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