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Chapter 4
Abraham---The Faith and the
Promise…
Romans 4
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Objectives for Chapter 4:
1. To learn what Abraham’s
personal relationship to God was and how he
obtained and sustained that relationship.
2.
To understand how a person cannot be justified
before God by “works of law”, but only by “faith”.
3. To discover the meaning of spiritual
ancestry and how God’s promise to Abraham is
fulfilled in this way.
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Paul continues his
consideration of justification, faith, works, and
the law by turning to Abraham, the man who stood
as spiritual and moral ancestor to the Jews. The
author of Hebrews cites Abraham as an outstanding
example of faith at work. Here in Romans Paul
demonstrates that Abraham was justified
(considered righteous before God) on account of
that faith, rather than on account of what he did.
First, Paul points out that “if Abraham was
justified by deeds, he has grounds for boasting,
but not toward God” (4:2). In fact, as will
shortly become evident, Abraham was not “justified
by deeds.” Even if he had been, he would have had
no “ground for boasting” toward God, for his
believing God (or faith in God) was what God
counted to him as righteousness.
In the next five verses of
this chapter, Paul contrasts the situation of one
who works and receives due wages for labor, with
one who does not work or attempt to win a reward
but “believes in the one who justifies the
ungodly.” When one works, what one receives from
the one served is not a “favor” but is what is
owed. On the other hand, the one who does not
trust in his or her own deeds but rather in a just
and righteous benefactor has faith or trust which
is “counted to him as righteousness.” Again
turning to the Old Testament, Paul quotes David
(Psalm 32), expressing the blessing which rests
upon those whose relationship to God is through
divine forgiveness and justification.
If, then, the blessing and
justification of God comes to those who are
related to him through belief or faith, how does
this bear upon the circumcised (literal Jews) and
the uncircumcised (non-Jews)? In their insistence
on circumcision (and other observances) according
to the law even for Christians, the Jews
disregarded the fact which Paul now brings to the
attention of his readers: Abraham was counted as
righteous before God through faith, and this took
place before he was circumcised! Therefore, the
example of Abraham himself, the literal and
spiritual forefather of all the Jews, shows that
circumcision does not provide or facilitate
righteousness. On the contrary, Abraham received
circumcision “as a sign, a certification [seal] of
his righteousness through faith when he was
uncircumcised” (4:11). Through this act of
approval by God before circumcision, Abraham
became the ancestor (spiritually speaking) of all
who believe without circumcision, so that they are
considered righteous because of faith, just as
Abraham was. Now this might appear to limit
Abraham’s spiritual ancestry, and thus the
imputation of justification or righteousness
through faith, to Gentiles alone. Quickly, Paul
makes it plain that this is not the case. Abraham
is also the spiritual forefather of those who are
circumcised, but who also follow Abraham’s example
in faith, thus being counted righteous or
justified by faith, even as those who are not
circumcised at all.
Now Paul has established
firmly the principle that justification or right
standing with God comes through faith, for both
Jew and Gentile. The implications of this for
Paul’s readers and for us are far-reaching. One of
the crucial questions which it raises is simply
this: If, as Paul maintains, the good news of
redemption in Christ is equally for all persons,
if there is no advantage in being a literal Jew,
if outward circumcision or works of law are no
longer important in the spiritual scheme of
things, then what about the promise? The promise
of “inheriting the world” was made to Abraham and
to his descendants. The literal Jews are his
descendants, the family of Abraham. How then could
others (non-Jews) have a share in this
inheritance?
Paul apparently anticipates
the question and answers it directly. The promise
to Abraham and his posterity did not come “through
law” or human descent, but “through the
righteousness of faith.” The fulfillment of the
promise, then, is not to the “adherents of the
law,” but to all those who “share the faith of
Abraham.” Thus, all (both the literal Jews and the
Gentiles) who are related to God by faith are
heirs of the promise. Under this condition, the
fulfillment of the promise rests entirely upon the
grace and favor of God, and can be made available
to all who believe in Christ as Lord and Savior.
In verses 17–21, Paul gives
an inspiring and insightful description of the
kind of faith which Abraham exercised. He believed
in a God “who gives life to the dead and calls the
things which do not exist as existing” (v.17).
Trusting in this kind of God, Abraham believed
against all outward indications and circumstances
that God’s promise would be fulfilled, and that he
would become “the father of many nations.” He was
“fully convinced that God was able to do what he
had promised” (v. 21). No wonder Abraham’s faith
was “counted to him as righteousness!” What about
your faith? What about the faith of other
Christians whom you know? Does your faith persist
even in the face of discouragement, obstacles,
seeming impossibilities? Abraham “was empowered by
faith, giving glory to God.” Does your faith cause
you to believe in God’s promises without wavering
or uncertainty, no matter what the circumstances?
This heritage of faith from
Abraham has belonged to Old Testament Israel, to
the prophets, to the apostles—but this is not all.
Even now, and as long as the world stands,
righteousness (justification) based upon faith is
and will be counted to all who have Abraham’s kind
of faith. For us, however, a vital new element has
come into the picture. Abraham believed in God, in
God’s word, and in God’s promises. We, of course,
must also believe in God in the same way. But our
faith, the faith which will be “counted to us as
righteousness,” is in a God who not only created
the universe, brings the dead to life, and keeps
his promises, but who also “raised from the dead
Jesus our Lord.” Furthermore, this faith includes
belief in this Jesus as the one who “was delivered
up because of our trespasses and was raised for
our justification.” Just as Abraham’s faith and
the promise to Abraham were prior to and
independent of the law, and Abraham’s
justification came by faith, the same is true
under the new covenant. As “spiritual descendants”
of Abraham, those who find favor with God must be
justified before him on the basis of faith, faith
in the death of Christ for the forgiveness of
their sins, and his resurrection for their victory
over sin and death.
Chapter 5
Justified by Faith---for
Peace, Life and Righteousness…
Romans 5
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Objectives for Chapter 5:
1. To learn how
justification by faith brings peace, life and hope
to the believer.
2. To consider how we can be
reconciled to God through Christ.
3. To learn
how Adam typifies sin, and therefore death, in
human experience, and how Christ brings
righteousness and life.
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“So then, having been
justified by faith, let us have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:1). As Paul
begins to consider the results of justification
(being made righteous) by faith it is significant
that he speaks first of “peace.” In our study of
Romans 7 and 8, we will see that Paul knew only
too well the strife and “warring” which plagues
those who are not “in Christ,” but are attempting
to relate to God through law or deeds.
Furthermore, Paul viewed his own ministry and the
Christian message in general as one of
“reconciliation.” Through Christ real peace can
come to a person’s life; this peace can be
experienced only by those who have been “justified
by faith.” In his exhortation to “let us have
peace with God,” Paul employs the present
subjunctive, signifying a continuing relationship
and standing: “Let us be having and continue to
have peace with God.”
Having peace with God, one
can also “rejoice.” Truly, real peace leads to
joy! Through Christ, Paul points out, we are able
to stand in God’s grace and “rejoice in hope of
the glory of God.” What a great hope we as
Christians have that we will someday share in
God’s own glory! Peter says, “and when the chief
Shepherd is revealed you will obtain the unfading
crown of glory” (I Pet. 5:4). Paul speaks in I
Thessalonians 2:12 of “God, who calls you into his
own kingdom and glory.”
But the rejoicing of those
who are “justified by faith” is not limited to
their anticipation of the glory of God. On the
contrary, they rejoice even “in hardships”
(tribulations). How can this be? Study carefully
the “ladder of experience” which Paul builds upon
this concept in verses 3–5: Christians rejoice
even in the midst of hardships—because hardships
produce endurance; and endurance produces
character; and character produces hope; and this
hope does not disappoint those who possess it;
because it is sustained and supported by the love
of God, which “has been poured into [their] hearts
through the Holy Spirit… .”
Does this describe your
experience as a Christian? Does it describe the
experience of other Christians whom you know and
observe? Do you “rejoice” in the midst of
hardships or tribulation in serving God, or do you
become discouraged and downhearted? Does hardship
develop your endurance and steadfastness, or does
it weaken you spiritually? When you endure or
undergo trials, does your character stand the test
and grow even stronger and more resolute, or do
your faith and courage begin to fail? Does your
hope in God grow even stronger, along with the
knowledge that you will not be disappointed in
this hope, because it is assured by God’s love
through the Spirit?
Justification by faith
brings not only peace, joy, and hope but also
deliverance or freedom. As Paul well knew, people
alone could not free themselves from bondage to
sin; we were “helpless” or “weak” in our
predicament. God knew this, and “at the right
time” sent Christ to “die for the ungodly.” In
human relationships, it is rare for a person to
lay down his or her life for another—even for a
“righteous man.” By contrast God, being a God of
mercy, grace, and love, demonstrated that love to
all persons for all time by sending his Son to die
for those who were “yet sinners.” It follows that
such a great sacrifice on God’s part, consisting
of the very blood of Christ, not only justifies
those who believe, but also “saves them from
wrath.” (Paul refers here to the “wrath” which has
been “revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and wickedness,” and which will come at the day of
“God’s righteous judgment.” See Romans 1:18, 2:5.)
Through Christ’s death for
sin, then, we are “reconciled” to God and
justified in his sight. Furthermore, we are
assured of eternal salvation and life through our
Savior’s triumph over death and the grave. This
means that we can experience freedom from sin, and
thus new life. Employing the contrasting pairs
“sin and death” and “righteousness and life,” Paul
builds the following analogy (5:19):
Sin came into human
experience through one man—Adam. Death followed
sin.
Death spread to all persons
because everyone sinned.
Justification came into
human experience through one—Christ.
Life follows justification.
Life is made possible for
all people through the “free gift” of God.
Bringing the analogy to a
close, Paul points out that just as Adam’s
trespass initiated sin into human experience and
resulted in the death of many, so the gift of
God’s grace, mediated through the sacrifice of
Christ, results in life for many. The judgment
following trespass or sin could be only
condemnation, and, so it was; but the sentence was
lifted by Christ, the “free gift following many
trespasses” which brings justification. In yet
further comparison, Paul expresses the situation
in these terms:
One man’s trespass—led
to—Condemnation for all.
One man’s act of
righteousness—led to—Righteousness and life
(justification).
One man’s disobedience—led
to—Many being constituted sinners.
By one man’s obedience—led
to—Many shall be constituted righteous.
At the close of this
chapter, Paul returns briefly to the function of
the law in the total scope of God’s dealing with
mankind. “Now law came in alongside, so that the
trespass was increased. But where sin increased,
grace increased exceedingly more, so that just as
sin reigned by death, so also grace might reign
through righteousness for eternal life, through
Jesus Christ our Lord” (5:20–21). Here, Paul
expresses an idea about which he will have more to
say later—that when law came, trespasses or sins
appeared even more prevalent and more sinful, as
they were seen in the light of the commandment of
a holy God. Thus, the law served to show sin as it
really was and to awaken the realization of
condemnation for sin. At the same time, law could
not fully deliver from that condemnation; only
“grace,” the free gift or favor of God, could do
this, establish righteousness, and lead to eternal
life.
Chapter 6
What about Sin?
Romans 6:1-8:2
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Objectives for Chapter 6:
1. To learn where Christians
stand in relation to sin and its power, and how
they can have victory over sin.
2. To discover
the true significance of Christian baptism.
3.
To understand and accept the assurance that
because Christ conquered death and now lives,
those who believe in him shall do likewise.
4.
To learn what Christians are free from, and to
what and whom they are enslaved, in Christ.
5.
To understand the relationship of Christians to
the law.
6. To see how sin, working through
the flesh, enslaves, and correspondingly, how
Christ, through the Spirit, frees from sin and
death.
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Paul, at this point, turns
to a question which was of burning importance to
all Christians of his day and of every generation,
including our own. The question is of sin’s
relation to the believer’s life and experience.
The apostle has already denied emphatically the
conclusion which some had reached, and even
attributed to him, that we should “do evil so that
good may come” (Romans 3:8). Here at the beginning
of chapter 6 he refutes a related concept: “Shall
we continue in sin, so that grace may increase?”
His answer is an emphatic phrase which he often
employed to express especially strong denial or
disapproval—literally, “let it not be!” In
contemporary English, a good rendering is “by no
means!” or “certainly not!” It is unthinkable that
the person who has been redeemed from sin by the
blood of Christ should continue to live in sin!
Let us follow Paul carefully as he develops this
vital theme.
First, Christians cannot
continue to live in sin, because they “have died
to sin.” At this point, the true significance of
Christian baptism comes dearly into focus. All who
have been “baptized into Christ Jesus” (that is,
who have received Christian baptism, been immersed
in the name of Christ) have been “baptized into
his death.” Therefore, symbolically, these persons
share in the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. In the act of baptism the believer is
“buried” under the water, as Christ was buried in
the earth, which speaks of his dying to self, sin,
and the world. In like manner, the believer is
“raised” as Christ was raised from death “through
the glory of the father.” After this spiritual
“death” and “resurrection” the believer can “walk
[live] in newness of life” (6:4).
Only after Christ willingly
experienced death could he experience the
resurrection. So it is with believers in their
“death” to sin and “resurrection” to new life:
“for since we have become united in the likeness
of his death, we shall certainly also be united in
the likeness of his resurrection.” This is made
possible because “our old man [self] was crucified
with him.” It is through the “old man” or “old
self” and through “the flesh” that sin operates.
Therefore, as long as this “old man” lives and
exercises control in one’s life, that individual
will be under the dominion of sin. This old self,
in genuine Christian experience, is “crucified” as
the body of Christ was crucified or put to death.
Thus, one is no longer “enslaved to sin.” In fact,
Paul goes on to assert that the person who has
“died” (to sin) has been “acquitted of sin”
(justified, declared not guilty of sin).
Deliverance from enslavement
to sin, however, is only one side of the issue.
“Since we died with Christ, we believe that we
shall also live with him” (6:8). Christ was raised
from the dead once only and once for all, after
dying once only and once for all. Having
experienced this, he “will never die again,”
because “death no longer rules over him.” Jesus,
when he died, died “to sin” and now “lives to
God.” So it is with the redeemed person; we have
“died to sin” once and for all, and have now come
“alive to God in Christ Jesus.” This resurrection,
like its preceding death, is not the resurrection
“at the last day” of which Martha spoke to Jesus.
Rather, it is the resurrection of
today—experienced by every true believer! So Jesus
replied to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the
life. He who believes in me, even if he dies, he
shall live; and everyone who is living and
believing in me shall never die” (John 11:25–26).
New life begins now, eternal life begins now—for
the one who is willing to die to self and sin and
come alive to live a new life for God in Christ.
Now since Christ triumphed
over sin through his death and resurrection, this
same victory is available to those who believe in
him and who share in “the likeness of his death”
and the “likeness of his resurrection.” Since this
is true, exhorts Paul, “Do not let sin reign in
your mortal bodies, to cause you to obey its
lusts” (6:12). This admonition is in the
imperative mood—“Don t do it!” As morally
responsible beings, Christians must choose and
keep on choosing not to allow sin to gain any
mastery in their lives. Furthermore, specifically,
they must not allow their “members” to be used as
“instruments of unrighteousness” by sin. Rather,
they must each present themselves “to God as a
living person from the dead,” and yield their
“members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
This is made possible by the glorious fact that
sin no longer has lordship over such persons, for
they are “not under law but under grace.”
Does being “under grace” and
not “under law” give one license? Does freedom
from bondage to sin make one “absolutely free?”
Again, Paul says emphatically, “Certainly not!”
The concept of being “under sin,” “under grace,”
and “under the law” signifies in Romans subjection
to these powers or influences. Therefore, persons
who are unredeemed—“under sin”—are in subjection
to sin. They sin not only because they wish to do
so (often the opposite is true), but they are
“obedient” to sin and do its bidding, because they
are enslaved to it. By the same token, persons who
are “in Christ” have been freed from subjection to
sin, and so they no longer obey its dictates. At
the same time, however, they become subject to
another “bondage;” they are “slaves of
righteousness.” This is a great and glorious
truth; Paul says, “Thanks be to God that you who
once were slaves of sin became obedient from the
heart to the standard of teaching to which you
were delivered!” (6:17). Formerly, these persons
had presented their members “to impurity and to
lawlessness upon lawlessness,” but now they are
directed to present them “to righteousness for
holiness.”
Paul next calls upon his
readers to draw upon their own personal
experience; let each of us do likewise as we think
about the last few verses of Romans 6. When you
were a “slave of sin,” what results did you have
then “of which you are now ashamed?” Or, if even
now you are a slave of sin, what kind of harvest
are you reaping and what kind do you expect to
reap, from your present life and conduct? No
matter what sin may promise, it can deliver,
finally, only one “wage” or “reward”—death. “For
the end [finish, consummation] of these things is
death” (6:23). James says, “Then desire when it
has conceived gives birth to sin; and when sin is
full—grown it brings forth death” (James 1:15).
So “the wages of sin is
death,” but thanks to God, there is another way!
When Christ has set one free from sins bondage,
that one becomes a “slave of God” (or, as Paul
puts it on another occasion, a “fool for Christ”).
While the result of sin and its accompanying deeds
is death, the result of becoming a “slave of God”
is “fruit for holiness, and the end [consummation]
eternal life.” This whole chapter is summed up
admirably in verse 23: “For the wages of sin is
death, but the free gift [grace—gift] of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.”
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