits result in spiritual prosperity and produce a happiness in the sinner that is divine in quality.
“LAWLESS DEEDS” is the noun anomia (a)nomiva) (an-om-ee-ah), which conveys the sense of “open rebellion against God.”
As we have noted in Romans 4:7, Paul is quoting Psalm 32:1-2.
Psalm 32:1-2, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.”
In Psalm 32:1, the Hebrew term for “transgressions” is the noun pesha` (uv^P#) (peh-sha), which is always used of a deliberate act of sin or crime against God, thus it implies open rebellion against God.
The fundamental idea of the root of this word is that of a breach of relationships, whether civil or religious between two parties.
It was used of rebelling against rulers and rebelling against God.
The word denotes the open rejection of God’s authority.
In Romans 4:7, the noun anomia means, “to conduct oneself with complete disregard and contempt for the laws and regulations of the law of God that govern society.”
This term is in the plural and we can therefore translate it “crimes” since by way of definition, “crime” is an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state and that is legally prohibited.
Crime means any serious violation of human laws.
It is an action that is in open rebellion against human authority and law, which have been ordained by God.
This word is used in the context of David committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband Uriah the Hittite, both of which were capital crimes in Israelite society as legislated by the Mosaic Law.
Romans 4:7, “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.”
“HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN” is the verb aphiemi (a)fivhmi) (af-ee-ay-mee), which means, “to grant a full pardon from crimes committed” against a holy God.
The word denotes that the sinner receives a full pardon from his crimes against a holy God as a result of exercising faith in the One who receives the penalty for these crimes, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This releasing of the sinner from the penalty of sin and pardoning him is based upon the fact that the spiritual death of the impeccable human nature of Jesus Christ in hypostatic union satisfied the demands of God’s holiness, which required that human sin be judged and that the sinner face the righteous indignation of God.
The righteous indignation of God is an expression of His holiness.
Romans 1:18, “For God’s righteous indignation is as an eternal spiritual truth revealed from the third heaven against each and every kind of ungodliness and unrighteousness produced by mankind who as an eternal spiritual truth is characterized by suppressing the truth by means of unrighteousness.”
The sinner appropriates the forgiveness of his sins by placing his absolute trust or confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ as his or her Savior.
The forgiveness of sins is the result of the sinner being declared justified by God as a result of exercising faith in Jesus Christ and receiving the imputation of divine righteousness.
This is called a “judicial” forgiveness or “positional” forgiveness meaning the sinner receives the forgiveness of sins-past, present and future, the exact moment they trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
The Father releases the sinner from his sin debt and gives him a full pardon as a result of the merits of His Son’s spiritual death on the Cross, which satisfied the demands of the Father’s holiness, which required that human sin bear the full brunt of His righteous indignation.
1 John 2:12, “I am providing information in writing at this particular time for the benefit of all of you, little children in view of the fact that for the benefit of all of you, your sins have been forgiven-past, present and future on the basis of His merit.”
The forgiveness of sins is the result of an exchange that God executed when He credited the sins of humanity to Christ and divine righteousness to the sinner who trusts in Jesus Christ as Savior.
2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
The Father credited the sins of human history to His Son on the Cross resulting in His Son experiencing spiritual death.
Matthew 27:46, “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?’ that is, ‘MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?’”
He also credits the Son’s righteousness to the sinner who exercises faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.
The forgiveness of sins is offered to the entire human race by God the Father based upon the merits of the voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of His Son, the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union on the Cross.
Ephesians 1:7, “In Him (the Lord Jesus Christ) we have redemption through His blood (metaphor for our Lord’s spiritual death), the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”
God bases His forgiveness or receipt of His pardon upon the restitution for sins that Christ voluntarily made for the world.
From the earliest mention of forgiveness, the Lord has never discounted nor overlooked our sins.
He forgives us because Christ made restitution.
Though God made the restitution for us, it was still required to obtain God’s forgiveness.
To put it the opposite way: without the restitution payment of Jesus Christ, there would be no forgiveness!
God the Father sent His Son to the cross in order die for our sins so that He can forgive us.
1 John 3:5, “He (the Lord Jesus Christ) appeared in order to take away sins.”
God remembers the believer’s sins no more because of the Lord Jesus Christ’s substitutionary spiritual death on the Cross satisfied the demands of God’s holiness, which required that sin be dealt with by God’s righteous indignation.
Hebrews 10:17, “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.”
Hebrews 8:12, “FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”
Psalm 51:1-9, “For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones, which You have broken rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.”
When the believer sins after salvation, he “experiences” the forgiveness of his sins when he confesses his personal sins to the Father.
1 John 1:9, “If any of us does confess our sins, then, He (God the Father) is, as an eternal spiritual truth, faithful and just with the result that He forgives us our sins and He purifies us from each and every wrongdoing.”
Romans 4:7, “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.”
“SINS” is the noun hamartia (a(martiva) (ham-ar-tee-ah), which refers to missing the goal or absolute standard of God’s holiness that is expressed perfectly in His Law, i.e. the Word of God.
The use of the noun hamartia to translate the Hebrew term chata`ah points back to Paul’s statement in Romans 3:23.
Romans 3:23, “For each and every person has sinned consequently, they are always failing to measure up to the glory originating from God.”
“They are always failing to measure up” is the verb hamartano means, “to miss the mark,” and which mark is the absolute perfection of God’s character, which is His holiness.
This word is the cognate verb of the noun hamartia and is translated “fall short” in the New American Standard Updated version.
It denotes that each and every member of the human race has missed the mark of the absolute perfection of God’s character, i.e. His holiness that was perfectly manifested by the Lord Jesus Christ during His First Advent.
In Romans 4:7, the noun hamartia is used with reference to mental, verbal and overt acts of personal sin from the perspective that they miss the mark of the absolute perfection of God’s character, i.e. His holiness that was perfectly manifested by the Lord Jesus Christ during His First Advent.
Romans 4:7, “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.”
“HAVE BEEN COVERED” is the verb epikalupto (e)pikaluvptw) (ep-ee-kal-oop-to), which is composed of the preposition epi, “over” and the verb kalupto, “to cover,” thus the word literally means, “to cover over.”
The word literally means, “to cover over, conceal” whereas figuratively it means, “to cover over sins, i.e. forgive.”
Therefore, in Romans 4:7, the verb epikalupto refers to the spiritual death of Jesus Christ “covering over” the sins of a person in human history-past, present and future.
It also signifies that our Lord’s spiritual death on the Cross removed the guilt of the sinner as well as sparing the sinner from experiencing the righteous indignation of God.
Colossians 1:13-14, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.”