Friday DIVE – January 3, 2025 – Romans 4:13-25

RECAP:  Abraham’s experience as an illustration of the Justification that is by faith

¹ What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh,^[a]has discovered regarding this matter?^[b]

• The question is building on what Paul said in Romans 3:31.  

² For if Abraham was declared righteous^[c]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 credited^[d]to him as righteousness.”^[e]

• There’s nothing to boast about before God because of what we read in Romans 3:20 and 3:23
• NOTE that Paul didn’t say that Abraham was made righteous (or that he became righteous) in all of his doings.   
• “Our justification is not God making us perfectly righteous, but counting us as perfectly righteous.  After we are counted righteous, then God begins making us truly righteous, culminating at our resurrection.” (Guzik)

⁴ Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation.^[f]

⁵But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous,^[g] his faith is credited as righteousness.

• In v.4, which says not credited due to grace, “the idea of grace stands opposite to the principle of works; grace has to do with receiving the freely given gift of God, works has to do with earning our merit before God.” (Guzik)
• Abraham was not “working” to establish his own righteousness.
• He just believed in the One who declares the ungodly righteous.
• Righteousness will never be credited to the one who approaches God on the basis of his works (even if the works are good works).

⁶ So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:  

• • Note v.6 – “the man to whom God credits righteousness” … cf. Romans 1:17 re: “the righteousness of God”, which we noted was NOT really about the righteousness that is in God, BUT about the righteousness that is from God
  • David, in the psalm, is talking about a righteousness that is imputed — a righteousness that is given, not earned.
  • Blessed is the one whose sins are covered — the one to whom God will not impute any sin.

⁹ Is this blessedness^[l] then for^[m] the circumcision^[n] or also for^[o] the uncircumcision?  For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham  as righteousness.”^[p]10How then was it credited to him?  Was he circumcised at the time, or not?  No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised!  ¹¹ And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised,^[q]so that he would become^[r]the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised,^[s]that they too could have righteousness credited to them.   ¹² And he is also the father of the circumcised,^[t] who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised.^[u]

• When did Abraham receive the promise?  Genesis 12:1-4
  • • He was 75 years old at the time.
• When was Abraham circumcised?  Genesis 17:10-14, 23-27
  • • He was 99 years old at the time.
• Abraham is the father of the uncircumcised who believe (v.11)
• He is also the father of the circumcised who walk in the footsteps of faith (v.12)
• The determining factor = faith (belief)

¹³ For the promise^[v] to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.  ¹⁴ For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified.^[w]15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression^[x] either.  

• Why was the promise “not fulfilled through the law”?
  • • because all of God’s dealings (including the promises) with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob took place before the law (i.e. the Mosaic Law) was given
• So how was the promise fulfilled?
  • •  on the basis of faith that is similar to Abraham’s
• Why can’t the promise be fulfilled through the Law?
  • • The “promise” cannot be fulfilled through the Law, NOT because the law is bad or weak, BUT because we cannot keep it.
• If persons could “become heirs by the Law”, why would their faith be empty?
  • • because a person can’t be justified by faith and law at the same time
    • If a person could become justified by law-keeping, then faith would be unnecessary, shallow, redundant (empty)
• How does the Law bring forth wrath?
  • • Sin is the transgression of the law.
    • If there is no law, then there can be no transgression.
    • If there is no transgression, then there should be no wrath (which is punishment for sin/transgression.
    • Once there is a law, however, then sin becomes manifest … and wrath becomes justified.
• That being said, David Guzik (Enduring Word commentator) makes a very important point, when he says:
  • • “There is sin that is not the “crossing the line” of the Law of Moses.  The root of sin is NOT in breaking the law, BUT in breaking trust with God; with denying His loving, caring purpose in every command He gives.  Before Adam sinned he broke trust with God – therefore God’s plan of redemption is centered on a relationship of trusting love – faith – instead of law-keeping.   When we center our relationship with God on law-keeping instead of trusting love, we go against His whole plan.”

¹⁶For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace,^[y] with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants — not  only to those who are under the law, but  also  to those who have the faith of Abraham,^[z] who is the father of us all  ¹⁷ (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”).^[aa]  He is our father^[ab] in the presence of God whom he believed — the God who^[ac]makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.^[ad]

• “it is by faith, so that it may be of grace.”  How do you understand that phrase?
• What is the “it” that is referred to?
  • • fulfillment of the promise
• What might Paul mean?
  • • Before we look at what Paul might have meant, let’s notice something that David Guzik (the Enduring Word commentator) said:
      • “Faith is related to grace in the same way works is related to law.  Grace and law are principles, and faith and works are the means by which we pursue those principles for our relationship with God … To speak technically, we are not saved by faith.  We are saved by God’s grace, and grace is appropriated by faith.“
    • So what did Paul mean when he said that the fulfillment of the promise is by faith so that it may be of grace?
      1. One thing might be that … God wants to save the Gentiles, as well as the Jews.
         • But the Gentiles didn’t have the Law
         • So God came up with a way that didn’t involve law-keeping
      2. One other thing (more than likely) is that God knew that no one could (no one can) keep the law …
         • So God came up with a way that didn’t involve law-keeping (i.e. the way of faith)

¹⁸ Against hope Abraham^[ae]  believed^[af] in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations^[ag]  according to the pronouncement,^[ah] “so will your descendants be.”^[ai]19 Without being weak in faith, he considered^[aj] his own body as dead^[ak] (because he was about 100 years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.  ²⁰ He^[al] did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.  ²¹ He was^[am]fully convinced that what God^[an]promised He was also able to do.  ²² So indeed it was credited to Abraham^[ao] as righteousness. 

• From Barclay’s commentary …

• • The last passage ended by saying that Abraham believed in the God who calls the dead into life and who brings into being even things which have no existence at all.  This passage turns Paul’s thoughts to another outstanding example of Abraham’s willingness to take God at his word. 
  • The promise that all families of the earth would be blessed in his descendants was given to Abraham when he was an old man.  His wife, Sarah, had always been childless; and now, when he was one hundred years old and she was ninety (Gen.17:17), there came the promise that a son would be born to them.  It seemed, on the face of it, beyond all belief and beyond all hope of fulfilment, for he was long past the age of begetting and she long past the age of bearing a son. 
  • Yet, once again, Abraham took God at his word and once again it was this faith that was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.  

²³ But the statement it was credited to him^[ap] was not written only for Abraham’s^[aq] sake, ²⁴ but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  ²⁵ He^[ar] was given over^[as] because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of^[at] our justification.^[au]

• From Barclay’s commentary …

It was this willingness to take God at his word which put Abraham into a right relationship with him.  Now the Jewish Rabbis had a saying to which Paul here refers. They said, “What is written of Abraham is written also of his children.”  They meant that any promise that God made to Abraham extends to his children also.  Therefore, if Abraham’s willingness to take God at his word brought him into a right relationship with God, so it will be with us.  It is not works of the law, it is this trusting faith which establishes the relationship between God and a man which ought to exist.  

The essence of Abraham’s faith in this case was that he believed that God could make the impossible possible. So long as we believe that everything depends on our efforts, we are bound to be pessimists, for experience has taught the grim lesson that our own efforts can achieve very little.  When we realize that it is not our effortbut God’s grace and power which matter, then we become optimists, because we are bound to believe that with God nothing is impossible.

It is told that once Saint Theresa set out to build a convent with a sum the equivalent of twelve pence as her complete resources.  Someone said to her, “Not even Saint Theresa can accomplish much with twelve pence.”  “True,” she answered, “but Saint Theresa and twelve pence and God can do anything.”  A man may well hesitate to attempt a great task by himself; there is nothing which he need hesitate to attempt with God.  Ann Hunter Small, the great missionary teacher, tells how her father, himself a missionary, used to say: “Oh! the wickedness as well as the stupidity of the croakers!”  And she herself had a favourite saying: “A church which is alive dares to do anything.”  That daring only becomes possible to a man and to a church who take God at his word.  

• From the Enduring Word Commentary …

It was not written for his sake alone: It wasn’t only for Abraham’s benefit that God declared him righteous through faith; he is an example that we are invited to follow – it is also for us. Paul’s confidence is glorious:

It shall be imputed to us who believe … this wasn’t just for Abraham, but for us also.

Who believe in Him who raised up Jesus:  When we talk about faith and saving faith in Jesus, it is important to emphasize that we mean believing that His work on the cross (delivered up because of our offenses) and triumph over sin and death (raised because of our justification) is what saves us. There are many false-faiths that can never save, and only faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross and through the empty tomb can save us.

• • • · Faith in the historical events of the life of Jesus will not save.
    • · Faith in the beauty of Jesus’ life will not save.
    • · Faith in the accuracy or goodness of Jesus’ teaching will not save.
    • · Faith in the deity of Jesus and in His Lordship will not save.
    • · Only faith in what the real Jesus did for us on the cross will save.

Raised because of our justification:   The resurrection has an essential place in our redemption because it demonstrates God the Father’s perfect satisfaction with the Son’s work on the cross. It proves that what Jesus did on the cross was in fact a perfect sacrifice made by One who remained perfect, even though bearing the sin of the world.

Delivered up because of our offenses:   The ancient Greek word translated delivered (paradidomi) was used of casting people into prison or delivering them to justice.

“Here it speaks of the judicial act of God the Father delivering God the Son to the justice that required the payment of the penalty for human sin.” (Wuest)

“Jesus’ resurrection always includes his sacrificial death but it brings out the all-sufficiency of his death. If death had held him, he would have failed; since he was raised from death, his sacrifice sufficed, God set his seal upon it by raising him up.” (Lenski)

“Christ did meritoriously work our justification and salvation by his death and passion, but the efficacy and perfection thereof with respect to us depend on his resurrection… This one verse is an abridgement of the whole gospel.” (Poole)

In this chapter, Paul clearly demonstrated that in no way does the Old Testament contradict the gospel of salvation by grace through faith.  Instead the gospel is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and Abraham – justified through faith – is our pattern. (Guzik)