Chapter 4 is a straightforward and easy to explain passage. The heading kind of gives it away…
Abraham Justified by Faith
4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter?
What matter?
Ch330 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
(This is a summary of ch4… Abraham's example is going to reinforce the ‘matter’.)
We are justified by faith…
2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”
9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
13 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, 15 because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
A quick summary:
Because Abraham believed God, especially, but not only, when it came to a son being born to Sarah in her old age. His faith was credited to him as righteousness.
Like him, we are declared righteous through faith alone.
Abraham straddles both Jew and Gentile. This righteousness is not just for the Abraham’s physical descendants, the people of Israel, but also for non Jews.
We know this because his faith was credited to him before his circumcision.
This faith leads to righteousness and brings glory to God.
Any questions?
This sounds like a deal right. We have sinned against God. We deserve eternal separation from God. There is nothing we can do to bridge the chasm between us and God…nothing… But we are offered a free …wrong word, not free…it cost an immeasurable amount. We are offered a gift which costs us nothing… eternal life… Just believe, have faith and your eternity is secure…
This is a good deal… people are rushing to the doors to get their hands on it?
The eternal deal…
Not as much we would think. Of course there are times when people have turned to God in their droves and received the gift of life with open arms…. But too often there is a trickle.. too good to be true?
Whole nations of people in their billions choose another way… The other way…
People choose to follow an array of religions that all have one thing in common… Every religion has this in common… They want to work for their salvation… and all religions encourage it…
Islam
Hinduism
Buddists
JWs
African religions
And apparently Judaism in the year nought… and for this reason Paul needs to belabour the point… A whole extra chapter… emphasising…
Why is this the case? Is there a natural pull to play an active part in our own salvation, something in all of us or is it the manipulation of religious leaders? Who just want servants and power…
Is there something in our psyche or in our sinful nature that makes us susceptible to this… being happy to sacrifice, and work, and give up to earn some sort of redemption?
Okay, so I don’t know about the human psyche… I’m just a Maths teacher…
I do know… where to find an average human heart…
When one wants to know about the human condition there is a very good place for us all to start. I have to look inside. So in this case, the question is, “Is there a natural inclination in me to want to earn my own salvation????? The answer is yes…
There is a story about this in the Bible. That describes our attraction to works. A parable of Jesus
Luke 18
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Confident of their own righteousness… Jesus identifies a group who are confident of their OWN righteousness…
What does the pharisee see as his source of righteousness… His own actions…
The heart of man does not change… this Pharisee is so very proud of his works, of all that he has done… His prayer and fasting makes him a good guy… But it is actually more than this… The source of his arrogance is… of his feeling of superiority… ”I thank you that I am not like other people”… looked down on others...
I am better than others… why do people want to follow a religion where righteousness is earned?
Because then I can prove that I am better than others… even if it is just to myself(perhaps especially)… this is pride… Pride is the source of this desire to work for our salvation…
Paul himself has of course come from this background… he too was once a man who earned his salvation… Who worked frantically,… frenetically to do as much as he could to improve his standing… with both man and God… and himself.
Proverbs 14:12 says… There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way of death… the pharisee thinks his ‘works’ place him in good standing with God… ‘of course God appreciates me’… i do all this for him…
When contrasted, of course, with the tax-collector the Pharisees conceitedness is exposed… and we will get to this other man just now…
Why do people love a religion that is based on works?
It makes me feel good… I am better… I want to be in control… I want people to see me being a good guy… I want to respect myself because I have done so much…
Religion is making a comeback in the USA… did you know that? 160 000 converts last year to Catholicism… The Eastern Orthodox church increased by 78 % in the last few years…
Sounds good. What is driving this change? There are lots of theories.
Mostly around a loss of cultural identity and place in society… for men in particular… Why these two faiths? There is also a rise in evangelical churches, but these two faiths in particular.
Both these faiths emphasise works, it allows these young men a certain amount of control over their lives… where society is stripping them of their traditional place or standing as provider, protector, someone worthy of honour…
They have found, in religion, a place where they can be respected for being men and taking on the prototype men roles… It is pride…
Are we also susceptible to this? Why do we, Bible believing faithful Christians need to hear this message? Of course we know that our righteousness is through faith alone…
Except… I sometimes… find myself thinking, I am better than people who don’t believe.. now, I don’t go around judging every person I meet, but I do find myself sneering at the arguments atheists make or ridiculing people who believe that everything came from nothing, or that life came from non-life… all unscientific ideas which are pulled out to try to explain God away. Absolutely ridiculous… Dof… Atheist boy…
You come to me with your problems, but just look at the ungodly life you have chosen… What did you expect?
Why do I do that? Pride… Pride in what? I didn’t do anything to earn my salvation, I am no better than the next man…
Even as a Christian, saved by God’s grace for many years I see the blasphemy of works creep into my heart… I am preaching on Sunday you know… (look what a good guy I am).
My mind says…..I am blessed because I am such a good Christian… or the opposite and equally reflective of our misunderstanding, “ I have not been a good Christian so God is not going to bless me”…
I have made such wise choices… I am doing well because I am not controlled by the lusts of the flesh… works, works, works…
Do you also fall into this trap?
Let’s be honest, in your heart do you sometimes feel that you are having a tough time because you have not been a good enough Christian… Or perhaps the thought slips in every now and again that you are getting everything you wanted, because of your wonderful walk and service?
I said, “Let’s be honest”.
I have no doubt that we are all pulled towards this way of thinking… That although we read the words, “by faith and not by works” we still believe that just maybe… Yes there is something in our hearts that draws us to a works based religion… Maybe… maybe a bit of pride…
How many times does the New Testament imply, or say directly that we are saved by faith in Jesus? 160 times apparently… that's a lot.
Yet people still (us) keep returning to wanting to do good works. To earn their salvation.
Why is this? The answer lies in the heart and the words of the tax-collector… He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
I would suggest that we think works are the way to heaven because we have no idea how tragic… how big a problem, how serious… sin is…
If we had an inkling we would know that our works are completely useless… ’Our works are as filthy rags’… Is 64:6
Without knowing the holiness of God it is difficult to understand our own sin… I would suggest that a big part of Phillipians 2:12 working out your salvation with fear and trembling:” is getting to know God and in particular his holiness and then contrasting it to our own lives… this forces growth…
Paul needs to remind the early Christians and God needs to remind you and I… every week as we come to the breaking of bread we need to bring to mind that there is nothing we have done… It is all Christ… our sin is beyond comprehension…
Perhaps up on the wall next to GLORY TO GOD we need ‘God is Holy’.
Oh that we could be like the Tax collector and see our sin for what it is… only then will we realise that it is all Christ…
The problem of course is that it is not a one time thing… I would even suggest that the tax collector is at some point going to forget his cries to God and start thinking that he in some way contributed and he will need to be reminded again…
Paul is making it very clear here that, “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness” Salvation is through faith alone…
I try to look at each passage with fresh eyes..something new to learn…. and there is a problem here for me…
Faith alone… very clear… no works… right… right…
Bear with me this is going to get a bit confusing…
So if I don’t have faith, then I cannot be saved… oh so I do play a part in my own salvation… I knew it… it’s my faith that saved me.. Well just a small piece…
I thought that God paid it all and it was ‘free gift’, now I had to do the work of faith? There is a whole branch of Christianity that believes this error…
The opposite thought… lies with the Calvinists and it says that because we had no part to play in our salvation as laid out so often in scripture, the other option is that God chooses us and it is not us who choose him. There is no free will.
The work of Faith is also God’s work… we had no choice… God chose us…our ‘faith’ is due to God’s command…
For centuries these two interpretations have battled it out and split churches…
You have to see how this is a dilemma… who did the work? Me or God? Who does the faith work?
As with most great debates neither is right. The answer is outside of the discussion.
If a person makes faith an object to behold then they've made it a work…. And the work must be allocated either to God…. or man.
Faith is however not a work, but merely a trust in something. We trust in Christ and His finished work on the cross, His shed blood, His resurrection. It's all Him.
I like the following explanation.. It makes it all very clear especially for any person married for 5 minutes…
My wife tells me in the morning that she will be going shopping that afternoon for groceries… she will get what is needed for the house, as well as supper for that evening… I trust that my wife will do this and that I will get home to a delicious supper…
Does my trusting somehow contribute to the grocery shopping being accomplished? No.
Does my trusting her to do it mean less work for her at the grocery store (shorter queues?) as if I were contributing to her labor? Apparently not…
I am very sure(and have been informed) that my trust in her merits me nothing.
In no way is she grateful, nor should she be grateful that I trusted her.
My trust did not help at all… but it benefited me in that I did not need to stress about supper and supper was there at 18:05.
What about with God? Does my trust (my faith) merit His favor? Is my faith helpful… Or in other words, does my trust merit righteousness from God? NO!
Trust/faith is not a work… that merits anything…
Salvation is in no way associated with works… Faith is completely different…
In closing there is one last thing to consider here. If we are not saved by works. Then what is the purpose of works? We are called to fulfill the work God has set out for us… Why does Maurice always run around trying to get us involved?
Does it make me a better Christian?
If the work has been done why can’t I just sit in church each week and not be involved?
My children have to hear (story?) We don’t work hard to be better than others… we work hard to fulfill our God given potential…
To fulfill our potential… as saved, spirit filled people we have this massive potential…
Let’s go and live up to what we were saved for…
