The Gospel in Romans, part 9

I was extremely excited to share this wonderful passage of Scripture to study with my small group in West Philly. May God use this study to reach whomever He wills, however He wills, for His glory and praise. There really is no better news in the world than the news that Jesus Christ came to give! May God bless those of you who read this study.

Romans 4:1-8

Romans 4:1-8 ESV:

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified 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 counted to him as righteousness." [Gen. 15:6]. 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

and whose sins are covered;

8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."

Study Notes:

Intorduction:

We are still talking about justification by faith. In Romans 1:17, Paul said that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God from faith to faith, "as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith [Habakkuk 2:4]." Before we could get on this topic about justification, we had to learn what Paul taught in the first three chapters about righteousness and judgment. Remember Romans 1:18, "For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unright eousness suppress the truth." So God's righteous wrath is revealed from heaven against people who are unrighteous and suppress the truth about Him. That is what unrighteousness is, it is suppressing the truth about God, and turning instead to lies for satisfaction and worship. We are created to worship God, and if we do not worship Him, we worship other things besides Him. Therefore, God's wrath (His righteous anger and judgment) is revealed from heaven against people who turn away from Him as the source of their life and joy and satisfaction to lesser and more unworthy things which will not satisfy us, but cause death in the end.

We also learned that religion does not help anyone avoid this wrath and judgment, but actually makes it worse, because Romans 2:4-5 says to the self-righteous hypocrites, "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent [unchanging] heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed." And in chapter three, we read about how we are all guilty, the whole world is condemned before God, because every one of us has turned aside and become worthless as far as making ourselves right. God's law shows us what sin is and reveals that we are sinners, and we all are under the righteous judgment and wrath of God. Being guilty before God of sin ultimately leads to an eternity of suffering and torment in hell, unless we are forgiven and made righteous before Him. Now, the way for anyone to be forgiven and stand righteous before God is not by our works (obedience to the law, religious ceremonies, prayers, confession, baptism, making ourselves feel bad, trying to do better, or anything else we do), but rather we are given a righteousness from God through faith in the Person and life, death and resurrection of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This righteousness is God's righteousness for us, and it is a free gift. Since He died as a propitiation for those who believe, God can forgive those who trust in Him and still be righteous in condemning their sin on the cross.

At the end of chapter three, Paul said this eliminates all boasting in what we have done. Nobody can say, "I did what I was supposed to do, now God is going to accept me and save me." No one can say that, because no one has the right to be forgiven or justified. However, through faith in Christ, we can now be completely (and I mean completely, totally) forgiven and justified because of who He is and what He has done for us if we believe (trust) in Him as our only hope.

Verse 1
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?

To understand why Paul is writing this verse, we need to remember what he wrote in the previous verses about boasting, and what kind of people he had in mind when he wrote it. Paul wrote to Jews about how they cannot be justified by the law (3:1,9,20). He said that righteousness is actually a free gift of God given to those who trust in Christ (3:24). this eliminates all forms of boasting in what they do (3:27). Now, he mentions Abraham as an example from the Old Testament to back up the things he just taught them. Who was Abraham? Abraham was the first father of the nation of Israel. He was the one God called out of his homeland, and promised that he would be a father of many nations, "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:2-3).

Verse 2

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

Why could Abraham have something to boast about if he was justified by works? Why not before God?

Abraham could boast if he was justified by works, because he would have something good that he had done, so all he would have to do is point to those good things he did, and boast. But not before God, because no one stands justified before God who has not kept every part of the law (Galatians 3:10).

Verse 3

But what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."

Paul again goes back to the Bible, "What does the Bible say about this?" We would label someone like that "a Bible thumper" or something else, but there is an important reason for that. The Bible contains exactly what God has spoken to all people for all time in every place. When we want to know what God says or thinks, we can go to the Bible and find out exactly. So, what does it say? What does it say Abraham did? What was counted to Abraham as righteousness [being right before God]? By saying this, Paul showed the Jews that God has always justified His people by faith, rather than by works they performed.

Verses 4-5

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,

If you went to work someplace for $8 an hour, and at the end of the week you get paid for all that you had done, could the person paying you say, "I'm giving this to you as a gift"? No way! Why not? Because you worked for it, you earned it! Nobody earns a gift. Nobody deserves a gift. A gift is something a person gives out of love for the person they give to, not because of anything the person has done to get it, but to show them how much the giver loves. In the case with God, God is not glorified if you deserve forgiveness and justification, and heaven and eternal life. No, rather, God is glorified when He gives those things freely to people who don't deserve them. (That is the whole reason why chapter three made it so clear we are all no good sinners, who are worthless and unrighteous and deserving of damnation from God. It is to show how great His grace and love is to freely give us forgiveness and righteousness through Jesus Christ).

In what way does verse 5 describe God? How does it describe the person who believes in Him?

Verse 6

just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

Here again is another example of an Old Testament person trusting in God to be justified. Who was David? What part of the Bible did David write? Who does Paul say David was writing about in these next veses?

Verses 7-8

"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."

Have you heard of people talking a lot about blessings? What kinds of blessings do they refer to most? Well, this blessing is the greatest blessing in the world! How are the people in these verses blessed? What are "lawless deeds"? What does it mean to have your "sins covered"? What does it mean for the Lord to count your sin? Notice about that those who are trusting, resting, relying on, satisfied with, Jesus Christ as their only hope and treasure and Lord and Savior, that the Lord will not count their sin against them.

Conclusion:

If you have understood what I've been teaching you, you should then be able to see how this is "good news only for bad people." Have you realized that you are totally guilty of breaking God's righteous and holy Laws, rejecting His rules and following after your own will, and that this makes you totally worthy of eternal damnation in hell from God? If you can humbly, and honestly acknowledge such things about yourself, then Jesus Christ is the best news in the world to you! Why? Because for those who do not work, but rely on Him, Jesus Christ becomes our righteuosness before God, and He will never, ever count your sin against you. Why not? Because He already counted it against His perfectly righteous and holy Son, when He was crucified for hell-deserving sinners. God raised Him from the dead, so there is hope for the unrighteous. There is hope, because there is a real, living Savior who really saves all who come to God through Him. Praise God!