Beauty in the Book: Romans 4
Themes
This chapter unpacks the true nature of God’s promise to Abraham and how righteousness is given in accordance with faith, not works.
Questions
This chapter addresses the following questions:
How is the concept of faith scripted into to full biblical narrative?
Who is considered to be a part of Abraham’s “family”?
Who is an heir of God’s promises?
Moving Forward
This writing will break down the chapter section-by-section, offering commentary for your reflection. Don’t miss the ending titled Beauty in the Book where it all gets wrapped up in a bow—highlighting how every chapter is woven with uplifting realities of God’s goodness and grace.
Romans 4:1-2
Diving into chapter four, we enter into the topic of Abraham. Abraham—described here as the “forefather” of the Jewish faith—was the recipient of God’s original promise to create a special people for himself, and to use that special people to bless the world. (Genesis 12:2-3)
Abraham was a very special name to the Jewish people, and yet, even Abraham was unable to boast before God.
The fact that no one can boast before God is a comfort to the one whose hope is in Him. To the one trusting God’s character and reliant on his salvation alone, the truth of God’s perfect nature is enough to silence every fear and still every inner storm we face.
On the contrary, to the one who is puffed up by idle notions of self-righteousness, the idea of being unable to boast—despite our works—can feel like bad news.
A savior is only good news to the one who knows they’re lost.
This scripture from Jeremiah discusses some of the Lord’s thoughts on boasting, and displays his feelings on inner transformation versus outer works:
This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh—Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.” Jeremiah 9:23-26 NIV
God wants us to know him as he is: as one who is kind, just, and righteous. He wants us to know that our salvation comes from him alone. And in regards to circumcision, even in the time of the Old Covenant, to understand that He was always after a circumcision of the heart—forward-pointing to that which would be done in the New Covenant, by the Holy Spirit.
This quote from Got Questions summarizes the Old Covenant and New Covenant in a helpful way, and provides a necessary backdrop to what’s ahead!
“…the Old Covenant was governed by a law that prescribed correct behavior and that the people continually broke. It contained a sacrificial system that only temporarily removed sins. The sacrifices were administered by priests who represented the people of Israel to God, but the people could not enter God’s presence themselves.
The New Covenant is governed by a law that is internalized by the people of God and energized by His Spirit. The sins of the people are forgiven and removed once and for all by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the people of God have direct, intimate access to Him. Finally, Gentiles who believe are included in the New Covenant.” —GotQuestions.org, Old covenant vs new covenant—what are the differences?
What God wanted for his people—for them to be truly circumcised by a circumcision of the heart—was accomplished in the sending of Jesus and by the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Old Covenant addressed the sins of the people in a way that was temporary. Only to set us free once-and-for-all by the cross of Christ. (Galatians 3:25)
But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. Romans 7:6 NIV
In this manner, one can truly only boast in the Lord! He solved our sin problem because of his incredible, steadfast love. (John 3:16-17, Romans 8:1-4)
And to tie it back to this section of Romans, Paul rightly states that Abraham had no place to boast before the Lord. None of us do.
…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24 NIV
One more time… we were always only intended to boast in the Lord. To be wrapped up in his righteousness. To entrust our salvation to him. To know that he is the one who is kind, just and righteous, as we saw above in Jeremiah 9:23-26.
He is both fair to judge us, and kind to save us; he is both just and the justifier:
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:25-26 NIV
Jesus truly is the culmination of God’s righteousness. And in him, our sins are forgiven. May we boast in him alone. Our loving Savior, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 5:9, Hebrews 12:2, 1 Corinthians 13:1)
Romans 4:3-5
I’m not sure what version of the Bible you’re reading this in, but I wanted to throw a few versions/paraphrases down below of Romans 4:4 in order to highlight something epic.
I’m adding a few underlines:
ESV: Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
KJV: Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
MSG: If you’re a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don’t call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it’s something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift.
Notice the dynamic being laid out in these verses. The person who works expects what they receive as being indebted to them. But God always intended to offer us salvation as a gift:
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT
Grace is not inconsequential, you guys. It’s of utmost importance to God! He didn’t want an ordinance in place that left people trying to earn their keep rather than receiving it! It was God’s way that people wouldn’t be left on the shaky ground of their own works, but on the firm foundation of Christ’s finished work.
When people operate in a striving, works-based mindset, they think God owes them something. But au contraire! God owes us nothing, yet has given us everything.
I love the way Paul puts it in Acts 17:25:
…he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. Acts 17:25 NIV
The arrangement was never intended to be that we serve God and God owes us. It was always meant to be that God is amazing and gives us everything. (And then we love Him and love others just as he loved us!) (Matthew 22:37-40, 1 John 4:19)
His love proceeds our love. It’s both beautiful and awe-inspiring.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:10-11 NIV
Romans 4:6-8
The quote from David here comes from Psalm 32, and is incredible. I almost want to call it heart-wrenching… can I call it heart-wrenching in a good way? The fact is, that for the one who is hidden in Christ, God isn’t holding their sins against them!
The language used in this quote says that a person’s lawlessness or sin isn’t “counted” against them. It’s similar to the word being used repeatedly in this chapter: credited or counted or reckoned (depending on your version of the Bible).
To bring this concept home, consider the concept of something being accounted for.
Or maybe, picture an accountant! What do we know about accountants? I’ll admit that for me, it’s not much, but the little I do know is that they are all about the numbers. I think of accountants as meticulous trackers who are able to keep tabs on accounts with scrutiny.
Imagine if that’s how are sin accounts were handled! If our “righteousness accounts” were credited and un-credited according to everything we did... Ouch. None of us could stand the test. Praise God that this wasn’t what he had in store for us in Christ.
Rather, the incredible love of God took a look at our bankrupt accounts—not worth a nickel!—and chose to give us spiritual riches in Christ. (Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 1:3-10)
He took our old bank slips and nailed them to the cross, marking our debts as “fully forgiven”.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14 NIV
It’s one of those “pinch me” moments. How could our God be this good? But he is!
It feels weird to call God adorable… but in every sense of the word, he’s worthy to be adored. Worth every ounce of our adoration. He has given us what we could never attain for ourselves.
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. Psalm 145:3 NIV
Romans 4:9-12
We touched a little bit above on God’s promise to Abraham. Let’s revisit it here.
Back in Genesis 12:2-3, God said this:
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3 NIV
This was the covenantal promise given to Abraham. And in Genesis 17, God asked Abraham to circumcise every male in his family line in order to “seal” that they belonged to this covenant:
This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. Genesis 17:10-11 NIV
This circumcision was part of the setup that God had with his people at that time, but the circumcision itself was never what made them righteous in his sight.
Even back then, it was Abraham’s faith that counted him as righteous before God, and the seal of circumcision was simply a sign of the covenant they had in place.
This topic of circumcision got a little heated in the early church, with some circumcised Jewish believers refusing to even share a meal with uncircumcised Gentile believers. (Galatians 2:11-13) Seems that it was hard for many Jewish people to release a ritual that had been so ingrained in their history with God.
But Paul addresses the church at Galatia boldly regarding the topic of circumcision:
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:2-6 NIV
He speaks boldly, inviting them to embrace the New Covenant presented with the coming of the long-awaited Messiah, and a circumcision of the heart by the Holy Spirit.
If you’re at all curious about the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, a bird’s eye view is that the requirements held in the Old Covenant were fulfilled by Jesus. This change in covenants was announced by Jesus at the Last Supper before his atoning sacrifice for our sins. (See Luke 22:20.)
Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:15
The point Paul seems to be getting across in Romans is the idea that Abraham isn’t the forefather of circumcision… he is the forefather of faith. He isn’t the forefather of works-based righteousness, but faith-based righteousness—credited to us according to God’s grace.
Where we stand now, this faith seals us into God’s New Covenant and we have a new marker—or signal—to represent our belonging to God’s family: The Holy Spirit.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV
We are God’s possession—his chosen people—by faith in Christ. We are appointed righteous in this sight, circumcised or not. Taking it home with Romans 2:28-29:
A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.
God’s blessedness is for those who are following in the footsteps of father Abraham by walking in faith. Our trust is in God’s promises being fulfilled through the person of Jesus. He is our righteousness and we are sealed for eternity with him by the Spirit.
Romans 4:13-15
It was important for Paul to relay to the people in Rome that God’s promises of blessing were for Abraham in accordance with faith. And for his offspring, righteousness wasn’t given in accordance with law-keeping; in actuality, the law didn’t bring blessing, it brought death.
Because of the law, transgression increased, and therefore wrath. I have heard of the law described as a line drawn in the sand, and transgression described as stepping “over the line”.
I wanted to share an everyday example to help make this idea more tangible…
I was with my four-year-old at a restaurant. I was on the fence about if I should lay down a rule that he wasn’t allowed to crawl under the table or not. I knew if I set the rule, I would need to follow-through with consequences if he didn’t obey it.
But the thing is, even though “generally” we don’t crawl under tables, in this instance, he was doing it to go play sweetly with his baby cousin.
He was acting in love, and yet, if I set the law down that this wasn’t allowed, then even though his actions weren’t wrong, they would become wrong because he was breaking a set rule in place.
If I set down a firm rule on this, his wrongdoing would increase. There wasn’t sin present before, but if I made the rule, his crawling under the table would become sin.
If I set the law, there would be a transgression.
But,“if there is no law, there is no transgression.” (Romans 4:15)
Does that make sense?
God gave Abraham the promise based on faith, which was intended to be passed on to Christ and offered to all who believe in him: Jews and Gentiles alike. The law came in, not in contrast to that covenant or nullifying the promise God gave Abraham, but rather to add some definition to wrongdoing until Jesus came to ultimately remove our sins.
Just like a baby-sitter holds down the fort until the parents come home, the law was like a guardian leading us to Jesus. Of course, simply having a law in place didn’t help people to love from a pure place in their heart. Like we saw in the Jeremiah 9:26 scripture from earlier, people were purified in their bodies through circumcision, but their hearts were far from purified.
And the purification of the heart was always more important to God then the law-code and temple sacrifices that followed. See Micah 6:7-8:
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
God wanted us to walk with him, in his way of love, justice and mercy.
At this point, it might be helpful to dive into how the book of Galatians describes God’s purpose in sending the law. This portion of scripture highlights where the law stands in regards to the promise to Abraham and the arrival of Jesus. Check it out:
Brothers, let me put this in human terms. Even a human covenant, once it is ratified, cannot be canceled or amended. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God freely granted it to Abraham through a promise.
Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator. A mediator is unnecessary, however, for only one party; but God is one.
Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law. But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. Galatians 3:15-25 NIV
Basically, it went PROMISE - LAW - JESUS.
The promise passed through the law and straight to Jesus. The law found it’s fulfillment in him! (Matthew 5:17)
The promise of God’s covenantal relationship—of his choosing of us and blessing of us—is by grace, according to faith. This is so that it might be a grace-filled guarantee, not a shaky works-based attainment.
Romans 4:17-21
Our God is the God who gives life to the dead. He doesn’t just “make people better”, but he brings new creations to life!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
Abraham held fast to this facet of God’s character through faith. He was hope-filled even when his circumstances looked hopeless. Key word: looked hopeless. Nothing is hopeless with God!
It says in Romans 4:19 that Abraham faced the fact that his body was as good as dead, and his wife’s womb was as good as dead—being about 100-years-old—and yet, his faith in what God had promised didn’t weaken! God promised him nations of offspring, more numerous than the stars in the sky. And Abraham counted good that promise.
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed…” Romans 4:18 NIV
Have you ever heard someone say that they are “standing firm” on what they know to be true? I love the way the concept of standing firm is relayed in 4:20. It says that Abraham “didn’t waver” regarding God’s promises. He didn’t sway back-and-forth, holding fast to it one second and rejecting it the next… he was fully persuaded that God had the power to do that he promised. (4:21)
I’m reminded of James 1:2-4:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 NIV
When bleak circumstances came for Abraham, we see in Romans 4:20 that he rather than wavering in faith, he was actually strengthened in faith! That is the opportunity God holds out to each one of us when trials come our way. We can count them joy, knowing that as the weak areas of our faith are exposed—and accordingly strengthened—we find ourselves more robust in the faith that saves us by the end of our trial.
Romans 4:22-25
Here lies the reason Abraham was credited righteousness: his faith proclaimed that he believed God had the power to do what he promised. And this “credited righteousness” is for us also: we who believe in God—the one who raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus’ death covered our sins and his resurrection covers us by justifying us before God.
To bring this chapter full circle, we who have trusted in Christ are sealed by the Holy Spirit, as God’s people. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us now, bringing life from death!
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Romans 8:11 NIV
Thank you Jesus! He truly has come that we might have life in abundance. (John 10:10)
Beauty in the Book
God writes the rulebook for our life. He chooses what’s right and wrong. And the amazing, miraculous, and beautiful thing is that in Jesus, God’s true righteousness was revealed!
His “rulebook” so-to-speak, or the deal he wanted to make with his chosen people, was one where he pours out grace on them and they receive it by faith.
It’s not a striving, works-based law-code, shaky enough to be rattled by our fragile humanity. No! It is a generous, grace-filled guarantee built firmly on the foundation of Christ himself.
He is worthy of our worship! He is so good to us. From the promises he gave to Abraham, through the guardianship of the law, and to the fulfillment found in the person of Christ, the blessings of God are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
Knowing his propensity for grace can help us boldly run to him in the day-to-day moments of our life. Because of Jesus, we can be reunited with the God who was willing to spare nothing that we might be in relationship with him.
In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God's presence with boldness and confidence. Ephesians 3:12 NIV
He loves you!
