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Romans 4: 1-3
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."
Abraham’s approval - 4: 1-3
Abraham believed God, and it was
counted to him as righteousness...
If there is
going to be life, it will have
to come from God.
Abraham’s Approval
(4:1-3)
Summary: Abraham’s distinction had nothing to do
with works or personal abilities. He believed God
and this is why he was made just by God.
Characters: Abraham is an old man whose body is
as “good as dead”. He contemplates his own lack of
life-giving abilities and decides to trust God to give
life where there is none. This provides him with
“justification.”
Abraham’s approval - 4: 1-3
Abraham believed God, and it was
counted to him as righteousness...
Abraham’s approval - 4: 1-3
Abraham believed God, and it was
counted to him as righteousness...
Romans 4: 4-8
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."
A Foundational Fact - 4: 4-8
Now to the one who works, his
wages are not counted as a gift but as
his due... to the one who does not work
but believes in HIM who justifies the
ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
You earned it!
A Foundational Fact
(4:4-8)
Summary: When a person works, his wages are
earned and are called his “due.” But the one who
believes receives justification as a free gift.
Characters: Laborius has worked hard and is
waiting for his boss to pay him a day’s wages.
There is no such thing as a “free lunch” here.
A Foundational Fact - 4: 4-8
Now to the one who works, his
wages are not counted as a gift but as
his due... to the one who does not work
but believes in HIM who justifies the
ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
A Foundational Fact - 4: 4-8
Now to the one who works, his
wages are not counted as a gift but as
his due... to the one who does not work
but believes in HIM who justifies the
ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
Romans 4: 9-16
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.
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not
come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is
void.
15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and
be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to
the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
Birth through Belief - 4: 9-16
The purpose was to make him the father of
all who believe without being circumcised...
Father Abraham
had many sons...
Birth through Belief
(4:9-16)
Summary: Abraham was first counted just and later
circumcised. This means that those who believe like him
can share in his justification without having to be
circumcised. It also means that he is the father of all who
believe like him without having been circumcised.
Characters: The “children of Abraham” are not only the
Jewish nation, but come from all nations and cultures,
provided they believe like their “father” Abraham.
...and
daughters.
Birth through Belief - 4: 9-16
The purpose was to make him the father of
all who believe without being circumcised...
Birth through Belief - 4: 9-16
The purpose was to make him the father of
all who believe without being circumcised...
Birth through Belief - 4: 9-16
The purpose was to make him the father of
all who believe without being circumcised...
Romans 4: 17-25
17 As it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"—in the presence of the God in
whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not
exist.
18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he
had been told, "So shall your offspring be."
19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead
(since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's
womb.
20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith
as he gave glory to God,
21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
22 That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness."
23 But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone,
24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the
dead Jesus our Lord,
25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
A Core Conviction - 4: 17-25
...God in whom he believed, who gives life
to the dead and calls into existence the
things that do not exist...
A Core Conviction (4:17-25)
Summary: Abraham believed God in spite of all
evidence to the contrary. He recognized God as his
“source of life” and his own “body as good as dead.” His
faith is symbolic of the one who believes in Jesus
Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
Characters: The coffin represents the curse of death,
but God can fill it with his life in the very same way that
he raised Jesus Christ from the tomb.
A Core Conviction - 4: 17-25
...God in whom he believed, who gives life
to the dead and calls into existence the
things that do not exist...
A Core Conviction - 4: 17-25
...God in whom he believed, who gives life
to the dead and calls into existence the
things that do not exist...
