Romans Chapter 4

Vs. 1-5…What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
[2] For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. [3] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. [4] Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. [5] But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 

If your were contacted about a long lost relative that had died and left you a large fortune for an inheritance would you be interested in knowing about it? Of course you would. Well if you are related to the individual we will be examining in this chapter---you are rich beyond any earthly fortune. Who is that long lost relative?

“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?”… Abraham’s discovery is one every one of us should affirm today. The so-called church has hidden this truth from us. So what did Abraham find as it relates to the righteousness? That God is not satisfied by anything his flesh could produce or perform. The Jews Paul ministered to throughout the Roman Empire believed their kinship with Abraham merited them a special relationship with God. Romans 4:2 tells us this. You may feel good about how righteous you are and others may feel good about your good deeds---but not before God. We like to think that God recognizes our good deeds and equates those good deeds with our righteous standing before Him when it comes to meriting heaven.

James 2: 21-24…does this sound like what Paul said? No! What Paul and James are saying about justification is the exact opposite. Why? Because there is a dispensational change underway. James is not ignorant of the law contract with Israel; he is not ignorant of the fact that God is working with the scattered tribes of Israel according to that law program; James is not ignorant of the impossibility of keeping that program’s demands nor its original purpose. (James 2:10)

Abraham is used by Paul and James to prove two different dispensational truths. Both are correct. Abraham started out as an example of grace by faith without works of the law to be justified. Later in his life God entered into a covenant with Abraham and God added the sign and seal of circumcision. (Rom. 4:11) So Paul and James were looking at the same man but at different times of his life as God worked with him. This is another great testimony to the way God works with men. He has changed His program as it has pleased Him over time and we should not try to limit God in this regard so that we can explain God to others as though He has got one program, one will, one purpose on the earth.

What message did Abraham have to believe to be justified by God without works? Gen. 15 tells us---the gospel of the multiplied seed. Abraham’s faith was God directed not man directed. Abraham was about 78 years old and his wife was barren when God made this promise to him. Abraham simply took God at His word and God counted (imputed) him righteous. (Rom. 3:8)

Vs. 6-7… Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, [7] Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.  There was no blood sacrifice under the law program for David to deal with his sins of adultery and murder. (Lev. 20:10) However, God showed David mercy (He withheld from him what he justly deserved). God did not cancel David’s consequences totally. This made David very “happy” and he is a description or example to us (the church, the body of Christ) of the blessedness of being the recipient of imputed righteousness without works.

Vs. 8… Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin… The glorious blessing of the gospel of Christ is that the full payment of all the sins of the world were transferred to Christ at the Cross two thousand years ago. That is what Jesus meant when He said, “It is finished”. This did not mean Jesus was finished; it means forgiveness of sins has been accomplished once for all. God does not extend forgiveness on the installment plan as the so-called church teaches. Now, did you have to ask God to do this for you? NO!!! The Godhead worked this all out as a free gift. Two thousand years ago God transferred the sins of the world to His Son and if you will believe it He will then transfer the righteousness of His Son to your account. This salvation is automatic; you don’t have to ask God for something; you don’t have to pray for God to impute Christ’s righteousness to your account; you don’t need to join something; or promise something; or even turn from something in order for God to count His Son’s righteousness to your account. God does this freely, as a gift righteousness. Nothing can be charged to your account in heaven… All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. (I Cor. 10:23) Paul goes on to say that during the dispensation of grace God is not imputing the sins of the world to them (II Cor. 5:17-21). What a glorious message we have to give to the world. In David’s day sins could be forgiven if confessed and the appropriate blood sacrifice brought. Even when David had no blood sacrifice could be brought, God made a merciful provision for him. Therefore, David described or became a type of what grace believers would experience in the dispensation of grace.

So don’t tell a sinner that God loves them, He can forgive them, if they say a prayer, come forward, ask Jesus into their heart, make Jesus Lord of their life, etc. Don’t tell them to look at any of that stuff for salvation. God satisfied the sin debt of the world through Christ at Calvary. That alone is sufficient for God to declare a sinner justified. God is not waiting for you to get saved; He is waiting for you to believe the salvation He has already purchased for you. Don’t tell sinners what God can do, tell them He has already done it. God is simply waiting for them to come to understand the gospel of Christ so they can believe it.  

Vs. 9-11…Paul is going to be comparing and contrasting righteousness which is by faith and that which comes by law keeping. 

“Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also?”  What blessedness is he talking about here? The gift decree of righteousness when a person takes God at His Word. This is what Abraham did and it is available to all today in the dispensation of grace. Can you come up with a greater blessing than God forgiving the world of its sin at Calvary? He is not imputing the trespasses to the world. He will impute the righteousness of Christ as a free gift the moment you believe what Christ did on the Cross concerning our sins. How great is this!

“for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. [10] How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

God declared Abraham righteous before he was circumcised. (Genesis 15: 1-6)  There was nothing Abraham had to do in order to be justified before God. So why did God require him to be circumcised? The next verse gives the answer…

“And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:  (Gen. 17:24-25) Circumcision was given as a sign to point something out or to be an indication of something. It was the righteousness of faith that Abraham already had apart from the works of the flesh. Abraham had to literally cut off a part of his flesh because the flesh can produce nothing that God will accept. The timing of Abraham’s circumcision is important. Abraham was circumcised after Ishmael was born. The birth of Ishmael was Abraham and Sarah’s fleshly effort to accomplish God’s will. It actually reveals that Abraham failed to believe God to be able to carry out His promise to him. That means there came a time that Abraham didn’t believe God. Did that change Abraham’s status of justification with God? NO!!! Circumcision is a sign and seal. It was a seal that once a person is justified by faith alone, fleshy efforts to please God can not unjustify us. We are secure in Christ. It was a seal of “the righteousness which is by faith alone”. The religious Jews attributed righteousness to the ritual itself. In their mind, if you weren’t circumcised you could not possibly be justified. The so-called church does the same thing today--- there are two signs that you are justified: church attendance and water baptism. Righteousness does not come from observing rituals or law-keeping.

Vs. 13-14…“For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. [14] For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:”…Israel misinterpreted the meaning of circumcision and the law. Paul reminds them in Rom. 5:20…Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. The law was not given for the purpose of decreasing sin or restraining sin; the law was given to show Israel how sinful they were. Sin abounded under the law program. Law doesn’t impede sin. Israel could become an eye witness to their own performance failure. God never gave the law to Israel to make them better people; it was given as a schoolmaster to teach them about the nature of sin. Israel was always a do short and a don’t late.

Vs. 15-16…“Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.”  Here is another one of those blessing those who are not under law enjoy. Abraham was not under law therefore God did not impute to him his transgression (fornication with Hagar). Their were natural consequences because of his sin; however, God did not end His relationship with Abraham because of his sin. The Church, the body of Christ enjoys this same blessing. Sins are not imputed to us. This is too gracious for “righteous people” to believe.

“Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,”

Paul presents Abraham as a father to three groups of people:

1. The religious Jews who placed their faith in themselves that they were righteous. These were physical descendants of Abraham by flesh only. (John 8: 37-38) Jesus pointed out that they were his “seed” by not his “children”. (John 8:44) Here was Israel’s problem: “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” (Rom. 10:3) Here is the doctrinal confusion that leads a soul to hell (II Cor. 4:3) If you confuse righteousness, you’re lost. They placed their faith in their works. Therefore they did not have the faith of their father Abraham.

These Jews thought that promising to be good and abstaining from being bad was the measure God used to consider them righteous or unrighteous. Paul has told them all along that righteousness does not come from rules or rituals. People continue to put confidence in their ability to do the right thing and to abstain from doing the wrong thing. According to Rom. 4:5, who does God justify? But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? [2] This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? [3] Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”  (Gal. 3:1-3)

2. Jews by race and faith. They were trusting in God for their righteousness. (Peter, James, John, etc)

3. Jews and Gentiles in the age of Grace who are related to Abraham in that they have appropriately directed faith. Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness….Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. [8] And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. [9] So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.  (Gal. 3:7-9) Do you believe God’s message to the world today through Paul’s gospel? We are not related to Abraham by race but we are related by faith.

Vs. 17-22…“As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations, before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. [18] Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. [19] And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: [20] He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
[21] And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. [22] And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”

(Heb. 11:8-13 & 17) Resurrection life was the promise God gave Abraham. We as grace believers get this same promise of life. When we take God at His word concerning our sins being placed on His Son, we share in Abraham’s relationship inheritance. (Tit. 3:4-5) (Eph. 1:3) Our location is different than Abraham’s. His was the kingdom on earth; ours is in heavenly places. We will rule over the angelic kingdom; Israel will rule over the Gentile nations of the earth.

Vs. 23-25…Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; [24] But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; [25] Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.