Romans 4:1-8,
1 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.
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Now beginning in verse 1, we find that Abraham has found something according to the flesh. What has he found?
He has found that according to the flesh, he was justified by works (v.2). In the epistle written by James, James makes the case that faith without works is dead, and that Abraham was justified by works, and not by faith alone. However, here in verse 2, we find that the glory of Abraham's justification by works has nothing to do with his standing before God. For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. Abraham is declared righteous before men because of his works; however before God, he hath not whereof to glory: for his justification before God stands by his faith alone. Abraham had done no works, when in Genesis 15:6, he believed the Lord's statement that he would be the father of many nations; and God counted it to him for righteousness before he ever did even one good thing before God or man.
Now in verse 3 it says that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. James also quotes this verse to substantiate his premise that faith without works is dead. He says that Abraham's faith resulted in the work of offering up his son Isaac on the altar. In Hebrews 11:17-19, the author makes it clear that Abraham believed that God was able to even bring Isaac back from the dead; and believed that if he slew him, God would in fact have to do so since God had previously promised Abraham that the seed of promise would come through Isaac; and Isaac at that time had not even met Rebecca; he was childless. Therefore in order for God to keep His promise, He would have to raise Isaac from the dead; and Abraham's faith never wavered concerning the promises of God (Romans 4:20-22). Therefore it was Abraham's faith alone in the LORD that motivated him to go through with sacrificing Isaac (and which also ultimately saved Abraham's soul); while God at the very last moment spoke from heaven and told Isaac to stay his hand, as soon as it became absolutely evident that it was in Abraham's heart that he would obey the Lord and not withhold even his only son from him (while Ishmael was also begotten of Abraham, he was not the child of promise and was not begotten through the married wife, Sarah). Therefore we can see that there is a certain behaviour/obedience that will come from a genuine faith in the Lord: while our salvation itself is through a living faith alone; a living faith is something that will produce works if given the opportunity. For the thief on the Cross had a living and saving faith in Jesus Christ; and yet this living faith never produced works because the thief died that day; unless you want to count as a work the thief's statement, Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom. And Jesus did say in John 6:28-29, This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he hath sent. In other words, If you are going to be saved by works, the only work that will save you is to believe in Jesus and what He did for you on the Cross.
Now in verse 4, Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt. Some people want to insist on earning their salvation before God. They want their wages for services rendered. "I did all those things for You God; now You owe it to me to let me into heaven." What they are not understanding is that all their righteousnesses are as filthy rags before the Lord; and therefore the only wages they can earn is the wages of sin. For all the righteousness of an unregenerated person is only sin before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). So when we say, God You owe it to me to give me heaven for services rendered, we are in effect saying, "Give me my wages for all I've done for you..." which I have to be honest and say to you that all you have done for Him amounts to menstrual flow before the Lord (as that is what the original Hebrew bears out in Isaiah 64:6). In Romans 6:23 it is written, For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Now the latter part of the verse doesn't nullify the former; because in the immediate context (Romans 6:22), Paul has said very clearly, But now having been made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Therefore everlasting life is the result of having been set free from the power of sin by the grace of God.
Now in verse 5 we find that God wants to give you a new identity regardless of your behaviour. He declares you righteous even if you are ungodly when you put your faith in Him. This means that I am righteous before Him even when I blow it. He has made me to become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21); and this identity cannot be changed to that of being unrighteous even if I commit an unrighteous act. For He justifies the ungodly on the basis of their faith alone.
Now that I have this unchangeable identity given to me by God, my response is to begin living like I am who God says I am. In 1 John 3:7 it becomes clear that if I am righteous, I will exhibit righteous behaviour. He has not only imputed righteousness to me; He has made me righteous (Romans 5:17, Romans 5:19). Because I have hungered and thirsted after real righteousness, He has filled me with righteousness (Matthew 5:6).
In verse 6 we find an even better statement. That God imputes righteousness to me apart from anything I might do (my works). The word impute means to credit to one's account. So what this means is that God sees my faith and credits to my account the satisfaction of the debt that I owe to Him (and this is mercy). But even more than that, He gives me credit for over a trillion dollars (and He doesn't require interest! This is grace.) in the realm of my righteousness before Him. He looks at me and sees the perfect life, blood, and righteousness of His Son. Because when He looked at Jesus as He died upon the Cross, He imputed all my sin and imperfection to His account and punished it in Him as He took the penalty for my sin.
In verse 7 and 8 it simply declares the blessedness of what salvation truly is: being forgiven of all your sin(s) because they are covered in the blood of Jesus Christ. If you believe in Him and what He did for you on the Cross, God will never impute sin to your account ever again: He does not count you as a sinner before Him because He sees you through rose-colored glasses: glasses that are colored by the precious blood of Jesus.
Even though you are a sinner. For God makes it clear that sin is anything short of the mark of His perfection (Galatians 3:10, James 2:10, Matthew 5:48). Therefore if you are not absolutely perfect (and none of us are), then you are a sinner before the Lord.
Therefore every one of us needs His forgiveness; which we obtain by confessing that we are sinners before the Lord and trusting that what He did on the Cross is sufficient to bring forgiveness to our lives.
Now if you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, I suggest that you pray the following prayer, out loud, right where you are:
Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of You the only Saviour. I believe that You died on the Cross so that I could be forgiven of all of my sins. Won't You please come into my heart and be my Lord and Saviour? I believe that You are the God who created me and the Messiah/Christ prophesied of in the Old Testament. I ask You to come into my heart and be my Lord and Saviour. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I repent of all my sins and I ask You to cleanse me now from all unrighteousness. I believe that You died for me. Thank You for what You did for me on the Cross. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
1 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.
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Now beginning in verse 1, we find that Abraham has found something according to the flesh. What has he found?
He has found that according to the flesh, he was justified by works (v.2). In the epistle written by James, James makes the case that faith without works is dead, and that Abraham was justified by works, and not by faith alone. However, here in verse 2, we find that the glory of Abraham's justification by works has nothing to do with his standing before God. For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. Abraham is declared righteous before men because of his works; however before God, he hath not whereof to glory: for his justification before God stands by his faith alone. Abraham had done no works, when in Genesis 15:6, he believed the Lord's statement that he would be the father of many nations; and God counted it to him for righteousness before he ever did even one good thing before God or man.
Now in verse 3 it says that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. James also quotes this verse to substantiate his premise that faith without works is dead. He says that Abraham's faith resulted in the work of offering up his son Isaac on the altar. In Hebrews 11:17-19, the author makes it clear that Abraham believed that God was able to even bring Isaac back from the dead; and believed that if he slew him, God would in fact have to do so since God had previously promised Abraham that the seed of promise would come through Isaac; and Isaac at that time had not even met Rebecca; he was childless. Therefore in order for God to keep His promise, He would have to raise Isaac from the dead; and Abraham's faith never wavered concerning the promises of God (Romans 4:20-22). Therefore it was Abraham's faith alone in the LORD that motivated him to go through with sacrificing Isaac (and which also ultimately saved Abraham's soul); while God at the very last moment spoke from heaven and told Isaac to stay his hand, as soon as it became absolutely evident that it was in Abraham's heart that he would obey the Lord and not withhold even his only son from him (while Ishmael was also begotten of Abraham, he was not the child of promise and was not begotten through the married wife, Sarah). Therefore we can see that there is a certain behaviour/obedience that will come from a genuine faith in the Lord: while our salvation itself is through a living faith alone; a living faith is something that will produce works if given the opportunity. For the thief on the Cross had a living and saving faith in Jesus Christ; and yet this living faith never produced works because the thief died that day; unless you want to count as a work the thief's statement, Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom. And Jesus did say in John 6:28-29, This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he hath sent. In other words, If you are going to be saved by works, the only work that will save you is to believe in Jesus and what He did for you on the Cross.
Now in verse 4, Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt. Some people want to insist on earning their salvation before God. They want their wages for services rendered. "I did all those things for You God; now You owe it to me to let me into heaven." What they are not understanding is that all their righteousnesses are as filthy rags before the Lord; and therefore the only wages they can earn is the wages of sin. For all the righteousness of an unregenerated person is only sin before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). So when we say, God You owe it to me to give me heaven for services rendered, we are in effect saying, "Give me my wages for all I've done for you..." which I have to be honest and say to you that all you have done for Him amounts to menstrual flow before the Lord (as that is what the original Hebrew bears out in Isaiah 64:6). In Romans 6:23 it is written, For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Now the latter part of the verse doesn't nullify the former; because in the immediate context (Romans 6:22), Paul has said very clearly, But now having been made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Therefore everlasting life is the result of having been set free from the power of sin by the grace of God.
Now in verse 5 we find that God wants to give you a new identity regardless of your behaviour. He declares you righteous even if you are ungodly when you put your faith in Him. This means that I am righteous before Him even when I blow it. He has made me to become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21); and this identity cannot be changed to that of being unrighteous even if I commit an unrighteous act. For He justifies the ungodly on the basis of their faith alone.
Now that I have this unchangeable identity given to me by God, my response is to begin living like I am who God says I am. In 1 John 3:7 it becomes clear that if I am righteous, I will exhibit righteous behaviour. He has not only imputed righteousness to me; He has made me righteous (Romans 5:17, Romans 5:19). Because I have hungered and thirsted after real righteousness, He has filled me with righteousness (Matthew 5:6).
In verse 6 we find an even better statement. That God imputes righteousness to me apart from anything I might do (my works). The word impute means to credit to one's account. So what this means is that God sees my faith and credits to my account the satisfaction of the debt that I owe to Him (and this is mercy). But even more than that, He gives me credit for over a trillion dollars (and He doesn't require interest! This is grace.) in the realm of my righteousness before Him. He looks at me and sees the perfect life, blood, and righteousness of His Son. Because when He looked at Jesus as He died upon the Cross, He imputed all my sin and imperfection to His account and punished it in Him as He took the penalty for my sin.
In verse 7 and 8 it simply declares the blessedness of what salvation truly is: being forgiven of all your sin(s) because they are covered in the blood of Jesus Christ. If you believe in Him and what He did for you on the Cross, God will never impute sin to your account ever again: He does not count you as a sinner before Him because He sees you through rose-colored glasses: glasses that are colored by the precious blood of Jesus.
Even though you are a sinner. For God makes it clear that sin is anything short of the mark of His perfection (Galatians 3:10, James 2:10, Matthew 5:48). Therefore if you are not absolutely perfect (and none of us are), then you are a sinner before the Lord.
Therefore every one of us needs His forgiveness; which we obtain by confessing that we are sinners before the Lord and trusting that what He did on the Cross is sufficient to bring forgiveness to our lives.
Now if you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, I suggest that you pray the following prayer, out loud, right where you are:
Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of You the only Saviour. I believe that You died on the Cross so that I could be forgiven of all of my sins. Won't You please come into my heart and be my Lord and Saviour? I believe that You are the God who created me and the Messiah/Christ prophesied of in the Old Testament. I ask You to come into my heart and be my Lord and Saviour. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I repent of all my sins and I ask You to cleanse me now from all unrighteousness. I believe that You died for me. Thank You for what You did for me on the Cross. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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