Disarming Disbelief Rom 4:3, Gen 15
Dilemma of Disbelief Gen 15:2 But Abraham said "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir. Abraham’s concern was legitimate when he responded to God’s declaration to him in a vision (Gen 15:2). God if you said this is going to happen I can’t see that it is or will. God wants us to bring to him our concerns and questions. As we read scripture we can become confused, like Abraham about what God says, but like Abraham, we have an approachable father who loves and cares for us. We truly can bring all our concerns to him.
Declaration that Dispels Disbelief
4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him:
Verbal Remark 4"This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir." Here God clarifies the promise that he made to Abraham previously, stating “I will make of you a great nation” (Gen 12: 2) This is an amazing truth that we need to understand. God affirmed that Abraham would produce a great nation, but didn’t explain how, now he does. Throughout the story of Abraham, God gradually reveals the “hows’ of producing this great nation. So, when the Word of the Lord came to Abraham, it was God’s way of answering a little bit of the how for Abraham. This is how God often deals with us. He lays out something generally and later fills in the specifics. That is why we trust him and wait on him.
Visible Reminder 5 And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." The pointing to the stars by Yahweh is subtle. To other nations the stars were gods, but to Abram they are to be the permanent reminder of the promises of Yahweh. Wherever he goes he will see them and remember. (Pett)
The Decision that Dismissed Disbelief
6 And he believed the LORD
What did Abraham believe? The faith which Abraham exercised was, that his posterity should be like the stars of heaven in number. This promise was made to him when he had no child, and of course when he had no prospect of such a posterity. The reason why it was counted to him for righteousness was, that it was such a strong, direct, and unwavering act of confidence in the promise of God. (Barnes) he firmly believed the promise of God, that he would give him a son, in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed. And by means of his faith, he was reckoned or esteemed righteous before God, and not by means of his works. (Burkitt) He believed in the Lord, i.e. he was fully persuaded that God was able to fulfill, and would certainly fulfill, the promise made to him concerning a child, and especially concerning the Messiah, who should come out of his loins by that child, and that both himself and all people should be justified and blessed in and through him. *Poole) What a remarkable verse is this, for it is the heart of the Gospel. As Abram looks at the multiplicity of stars he believes, not in the stars, but in the faithfulness and goodness of Yahweh. All his disappointment and bitterness melts away for Yahweh has promised and He is faithful. And Yahweh sees his believing heart and accounts it to him as righteousness (Pett) Abraham believed God — Namely, that promise of God, recorded Genesis 15:5, that he should have a seed numerous as the stars. As also the promise concerning Christ, mentioned Genesis 12:3, through whom all nations should be blessed. “The apostle mentions only this one instance of Abraham’s faith, because Moses had said of it in particular, that it was counted to him for righteousness. He believed what God told him concerning the numerousness of his seed, though it was at that time contrary to the ordinary course of nature: nay, he continued to believe it from that time forth, for the space of twenty years, during which no child was given him: (Romans 4:17). (Benson) Abraham believed God; i.e. the promises of God: that he would be his shield and exceeding great reward, Genesis 15:1; that he would give him an heir of his body, Genesis 15:4; that he would multiply his seed, Genesis 15:5, whereby he understood not only his fleshly seed, but also the Messiah, the Savior of the world, which was come of his loins; He took on him the seed of Abraham, Hebrews 2:16. And besides these promises in Genesis 15:1-21, he believed that promise which was made him, Genesis 12:3, That in him and his seed all families of the earth should be blessed. That in these promises the Messiah is understood, is evident from Galatians 3:8,16; and that Abraham had an eye to him is evident, without exception, from John 8:56.(Poole) And he (Abram) believed האמן heemin, he put faith in Jehovah, לו ויחשבה, and he counted it - the faith he put in Jehovah, to Him for righteousness, צדקה tsedakah, or justification; though there was no act in the case but that of the mind and heart, no work of any kind. Hence the doctrine of justification by faith, without any merit of works; for in this case there could be none - no works of Abram which could merit the salvation of the whole human race. It was the promise of God which he credited, and in the blessedness of which he became a partaker through faith (Clarke). It is remarkable to find this anticipation of New Testament teaching so far back. It is like finding one full-blown flower in a garden where all else is but swelling into bud. No wonder that Paul fastened on it to prove that justification by faith was older than Moses, than law or circumcision, that his teaching was the real original, and that faith lay at the foundation of the Old Testament religion. Three things are evident faith:
1. The Nature of Faith.-The metaphor in the Hebrew word is that of a man leaning all his weight on something strong and stable. Surely that metaphor says more than many definitions. It teaches that the essence of faith is absolute reliance, and that unites us with Him on whom we rely. Its result will be steadfastness. We are weak, mobile, apt to be driven hither and thither, but light things lashed to fixed things become fixed. So ‘reeds shaken with wind’ are changed into iron pillars.
2. The Object of Faith.-’Lord.’ It is a Person, not the promise but the Promiser. Of course, reliance on the Person results in acceptance of His word, and here it is God’s word as to the future. Our faith has to do with the future, but also with the past. Its object is Christ, the historic Christ, the living Christ, the Christ who will come again. How clear the nature of faith becomes when its object is clear! It cannot be mere assent, but trust. How clear becomes its identity in all ages! The creeds may be different in completeness, but the object of faith is the same, and the emotion is the same.
3. The effect of Faith.-Righteous is conformity to the will of God. Abram was not righteous, but he yielded himself to God and trusted Him, and God accepted that as the equivalent of righteousness. The acceptance was shown by the Covenant, and by the fulfilment of the promises.
So here is the great truth that faith is accepted for righteous. It is rightly regarded and treated as righteous, by the estimate of God, who estimates things as they really are. (MacLaren)
The Decree that Discredited Disbelief
6 and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Gk Logizomai to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over -to take into account, to make an account of =metaph. to pass to one's account, to impute to reckon or account (Rom 4:3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24) The verb ‘to reckon’ is an accounting term. It means to ‘set down’ in a course of dealing. (Pett) The idea of putting to one’s account is obvious; and the full expression is a technical one, the equivalent of God’s act of justification. ‘That is transferred to the person and imputed to him, which in and for itself does not belong to him’ (Schaff). It is to put to one’s account, to credit, to reckon, Righteousness put to an account. It is to say that Abraham believed God and, therefore, credited to his account was the very righteousness of God. He received it by faith and that’s how all men are made righteous before God. It is not because they can become righteous on their own, it is because the righteousness comes to them from God, credited to their account by faith. (Mac Arthur)
The Hebrew is this, — “And he believed on Jehovah, and he counted it to him righteousness.” The “it,” no doubt, refers to what is included in the word “believed.” So Paul explains it in Romans 4:9, where he expressly puts down πίστις, faith. (Calvin) God credited Abraham’s faith to him as righteousness. Faith itself is not righteousness. Faith is not meritorious in itself. It is only the vehicle by which God’s righteousness reaches us. However, it is the only vehicle by which it reaches us. (Constable) It was counted to him for righteousness. What was? Simply the act of faith. Supernatural faith. human faith is built on a history of seeing things happen that indicate this is something you can trust. You drink the water because you’ve been drinking the water. You drive the car because you’ve been driving the car and lots of people do that. You have a track record that this is a valid thing to put your trust in. There’s no track record with this kind of faith. This is a promise that no one has ever seen. Abraham didn’t see the future at all. He didn’t know what he was headed for. He gave up certainty for uncertainty. We put all of our trust and all of our faith in something we cannot see. This is a kind of faith that isn’t natural faith. This is a supernatural faith. It really is a gift, for by grace you are saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it’s a gift of God. The faith that Abraham had in God was empowered in him by God but not apart from his own willingness and his own obedience. And by faith he gave up his life, by faith he denied himself. By faith he followed, and he knew there would be nothing in this life that would bring about the promise but that he was headed for a city whose builder and maker was God. He was headed for a country that wasn’t in this world, it was a heavenly one. he trusted God. Trusted God to take him to that place. Trusted God to fulfill His promises. It is that kind of faith that marks the man who is declared righteous. This was Abraham’s salvation. He believed God when there was no precedence, no evidence, no sight. It was all promise unfulfilled. This is justification by faith. You believe God for a forgiveness you can’t see. You believe God for a heaven you’ve never been to. You believe God for an eternal reward you’ve never received. You believe God for eternal bliss and joy you’ve never experienced. That’s not normal. although we haven’t entered into the full and final promise, we receive tokens of that promise all the time. The comfort, the assurance, the joy, the peace, the blessedness, the answered prayer, the usefulness, the demonstration of God’s power through our lives and the lives of others as we witness to the gospel and see God work through us - all of these are evidences, these are tastes of that heavenly reality. And so we all live like Abraham lived. We live by faith, having been saved by faith. So then, back to the original question, how can a man be right with God? How can sin be forgiven and how can we have the promise of that city, that heavenly country? Do we earn it? Do we gain it by works? Paul’s answer is absolutely not - absolutely not. It is by faith and faith alone. And let me hasten to add: it is not a faith that is a righteous act which merits it. It is a faith that simply channels the gift to us. One way to say it is: faith is never the basis of our justification, it is only the means of it. It is only the channel of it. It is just the hand that reaches out to take the gift. It isn’t that because you believed on your own, you earned it, for faith itself is a gift of God. It is a means by which we receive the justification given to us. (Gal 2:16) (Mac Arthur)
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