Unaltered Salvation Romans 4:1-3
The purpose of Romans 4 is to show that under the OT dispensation (periods of History) this way of salvation, Justification by faith alone apart from works, was not merely prophesied and predicted, but was God’s way of dealing with men and saving them in both the Old and New Testaments. There are three reasons to establish this point: 1) For the Jews and particularly for the believing Jews to be free from the Jewish idea that you had to work to gain God’s favor to be justified and clear up the misunderstanding of non-believing Jews that the Gospel contradicted the Old Testament. 2) To show that God is one and his way of dealing with men in the matter of salvation is always the same. It is the same for the Jew or Gentile and the same in the Old and New Testaments. It is the same everywhere, in every time and for every person. (Jones) Paul wants Jewish Christians to grasp that this gospel of justification by faith is no novelty, having been proclaimed beforehand in the Old Testament (Gal 3:8), and he wants the Gentile Christians to anticipate the rich spiritual heritage they have entered into by faith in Jesus, in continuity with the Old Testament people of God (Stott) 3) To dismiss by illustration that idea that anyone can boast about anything in the presence of God. So, the purpose of the chapter is to show that there is only one covenant of grace and to show that everyone in all dispensations are saved in exactly the same way. (Jones)
Examples of Justification by faith
Paul as presented his case for justification by faith (Rom 3:21-30) He has given the theology of it, shattering religious myths and lies, including Jewish ones, showing that the way to be right with God is by repentance and faith in Christ, not by works. Now, to prove his case, he goes from a theology of justification to an illustration of justification. He’s going to illustrate the truth of justification by faith, not works, with the life of Abraham and the testimony of David.
Why Abraham? For three reasons: 1) He was an Old Testament character, who was saved before the law was given and before circumcision (Rom 4:10). So, he transcends the age of grace and the age of law. He is a kind of universal illustration. 2) He is the supreme example in the OT of faith, and so he is the ideal example to use for salvation by faith as being the consistent norm 3) The Jews looked to Abraham as their model of righteousness. He is the rock from which they are cut and was held in high esteem by all of them (Stott) So Paul picks him . . . because he was the favorite illustration the Jews used to prove salvation by works. He is pre-Israel since he is the father of Israel, pre the giving of the law to Moses. Because of the way in which the Jews revered Abraham, Paul chooses Abraham as his illustration. He endeavors here to wipe out the Jewish illusion of salvation by works by picking on their own best illustration. He will establish the truth that, in fact, Abraham is not an example of salvation by works, but he is an example of salvation by faith. The basic belief of the Jews was that you earn favor with God. Abraham had earned more than
anybody else in his generation. The message of the gospel is there’s none righteous, no, not one. That is also the message of the OT, no man can earn favor with God. It is the supreme discovery of the Christian gospel that you don’t need to try to earn favor with God. You don’t need to try to be righteous enough on your own to be accepted by God. You don’t need to torture yourself with a losing battle to try to earn God’s love and salvation. Paul chose Abraham because he was their favorite illustration of works righteousness and turned that view on its head. Paul wanted to put flesh and blood to the previous theology. He wanted to take it out of the realm of abstraction and put it in the realm of life (Mac Arthur)
Elimination of Justification by works
The story of Abraham and the statement of Scripture eliminate the idea of justification by works and exclude all boasting.
Abraham’s life is a model. It is a pattern in three ways, First of all, he was justified by faith, not works. He was justified by faith, not works. Secondly, verses 9 to 17, he was justified by grace, not law. Thirdly, verse 18 to verse 25, he was justified by divine power, not human effort. Every way you can look at it, he was justified by faith, not works; by grace, not law; by divine power, not human effort. If Abraham was not justified by his works, no man could be. If Abraham was justified by faith, all men can be and must be. (Mac Arthur)
The Story of Abraham 1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? Here Abraham is called the forefather of the people of God according to the flesh. Abraham was directly called of God to leave his people and go where he would show him. He was told that God would make of him a great nation, that he would bless him, make his name great and that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed. (Gen 12:1-3). Abraham did become that father of many nations both physically and spiritually. Physically he became the father of the Arab and the Jewish people, through Ismael and Isaac. Spiritually he became the father of all true believers both Jews and Gentiles. He is our father in faith if we have believed on Jesus (Boice). This calling from God was in no way based on anything that Abraham did “according to the flesh” to deserve or merit God’s favor. There was nothing good in Abraham to commend him to God. The term “according to the flesh”, Gk Kata sarka, could refer to the fact that Abraham was the physical progenitor of the Jewish people, but it can also refer to human activity apart from God’s influence (Boice). Flesh here is the external as opposed to the internal and spiritual (fleshly). ( Phil 3:3). It is works or good deeds of any kind that one rests on for their salvation. (Jones) Paul has already excluded all good deeds of righteousness among all men, even Abraham, quoting OT passages in Rom 3:10-18 and declaring that all men sin and fall tragically short of the Glory of God in Rom 3:23. Thus, the question of what did Abraham “gained’ according to the flesh to deserve or merit God’s favor, is the same as us, nothing. Paul makes the point that Abraham’s faith was not some merit by which he earned salvation but simply the means by which he received the gift. (Mac Arthur)
Syllogism of Paul 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. A Hypothetical Syllogism is presented
What was he able to accomplish on his own? What did he gain by the works of the flesh? What has he accomplished? What has he achieved? Was he justified by works? If he was, then he has something to boast about - but not before God, from God’s viewpoint, he has no reason to boast, Men are never made right with God by human effort. So Abraham has nothing to boast about. The major premise, if a man is justified by works, he has ground for boasting. Minor premise, Abraham was justified by works; conclusion, therefore, Abraham has a right to boast. But Paul challenges that by stating that the minor premise is false. Major premise, if a man is justified by
works, he has ground for boasting. You can say that. Minor premise, Abraham was justified by works, that’s not true. He was justified by faith; therefore, the conclusion cannot be he has a right to boast. changing of that minor premise, he proves that Abraham was not justified by works and thus destroys the conclusion that Abraham had any right to boast - not before God means not in the presence of God, not with God standing there (Mac Arthur) Here is the way Piper would paraphrase verse 2: "If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about. But before God such a thing is inconceivable." In other words, verse 2 rules out all boasting in relation to justification, because there simply is no such thing as justification by works in the presence of God. The "if" clause in verse 2 is ruled out. (Piper)
Explanation of Justification by faith 3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."
Two things to consider in this verse the source and substance
The source 3 For what does the Scripture say? He defends himself based upon Scripture. (Mac Arthur). Paul ask another question -what does the word of God say? Not what does your pastor say, not what do your friends say, not what do books, commentaries or podcasts say? For Paul, the supreme authority is nothing less than the Sacred scriptures. He appeals to the Old Testament (Gen 15:6) to underscore his use of Abraham as a model of Justification by faith (Sproul) Consider the implications of this apparent innocent question. First, the singular from (the scripture) like our “the Bible”, indicates that Pauli recognizes the existence of this entirety, not just a library of books but a unified body of inspired scriptures. Secondly, his quasi-personification of scripture as being able to speak (say) indicates that he draws no distinction between what Scripture says and what God says through it. Thirdly, instead of the present tense “what does the Scripture say?” Paul could have used the perfect tense and asked, “what was written? In asking what it says, the apostle indicates that though the written text the living voice of God may be heard. Fourthly, to ask the question is to turn to the scripture for authoritative guidance. It implies that, as with Jesus and his critics, (Matt 4:4ff, 21:12-17, 22::15-33; Luke 10:25-28, John 10:31-39, 21:42 so with Pal and his, in every controversy Scripture was acknowledged as the final court of appeal. (Rom 1;17, 2:24, 3:10-18, 8:36 etc).
The authority of Scripture means that all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God . The written Scripture is Our Final Authority. The final form of Scripture is its written form; and it is authoritative in this form (Rev 22:18-19) Hypothetical reconstructions of what “Jesus/Paul/the apostles really said” cannot replace the Scripture itself as the final authority. (Grudem)
God himself is the ultimate authority in all religious matters. He has the right, both by virtue of who he is and what he has done, to establish the standard of belief a practice. With respect issues he doesn’t exercise authority in a direct fashion, rather he has delegated that authority by creating the Bible. Because it conveys his message, the Bible carries the same weight God himself would command if he was speaking to us personally. (Erickson)
All the words in Scripture are God’s words. This is what the Bible claims for itself: First, the many passages that say-“Thus says the LORD.” Deut. 18:18-20, Jer. 1:9, 29:31-32, Ezek. 2: 7; Also that affirmation that God speaks “through” the prophets 1 Kgs 14:18, 2 Kgs 9:36, Hag. 1:12, Deut. 18:19 and finally,
In the NT, all of the Old Testament writings are thought of as God’s words.2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21. Also, in the NT various sections of the OT are referred to as God’s words. Matt. 1:22, 19:4-5 Mark 7:9-13, Acts 1:16. Plus, the NT writings also referred to as Scripture. 2 Peter 3:16, 1 Tim. 5:18, 1 Cor. 14:37.
We are convinced of the Bible’s claims to be God’s words as we read the Bible.
Our ultimate conviction that the words of the Bible are God’s words comes only
when the Holy Spirit speaks in and through the words of the Bible. John 10:27
1 Cor 2:13-14.
The words of Scripture are self-attesting. They cannot be “proved” to be God’s words by appeal to any higher authority. Therefore, to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God. This is seen when Jesus can rebuke his disciples for not believing the OT Scriptures Luke 24: 25 and Believers are told to keep or obey the disciples’ words. John 15:20, 2 Cor 13:2-3, 2 Thess. 3:14, 2 Pet 3:2:
The words of scripture are truthful and the stand of truth. God cannot lie or speak falsely. Titus 1:2: Heb. 6:18, Therefore, all the words in Scripture are completely true and without error in any part. Num. 23::19:Ps. 12:6, 119:89, Prov. 30:5, Matt. 24:35:
also God’s words are the ultimate standard of truth. John 17:17. So what if some new “truth” is brought forth, could this new fact ever contradict the Bible? Every true fact is something that God has known already from all eternity and is something that therefore cannot contradict God’s speech in Scripture.
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