Category: Romans 4

Romans 4:5 – Gift of Righteousness

Posted on by Will

But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness,

Truth to Learn

It is our faith that God reckons as righteousness, not our works.

 

Behind the Words

“Believes” is from pisteuō. This is the verb form of the word pistis (the word translated “faith” in this verse), meaning “persuasion” or “faith.” Hence pisteuō refers to the act of being persuaded or believing.

The Greek word translated “ungodly” is asebēs. This is a compound word made up of the privative a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of sebomai, meaning “to worship” or “to give reverence.” Hence, asebēs refers to one who does not worship or someone who does not revere any god. According to The Complete Word Study Dictionary, “It does not mean irreligious, but one who actively practices the opposite of what the fear of God demands … one characterized by immoral and impious behavior.”

 

Meaning Explained

Remember what Paul has just said? If Abraham earned his righteousness, then God had to give it to him because He owed it to Abraham. But God doesn’t justify those who have earned righteousness! Why? Paul told us earlier that there is no one who is righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks after God. In other words, there is no one who has earned righteousness. We are what Paul calls “ungodly” in this verse. Apart from His grace we are opposed to God, we are immoral and impious. That’s how righteous we are based on our works.

He now says that for the one who does not obtain righteousness by working (that’s all of us) but who believes God’s promises, He reckons that faith as righteousness. Again, it is not because He has to, but because He wants to.

Do you see? It was God’s choice to credit Abraham with righteousness as a result of his faith just as it is God’s choice to credit us with righteousness because we believe His promise to us. It was God’s choice that Abraham is saved, not Abraham’s, and it is God’s choice that we are saved, not ours. God did not have to declare Abraham righteous when he believed, and He does not have to declare us righteous when we believe the gospel message. God did it for Abraham, and He does it for us because he chooses to. That’s why it is by grace and not by debt. We don’t earn our salvation by believing in the gospel, God freely gives it to us!

That’s what Paul is talking about in the book of Ephesians where he said:

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8, 9)

Salvation is God’s gift to us, not by any deed that we have done, but because He chose to give it to us.

 

Application

This truth should not make us proud. On the contrary, it should humble us. Thank you, Lord, for crediting me with righteousness. I didn’t deserve it and I don’t deserve it, but you gave it to me nonetheless!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 4:4 – Unearned Gift

Posted on by Will

Now to him who is working, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

Truth to Learn

Abraham did not earn his righteousness and neither can we.

 

Behind the Words

The words “who is working” are translated from ergodzomai, which means “to work or labor.”

“Wages” is from the Greek word mythos, meaning “that which is given in exchange for actions done.” It can mean payment, reward, or retribution.

The word translated “counted” is the same as the one translated “accounted” in the previous verse (logidzomai).

“Grace” is translated from charis, which refers to “a favor done without expectation of anything in return.”

The word translated “debt” is opheilēma, meaning “a debt; that which is owed to someone else.”

 

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul told us that according to scripture, Abraham’s belief in God’s promise of a future son was accounted to him as righteousness. Abraham was not declared righteous (justified) by God because of any works, but because of faith. Paul now continues on with his logical argument.

If Abraham was justified by a work of righteousness, then he earned his righteousness. If he earned that righteousness by doing something, then God owed the righteousness to him for doing the righteous act. That is, God owed him a debt. If God owed him that righteousness for doing a righteous act then Abraham earned it; it wasn’t freely given to him.

But that’s not the way it happened according to Paul. Abraham didn’t receive his righteousness because God owed it to him. Abraham received his reckoning of righteousness from God by God’s grace, not because God was obliged to, but because in His great love and by His marvelous grace, God chose to credit it to him.

In yesterday’s study we revealed the background of Abraham’s faith. We noted that Abraham returned to the king of Sodom all his people and all the plunder except the tithe given to the King and Priest of Salem and the portion earned by his two friends. Abraham did not keep any of the “reward.” Notice that it was perfectly lawful for Abraham to keep it because he earned it, but he gave it back to the king of Sodom. In the opening verse of Genesis chapter fifteen, God then said to Abraham:

"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am a shield to you, your exceedingly great reward." (Genesis 15:1b)

Do you see that? God said that He was Abraham’s reward. The Hebrew word translated “reward” has the same meaning as the Greek word mythos, translated as “wages” in this verse. Abraham refused the reward that was due him because he wanted to give God all the credit. Then, when he believed God’s promise, God credited him with the righteousness that he couldn’t possibly have earned. That’s grace!

 

Application

No matter how heroic our actions and no matter how much we give away of what is rightfully ours, we can’t earn our own righteousness. It only comes as a gift from God when we believe His promise.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 4:3 – Righteous Abraham

Posted on by Will

For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."

Truth to Learn

Righteousness comes by believing God’s message.

 

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “accounted” is logidzomai, which is an accounting term meaning “to count out as one would count out money when payment is being made.” By interpretation, however, it means “to put to one’s account” or “to credit to someone.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul is quoting here from Genesis 15:6. Let’s set the scene in order to understand the context of this verse. Abraham and Lot have separated and Lot has taken his flocks and has moved to Sodom. Meanwhile a confederacy of kings from the East has come and defeated Sodom and several other cities, carrying off the people of Sodom (including Lot) as captives. Upon hearing this, Abraham gathered the men of his own household along with a couple of his friends and pursued the conquering kings. Taking them by surprise at night, Abraham and his forces defeated the kings and brought all the people and goods of Sodom back with him.

He was met just outside Salem (now Jerusalem) by the king of Sodom. The king of Sodom demanded that Abraham give him his people back but told him that he could keep the plunder. Abraham not only gave back the people but nearly all the plunder as well (he offered 10% of it to the King and Priest of Salem and allowed his two friends to take their share). He did this so that no one could ever claim that they had made Abraham rich. He wanted God and God alone to have that distinction.

Immediately afterwards, God recognized Abraham’s selfless actions and promised him a son. Here’s what it says:

But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am going childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." And He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he [Abraham] believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:2-6)

Abraham believed that God would provide him a son and it was because of this faith that God “accounted it” to him as righteousness. In other words, in God’s record book He wrote down the word “justified” next to Abraham’s name. Because of Abraham’s faith, God declared him to be righteous!

This is precisely what happens to us when we believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we are declared as righteous in God’s record book.

 

Application

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord through faith, then you are recorded in God’s record book as having the righteousness of Christ himself. This means that you are now completely saved from your sins.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 4:2 – No Bragging

Posted on by Will

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has a boast, but not before God.

Truth to Learn

Abraham was not saved by doing good works.

 

Behind the Words

“Boast” is translated from kauchēma, which is derived from the verb kauchaomai, meaning “to brag” or “to boast.” Kauchēma refers to the object of bragging or “something worthy of bragging.”

The word translated “before” is pros, which relates the object “toward” which something is directed. In this case, Paul is saying that Abraham has nothing about which he can brag toward God.

 

Meaning Explained

Paul is continuing on with the rhetorical question that he posed in the previous verse. These few verses are where he is demonstrating to the Jewish Christians in Rome the truth about what he has been saying for most of this letter, namely that justification comes by faith, not works.

Although it might look like circular reasoning at first glance, here’s what John Calvin said about the sense of this verse,

If Abraham was justified by his works, he might boast of his own merits. But he has no ground of boasting before God. Therefore he was not justified by works.

You see, if Abraham did have some grounds for boasting, he would have boasted about them to God. But he never did because by his own acts he knew he was not worthy of justification. Hence, he was not justified by works. If you read Genesis 11:27 – Genesis 25:10 you will see that, although Abraham did some amazing and faith-full things in his life, he had a problem with lying, especially concerning Sarah his wife. This is not the sort of thing that would qualify someone to be justified by works, is it?

On the surface it may appear that Paul’s and James’ teachings with regard to faith and works are at odds, for James said:

And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. (James 2:23-24)

This is the problem with quoting Scripture out of context. For you see, James is not teaching that righteousness is achieved by works. On the contrary, he is teaching that works are the proof of faith and its resultant righteousness. If a person has genuine faith in the blood of Jesus Christ then his or her works will give evidence of saving faith. I’m sure that we all can think of someone who claims to be a Christian but doesn’t act like one. James would say that this person has no faith because they have no works to prove it, and Paul would agree.

 

Application

All Christians should be doing good works. Not to gain salvation, or to receive complete sanctification, and certainly not to keep from losing salvation. We should be doing good works because it’s what our Heavenly Father does and it’s what He wants us to be doing. It demonstrates our family resemblance. It’s part of the family business!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 4:1 – Righteousness by Faith Demonstrated

Posted on by Will

What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?

Truth to Learn

The Old Testament has examples of justification by faith.

 

Behind the Words

“What then shall we say” is a rhetorical question that Paul uses often in this letter to the Roman Christians (Romans 4:1; Romans 6:1; Romans 7:7; Romans 8:31; Romans 9:14; Romans 9:30). He uses this question when he anticipates an objection from his readers or when he is proposing a truth to be understood by the reader.

The Greek word translated “father” differs depending on which manuscript we look at. Some manuscripts have this as patēr, meaning “father,” though it is often used to indicate “ancestor.” Other manuscripts use the word propatōr, which is made up of pro, meaning “before, in time or position,” and a form of patēr, meaning “father.” Hence, propatōr means “forefather.”

“Has found” is the translation of the verb heuriskō, meaning “to find something.” It is expressed here in the Greek perfect tense, indicating a past completed action with an ongoing effect, with the emphasis on the ongoing effect. One form of this word, heureka, is what Archimedes is supposed to have exclaimed when, after a lengthy search, he discovered a method of detecting the amount of alloy mixed with the gold in the crown of the king of Syracuse. Subsequently, when prospectors in the Western US found the gold for which they had been diligently seeking, they often exclaimed “Eureka!”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul is now going to use Abraham, the father of all the Jews, to show how justification has always been by faith. Since Abraham lived before the giving of the Law, Paul will lead his readers to see that he was justified by faith, not by obedience to the Law. This becomes a particularly potent argument since all Jews trace back their ancestral lineage, as well as their spiritual heritage, to Abraham.

The main object of this chapter is to demonstrate that the doctrine of justification by faith, which the apostle Paul is defending, was taught in the Old Testament. The argument is addressed to the Jewish Christians in Rome, but it would apply to any Jew. The argument is derived from the fact that Abraham was justified by faith rather than works, as we will see in Romans 4:1-5. It was not the merit of his works but his faith (Abraham believed God). Then, in this same chapter, Paul will show that even David, the greatest of all Jewish kings, declared that righteousness results from faith rather than works, as we will see in Romans 4:6-8.

The expression “according to the flesh” which is found at the end of this verse has been much debated over the centuries. It could mean that Abraham was the father of the Jews according to flesh. The other interpretation of this expression is that it refers to what Abraham has found. If such is the case, then “flesh” could refer to external privileges and advantages, or to his own strength and power, or possibly to circumcision itself. The last of these seems the most reasonable interpretation; that Paul is referring to what Abraham has found as pertaining to circumcision since this is what much of this chapter is about.

 

Application

Christians are often prone to ignore the Old Testament teachings because “they only apply to the Jews.” As we will see from Romans chapter four, there is much common teaching between the Old and New Testaments.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved