ROMANS, CHAPTER 4
[Verses 6-16]
(6-8-11)
Review:
Romans 3:20-22) [NIV] Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
21) [NIV] But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
22) [NIV] This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
Romans 4:3-5) [NIV] What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
4) [NIV] Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
5) [NIV] However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
QUESTION: What’s the relationship between Moses’ Law and our salvation?
ANSWER: The Law convicts us of our sin and makes us aware that we are lost, and in need of a Savior.
QUESTION: Can the Law make anyone righteous?
ANSWER: No! However, it tried and found Jesus to be righteous, and declared Him so.
QUESTION: Can the Law make anyone unrighteous?
ANSWER: No! It simply tries us and finds us to be unrighteous.
NOTE: We are born sinners, and the Law simply declares us to be so.
On To This Week’s Lesson:
Romans 4:6) [NIV] David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
NIV QUESTION: In what way do you walk by faith; i.e., walk out what you believe?
ANSWER: Politics! What you think of yourself! What you think of others! What you think is safe!
7) [NIV] “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
8) [NIV] Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
Psalm 32:1-2) [GW] Blessed is the person whose disobedience is forgiven and whose sin is pardoned.
2) [GW] Blessed is the person whom the LORD no longer accuses of sin and who has no deceitful thoughts.
QUESTION: What man does David say is blessed?
ANSWER: It’s the “man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.”
More Review:
James 2:20-25) [GW] You fool! Do you have to be shown that faith which does nothing is useless?
21) [GW] Didn’t our ancestor Abraham receive God’s approval as a result of what he did when he offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice on the altar?
22) [GW] You see that Abraham’s faith and what he did worked together. His faith was shown to be genuine by what he did.
23) [GW] The Scripture passage came true. It says, “Abraham believed God, and that faith was regarded by God to be his approval of Abraham.” So Abraham was called God’s friend.
24) [GW] You see that a person receives God’s approval because of what he does, not only because of what he believes.
25) [GW] The same is true of the prostitute Rahab who welcomed the spies and sent them away on another road. She received God’s approval because of what she did.
26) [GW] A body that doesn’t breathe is dead. In the same way faith that does nothing is dead.
QUESTION: Who’s telling the truth about faith, Paul or James?
ANSWER: Both! Paul is talking about works of the Law; James is talking about living out what you believe.
QUESTION: In what way do you walk by faith; i.e., walk out what you believe?
ANSWER: Politics! What you think of yourself! What you think of others! What you think is safe!
Concerning verses Romans 4:7-8,
“What did Paul see in these verses? First of all, he noticed that David said nothing about works; forgiveness is a matter of God’s grace, not of man’s efforts. Second, he saw that if God doesn’t impute sin to a person, then that person must have a righteous standing before Him. Finally, he saw that God justifies the ungodly; David had been guilty of adultery and murder, yet in these verses he is tasting the sweetness of full and free pardon” [BBC].
QUESTION: How could David, living under the Law, discover this blessedness?
ANSWER: He discovered it through repentance and the sacrificial system of the Law.
QUESTION: Why does Paul add the words “the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works” when referring to David’s comments?
ANSWER: Once you sin, regardless of the system you are under, you must trust God to forgive you. Even though the Law required a sacrifice, ultimately David’s faith in a forgiving God resulted in that forgiveness.
NOTE: David is a type of Christ. He sat on the throne of Israel, and Jesus is the promised Descendent of David Who will ultimately sit on that throne. As a type of Christ, he is pictured as receiving grace from God.
9) [NIV] Is 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.
10) [NIV] Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
QUESTION: What is Paul’s strategy now?
ANSWER: After bringing David into his discourse he now returns to Abraham, who is the father of the Jewish race.
11) [NIV] 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.
12) [NIV] 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.
QUESTION: Why does Paul bring out the timing of the declaration by God of Abraham being declared righteous compared to the timing of his circumcision?
ANSWER: Moses, the giver of the Law, was a descendent of Abraham. Therefore, Abraham lived prior to the Law. The command of God that Abraham be circumcised was later to become a part of the Law for all Jewish males. God commanded them to be circumcised as well. Consequently, Abraham had the beginning of the Law in the commandment to be circumcised. In other words, to all his Jewish readers, circumcision represented the Law. Paul wants to show those readers that God pronounced Abraham righteous before He commanded Him to be circumcised.
QUESTION: Was that a coincidence that Paul sought to take advantage of?
ANSWER: No! As we will see at the conclusion of this chapter, God had you in mind the whole time.
13) [NIV] It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
14) [NIV] For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless,
15) [NIV] because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
16) [NIV] Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring-not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
QUESTION: Why did God devise a system that depended on His promise, and not our Law keeping?
ANSWER: It was the only way to guarantee our salvation.
QUESTION: Why do I say that?
ANSWER: We can’t keep the Law! God can, and God will, keep His promise!