Justification, Faith, & Wages

There is too much, let me sum up

There is a problem. God is holy. Why is this a problem?

God’s Holiness is demonstrated in the Law, or, the obedience to His instructions. Disobedience results in separation, obedience leads to unification and peace.

The first instruction God gave was disobeyed, so Adam and Eve were excommunicated. Sin is the disobedience of God’s commands.

God gave the Law. The Law is a set of instructions from God, so technically, if one were to keep it, then they would be at peace and in good standing with God. People have tried to do this, and Paul, knowing this, addressed the issue of justification by good actions.

Romans 4:1–12 ESV

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.

Abraham

Paul begins the discussion by using Abraham as an illustration

Abraham was the first “Israelite.” He is the beginning of the Jewish Nation, the one God called to be the father of nations

The Jews regarded him as one of the most righteous, obedient men to ever exist. Paul knew this, this is why Abraham is the example.

Frame the question in verse 1 like this.

“What did the most righteous, obedient man we can think of, gain by his good works?”

We of course know that there is nothing gained by “works of the flesh.” Ch.3:28. We know we can’t boast even in our good works.

What justifies Abraham? It is his faith in God!

The phrase “counted to”that is used is the idea of giving credit. It is a financial term, meaning to give an asset to someone who did not work for it.

Paul then goes to use the illustration of a job and wage, verses 4-8

Wages of a job are not a gift, you earn them, goods for services rendered. But you get no goods for services rendered here, Paul makes that clear.

The Sin Debt

Because Paul uses financial terms, let’s keep using them.

Imagine you’re living somewhere you don’t own. All you have to do is follow the instructions of the landlord, and then everything is fine.

Not only do you not follow the rules, you actively break them, and deface the place. You incur a huge cost to repair the place, its a huge amount of money, more than you could ever come up with.

The landlord’s son comes in and affects all the repairs, and your debt is paid by him. The slate is cleaned, the account is wiped out.

Who’s it for, when do they get it?

Romans 4:9–12 ESV

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.

Paul understood that some people were still confused, that they were relying on their actions or heritage to save them. Not only that, but there was a timeline issue.

There was debate over whether or not the blessing applied to those who followed the law

There was debate over when the blessing of forgiveness was imparted, before or after obedience

Abraham was blessed before he was circumcised

Obedience to the law does not save us, rather it is evidence of salvation

James 2:18 “18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Faith in Jesus results in salvation from the sin debt

Salvation from the sin debt results in an obedience to the commands of Christ.