Righteousness Comes Through Faith
Romans 4:1–17 (ESV)
What then shall we say was gained by 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 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. 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. 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, 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.
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. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
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, 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.
Dear fellow redeemed: What is the one thing you must do to be part of the Christian church? We know that all Christians receive the forgiveness of sins. But what must we do to receive this gift? What is the “must be done”? Regular church attendance? Baptism? Communion? Witness to our faith? What are the certain things that a real Christian does so that God will forgive?
What I just said is really outrageous, considering the text we just read. How do I “deserve” and undeserved gift? For that is what grace is. We aren’t Christians because of what we do, but because of what God has given us: Faith, and therefore forgiveness, life, and salvation.
Remember your catechism question, “What is the Holy Christian Church?” Your answer was “All believers in Christ.” There wasn’t any work or act or behavior there, just 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.
God’s word here makes it powerfully clear that
RIGHTEOUSNESS COMES ONLY THROUGH FAITH
I. It Is Natural To Think We Work Righteousness
II. Abraham’s Case Shows That Is Wrong
III. Righteousness, Salvation, Comes through Faith
I. It Is Natural To Think We Work Righteousness
But the things that I said sound reasonable to human beings, who by nature judge all things by law. We call this the opinion legis. Paul was dealing with a specific form of it expressed among the Jews. Remember, Christ was sent to the Jews, and the Jews had some very specific laws that identified them as Jews. Anyone who wanted to become a Jew had to submit to these laws as well. Of great importance was the law regarding circumcision. A man just couldn’t become Jewish without being circumcised.
Because Christ came first to the Jews, faithful Jews came to know and trust in Christ, and by faith they were counted as righteous.
But maybe it was because they were Jews. It was easy to believe that a “good Jew” would receive forgiveness. The Old Testament speaks of God giving forgiveness to Jews, as Paul quotes Psalm 32 in these verses I skipped:
Romans 4:7–8 (ESV)
“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.” But how and why is this forgiveness given?
Was it because God is gracious to those who kept the law, who deserved grace? By definition grace is UNdeserved.
As the gospel went out into the world, Gentiles also came to faith, and did they also receive forgiveness? That became a burning issue where Jews and Gentiles were together in the church: Could Gentiles be included in Christ’s kingdom without becoming Jews and obeying this law?
II. Abraham’s Case Shows That Is Wrong
Well, Abraham was.
Paul makes the point that Abraham was. Abraham was declared righteous BEFORE he was circumcised. From verse 9: Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 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. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.
Jewish teachers had noticed this even before the time of Christ and to stress the law had made the claim that Abraham had by exemplary conduct, and by offering up his son Isaac, deserved righteousness and God’s blessings. That’s like saying at the funeral, “Aunt Maude was a believer, and she was such a wonderful person, I’m sure she’s in heaven.” Many Christians are wonderful people, but does that earn them heaven. Is heaven by faith or works?
Paul makes it clear that it is by faith. What then shall we say was gained by 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.”
Paul corrects the Rabbis by going to Genesis and quoting directly, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Nothing about works there. In fact, Abraham had been an idolater; how could he make up for that? Faith doesn’t equal works. He uses an illustration that still resonates today: 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 him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. Putting that in today’s terms, let’s say you go to get your paycheck and your boss says, “Say, I’m gonna do you a favor and give you some money this week.” “Favor? Excuse me!? I earned that!” you would say. If you are an object of God’s grace it is because He is gracious, not because you are worthy. Earning and grace don’t go together.
III. Righteousness, Salvation, Comes through Faith
We don’t have the Jewish background to deal with, but remember the Jewish re-writing of Abraham’s case was just an example of the universal human trait of disregarding God’s grace. If we are to be a light in this world, we above all need to grasp the immensity of God’s grace for ourselves and make it known among others. Last week I talked about being serious about dying, something we would only do if there is some cure for it. There is. We have it. And we give it to others as a free gift, and not as something earned or deserved.
Paul emphasizes, For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. If we are looking for people to be “good enough to be Christians,” we have nothing to give them, because we are issuing the demands of the law instead of bestowing God’s promises on them. Tell them instead what Jesus has done for them, don’t think that any rules will make someone acceptable to God.
For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. Paul dealt with the idea that you can take a Gentile, require circumcision, and thus make him acceptable to God. In our day and age, it’s a different law. Give someone a multi-step program to be a better father or mother; give them a course in financial management; give a drunkard 12 layers of new laws, and you do not bring them closer to God. Already they were sinners; heap new rules on them and you only redouble the accusation and condemnation – another rule to transgress, when guilt was always there because of sin, as Paul stresses in the first two chapters of Romans.
Even in our hedonistic age, people bear the burden of guilt. Puncture their shield of self-righteousness, but then tell them about Jesus. I tell you: Because of what He did, you are forgiven. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. You are forgiven; believe it. Believing it, you are declared righteous by the Judge of all.
And that is the reason you want to be a good parent, friend, husband, wife, to be a good steward, and to live a life of moderation and self-control. Our text says circumcision was a sign of faith for Abraham. In our lives too our worship proclaims our faith; our works proclaim our faith; they are the fruits of faith. Do you have to do good works? Of course! God tells us what to do and not to do; it’s not optional. But he doesn’t give us the promise because we are good, the good we do is a sign that we believe the promise.
We live in a world of moral chaos in which all sorts of laws and demands strive for domination. They are all empty. Your hope isn’t in “getting everything right.” Our hope is in His promises. God promises you the righteousness of the perfect Christ, and that righteousness comes through the gift faith.
AMEN.
Podcast: Play in new window
Subscribe: RSS