Justification by Faith, Part 2
Lesson 7 Notes: Romans 4
“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” (Romans 4:20-21)
As we journey through life, we often stumble into moments that defy explanation or exceed imagination. A catastrophic flood, exquisite flower, or brilliant sunset can leave us breathless, wide-eyed, and filled with awe—unable to explain what we observe. At these times, we are reminded that as people we are both fragile and finite. In the spiritual realm, then, how do we begin to process the havoc sin releases in this world? How can we comprehend Christ’s astounding death and resurrection and respond to Him as we should? God calls us to look beyond our limited perspective. Only God provides answers to life’s deepest questions and solutions to our greatest needs. Only He can provide lasting peace when doubts and confusion overwhelm us. God’s wisdom and purposes transcend our understanding. God is not limited by human limitations.
Paul’s journey to faith in Christ helped him understand and explain breathtaking truths about salvation. Continuing his exposition to Roman believers, Paul called out two faithful witnesses from Israel’s past to support his teaching about God’s good news for sinners. Abraham’s remarkable journey exemplifies true faith and testifies to God’s faithfulness, and David’s story illustrates the power of God’s forgiveness despite human sin. Neither man earned salvation; only God can justify sinners and credit righteousness to believers. God did this for Abraham and David through faith, and He extends this same gift to believers today. In ways that surpass our limited understanding and exceed all expectations, God gives Christ’s righteousness to those who believe in Him. God’s provision of salvation meets our deepest need and magnifies His power and glory.
Faith, Not Works – Romans 4:1-15
Paul led his audience straight to the truth confirmed by God’s Word and dealings with His people. 1 After explaining God’s way of salvation by His gift of grace through faith,2 Paul proved his teaching with two Old Testament heroes his Jewish audience deeply honored: Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, and King David, the shepherd, king, and ancestor of the Messiah.
God told Abraham, though childless at the time, that he would become the father of many nations.3 God fulfilled this promise physically and spiritually. Through his sons Isaac and Ishmael, Abraham became the father of the Jewish and Arab peoples. Abraham is also the father of all true believers in Jesus Christ. Three times, the Bible calls Abraham God’s friend.4 The New Testament often refers to God’s saving work of faith in Abraham.5 To prove the gospel’s truth, Paul had to show that God declared Abraham righteous by faith alone, not by works. If good works or human ability played a part in Abraham’s salvation, Paul’s case is lost, as are all people.
No Boasting (4:1-2) – Paul began by asking what Abraham discovered about his human ability to justify himself before God. Though an outstanding man, neither Abraham’s goodness nor efforts could save him. If Abraham’s life of faith and obedience could justify him in God’s sight, Abraham could proudly boast before people. However, he could not boast before God, who intimately knew his every sin and shortcoming. God’s way of saving people makes boasting impossible.6 Abraham could do nothing to save himself from sin’s penalty or power. No human can. How, then, could Abraham be saved?
The Gift of Righteousness (4:3-5) – God saved Abraham. To prove this point, Paul asked, “What does Scripture say?” Paul’s answer is found in Genesis, the Bible’s first book. One night, God told Abraham—who was between 75 and 85 years old and childless—to look up and count the stars. God promised Abraham offspring as numerous as the countless stars in the sky. Genesis 15:6 says, “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” God saved people before Abraham, yet Abraham is the first individual specifically named in Scripture as being justified by faith. God imputed, or credited, His righteousness to Abraham.
Concerning the gospel, Genesis 15:6 is a critical verse with several interpretations. Many Jewish instructors in Paul’s day taught that Abraham, whom God chose, became justified based on his goodness. They inferred that Abraham’s upright behavior earned his salvation. This view, however, describes justification by works rather than by faith. A second interpretation acknowledges that Abraham did not possess righteousness. Because God wanted to save Abraham, God looked for something to accept in place of righteousness. This view states that God decided to treat Abraham’s contribution of belief as righteousness. Belief, however, is not righteousness. For salvation from God’s wrath to be real, the righteousness that makes salvation possible must also be real to be sufficient and acceptable to God. Salvation comes from God alone.
Paul contrasted work for an employer with God’s credited righteousness for those who believe. An employee earns wages based on the work performed. However, God gives His righteousness as a gift, not as compensation for human effort. How can righteousness come to an unrighteous person through faith? Understanding the word “credited,” a bookkeeping term, leads us to the right understanding. In financial accounting, credits and accounts must reflect the actual state of the finances and be 100 percent correct. The same reasoning applies with justification. When God saved Abraham, He credited real righteousness—God’s own perfect righteousness—to Abraham. Abraham received God’s righteousness through the channel of faith. The Bible does not say people are saved because of their faith or based on their faith. God saves people through faith. Faith is necessary, but faith itself is neither righteousness nor a substitute for righteousness. Faith is the channel through which God’s righteousness becomes ours. Righteousness through faith is a gift from God and not a result of our work—an example of God’s grace toward us.7
God credited Abraham with righteousness. David, Israel’s shepherd-king and ancestor of Jesus Christ, used the same word—“credited” or “counted”—to speak of God covering and removing sin’s unrighteousness. Scripture speaks of David as a man after God’s own heart.8 David’s story provides an especially helpful view of the righteousness God renders to sinners. David personally experienced the depth of sin’s burden. He also expressed the blessing of receiving God’s righteousness and forgiveness: “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them.”9
David committed adultery with Bathsheba, another man’s wife. To hide his sin, he arranged for her husband to be killed in battle. David’s plan seemed to work, yet his guilt remained. Only when David confessed and repented of his sin could he be freed from his terrible guilt.10 In a picture of Jesus’s atoning sacrifice, the blood of a sacrificial animal in David’s day covered (paid for and blotted out) the sin of God’s people on the Day of Atonement.11 Only when David’s sin was forgiven and covered could he call himself blessed.
What a full salvation God has provided! On the one hand, God imputes, or credits, a righteousness we do not possess to all who believe. On the other hand, He imputes, or transfers, our sins to Jesus. This is the great exchange, or double imputation, that stands at the heart of the gospel: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”12 God covers believers’ sins and removes them completely by placing them on His Son. On the cross, Jesus bore sin’s full punishment for all who trust Him for salvation. Believers can look at the cross and know that Jesus took the full punishment our sin deserves, completely and forever. He left nothing to be paid—He took it all.
David’s experience reveals that God forgives and releases us from the burden of sin. While Scripture uses several different words for “forgive” or “forgiveness,” the Hebrew word in Psalm 32 and the Greek word in Romans 4 both mean “to carry away” or “release.”13 This points to the Day of Atonement, celebrated by God’s people in the Old Testament. On this day, the high priest would confess the people’s sin over the head of a live goat and send it into the wilderness.14 This act demonstrated the truth of God’s forgiveness. When God forgives sin, He sends the debt of that sin away from the sinner. No human justice system can do this; only God can. David, who knew the blessedness of forgiveness so well, wrote, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”15
Paul’s clear statements referencing the Old Testament prove that God saved both Abraham and David by faith apart from human works. Before his conversion, Paul trusted that his circumcision and obedience to God’s law made him right with God. To correct this wrong thinking among Rome’s believers, Paul again focused on Abraham.
The Timeline of Abraham’s Justification (4:9-10) – When did God declare Abraham to be righteous? When did God justify and save Abraham? If God saved Abraham after his circumcision, which visibly identified God’s covenant people, we might suppose circumcision was necessary for Abraham’s justification. But by the account of Abraham given in Genesis, God credited righteousness to Abraham 14 years before He gave the covenant of circumcision.16 God saved Abraham before his circumcision. Therefore, circumcision cannot be the basis for God’s justification of Abraham, nor does circumcision grant salvation to anyone else.
Salvation’s Signs and Seals (4:11) – If works or ceremonies do not save us, why did God give circumcision to Abraham’s descendants? Similarly, we may wonder why Jesus commissioned baptism and the Lord’s Supper for His followers. Paul used two words for understanding the ordinances established for God’s people: “sign” and “seal.” The sign of circumcision pointed to God’s covenant with Abraham based on Jesus’s future work. The sign of the Lord’s Supper points to Christ’s death and God’s new covenant with His people.17 The sign of baptism publicly identifies a person as belonging to Christ.18
An official seal on a passport or manufacturer’s product guarantees authenticity. Ordinances picture an aspect of our salvation and the work of God’s grace. Baptism illustrates the cleansing and new life we have from God.19 Through the Lord’s Table, known by many as Communion, we reaffirm what Jesus’s death accomplished for us: the forgiveness of our sins and the new covenant relationship God shared with believers.20 These external observances represent the internal reality that only comes through God’s grace and intervention.
The Faith of Abraham (4:12) – Abraham’s example shows that God saves people through Christ regardless of their origins or actions. Paul specifically denied circumcision’s contribution to salvation. Circumcision saves neither Jew nor Gentile. Instead, all people need faith like Abraham’s—the faith Abraham had long before his circumcision. Whether circumcised or uncircumcised, Jew or Gentile, Abraham is the spiritual father of all who believe. The gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is for the whole world, not just one nation or people.
Salvation and the Law (4:13-15) – In the same way that circumcision cannot save, God’s law also cannot save. God gave the law to Israel centuries after Abraham died.21 The law cannot be fulfilled in mere human strength, which proves guilt before God.22 When we try to live by the law alone, we fail to recognize that we cannot satisfy God’s requirements. When we rely on our faulty human contribution, we choose to face God’s wrath.
Justified by Faith
In Paul’s day, Gentiles lived by certain behavioral standards, but only Jews had the advantage of the Old Testament law for moral guidance. Neither God’s law nor human standards can justify sinners before God. Justification comes through faith in Christ alone—as God’s gift. God declares righteous all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior.1 God, our just judge, does not turn His eyes from human disobedience. He sent Jesus to bear sin’s condemnation on the cross, satisfying His justice, holiness, and mercy toward sinners. Jesus died and was raised to life to justify believers.2 From every believer’s first moment of faith forward, they no longer stand condemned. God immediately declares them righteous in His sight and according to His perfect standard, not because they are righteous but because their Savior is. The penalty for their past, present, and future sin has been paid in full by Jesus Christ.
God removes sin’s guilt from every believer.3 Through His gift of salvation, God credits the righteousness of Jesus, who perfectly kept the law, to everyone who believes in Him. Justification is God’s irreversible act whereby He declares the guilty righteous. Paul’s words ring with powerful truth: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”4
People who do not place their faith in God’s saving grace trust their ability to measure up to whatever standards they hold. When people try to justify themselves, God’s promises become worthless to them, and His gift of faith bears no value. The dangerous belief that people are good enough to save themselves because they try to do good things brings devastating consequences. Evaluated by God’s law, we all fail and await only His wrath.
God’s people are released from sin and covered by His love. Sinners who trust God alone for salvation through Christ alone are eternally justified—covered by Christ’s perfect righteousness. In great love, Christ died for sin that was not His own to give us righteousness that is not our own. The Bible affirms that God has declared all who believe as righteous in His sight. The truth of God’s justification brings unspeakable confidence, thanksgiving, and deep, worship-filled joy to all who believe. God, who hung the stars in the sky, stooped to demonstrate His mighty love for wayward people by giving His Son to justify sinners.
Faith, Not Sight – Romans 4:16-25
Abraham’s faith reveals what true faith looks like. Against all earthly hope, Abraham believed God’s promise. In fact, Abraham’s belief in God did not waver through unbelief but grew stronger. We stand to learn much from Abraham and his faith.
Abraham placed his faith in God and His promise. The words “promise” or “promised” appear five times in the last half of this chapter.23 God’s promise to Abraham had many dimensions: personal blessing, land for Abraham and his descendants, blessing upon his descendants, and a Redeemer to come.
Faith is only as good as its object. Abraham did not have faith in his own ability to believe or act. Abraham’s faith looked to God’s promise. This is essential for two reasons:
Abraham did not believe God for a promise that seemed probable. Abraham believed God when everything Abraham and Sarah felt and experienced contradicted God’s promise. From a human perspective, Abraham’s situation appeared hopeless. Faith does not ignore facts but sees beyond present circumstances to look to God. Because God had spoken, Abraham trusted Him.
Paul says, “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.” No human hope existed that Abraham could have a child with Sarah. Despite his circumstances, Abraham wholeheartedly believed God. Faith is not irrational—not for Abraham and not for believers today. Nothing is more reasonable than believing God’s Word. True faith stands with God—the creator of all things—and His unfailing Word, even when doing so appears foolish from a human perspective.
Abraham’s resolute faith offers us an example. Not only did Abraham not weaken in his faith, “he did not waver through unbelief.” He “was strengthened in his faith” and “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Abraham did not look to himself or his circumstances. Instead, Abraham looked to God and His promises. Faith grounded in God’s character goes from strength to strength, for God is faithful.27
Paul connected God’s promise to Abraham to all believers. Paul’s words emphatically claim that Abraham’s faith was grounded in Abraham’s pre-existent Savior and great descendant, Jesus Christ. The context of God’s promise to Abraham makes clear what Abraham believed: His offspring would bless the whole world.28 Jesus confirmed this when He said, “Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”29 This is why Peter proclaimed, “There is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”30
God’s tremendous promise opens salvation to all who come by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. He saves the ungodly who put their trust in Him. This is the gospel, and the depth of this good news is truly amazing. Paul says, “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us.” God’s promise is for you if, like Abraham, you believe God’s promise of salvation in Christ. Obviously, the content of our faith expands beyond what Abraham understood and believed—a promise of blessing to come. We have the gospel—the good news that “Jesus our Lord ... was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” God gives Christ’s righteousness to those who believe in Him. This good news changes everything about our lives and eternity.
Take to Heart
Paul wrote about the lives of Abraham and David to prove that justification comes by grace through faith, not works. Abraham believed God’s promise, and God credited righteousness to him. God forgave and covered the grievous sin of David, a man after God’s own heart. Abraham and David reveal what true faith looks like and how faith works in the lives of believers. Through a believer’s faith, God credits His righteousness to each of His children. Likewise, through Jesus’s shed blood, every believer’s sin is forgiven, atoned for, and does not count against them. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus covered and removed the sins of God’s people.
Paul clearly makes his case that salvation comes through faith alone in Christ alone. Scripture records Abraham and David’s lives for all to see. Regardless of any goodness these heroes of faith demonstrated, they still sinned. As sinners, they reveal the hopelessness of looking for salvation through works. Though considered an upright man, Abraham’s good works could not save him. When David tried to hide the guilt of his sin, he suffered inner anguish. Neither received God’s salvation because of who they were or what they did. Both men experienced God’s lavish gift of salvation through faith. Abraham and David confirm Paul’s case that righteousness and justification come through faith, not works.
To support his teaching about the gospel, Paul introduced the faith of Abraham and David. Abraham, an imperfect man, exemplified outstanding, even growing, faith. When no earthly hope existed, he did not waver in unbelief but trusted God’s promise. Abraham’s example helps us better understand the needed focus of steadfast faith. Like Abraham, we can be fully persuaded that God holds the power to fulfill His every promise. Abraham’s life proves that God works through seemingly hopeless situations to strengthen our faith. Jesus fulfilled God’s greatest promise through His life, death, and resurrection, bringing justification and everlasting life to all who believe. How does your faith hold up when circumstances tell a different story? What causes your trust in God to waver? How does Abraham’s example encourage you to draw closer to God and trust His promises in your current struggle?
How might a past sin cause you recurring guilt that feels inescapable? Maybe a sinful habit holds you captive right now. Through David’s example, we see that God can accomplish what we cannot. God separates sin from the sinner, placing that sin on Jesus Christ.31 Like David, those who trust Jesus today live with the confidence that Jesus covers their sin with His blood and removes sin as a brutal taskmaster. And yet, believers continue to struggle with ongoing sin. God leads forgiven sinners in the process of sanctification, giving them power over specific sins as they walk in faith in obedience. What sin holds you captive? Will you confess that sin, placing it at Jesus’s feet? Believers trust the Holy Spirit to bring the deliverance that their own efforts cannot achieve. God’s power breaks sin’s bondage. This is where true freedom begins.
When Jesus opened Paul’s eyes to understand saving faith, Paul realized that outward expressions like circumcision and obedience to the law could not give anyone right standing with God. Some today rely on an upright lifestyle or external formalities, even God-given ceremonies such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to help achieve salvation. However, salvation is an unearned gift. God owes us nothing, yet, through His Son, gave us everything. Even our purest attempts at being good do not allow God to declare us righteous. Belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His blood and died on the cross, brings salvation. From the very first moments of dawning faith, every believer receives God’s gift of His righteousness and attains the full benefits of being God’s child. Faith is not earned; faith is God’s personal gift to all who believe in Christ. How does knowing this truth ignite your desire to worship and thank God for His unspeakably amazing grace?
Faith alone in Christ alone is Paul’s echoing message as he explains the gospel. The good news that Paul taught, preached, and encouraged believers with in Rome inspires believers today. Like a blossoming flower, faith blooms ever so intricately within the lives of God’s people. Jesus, the Son of God, left heaven’s glory to walk among humans as a simple carpenter. He chose humility, surrender, suffering, and ultimately an excruciating death to gain life and victory for all who believe. Such incomprehensible grace creates awe and wonder at His amazing sacrificial love. Pause and ponder the love of the Savior. Bask in the glory of God’s justification—bought with the price of His Son’s blood. What is your response to Him? How will you offer Him praise and thanks? In what ways will you express your love to the One who not only covers your sin, but died to remove your sin forever?
1. God’s people: Romans 1:29-31; 3:10-18
2. God’s way of salvation: Romans 3:21-31
3. Father of nations: Genesis 17:4-5
4. God’s friend: 2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23
5. Origins of salvation: Matthew 1:1; Luke 1:54-55; Galatians 4:21-31
6. Boasting excluded: Romans 3:27; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31
7. God’s grace: Ephesians 2:4-9
8. David: 1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22
9. Sins covered: Psalm 32:1-2
10. Confession of sin: 2 Samuel 11:1–12:25; Psalms 32:3-5; 51
11. Atonement: Leviticus 6
12. Righteousness of God: 2 Corinthians 5:21
13. Release: Hebrew nasa – Psalm 32:1; Greek aphethêsan – Romans 4:7
14. Goat in wilderness: Leviticus 16:20-22
15. East and west: Psalm 103:12
16. Circumcision: Genesis 17
17. New covenant: Luke 22:19-20
18. Baptism: Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:40-41
19. New life: Romans 6:3-4
20. Communion: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
21. God’s law: Exodus 12:40; Galatians 3:17-18
22. Guilty: Romans 3:9-22
23. Promise: Romans 4:13, 14, 16, 20, 21
24. Works: Galatians 2:21
25. God’s children: John 1:12-13
26. Father Abraham: Genesis 12:2-3; 17:5
27. God’s faithfulness: Psalm 84:5-7; Isaiah 40:31; Romans 1:17
28. Abraham’s offspring: Genesis 12:1-3; 15:5-6
29. Abraham rejoiced: John 8:56
30. No other name: Acts 4:12
31. Sin and sinner: Hebrews 9:28
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