Romans 4
Today's Passage: Romans 4
As we open Romans 4, we must remind ourselves that Paul was writing to a church in conflict. The Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) were at odds. Paul has been stringing together a logical argument but breaks in chapter 4 to illustrate his point.
Paul introduced the idea that “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:22). He has shown that it wasn’t in circumcision or keeping the Law that made one righteous. Rather, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law” (Romans 2:12). Both Jews and Gentiles, all people, stand condemned. Our unrighteousness destined us to an eternity apart from the Lord. The only hope for any person, Jew and Gentile, is faith in Christ.
Hebrews 11:1 defines “faith” as, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” However, it is not stationary. Faith acts out that “assurance” and “conviction”—it is the action of belief. For the Jews who have pursued their relationship with the Lord through practicing the Law and sacrifices, faith without effort was a tough pill to swallow. Paul illustrated his point about faith in Romans 4 with the example of Abraham.
Father Abraham is one of, if not the, most respected figures in all of human history. Although people may dispute the faithfulness of others, Abraham’s faith was legendary. Also, for the purpose of Paul’s argument, Abraham lived approximately 400 years before the Law was given to Moses. So, Romans 4 is all about Paul establishing salvation by faith alone in one of the central figures in the Jewish faith.
In fact, Paul takes the symbol of circumcision to show that Abraham “received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.” Circumcision was a point of pride for the Jews as the symbol of God’s favor. Paul attacked this idea in other passages as well, referring to it in Philippians 3 as “mutilation of the flesh.” This is a super graphic and offensive way to refer to circumcision. Paul got fed up with those who twisted the gospel and placed more faith in their circumcision than in the God that gave the Law.
Abraham was saved by grace through faith before he was ever circumcised. Paul states that this “is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring.” Salvation is only ever by the grace of God. No human effort will make a person acceptable before God. Paul’s point was that the content of saving faith is the very grace of God that saves found in the person and work of Jesus.
Faith is the action of belief, and our belief is in the saving power of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. How has the gospel changed your life since you accepted it? How has it changed you and challenged you this week? Would there be anyone in your life who is surprised to discover you’re a believer in Christ? What does it look like for you to put your faith into action today?
Written By: Tyler Short
As we open Romans 4, we must remind ourselves that Paul was writing to a church in conflict. The Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) were at odds. Paul has been stringing together a logical argument but breaks in chapter 4 to illustrate his point.
Paul introduced the idea that “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:22). He has shown that it wasn’t in circumcision or keeping the Law that made one righteous. Rather, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law” (Romans 2:12). Both Jews and Gentiles, all people, stand condemned. Our unrighteousness destined us to an eternity apart from the Lord. The only hope for any person, Jew and Gentile, is faith in Christ.
Hebrews 11:1 defines “faith” as, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” However, it is not stationary. Faith acts out that “assurance” and “conviction”—it is the action of belief. For the Jews who have pursued their relationship with the Lord through practicing the Law and sacrifices, faith without effort was a tough pill to swallow. Paul illustrated his point about faith in Romans 4 with the example of Abraham.
Father Abraham is one of, if not the, most respected figures in all of human history. Although people may dispute the faithfulness of others, Abraham’s faith was legendary. Also, for the purpose of Paul’s argument, Abraham lived approximately 400 years before the Law was given to Moses. So, Romans 4 is all about Paul establishing salvation by faith alone in one of the central figures in the Jewish faith.
In fact, Paul takes the symbol of circumcision to show that Abraham “received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.” Circumcision was a point of pride for the Jews as the symbol of God’s favor. Paul attacked this idea in other passages as well, referring to it in Philippians 3 as “mutilation of the flesh.” This is a super graphic and offensive way to refer to circumcision. Paul got fed up with those who twisted the gospel and placed more faith in their circumcision than in the God that gave the Law.
Abraham was saved by grace through faith before he was ever circumcised. Paul states that this “is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring.” Salvation is only ever by the grace of God. No human effort will make a person acceptable before God. Paul’s point was that the content of saving faith is the very grace of God that saves found in the person and work of Jesus.
Faith is the action of belief, and our belief is in the saving power of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. How has the gospel changed your life since you accepted it? How has it changed you and challenged you this week? Would there be anyone in your life who is surprised to discover you’re a believer in Christ? What does it look like for you to put your faith into action today?
Written By: Tyler Short
1 Comment
One of the most obvious ways that my life has been changed since coming into a relationship with Jesus is conviction of sin. Things that I might've not thought twice about previously are now filtered through my relationship with Christ. Conviction comes with perspective that is completely different for a believer vs. a non believer.