Wednesday 30 September 2015

Romans 4


Abraham Justified by Faith

What then shall we say was gained by[a] Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in[b] him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
    and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
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.

The Promise Realized Through Faith

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,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[c] 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.


2 comments:

Andrew Kenny said...

Romans 4:4

This verse describes the person who works. The following verse (v.5) describes the person who does not work (the believer). The person who works (v.4) expects a reward for his work. He believes that his good works can earn him salvation and favor with God. Note the contrast in these verses:

The System of Works The Way of Faith
The person who works (v.4) The person who does not work (v.5)
The religious person (v.4) who is self-righteou The believing person (v.5) who is ungodly apart from Christ
DEBT -- what God owes me GRACE -- what God gives me
Wages -- what I’ve earned Free gift -- what I do not deserve
WORKS = Boasting (v.2) -- "Look what I have done to earn my salvation and win God’s favor!" FAITH = Thanksgiving -- "Oh to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!"

Andrew Kenny said...

Micah 7:19 -- My sins are forever gone! They will never to rise to the surface again!
Jeremiah 50:20 -- My sins will not be found!
Psalm 103:10-12 -- How far has God removed my transgressions from me? (Note: the distance from north to south is finite but the distance from east to west is infinite. You can keep going west forever but you cannot keep going north forever!)
Isaiah 38:17 -- My sins are completely out of sight!
Isaiah 44:22 -- My sins are blotted out!
Isaiah 1:18 -- My sins are bleached! [ red + red = white! ]
Hebrews 10:16 (Greek double negative). My sins will NEVER be remembered by God.
Leviticus 16:20-22 -- The message of the goat that was sent off: GET LOST!
John 1:29 -- "Lift up and take off." My sins were completely taken away (blasted and rocketed into outer space).
Hebrews 9:25-"put away" = removed How? By the sacrifice of sin! God cannot ignore sin or overlook it. He must deal with it and judge it. This He did in the Person of our blessed Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ!