Abraham Justified by Faith (Romans 4 :1-25) By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Abraham Justified by Faith (Romans 4 :1-25) (NIV)          

By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce   

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts &Gospel music

 

Scriptures reading Romans 4 1-11

 Abraham’s faith was apart from works.

 ¹What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? ²If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God.³ What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." ⁴ Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation 

.⁵ However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.⁶ David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:⁷"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.⁸ Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." ⁹Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!¹¹ And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.  

After dealing in chapter 3 with the objective, positional justification accomplished by the death of Christ, Paul in this chapter shows the subjective, dispositional justification carried out by the resurrection of Christ. He uses Abraham as the example to show that adequate, living justification is God’s deeper work in calling fallen people out of everything other than God and bringing them back to Himself, so that they place their full trust in Him rather than in themselves. In Gen.15 Abraham’s being justified by God was not related to sin; rather, it was for the gaining of a seed to produce a kingdom that will inherit the world (v.13). Likewise, Romans chapter indicates that justification is not merely for man to be delivered out of God’s condemnation, but even more for God to gain many sons (8:29-30) to constitute the one Body of Christ (Ch.12) as the kingdom of God (14:17) for the fulfillment of His purpose.

The objective, positional justification covered in ch.3 is related to redemption, through which man may to reconciled to God; the subjective dispositional justification covered in ch.4  is related to life, through which men may become heirs for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. This requires that man’s flesh and his natural ability be cut off, circumcised.

4:1 Abraham is the forefather of all believers, of both the uncircumcision who have the same faith and the circumcision who walk in the steps of the same faith.

4:2 by works This refers to Abraham’s doing something for God by himself, as seen in his attempts to have God accept the fruit of his efforts (first Lot, then Eliezer, then Ishmael, who was born through Hagar) as God’s promised seed. The result of Abraham’s being justified, however, was that he eventually stopped his own work for God. This was signified by circumcision (v.11), which is the cutting off of the flesh. Hence, circumcision became God’s constant reminder to Abraham to stop his own doing and live by faith in God. Justification has nothing to do with the works and accomplishments of the flesh.

4:3 Believing God was Abraham’s spontaneous reaction to God’s repeated appearing to him. God appeared to Abraham a number of times (Gen.12:1-3,7;13:14-17;17:1-7; ch.18; Acts 7:2), each time transfusing something of His glory, something of Himself, into Abraham. Hence, Abraham’s believing was actually the springing up within him of the very element that God had transfused into him. God’s reaction to Abraham’s believing was to justify him, that is, to account him righteous. This accounting was not out of works but was based on his believing God.

4:4 “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation or “now to the one who works, his wages are not accounted according to grace, but according to what is due.”  The natural man always works for God in order to receive compensation (wages). With the natural man there is no grace, faith, or enjoyment (Exo.12:45) God’s justification is not a reward (wages) for our good works (labor); it is grace freely given to us through Christ’s redemption. If God’s justification were based on our good works, or if it required our good works, then, it would be the wages we earn for our good works; that is, it would be something owed to us, not something freely given by God. Since God’s justification is reckoned according to His grace, it is no longer out of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace (11:6). Our works can by no means replace God’s grace; God’s grace must be absolute.

4:11 Circumcision was not the reason that Abraham was justified; rather, it was the outward sign and confirmation that God had already justified him. It denoted the cutting off of the natural strength by which he had produced Ishmael in his effort to please God. Abraham was already justified before he was circumcised, and God had already confirmed His covenant with him in Gen.15. Circumcision was to confirm the covenant from Abraham’s side, to serve as a constant reminder to him that he should no longer use his natural strength and energy to please God.

4:12 Walk in the footsteps of the faith. The Greek word means to walk in a regulated, definite way (Gal.5; Phil.3:16). Here it refers to walking in the steps by observing the elements of the faith. If one walks in the steps of Abraham’s faith, Abraham becomes the father of circumcision to him, and this one enters into a life in which he does not trust in himself but in God, with the result that he is justified subjectively and thus becomes His genuine heir.  

Bibliography,

            Friberg, Timothy, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller et al., eds. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament.1^st ed. Victoria BC: Trafford Publishing, 2005.

King James, The Holy Bible, Cleveland, OH: The world publishing company

            Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.

            Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV). Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.