Unashamed of the Gospel: Declared Righteous and Forgiven
Romans 4:1-8
Turn to Romans 4. I trust that as we have been going through the wonderful book of the Bible, the book of Romans, that some have called the greatest book ever written. We have discovered this tremendous argument by Paul, helping us to understand the gospel, as each week sort of builds on the previous one. And if you were to ask what two main themes Paul has determined thus far in our study, I believe we could respond: one, Paul has made it clear that all men and women stand guilty before God; and two, that by the works of the Law no man or woman can be justified. And we might gloss over that, as many of us have been brought up in the church and can be guilty of overlooking such a deep truth. I mean, if I said those two statements to someone in the world today, many would want a greater explanation. So, let me repeat those statements: all men and women stand guilty before God; and secondly, that by the works of the Law no man or woman can be justified.
Now, the world would argue against the first statement, believing that likely only the really bad stand guilty before God, if they believed there was a God. And the second statement, they would want to know what the Law was that could not justify. And if we explained the Law to them, they would likely not be all that concerned about keeping the Law as given in the Old Testament, but they would probably suggest that certain good works that they might perform would certainly justify them. And we have already answered that thought as well, as Paul has taught that those without the Law have a law written on their hearts and are therefore responsible to obey that law, their conscience. And Paul would teach that they have not obeyed that law written on their hearts, to which our culture would disagree. And the simple reason for the difference in opinion is that man will merely compare himself with others, whereas Paul is teaching a righteousness in comparison with the righteousness of God.
Now, Paul, in his argument, has brought up some opposition in his day towards his teaching on the gospel, and it was regarding the whole matter of Jew and Gentile. But, of course, Paul has already answered that, saying that all people, Jew and Gentile, with or without the Law, are guilty. But there was another opposition brought before Paul. Do you remember what it was? It came in Romans 3:8, when the question was thrown out there, “And why not say, ‘Let us do evil that good may come.’” Which, in some ways, was a good question, for Paul is teaching a righteousness outside of the Law. Remember, Paul said in Romans 3:21:
“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested.”
Romans 3:21a (LSB)
And humanly, as soon as we hear of a righteousness outside of a set of rules and regulations, this question would naturally be asked. But the righteousness Paul is speaking of is a righteousness that is given to us, and it is a righteousness that is not performed by us. So, listen now as Paul will continue his argument and give further explanation in Romans 4, as in Romans 4, Paul will introduce Abraham, as many would have thought that Abraham would have been saved by his works, and likely believed this about anyone who was saved in the Ole Testament, but especially Abraham, who likely would have been the top guy in the Jewish mind. So, the objection comes in the very first verse (Rom 4):
“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?”
Romans 4:1 (LSB)
Now, we said last week that Paul had already stated that the revelation of salvation by faith was determined in the Old Testament. But what Paul wants to make clear is that not only was it already determined, but that it was already happening. In other words, the Old Testament was not just looking ahead at what would happen, but this truth was already occurring in the lives of Old Testament believers. In fact, justification by faith was the only way someone could be saved, Old Testament or New Testament. And the danger, of course, is that if a person believes that an Old Testament saint was saved by his actions, his deeds, and his obedience to the Law, that thought or that idea will likely continue to hound you when you are considering your own salvation today. As this thought of being saved by our actions can be an idea that will hang with us, as it is hard to let go. For even if we teach and preach a gospel that is by faith, it still may be difficult to truly believe in our hearts, or probably even harder to believe in our minds, that we cannot add anything to it. Yet this is something that we must get right, because if we believe that the Old Testament teaches that a person is saved by his obedience to the Law, this would be a contradiction to what Paul is teaching us here this morning in Romans. A similar problem might occur if we view the God of the Old Testament as a God of judgement, and the God of the New Testament as a God of love. This, of course, cannot be, as God is God, as God is unchanging.
So, in doing this, Paul has chosen two men from the Old Testament, Abraham and later David (vs 6-8). And why Abraham and David of all the Old Testament saints? Well, it actually does not tell us, but there is some significance to both these men. Abraham is known as the father of Israel, for it was Abraham who was given the promise of a people who would come from him. I mean the Jews were always quick to connect themselves with Abraham. Their God was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Jews said (John 8) we are Abraham’s seed. And why David? Well, David was the one who was promised the kingship, and we know that the promise of Christ would come through David. So, we have the father of Israel, Abraham, and we have the king of Israel, David. I also find it interesting that Paul’s two examples are on two levels from a human perspective. David is the great king, but we know he greatly sinned, while Abraham is more the revered believer. But Paul has chosen both.
“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?”
Romans 4:1 (LSB)
The Legacy Standard Bible, which I use, will always give a very close translation to the Hebrew or Greek. Some translations will try to make it simpler to read. The NIV says, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh [and he was], discovered in this matter?” In other words, what did Abraham discover in all this, regarding this topic Paul is teaching here? This is interesting, for this is a very practical question, which we would want to be very careful about, as we cannot define our faith by the practical lessons or experiences that we may go through in life. Because if we did, we would be all over the map, and I could almost guarantee that we would not agree. However, if we have a grasp of the truth of God’s Word, then often our experiences reinforce those truths. But we learn the truth primarily from our Bibles, not our experiences. But this is different, as this is God’s Word explaining a truth that Abraham came to in his life. And Paul begins by giving a hypothetical example.
“For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God!”
Romans 4:2 (LSB)
Consider how many times the Apostle warns about “boasting.” He uses the term forty-nine times in his letters. There are times when he will use it in a positive sense, as in boasting in God, but often it is used in a negative sense. Romans 3:27, boasting, Paul says, it is excluded. First Corinthians 1:29, no flesh may boast before God. First Corinthians 5:6, your boasting is not good. Ephesians 2:9, you have been saved by grace, not of works, so that no one may boast. And in our passage, this is so classic as he says sarcastically, “If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God!” The statement given by Paul is saying that even if Abraham had works that he could boast about. That might be all fine and dandy, but his works mean little to God and gain him nothing in relation to salvation.
“For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’”
Romans 4:3 (LSB)
This is a quote from Genesis 15:6. Now, we have said many times that when the Bible uses the term “believe” in relation to faith, it is not merely an intellectual belief, for even the demons believe. But it means that Abraham trusted in God. Yes, he believed in the existence of God, but he also believed or trusted in the promises of God; in other words, he believed what God had told him. And we do not have time to look at it, but if you read Genesis 12 and Genesis 15, God gave promises to Abraham, and Abraham believed those promises. So, we need to take this verse and be sure it gets ingrained in our minds. We do not want to add to it, and we want to ensure that we accept it directly and without hesitation. The verse simply says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to Abraham as righteousness.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones warns against interpreting such a passage like this:
“Abraham was a godly man. Abraham was a God-fearing man. Abraham was a pious man. Abraham delighted in obeying God and in doing what God told him. And it was because he was such a man that God dealt with him as He did.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Well, we can see the danger in where all this will lead. We might then conclude that if a man lives a godly life, he will be forgiven, or somehow, he will find favour with God. See, if we expand the simple statement that Abraham believed in God, and it was counted to him as righteousness, we could get in trouble. Just like if we expanded (Rom 1:16) that “the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,” we could get in trouble. Now, we need to define the word “believe” as the Bible defines it, but we need to be very careful about placing our own interpretation on this. Abraham believed in God. We could say he trusted in what God told him, and it was counted to him as righteousness. But we can certainly see the jump here to go from Abraham being credited with righteousness through faith, to Abraham being credited with righteousness because he was a godly man, or because he was pious. Because then Abraham could actually boast about something. Why? Well, because he is better than the next guy. Why? Because he is not a wicked sinner like everyone else. Why? Because he is more like the Pharisee who was not as bad as the publican. And we go from the focus on Abraham’s belief, to the focus on Abraham’s perceived godly character. Result, we completely miss the gospel.
And, at the end of verse one, it says that this is what Abraham himself found. In other words, he knew himself that he was not justified by works. He knew himself that his righteousness was gained by his faith and belief. And when the Pharisees connected themselves with Abraham, Jesus quickly condemned them and said, “You are of your father the devil.” And then Jesus said this about Abraham:
“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
John 8:56 (LSB)
Abraham, who did not have the New Testament Scriptures as we have, believed in a coming Messiah as he rejoiced to see the time of Christ. Verse 3, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” That word translated “counted” is the Greek word logizomai. It is the same word in (vs 4) counted according to grace, (vs 5) his faith is counted as righteousness, and (vs 6) to whom God counts righteousness apart from works. Some translations will use different words. I believe the King James uses the word reckoned (vs 4), counted (vs 5), and imputed (vs 6), yet it is all the same word. And what it means is something that has been placed into your account that you did not deserve, something put there that was not there before. Righteousness is placed into an account where there is no righteousness. He does not make us righteous but places righteousness into our account.
“Now to the one who works, his wage is not counted according to grace, but according to what is due.”
Romans 4:4 (LSB)
Paul is making a negative statement here, simply this, that the man paying for the work or effort is not really gracious, for he owes the worker his wages. Now, we may think of him as gracious, and he may be a nice guy. When I sold kitchens, the store owner was very good to me, an unbeliever whom I love very much. But I worked hard for him, and I made the store money. I worked long hours, and long hours at home shows. And on the pay phone, solving kitchen problems at the Pinery while I was on holidays. But, yes, Mike was a very kind man. But Paul’s point here is that the money was earned. In fact, we would think it wrong if a boss did not pay an employee. So, in that sense, there is no grace in that a boss is simply paying a worker for the work he did.
“But to the one who does not work, but believes upon Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”
Romans 4:5 (LSB)
This verse is more of a positive statement. And this verse is likely one of the greatest verses regarding evangelism. And it is one of the strongest statements Paul ever makes. Back in (3:26), the man who is justified is the one who believes in Jesus, but Paul tells something more about this man here, and it’s that this man is ungodly. Who is the man who is justified? The man who does not work. The man who is ungodly. And who is Paul talking about here? The guy who does not work and the guy who is ungodly. But who is he talking about? Abraham. He is referring to Abraham. Well, we might say, was not Abraham a good man, after his kind treatment of Lot? Well, he was in human standards. But if we describe Abraham by his nature, the Bible says that he was ungodly. This means that by nature, we too are described as ungodly. I don’t really have to convince you of this, for this is what Paul is saying here, as this is what Paul has been saying about the entire human race. Ephesians 2:3, we are all by nature children of wrath. Romans 3:10, there is none righteous, no, not one. We already talked about the men with Jesus (John 8) and these men, they certainly would have thought they were godly. But Jesus said to them, “You are of your father the devil.”
Verse 5, but to the one who does not work, but believes on Him [God] is justified. Who is the One that justifies the man who believes? Notice it says that the man believes in the One who “justifies the ungodly.” This justification is done by God; it is the work of God. Now, can you imagine if you were sitting as the condemned person in a court, and the judge asks, what are you going to do to justify yourself? Your response might be, well, I will do this and pay this back, and will strive to be better in this. But then the judge says, no, your works, your efforts, mean nothing to me. But I will declare you to be righteous. And you would be thinking, what? See, this justification is God’s work, not man’s work. This is about all that God has done. How dare we think we could ever contribute to this or would even want to? Not to mention, we have no way of contributing to it. Paul uses the word here to justify. Paul Enns defines justification this way:
“It is a legal action wherein God pronounces that the sinner has been credited with all the virtues of Jesus Christ.”
Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology 751
And this is a good definition as it says that God pronounces the sinner to be credited with the virtues of Jesus Christ. Sometimes we may say that justification is where a sinner is made righteous, but that is not the exact truth, and this is why. When we become Christians, we still do wrong things, so, in that sense, we are not made righteous. A better understanding would be to say that we have been declared righteous, or, as Enns says here, God pronounces the sinner with our Lord’s virtues. In other words, it is God’s pronouncement that the sinner is righteous. And at that declaration, the sinner receives the righteousness of Christ, and therefore, God regards, or the biblical term, counts him as righteous. This goes back to the wording (vs 3) that God counted Abraham as righteous. In other words, the righteousness of Christ was placed into Abraham’s account. The doctrine of justification by faith is not God saying that we are righteous; that would be a lie, but it is that God credits the righteousness of Jesus to our account. And difficult to know all that Abraham understood, but Jesus said that Abraham rejoiced to see this day. And then Paul will also say that David has said this as well.
“[J]ust as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.’”
Romans 4:6-8 (LSB)
Blessed is the man whose sins are covered. Why? This man has sinned and is guilty of many sins. But then notice that he is blessed because the Lord will not take into account his sin. This is the opposite of Paul’s wording here with Abraham, where Paul highlights that righteousness is given to Abraham. But now with David, Paul is highlighting that sin is not placed into David’s account. The man who is truly blessed is the one whose sin will never be charged against him. In this case, David, guilty of both adultery and murder, God will never look at his sin again. David will never be charged for his sin. And we are speaking here of David, but this is true of any man or woman who does not have his sin charged against him or her. And the question would be, how can God do this and still be God? Well, the answer is that the sin has been placed in another’s account. In other words, God, the Father, has counted the sin of all those who would believe against Christ. First Corinthians 5:
“[N]amely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their transgressions against them … He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
2 Corinthians 5:19a, 21 (LSB)
Sin stood between God and man. And that word “reconcile” means that whatever barrier was between God and man was eliminated. And of course, it had to be eliminated by God, as man cannot reconcile with God. And God did this by—and keep in mind the example of David, the negative here—by not counting sin against us and by making Christ to be sin on our behalf, for remember David’s lawless deeds had been forgiven. But also, “So that we might become the righteousness of God.” And God did this—and keep in mind the example of Abraham, the positive here—that he received the righteousness of God. And Christ, of course, came to do all this. Christ offered to do this. And this is why Abraham rejoiced to see Christ’s day. Because God has done everything, for we cannot do anything. How could we? Our righteousness is as filthy rags; we are ungodly, we are as guilty as David. To say that we were hopeless would be a vast understatement.
Now, some of you might be sitting here this morning and saying, “but, but, but,” thinking about the responsibility of the Christian. But that is exactly the problem in our thinking, for we want to mix the experience of salvation with the experience of the Christian life, and if you do, you will completely miss this massive act of grace on God’s part. Some might want to say that the person who becomes a Christian must repent, yet the word “repent” is not in this passage, for no one ever got saved because they repented of their sin. How is a person being saved in this passage, by believing, and it is by believing that God does this magnificent work in the ungodly person’s life. You will not truly repent before God until you first believe.
Paul could not be clearer here in saying that we have no works at all; therefore, even faith cannot be considered a work. In fact, in another passage, and it would have to be another sermon, faith is called a gift of God. And if faith is a gift of God, we could say that salvation is entirely a free gift of God. And if salvation is a free gift of God, then don’t try to add to it. Don’t think that you gained salvation or are maintaining salvation by doing certain things. Attending church this morning on Easter Sunday has nothing to do with an effort to maintain your salvation. Or that you would maintain some kind of favour with God. That kind of thinking is the very thinking that the Pharisees had in believing that they could gain favour with God by doing. And if you are thinking right now that I need to do something, you do not yet truly understand the gospel.
Let me ask you this as a Christian. Do you believe this morning that you are entirely what you are based upon the grace that God has extended to you? You who are ungodly. You who Paul has described as not righteous. You who have no works that can justify you. In fact, if you are still feeling that you need to do more to become a Christian, saying I don’t even pray, I don’t read my Bible, I don’t even go to church that often, I still struggle with certain sins, if you are still mulling these thoughts in your mind, you do not yet understand. Do you actually believe that by reading your Bible, God could then work this transaction in your life? Or if you started praying tonight, then God is freed up to do what He wants to do? If I started attending church all the time, then God could really save me. Or you are just waiting to give up that certain sin, ah, then I will be on the road to righteousness. If that is what you are thinking, you have missed it. Folks, salvation is not thinking or bragging about what a person is going to do, salvation is being truly amazed at what God has done.
This is a God who justifies the ungodly, which means what? You are ungodly. Some people may believe they need to become godly first. But God does not justify the godly, for there are none, none are righteous. No, not one, you have no works. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that a person must realize that he or she is as capable of accepting this gift today as they will be in a thousand years from now. Even if they went home and became a monk or fasted, they are still ungodly and no more entitled to this salvation than they are now, nor would ever be. Charles Wesley said:
“[C]lothed with [Christ’s righteousness], we are ready to face anybody or anything, for who can lay any charge against us? … for we rely only on this righteousness of God in Jesus Christ, which God, in His infinite love and mercy, kindness and compassion, has given to us freely.”
Charles Wesley
And I am speaking to both believers and unbelievers this morning. If you do not yet know Christ as Saviour and Lord, believe in Him this morning. And if you truly believe, He will begin to change you into the likeness of Jesus Christ. But God will also do this; He will not count your sin against you. And He will clothe you with the righteousness of His Son. But believe in Him today, for you will never be godly enough. And to you, Christian, this morning has been just a part of fully understanding our salvation, as Paul will have much more to say to us. But as we see the love of the Father and the willingness of the Son, and when we truly believe, we will desire to serve Him with all our hearts. On this Easter Sunday morning, our Lord gave His life so that everything we have talked about has been made possible. And not only for us, but for all men and women from every generation, even the lives of Abraham and David.
“He who was delivered over on account of our transgressions, and was raised on account of our justification.”
Romans 4:25 (LSB)
Might we, of all people, love and serve our great God? And all God’s people said, amen.