1What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
In the first part of this new chapter, Paul discusses two examples of justification by faith, Abraham and David. These two examples are ideal because both are highly esteemed by the Jews and because one lived before the Mosaic Law was given while the other lived afterward. The commas in verse 1 in the King James translation are important. The word order in the majority of the Greek manuscripts offers strong support for the connection “hath found as pertaining to the flesh,” rather than for the connection “our father as pertaining to the flesh.” In other words, Paul is not speaking of Abraham as our physical father, in which case he would be referring only to the Jews. Rather, Paul is asking the question, “What did Abraham our father find by his own efforts?” The wording of this question is significant. For Paul to speak of “Abraham our father” in a letter addressed to the mostly Gentile believers in Rome is startling. But this truth is one of the main themes of this chapter.
2For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
In verse 2, Paul returns to his question and statement in 3:27 : “Where is boasting then? It is excluded.” The issue in Paul’s present discussion is, “How was Abraham justified?” If he was justified by works, then he has something to boast about. Paul hastens to say that, no matter how highly Abraham may be esteemed for his works by his descendants, he has nothing to boast about before God.
To prove that Abraham was not justified by works, Paul goes back to the day when God declared Abraham to be righteous. The account of that day is found in Genesis 15. In that chapter, God promised Abraham (then “Abram”) a child to be born to him who would become his heir. God also promised Abram that his descendants would be as innumerable as the stars. The next statement in that account is, And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6). This amazing statement is the basis for Paul’s argument. Abraham did not work to be considered righteous by God. Abraham only believed in the LORD. He believed that God would do what He’d just said that He would do – He would give Abraham an heir and would give him many descendants. In response to Abraham’s faith, God counted his faith to him as righteousness. Faith is not righteousness. Faith is faith. But God counted Abraham’s faith to him as righteousness.
4Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
In these verses, Paul is commenting on the statement he quoted from Genesis 15:6 : “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” Paul uses the illustration of a working person who gets paid. Paul says that if a person works a job, then that person’s wage is not counted as a gift. Rather, their wage is something that is owed to them. Thus, Paul implies that the words in Genesis 15:6 prove that Abraham was not being paid; Abraham was receiving a gift. Paul’s conclusion in verse 5 is that if a person understands that God justifies ungodly people and if that person then trusts in Him, that person’s faith will be counted for righteousness, as was the faith of Abraham.
It is interesting to compare Paul’s argument in these verses with that of James in James 2:14-26. Verses 19-20 of James 2 make clear that he is addressing the issue of religious profession without genuine faith. James says that genuine faith is alive and works. He gives the example of Abraham’s being willing to offer Isaac on an altar, as God had told him to do. James says that the faith which Abraham already had was made complete and mature by his obedience. The word that Paul quoted from Genesis 15:6 was fulfilled, and Abraham’s faith was shown to be genuine. Works do not help a person be saved. Works show that faith is genuine.
In Romans 4, Paul is not addressing the issue of faith that is not genuine. He is addressing the issue of the sufficiency of genuine faith. Paul’s letter to the Romans and the letter of James do not contradict each other. Rather, their messages complement one another.
6Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Paul’s second example of justification by faith is that of David. The Old Testament account of David’s life makes clear that he could not have claimed to have done only good works. In Psalm 32, from which Paul’s quote was taken, David said, I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin (Psalm 32:5). In the verses which Paul quoted, David is rejoicing that God has forgiven his transgression, and that his sin is covered. David makes the wonderful and profound declaration, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” In the Hebrew text of Psalm 32:2, David uses the same word as is found in Genesis 15:6 concerning Abraham: the LORD “accounted” Abraham’s faith to him as righteousness, and the LORD will not “account” iniquity to David, despite David’s having sinned.
9Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. 10How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
In the minds of the Jews and of the Gentiles influenced by them, the issue of circumcision was major. So, was the blessedness that David spoke of – the blessedness of the person to whom God accounts righteousness without works – conditioned on circumcision? The test case Paul chooses is Abraham. Genesis 15:6 proves that Abraham had the blessing that David talked about. Was Abraham circumcised at the time of Genesis 15:6, or was he not? Every Jew would know and agree that Abraham was not circumcised until at least 14 years after the time that he was justified in Genesis 15:6 (see Genesis 16:16; 17:1, 23). Thus, at the time Abraham received the blessedness of being justified, he was still uncircumcised.
11And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: 12and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.
Abraham (then Abram) was justified in Genesis 15, when he believed God’s promise to give him an heir and to make his descendants innumerable. Also in chapter 15, God covenanted to give Abram and his seed the land of Canaan. In chapter 17, God restated this covenant with further detail. He told Abram that he would become a father of many nations and changed his name to “Abraham.” The LORD promised that He would be the God of Abraham and his seed and that He would give to his seed the land of Canaan. Between the times of these two statements of the covenant, which are found in chapters 15 and 17, Ishmael was born.
In verse 11 of chapter 17, God said, And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. Abraham was also told to circumcise every male in his household – including Ishmael, although God said that His covenant would be with Isaac, not with Ishmael. Later, at the time of Moses, circumcision was commanded for Israel in the Law in one verse, Leviticus 12:3. But, in Deuteronomy 10:16, the people of Israel were told to circumcise their hearts. Then, in Deuteronomy 30:6, Moses told them, And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
In Romans 4:11, Paul says that Abraham “received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised.” In Genesis 17, God called circumcision a “token” – that is, “a sign” – of the covenant He’d made with Abraham. But Paul, by inspiration from God, called circumcision a sign of the righteousness which God had accounted to Abraham by Abraham’s faith. We understand from these statements that the basis of God’s covenant with Abraham was the righteousness that He had accounted to him.
Abraham stands as the father of all who are justified by faith, whether they be uncircumcised like Abraham was when he was justified, or whether they be circumcised Jews who have come to faith. The structure and content of the sentence in verse 12 expects Paul to say, “their father Abraham.” But, strikingly, Paul says, “our father Abraham.” As in verse 1, Paul wants to emphasize this point.
What about circumcision today? The covenant of Law was annulled at the inauguration of the New Covenant by the blood of Christ (Hebrews 7:12,18; 8:7-13; 9:15). So, there is no Law-basis for physical circumcision now. But didn’t circumcision predate the Law of Moses? Is circumcision still a sign of God’s unchanging covenant with Abraham? The answer is in the New Covenant promises, to which God alluded in Deuteronomy 30:6. When Christ inaugurated the New Covenant by His blood, the Law was written on the heart of every believer. The heart of every true believer is circumcised. Male or female makes no difference because this circumcision is not physical. It is a removing of the domination of sin over our hearts. Paul will explain this more in chapter 6 of Romans. The physical sign of the covenant has been displaced by the reality that it pictured.
13For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
In verse 12, Paul spoke of Abraham as “our father,” the father of both Jews and Gentiles who have faith in God’s Word, as did Abraham. This reference to Abraham as “father” opens the issue of inheritance. Who will be Abraham’s heirs?
Perhaps a first question would be, “When did God promise Abraham that he would inherit the world?” In Genesis 15, when God said to Abram, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward, Abram protested, saying, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house [a household servant] is mine heir (Genesis 15:1,3). To Abram, a meaningful reward meant an inheritance to pass on to his descendants. The same day God promised Abraham and his seed the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:18-21).
At that time God only promised Abraham the land of Canaan, but God’s revelation is progressive. In Genesis 22:17, after Abraham had obeyed God by showing willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac, God promised him, ...thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. Two generations later, Abraham’s grandson Jacob prophesied concerning his son Judah, The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be (Genesis 49:10). Still more generations later, God said to Judah’s descendant David, And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever (II Samuel 7:16). In Psalm 2:8, the LORD tells His Son, Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Still later, the prophet Daniel foresaw one like the Son of Man to whom was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him (Daniel 7:14). Then, as the time of the birth of Christ neared, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, ...behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:31-33). In Hebrews 1:2, Jesus is called the heir of all things. Thus, Abraham, in his descendant Jesus, will indeed inherit the world.
14For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. 16Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17(as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
In verse 13, Paul said that God’s promise to Abraham and his seed that he and his seed would inherit the world was based on the righteousness of faith, not on the fulfillment of law. Thus, the prerequisite for gaining the inheritance was righteousness, whether by law or by faith. If the necessary means of gaining that righteousness were the fulfillment of law, no one would be able to receive the promise. Instead, everyone would receive God’s wrath for their having broken the Law. But if there is no legal requirement to be met, then no one becomes a lawbreaker. God wanted His promise to be a sure thing, so He made faith the only condition. He will grant the promise solely by His grace to all who believe. This offer is for everyone, both Jew and Gentile. Paul says that when God told Abraham that he would be a father of many nations, God also intended a spiritual fulfillment in which Gentiles are included among the spiritual descendants of Abraham. In verse 16, Paul says again that Abraham is the father of “us all.”
The promise that Paul has spoken of in these verses is that of inheriting the world. In Revelation 5, when Christ receives the seven-sealed scroll from the right hand of the Father, the twenty-four elders sing a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth (Revelation 5:9-10). All of Abraham’s spiritual descendants will reign on the earth with Christ.
In these verses in Romans 4, Paul spoke of a promise to Abraham of inheriting the world, but he did not address a specific inheriting of the land of Canaan. Believing Jews are also included among the spiritual descendants of Abraham; to them is promised the land of Canaan. Zechariah, who wrote after the New Covenant had been announced, prophesied future blessing for the physical descendants of Abraham. In Zechariah 8:7-8, he wrote: Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. These words of the LORD do not include Gentiles, they have not been fulfilled yet, and they promise a home for the Jews in Jerusalem. Ezekiel, who had himself written about the New Covenant (Ezekiel 36:24-28), prophesied concerning Israel: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel (Ezekiel 37:12). Paul is not implying that these and other similar specific prophecies have been assimilated into a general promise to both Jews and Gentiles. He will address this topic in detail in chapters 9-11 of this book.
18Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: 20he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
In these verses Paul cites an example from Genesis 17, which took place at least 14 years after Abraham was justified in Genesis 15. In this example, Abraham demonstrated the same faith ongoing that he had shown earlier. When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, God promised that he and his ninety-year-old wife Sarah would have a son. Genesis 17:17 says that Abraham laughed at the thought, but apparently it was a laugh of happy surprise and not of doubt. In fact, the son God promised was to be named “Isaac,” which means, “Laughter.” Abraham’s faith was also shown in his immediately obeying God’s command that every male in his household be circumcised.
Paul says that Abraham believed “God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were” (v 17). The example Paul gives is that Abraham believed that God could make himself and Sarah sexually alive again. Paul likens our faith in God, who raised Jesus from the dead, to that of Abraham. It is surely significant that the child promised to Abraham was to become the ancestor of Jesus, who is Abraham’s true heir. In verse 25, Paul states succinctly the content of our faith, the faith which will be accounted to us as righteousness: Jesus our Lord was handed over to death by God (Romans 8:32) on account of our acts of wrongdoing, and Jesus was raised from the dead on account of our being justified (both prepositions “for” in verse 25 are the same and both mean “on account of”). Because the payment for our sins was complete, Jesus did not stay dead. His resurrection proves that the payment of death that He made was complete and is finished.
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.