Romans: Chapter 4

How Can God Forgive Us?

Socrates wrote: “It may be that Deity can forgive sins, but I don’t see how” Even Socrates understood that the Creator of the Universe could not go against His own character, a hatred of sin. So how can a Holy God, who cannot even be in the presence of sin, actually forgive sin? This chapter continues to deal with that very real problem.

4:1-2

Abraham is the forefather of the Jews. Yet He was ‘justified’, that is established as just by acquittal from guilt; just as a court would declare a person ‘not guilty’, based upon the facts presented. Abraham was the Father of the Jewish people, and was justified by believing God, and God accounted that belief for righteousness. Abraham did not earn righteousness, it was a gift from God when Abraham responded in Belief. Remember, the ONLY way Abraham could believe, was by the Power of the Holy Spirit, so Abraham could not take credit, or boast about anything! If Abraham was justified by his good works, then he could boast. Yet that is not what the evidence states.

4:3

The Scriptures say Abraham believed in God and trusted in God and it was credited to his account as righteousness, right standing with God. Notice that “believing” is not sufficient, we must “Trust God by our actions”. IF we have Real Faith we will do good works, as a result of True Belief. Notice that the True Belief and Faith come FIRST, then the True Godly works will follow. We make a faith decision in our hearts, then our actions follow our belief! Now what is really important is to note that Abraham was counted as righteous long before he was circumcised, becoming a Jew. The Jews came into existence through the rite of circumcision. Abraham was the “Father of the Jews”. So Abraham came to Faith as a Gentile! Notice that there was no physical action, no circumcision, no baptism, no ritual of any type, just true Belief in God; shown by Abraham’s heart, actions, and trust in God.

Take a good look at Genesis 12:2 & 3; God gives an unconditional promise to Abraham that He would make of Him (and his lineage; the Jews) a great nation, giving them great abundance, and that Abraham and the Jews would be a blessing, dispensing good to others. God promised He would “bless those who bless you, (who give to and pray for and support the Jews) and curse those who curse you” (the Jews). This promise is still in effect, as it was unconditional and neither Abraham, nor his descendants, the Jews, could alter it! One of the “great blessings” was the Word of God; and ultimately, the Messiah, our Savior and Lord Jesus! Many Christian scholars believe that America has continued to be blessed because we support the Jewish people and Israel. This is despite the sinfulness of our own nation. If America ever turns her back on Israel, we will suffer God’s wrath.

4:4

Paul reminds us that a laborer is paid “wages” for his work. It is not a favor or a gift, but it is the debt that is owed to him.

4:5

The person who trusts and faithfully believes in God, Who alone can justify the ungodly; that Faith is ‘credited’ to that person as righteousness, a ‘right standing with God’. This righteousness is NOT EARNED, it is a gift of God! Grace is a gift of unearned righteousness. If we try to claim we have done something to earn our salvation, we are denying the Truth of Grace. If someone gives us a gift, and we try to pay for any part of it, we insult the giver! So it is with God, we are insulting God and denying the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross by trying to somehow “earn” ANY PART of our salvation. See James 2: 14-17. If we ignore the commands of God to help our brothers and sisters in need, then our faith is worthless, null and void and dead! James 2: 25-26 tells us the “Fruit of Faith” is a testimony of our true Faith. So our works are the RESULT of our true Faith. Look at 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 We build, or work, upon the Foundation of Jesus. With gold, silver and precious gems, or wood, hay and straw. Our works will one day be shown for what they truly are. Jesus Christ will judge and reveal our works with fire, and the fire will critically appraise the character and worth of each person’s work. If the work survives the fire test, the person will receive his reward, but if the work is burned up, then the person will suffer the loss of his reward, though the person will still be saved. Gold, silver and precious gems are our true Faith work. Wood, hay and straw are our fleshly work. Only the True Fruit of the Spirit will endure. Our true motivation and heart attitude in obeying the Will of God, will determine our Eternal Rewards.

4:6-8

Even King David congratulates and pronounces a blessing on the person whom God credits righteousness apart from his works. Christians are not PERFECT we are only FORGIVEN. Those who are forgiven are blessed and happy because our sins are covered up and completely buried. God imputes His righteousness to us without works. God will never, ever, bring up our sins, they are never going to be counted against us. Hallelujah!

4:9-13

Is forgiveness only for people who go through some sort of ritual? No, Abraham was counted as righteous BEFORE he was circumcised. None of the physical activities we DO determine who we ARE. Our Faith is determined by our true Belief in our Risen Lord and Savior. Abraham received the mark of circumcision as evidence and seal of the righteousness which he had already received by Faith. Abraham is the father of all those who walk in the way of Faith, and actually live out their Faith, day after day. That includes us, as we also make daily Faith choices to obey God. The promise to Abraham and his posterity that he should inherit the world came through the righteousness of Faith.

4:14-15

If it is only the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, then Faith is made futile and empty of all meaning and the promise of God is null and void! The Law results in divine wrath, the Law serves to curse us, it never blesses us. Ever hear someone say they want Justice, or demand justice? According to whose standard? If it is God’s standard EVERYONE is in trouble! We NEVER want God’s Justice, we need to seek His Mercy and Grace, not His Justice and Judgement. I seek His mercy; please don’t give me what I deserve, God’s judgement! Instead, you and I should fervently seek God’s Grace, giving us what we don’t deserve, ETERNAL LIFE!

4:16

We must exercise our Faith in order to inherit the promises. We receive Faith freely; yet making it stable and valid, requires us to utilize and exercise our Faith. Remember, salvation is the free gift that allows us to ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM. God’s Grace enables us to exercise our Faith to produce God’s Fruit. The gold, silver and precious gems are Eternal Fruit that will last. If we want to INHERIT THE KINGDOM of God, then we must prove and show we are producing Eternal Fruit. If we are Faithful and produce Eternal Fruit, we are those who share the Faith of Abraham, we are the ‘nations’ who are blessed by his Faith.

Entering into a home doesn’t mean you own it. You come into someone’s home and they want you to feel comfortable and feel at home, but it doesn’t mean you own it. You may be given a nice position in a wonderful business, but it doesn’t mean you own the business! Even IF you are the ‘owner’ of a business, please keep in mind that the TRUE OWNER is God. True, you are part of it, and partake of the benefits, but not the true ownership. Remember: God owns EVERYTHING! There is a big difference between just entering the Kingdom of God and inheriting the Kingdom of God! Too many Christians have accepted Jesus as their Savior, yet they have little fruit to show for their Belief. God continually tells us in the Scriptures that He will REWARD His followers according to how faithful they have been in producing Eternal Fruit. Those Rewards refer to the INHERITANCE of the Kingdom of God.

4:17

Abraham was called the father of many nations. Our Heavenly Father gives life to the dead (remember we were all dead in our sins; and dead spiritually, before we came to Faith) God speaks of the nonexistent things that He foretold and promised, as if they already existed. Through God’s Word, we are given a peek into the future to know what wonderful blessings God has in store for us. We know He is preparing a magnificent home for us. The New Jerusalem and so much more. God has a great and wonderful future planned for each one of us. We need to exercise our Faith and ‘get with the program’! If we fail to seek God’s perfect will in our lives, we will lose out on the Rewards He has planned for us in the future. We must pray with Belief and conviction that what God has told us will come to pass. This is Faith and Trust, and we all need to seek Him more diligently.

4:18-19

Abraham hoped in Faith that God’s promise of being the father of descendants so numberless that they couldn’t be counted (by man) Gen 15:5. God said his offspring would be as the stars of heaven and as the sands of the sea. Abraham believed and trusted God to fulfill that promise even though he was 99 and Sarah was 90, both long past the childbearing age. Yet we know from Biblical history that the promise was fulfilled and yet is still being fulfilled today.

4:20-23

Even though he did not immediately see or experience the fulfillment of the promise, yet he praised God and was empowered by Faith as he continued to praise and glorify God. Do we have such strong Faith that we praise, glorify and honor God even when we don’t see the answer to God’s promises in our lives? 21. Abraham was fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and do what He promised. 22. THAT is why God tells us his Faith was credited to him as righteousness. 23. This was not written for Abraham’s sake alone. This was written for our sake too.

4:24

Righteousness, which is right standing and being acceptable to God, will also be granted and credited to us; who truly Believe in God, and Trust and adhere to, and rely on God, Who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead! Wow! Remember, Believe means we Trust and rely on God!

4:25

Jesus was betrayed and put to death because of us, because of our sins, and He was raised from the dead to secure our justification, our acquittal, making our account balance and absolving us from all guilt before God. All of this is all according to the Scriptures. Justification is ONLY for those who truly Believe and Trust Jesus. Jesus died for the entire world, yet only Believers appropriate His Death and Resurrection for their salvation. Remember, we are all given the ‘free choice’ to accept or reject Jesus as our Lord, God and Savior. Those who claim that Jesus is their ‘Savior’ yet do not follow and obey Him as their LORD and GOD, are lying and deceiving themselves! He must be the LORD and GOD of your life, or He cannot be your Savior.

See John 19: 30 & 36: ‘ When Jesus had tasted the sour wine (vinegar) Jesus said “It is finished!” The Greek means completed in victory and success; The ransom price was paid and divine justice paid in full, the Holiness of God was proved and sinners forgiven. ‘Then He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.’ 36. ‘For these things took place that the Scriptures might be fulfilled and verified.’ Remember, fulfilled prophecy proves the Word of God is absolutely True!