[𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘖𝘋 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘡𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴”, 𝘣𝘺 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘥. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭’𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘦.]

In chapter 4, Paul continued his appeal to his fellow Jews, those who have been born into the nation of Israel and have held Old Testament teachings in high regard.  His goal was to show that the good news about JESUS CHRIST is completely in line with all of Scripture.  This good news is not “new” at all.

Paul pointed to two well-known and revered men from past generations, Abraham and David, to demonstrate that justification through faith alone has always been GOD’s plan.

In some ways, these two men represented the Gentile and Jewish believers in Rome.  Abraham was called out of a heathen and idolatrous upbringing to know the one true GOD and follow Him to an unknown land, believing Him to fulfill His promises.  David was called from shepherding sheep in a Hebrew family to be the shepherd of GOD’s people (as their king), but the path to that calling was equally harrowed and unknown.  

Both men were compelled to place their faith in GOD and His word as they learned to trust Him through the challenges they faced.  Despite their own faltering steps, Abraham was declared righteous and called the friend of GOD (James 2:23) and David was described as a man after GOD’s own heart (Acts 13:22).

People are counted righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in GOD who saves sinners (Romans 4:5).

Abraham believed GOD, and GOD counted him as righteous because of his faith. (4:3)

In our study, William MacDonald stated it this way (p 41):

“James 2:21 says Abraham was justified by works.  There, the meaning is quite different.  Abraham was justified by faith in Genesis 15:6 when he believed GOD’s promise concerning so many descendants that they could never be counted.  It was thirty or more years later that he was justified (vindicated) by works when he willingly proceeded to offer Isaac as a burnt offering to GOD (Gen 22).  This act of obedience proved the reality of his faith.  It was an outward demonstration that he had been truly justified by faith.”

David described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without needing to work for it (4:6-8): “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.  Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin.” (Psalm 32:1-2)

.   .   .

Anticipating that a question about circumcision would linger, Paul went on to clarify that right standing with GOD through faith happens apart from the act of circumcision.  Although David was already circumcised when he penned Psalm 32, GOD accepted Abraham before he was circumcised (4:10).

So, what place does circumcision hold in GOD’s purposes?  Mr. MacDonald shared some interesting points (p 43):

“Circumcision was not the instrumental cause of Abraham’s justification; it was merely an outward sign in his flesh that he was right with GOD (4:11).  Circumcision was the external token [seal] of the covenant between GOD and the people of Israel, but here its meaning is expanded to indicate the righteousness which GOD imputed to Abraham through faith. … A sign points to the existence of what it signifies.  The seal authenticates and certifies the genuineness of what is being signified.”

Mr. MacDonald’s suggestion that a sign demonstrates and a seal authenticates was very helpful to me.  For Abraham, obedience to circumcision demonstrated the faith he already possessed (he believed GOD and righteousness was imputed to him because of it).   Circumcision also demonstrated Abraham’s receipt of GOD’s covenant promises to him and sealed GOD’s commitment to fulfilling them.  

Decades into Abraham’s journey of faith, GOD called him to demonstrate his faith in a greater way, by offering back to GOD the one through whom GOD’s promises were to be fulfilled (Isaac).  Abraham’s actions were an outward expression of the deep faith that coursed through his being – his unwavering conviction that GOD could be trusted to fulfill His purposes in ways that were unthinkable to Abraham, even if it meant raising Isaac from death to do so (Hebrews 11:19).

“This act of obedience proved the reality of his faith.”  (W. MacDonald, p 41)

.   .   .

In the next section of chapter 4, Paul reiterated that right standing with GOD through faith must also happen apart from obeying the law.  Continuing an earlier train of thought, Paul pointed out that Abraham was declared righteous by GOD (because of his faith) before the law was even given.  In our study, Mr. MacDonald explained Paul’s argument this way (p 45):

“Because the Law produces GOD’s wrath and not His justification, GOD’s plan determined to give eternal life as a free, undeserved gift to ungodly sinners who receive Christ by a simple act of faith (4:16).  If justification depended on man’s obedience to the law – works – he could never be sure that he had done enough good works or the right kind of works.  

No one who seeks to earn salvation enjoys full assurance.  But when salvation is presented as a gift to be received by believing, then a person can be sure he is saved on the authority of GOD’s Word (promise) that we read in the written Word.”

Abraham took GOD at His Word, as did David.  Neither man ever spoke of having confidence in his own deeds to secure acceptance to GOD or the fulfillment of His promises.  Neither is earned by our own efforts.  We only receive from GOD what He offers as a free, undeserved gift.

.   .   .

Paul then declared Abraham to be the spiritual father of all who have the same kind of faith that Abraham had, circumcised or uncircumcised, those who have been given the Law or not (4:11-12).

What, exactly, did Paul teach us in Romans 4 about faith that echoes that of Abraham? 

• Abraham believed in the GOD who keeps His promises (4:3, 18) – the One who purposes to do so but who is also capable of fulfilling every detail (4:20-21).

“Abraham did not know how GOD would fulfill His word, but that was incidental.  He had every confidence that GOD was fully able to do what He promised (4:21).  In one way it was wonderful faith, but in another way it was the most reasonable thing to do because what GOD has said is the surest thing in the universe, and for Abraham there was no risk in believing it!” (W. MacDonald, p 46)

• Abraham believed in the GOD whose promises are a free gift – not dependent on his obedience to the law, but on a right relationship with GOD that comes by faith (4:13, 16).
• Abraham believed in the GOD of resurrection (4:17, 19)– the One who can create life from dead bodies but who can also breathe new life back into a dead body.

We also learned from Romans 4, that Abraham’s journey of faith was recorded for our benefit, “assuring us that GOD will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him, the One who raised JESUS our LORD from the dead… who was handed over to die because of our sins, and was raised to life to make us right with GOD” (Romans 4:24-25).

Our journey of faith parallels that of Abraham:

• We believe in the GOD who kept His promise of a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15, Ephesians 1:7).
• We believe in the GOD of resurrection, who raised our LORD JESUS from the grave, granting His acceptance of the finished work of redemption accomplished on our behalf (Romans 8:11, Colossians 2:14).
• We believe in the GOD whose promise of eternal life is a free gift to all who receive it (John 3:16, Romans 6:23).

“Abraham believed GOD would give life to the dead, we believe that GOD did give life to the dead by raising the LORD JESUS CHRIST.” (W. MacDonald, p 47)

Taking a moment to revisit Mr. MacDonald’s thoughts about the sign that demonstrates and the seal that authenticates, our journey of faith and obedience can also follow that of Abraham or David in these ways:

Similar to Old Testament believers’ demonstration of faith through obedience to circumcision, as believers, we demonstrate our faith when we obey the LORD’s directive to be baptized.  Baptism is a sign, an outward expression of the faith we already possess.   In baptism, we identify publicly with the LORD JESUS, our Savior, who died, was buried, and was raised again to new life, establishing a new covenant with us (Luke 22:20).

Our thoughts, attitudes, and actions, like those of Abraham or David, though far from perfect, can also be a sign of the Spirit’s fruit in our lives.  Our conduct demonstrates what our hearts believe.  It is our faith in GOD that fuels our endeavors to honor and serve Him from a place of gratitude and worship.  

Some examples might be: praise and thanksgiving, exalting His Son, willing surrender to GOD’s ways, obedience to His commands, reflecting His character. Like Abraham and David, we fall on His grace, grateful for His mercy in providing redemption apart from any feeble efforts on our part.

At the moment of salvation, we are also given a seal, the authentication and certification of the genuineness of our new position as children of GOD: “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13, ESV). … “GOD has identified us as His own [sealed us] by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything He has promised us” (2 Corinthians 1:22, NLT).

.   .   .

Abraham never wavered in believing GOD’s promise.  In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to GOD.  (Romans 4:20)

May the same be said of me!

RESOURCES:

“The Letter to the ROMANS,” by William MacDonald, Emmaus Worldwide, 2020, Revised 2023.

The Bible Project, video summary of the book of Romans, Parts 1 & 2.

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/romans-1-4/

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/romans-5-16/

“Knowing the Bible: Romans”, by Jared C. Wilson, The Gospel Coalition,  thegospelcoalition.org .