Abraham by Faith

Lesson 15 - Romans 4:1-25

Sunday, April 14, 2019

4:31 PM

Review: Last week we talked about

"By Faith Alone" (3:27-4:25)

"By Faith Alone" : Initial Statement (3:27-31)

Through Faith in Christ's work (3:21-31) Appropriated by faith (3:21-23) Accomplished by Christ's Sacrifice (3:27-31)

"By Faith Alone: : The Illustration - Abraham (4:1-25)

Paul is insistent that the new thing God has done in Christ is not the undoing of all he has done in the past. On the contrary, Paul affirms that scriptures are upheld, established, fulfilled in Christ (v 31).

And in Rom 4, the scriptural story of Abraham is presented as the parade example to prove the point that God has always put people right with himself on the basis of faith, not works.

Greathouse, W. M., & Lyons, G. (2008). Romans 1-8: A commentary in the Wesleyan tradition (135). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City.

Paul must achieve two things in his scriptural recasting of Abraham.

First, he must show that Scripture presents Abraham primarily as a person of faith, as one who became “right with God” on the basis of faith alone; and,

second, that it was upon the basis of this righteousness with God brought about by faith, that Abraham received for himself and all his descendants the blessings of salvation contained in the promise (Rom 4:13–17a).

Based on these proofs, Paul redefines Abraham as not merely the father of Jews, but as the father of a great multitude of both Jews and Gentiles. Believing in God’s power to call “things that are not as though they were” (v 17c), Abraham becomes the father of this multitude of descendants, who will receive the promise on the basis of their faith alone (see 9:6–8).

Greathouse, W. M., & Lyons, G. (2008). Romans 1-8: A commentary in the Wesleyan tradition (135). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City.

Abraham was justified apart from works (4:1-8)

We can assume several reasons for Paul's choosing Abraham as the supreme example of salvation by faith.

First, Abraham lived about 2,000 years before Paul wrote this letter, demonstrating that the principle of salvation by faith rather than by works was not new in Judaism.

Abraham was the first and foremost Hebrew patriarch. He lived more than six hundred years before the Old Covenant was established through Moses. He therefore lived long before the law was given and obviously could not have been saved by obedience to it. Second, Paul used Abraham as an example of salvation by faith simply because he was a human being.

Until this point in Romans, Paul has been speaking primarily about theological truths in the abstract. In Abraham he gives a flesh and blood illustration of justification by faith. The third, and doubtless most important, reason Paul used Abraham as the example of justification by faith was that, although rabbinical teaching and popular Jewish belief were contrary to Scripture as far as the basis of Abraham's righteousness was concerned, they agreed that Abraham was the Old Testament's supreme example of a godly, righteous man who is acceptable to the Lord. He is the biblical model of genuine faith and godliness.

MacArthur New Testament Commentary, The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Romans 1-8.

The Question of Abraham's justification (4:1-3) (Genesis 15 and 17)

Paul “exposits” Gen. 15:6: “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

This text is quoted in v. 3 after Paul sets up his problem in terms of Abraham’s “right” to boast (vv. 1–2).

Thereafter, Paul quotes or alludes to this text in every paragraph of the chapter, using a series of antitheses to draw out its meaning and implications.

In vv. 3–8, Paul shows that the “reckoning” of Abraham’s faith for righteousness is an entirely gracious act that by its nature excludes any appeal to works.

The contrast between circumcision and uncircumsion dominates vv. 9–12. Here Paul shows that the “reckoning” of Abraham’s faith for righteousness took place before he was circumcised, thereby enabling him to become the “father” of both Jewish and Gentile believers.

This same concern with the inclusive importance of Abraham is stressed in vv. 13–22, where Paul focuses on the promise that Abraham would be the father of “many nations,” or “all the seed.” The ruling contrast—though not so clearly sustained as those in the previous two paragraphs—is between “faith” and “law,” with a minor contrast perhaps suggested in vv. 18–21 between faith and “sight.” The quotation of Gen. 15:6 at the end of v. 22 brings Paul’s exposition back to where it began in v. 3; the final three verses of the chapter apply the lessons Paul has drawn from his text to his Christian readers.2

Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (255). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

The Question (4:1-2) - Paul denies that Abraham is any exception to the principle laid down in 3:27-28: All boasting excluded because justification is by faith. The Record (4:3) This is the scriptural evidence for Abraham's justification by faith.

Faith does not operate in a void; it is always based on God’s promise (see Rom 10:17).

Greathouse, W. M., & Lyons, G. (2008). Romans 1-8: A commentary in the Wesleyan tradition (138). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City.

Evidently, if faith is credited as righteousness, it is not itself identical with, but distinguishable from, righteousness.

Faith is not a refined kind of righteousness that God accepts instead of legal obedience. Paul’s point is that faith and righteousness operate in two different spheres. The faith by which Abraham was justified derived its power from God. Faith is not relying on human trust; it is relying upon God (see Rom 4:20–21). Faith is not an optimistic outlook on life, in contrast to the dismal attitudes of doubt and despair.

Believing is not something people do instead of obeying the Law as a means of winning God’s approval. The point Paul makes is that faith is not a work, not something people do at all. “For Paul, righteousness is the gift of a new relationship with God that comes when humans stop competing for honor and accept the grace that they could never earn” (Jewett 2007, 312).

People are not justified by the virtue of their faith, but by God. Otherwise they would have something to boast about—but not before God (v 2).

Greathouse, W. M., & Lyons, G. (2008). Romans 1-8: A commentary in the Wesleyan tradition (138). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City.

Contrast of works and faith (4:4-5) - Reckoning of Abraham's faith for righteousness is shown to be a gracious act of the "God who justifies the ungodly" eliminating any place for "works" Confirmation of David's testimony (4:6-8)

We see this "reckoning" defined in terms of forgiveness and appeals to the testimony of David (Psalm 32:1-2)