Mar 31, 2019
Originally Presented on January 7th, 2007
Scripture Reading: Romans 4:1-8
In Romans 3:21-31 Paul presents the great doctrine of justification by faith. "But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested . . . even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe . . ." (Rom 3:21,22). What we have in Romans 4 is an elaboration of this wondrous doctrine with Old Testament examples, showing that justification by faith is not a new idea. It is the way God has always dealt with sinful man.
In this section of the chapter, Paul centers his attention on two of the most illustrious people in the Old Testament, Abraham and David. How did these two men find such favor with God? The answer is found in Romans 4:3,5.
Quoting Genesis 15:6, Paul points out that God declared Abraham righteous, not because of the kind of life Abraham lived, but because of his faith. "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Then verse 5 spells out the principle behind Genesis 15:6. "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,"
This truth corrects the natural and widely-held idea that we gain God's favor by being good people. Christ, alone, is righteous and a heartfelt trust in Him is the basis for God's imputing Jesus' righteousness to us.