Romans 4: The Faith of Abraham

Recap

The last time I spoke, we worked our way through Romans chapter 3.

In it, Paul was asking rhetorical questions that some Christians, Jews, and unbelievers might ask in light of the first two chapters that he wrote.

The first chapter going deeper into the sins of the gentiles

The second chapter going deeper into the sins of the Jews

So, Paul was using these first three chapters to tear down any misconceptions that his audience might have about the different people groups that would come to make up the Church.

Now we will see as we begin chapter 4 that Paul begins to wrap up this subject.

This leveling of the playing field that he has been doing to all sides

And now that he’s done his best to get rid of all the incorrect beliefs, he will now start to teach the correct way of thinking.

The way that all people, regardless of their traditions, genealogy, or race should define what having a saving faith means

His teaching here is linked with what he said previously in chapter 3, verse 27 that “all of our good works give us nothing to boast about”

Because no matter how much we try to be “good” in this life, nothing can compare to the righteousness that Jesus offers us

And he begins to prove this by going back to the very beginning of the Jewish people

All the way back to their forefather Abraham to remind them of some very important aspects of his faith that might not line up with their beliefs that they held at that time

Abraham - Saved By Faith

So we’ll begin our study today with verse 1 in chapter 4:

Legacy Standard Bible CHAPTER 4

1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?

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 wage is not counted according to grace, but according to what is due.

5 But to the one who does not work, but believes upon Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

7 “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN,

AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.

8 “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”

Paraphrase of verse 1:

“What shall we conclude then, about how Abraham found grace in the eyes of God?”

Many Jewish commentaries state that Abraham became righteous because he was willing to sacrifice Isaac

That was the “work” that they say deserved the grace of God to be given to him

The Jews of the day thought that grace was given as a reward for something you did, not the other way around like what Paul describes here

The wages described in verses 4 & 5 are the way that makes sense to us

Especially being Americans

You work hard, and your reward is payment for your work

Ideally, the harder you work, the better you get paid

But we can’t think of God and His Grace in this way

We have to think of it more in how a legal proceeding works in the courtroom

You are brought before a judge and jury because of crimes that you’ve committed

They don’t look at your previous life, your previous good works in ruling on whether you are guilty or innocent

You don’t earn “get out of jail free” cards as if you are playing some game of Monopoly

Instead, they look at the evidence that is compiled for or against you to make their ruling

God, in the same way, will judge us at the end of time

There are no good works that we are building up in hopes of trading them in for a “get out of Hell free” card

The only hope that we have is if he looks, not at our flawed lives that we’ve lived,

But instead looks at the life that Jesus lived, and the sacrifice that he made on our behalf

That’s the only work good enough to cover the sins that we’ve committed

That’s why Jesus had to live that perfect life for us 2000 years ago

Because he knew sooner or later each and every one of us would stand before God, and would be handed that same guilty verdict unless he stepped in and gave God another life to look at instead of our own.

Paul solidifies this courtroom example in the final 3 verses of this passage by quoting David

In verses 6-8 Paul quotes Psalm 32 which describes the blessings that are given when our sins are forgiven.

So on the one hand we have the idea that we are made righteous by Christ, but then on the other hand he links that together with what David says about the forgiveness of sins.

What Paul is getting at here is that there is no difference between the two.

They can’t exist without one another

You can’t be declared righteous without being forgiven of your sins

And you can’t be forgiven of your sins without being declared righteous

It’s a 2 for 1 deal that cannot be separated

There are many things in life that I wish operated under a 2 for 1 deal

Peanut butter and jelly

Marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate

Cereal and milk

Milk and oreos

In fact, they could probably just set up a whole section of the grocery store based around what goes well with milk

I would probably end up leaving with a lot more groceries than what I ever intended to

But these are all things that you know going in if you buy one, you’re going to turn around and need to buy the other to make it worth it

Luckily the 2 for 1 deal that God offers us is the same way and already comes bundled together

We need both at the same time to make it all work

Paul then moves in the next passage to focus in on where Abraham was at in his life when he was declared righteous because of his faith

This links back to the past 3 chapters of this letter where he is trying to break down those walls of the Jewish Christians focusing too much on their bloodline

And in doing so, possibly planting some doubt among the gentiles on whether they are actually saved or not

Abraham - Saved Prior to Circumcision

We will pick up where we left off in verse 9:

Legacy Standard Bible (CHAPTER 4)

9 Therefore, is this blessing on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “FAITH WAS COUNTED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

10 How then was it counted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;

11 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 counted to them,

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.

13 For the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Verses 9 and 10 point out a very eye-opening reminder about Abraham and his faith.

The verse in Genesis that Paul referenced earlier, the one which stated Abraham’s belief is what was counted as righteousness, happened before Abraham had been circumcised.

What this means is that the gentile believers of the day were capable of being saved by faith without first being circumcised

There was no other requirement that had to be met to be saved by faith.......they only needed to believe

It wasn’t until after this believing faith had been made that there was any sign given

The physical sign always follows, and is only reinforcing, what is already in the heart

If your heart hasn’t been circumcised first, then there’s no need to circumcise the flesh

It’s a good reminder to us as Christians on how we view baptism

There are many traditions in many denominations where children are baptized shortly after birth

But, much like the way circumcision has been talked about here, the physical symbol is supposed to reinforce the change that has happened, or in the case of infant baptism, the change that will take place in that child’s life

It’s why when our congregation does either infant baptisms or dedications we focus on the work that is to come by the parents and this congregation

The work that it takes to ensure the saving faith that is symbolized with water will come to pass spiritually as we help raise these children in the faith

Paul then continues on with this point by saying, this way that Abraham was saved was not by accident, but on purpose.

You see, Abraham was not only promised to be the father of his descendants

He was also promised to be the father of many other nations beyond his family

Do any of you remember singing the “Father Abraham” song in Sunday school growing up?

It’s kind of like the Christian version of the “Hokey Pokey”

You sing “Father Abraham, had many sons, the many sons of father Abraham, and I am one of them, and so are you, so let’s just praise the Lord”

And then you’d say “right arm” and you’d start flapping one arm like you were marching

And you’d keep singing this over and over again until all of the kids are marching around the room flapping their arms and legs around and causing complete chaos

But the meaning rings true, and this is the lesson that it is trying to teach us

That “Father Abraham” really is the forefather of us all, not just the Jewish people

Him showing this saving faith before being circumcised gave us all an example to live by

Those who wouldn’t have this circumcision tradition in their culture were shown that it was possible to be saved by faith regardless of what family you were born into

What culture you were born into

What race you were born into

And finally, Paul states that because he was later circumcised, Abraham is also the father of those who were not only circumcised by flesh, but also had a saving faith to go along with that physical circumcision

Finally, Paul wraps things up as we skip down to verses 23-25 where we read:

Legacy Standard Bible CHAPTER 4

23 Now not for his sake only was it written THAT IT WAS COUNTED TO HIM,

24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be counted, as those who believe upon Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

25 He who was delivered over on account of our transgressions, and was raised on account of our justification.

Again, he ties everything that he has just said back to what really matters

That this righteousness that Abraham was given back then is the same righteousness that we receive when we believe upon Jesus

And what are the two things that makes Jesus our only hope?

The sacrifice that he made on our behalf by dying on the cross for our sins

And the resurrection that signifies how we will one day be declared righteous before God because of the perfect life that he led

So that death will not be able to have victory over us

Instead we will rule and reign with him forever

Let us pray:

Father, thank you for giving us these examples in your word that we can look to. These patriarch’s of the faith that laid the groundwork for what having true faith in you looks like. A faith that starts with believing in you and the savior that you sent to take our punishment upon himself up on that cross 2000 years ago. We thank you for this tradition that we will be taking part in today as a reminder of that sacrifice that was made on our behalf. And I pray that as we partake in it today that we leave with a renewed sense of where our faith stands and look to grow closer to you and your ways. Amen.

Lord’s Supper

· At this time I would ask the ushers to come forward as we partake in the Lord’s Supper

· Bread has been passed

o We remember now how Jesus took this bread, the bread which they call the afikomen, during his last Passover meal and blessed it. He then broke it saying “this is my body, which is broken for you” eat this now in remembrance of me.

· Juice has been passed

o We now recall Jesus taking this cup, the third cup in the Passover meal, after they had finished eating and blessed it, saying “this is my blood which is shed for you, drink as a covenant for the forgiveness of sins”

Benediction

May we go out today with the assurance that we have a faith like Abraham. One not rooted in a reliance of who we are, or where we came from. But a faith that is founded on one simple thing: that we believe in the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ Amen.