Romans 4.2-Abraham Had No Merit with God and Thus Could Not Boast Before God
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday December 16, 2007
Romans: Romans 4:2-Abraham Had No Merit with God and Thus Could Not Boast Before God
Lesson # 113
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 4:1.
This morning we will note Romans 4:2 in which Paul teaches that Abraham had no merit with God and thus could not boast before God.
Romans 4:1, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?”
Corrected translation of Romans 4:1:
Romans 4:1, “Therefore, what is the conclusion that we are forced to with respect to Abraham’s experience, our forefather with respect to genealogical descent?”
Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”
Romans 4:3, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’”
In Romans 4:1-3, Paul employs “hypothetical syllogism.”
In Romans 4:2, he says that “if Abraham was justified by works, then he has something to boast about.”
The major premise is that, if a man could be justified before God by his own human efforts or own merits, then he has ground for boasting in himself.
The minor premise is that Abraham, as a man, was justified by actions produced by obedience to the Law.
The necessary conclusion would be that Abraham therefore has something to boast about.
The major premise is true in that if a person could be justified by works, then he would in fact have something to boast about, because he would have merited his own salvation.
But, as Paul goes on to demonstrate, the minor premise is not true.
Consequently, the conclusion is untrue in that Abraham did not have anything in himself to boast about before God.
Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”
“For” is the “explanatory” use of the post-positive conjunction gar (gavr), which introduces a first class conditional statement that “explains” the reason why Paul introduced the subject of Abraham in Romans 4:1.
“If” is the conditional particle ei (ei)) (i), which introduces a protasis of a first class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.
The protasis is “if Abraham was justified by works” and the apodasis is “(then) he has something to boast about.”
Of course, Paul does not believe that Abraham was justified by works and could boast before God but rather he employs a debater’s technique by assuming the position of the Judaizers who taught that Abraham was justified by works in order to destroy their position.
In other words, he is “setting them up” or in other words, he sets up a straw man in order that he might knock him over.
The basic relation that the protasis has to the apodasis is “evidence-inference.”
The evidence is that Abraham was justified by works or by meritorious actions.
The inference from this evidence is that Abraham would have something to boast about in himself.
The adversative clause that follows “but not before God” emphatically rejects this idea.
Then, in Romans 4:3 he explains the reason why he emphatically rejects this idea that Abraham was justified by means of meritorious actions or works.
He quotes Genesis 15:6, which states that God credited to Abraham righteousness as a result of Abraham trusting in the Lord’s promises to him of many descendants even though he was at the time childless.
Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”
“Abraham” is the proper name Abraam ( )Abraavm) (ab-rah-am), which refers to the father of the nation of Israel.
“Was justified” is the verb dikaioo (dikaiovw) (dik-ah-yo-o), which refers to God declaring Abraham as righteous as He is as a result of Abraham’s obedient actions to God’s commands, i.e. works of the Law.
In Romans 4:2, Paul is assuming the position of his opponents the Judaizers who taught that Abraham was justified by his obedient actions in order to refute this teaching.
Thus, dikaioo is used in Romans 4:2 to denote Abraham being declared by God as righteous as He is as a result of Abraham meritorious actions or in other words because He obeyed the Lord.
Of course, Paul rejects this idea since Genesis 15:6 teaches the exact opposite that Abraham was declared righteous by God as a result of Abraham making the non-meritorious decision to trust in the Lord’s promises of numerous descendants when at the time, Abraham was childless.
The Jewish rabbis considered Abraham a perfect example and model of a man who was justified by his works.
For example, the Mishnah’s third division Kiddushin (4.14) makes an erroneous interpretation of Genesis 26:5.
Genesis 26:4-5, “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”
The Mishnah writes, “We find that Abraham our father had performed the whole law before it was given, for it is written, ‘Because that Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statues, and my laws.’”
The Book of Jubilees writes, “For Abraham was perfect in all his deeds with the Lord, and well-pleasing in righteousness all the days of his life.”
So perfect was Abraham thought to be that “The Prayer of Manasses” said that Abraham had no need of repentance, saying, “You, therefore, O Lord, are the God of the righteous, having appointed repentance unto the righteous, unto Abraham.”
This is the reason why Paul is going to such lengths to refute these ridiculous teachings that Abraham performed the whole Law even before it was actually written, that he was perfect in all his deeds, and that he had no need of repentance.
Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”
“By works” means that Abraham was justified before God by means of actions produced by obedience to the Law or in other words, he was declared justified by God based upon his own merits.
Of course, as we have noted, Paul is assuming the position of the Judaizers in order to refute their teaching that Abraham was declared justified or accepted into a relationship with God based upon his own merits.
“Something to boast about” is the noun kauchema (kauvxhma) (kow-khay-mah), which means, “the basis for boasting” indicating that if Abraham was justified based upon his own merits then, he would have a reason, grounds or a basis for boasting.
The Scriptures teach that there is only one appropriate and justified form of boasting, cited by Jer. 9:24 in 1 Cor. 1:31, “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord” (cf. 2 Co. 10:17).
Jeremiah 9:23-24, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the LORD.”
To boast in the Lord is the humble attitude and assertion of the sinner who has placed his faith in Jesus Christ as his or her Savior.
It is the humble attitude and assertion of the sinner who accepts by faith in the Word of God that he has no merit with God and is saved based upon the merits of Jesus Christ and His spiritual death on the Cross.
To boast in the Lord is the humble attitude and assertion of the sinner that he has been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not on his own merits.
Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”
“But not before God” means that Abraham was never justified based upon his own merits in the judgment of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ since He is that member of the Trinity who appeared to Abraham in theophanies.
In Romans 4:3, Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 to explain that the reason why Abraham was never justified before God based upon his own merits was that he was declared justified by God based upon his faith in the Lord.
Romans 4:3, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’”
The Rabbis erroneously thought that faith is meritorious but the Bible teaches otherwise.
Abraham was justified since the object of his faith, namely, the Lord had all the merit and he had none since he was under the dominion of the sin nature like the rest of humanity.
Thus, the object of Abraham’s faith, namely, the Lord, saved him.
Therefore, the sinner receives eternal salvation and is declared justified by God based upon the merits of the object of his faith, Jesus Christ!
Romans 3:21, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.”
Romans 3:22, “Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe for there is no distinction.”
Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:24, “Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:25, “Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.”
Romans 3:26, “For the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
The sinner is saved, receives the forgiveness of sins, is entered into a relationship with God through the merits of Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross.
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.”
Paul teaches in Ephesians 2:8-9 that the sinner is saved by grace through faith and not based upon human merit.
Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Galatians 2:16, “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”