Romans 5:1: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul goes back to the theme of boasting (3:27), to argue: “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? The artist needed him as a poor beggar and he was not invited in any other capacity. He mercilessly tortured, raped, and murdered many young women. So Paul is attacking the popular Jewish views about Abraham in his day, saying, “He couldn’t have been justified by his works.” Then he supports his argument with Scripture: “For what does the Scripture say? 16For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace (Greek: charin—from charis), to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed (Greek: to spermati—the seed), not to (Greek: to the seed)that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham (Greek: to the seed of the faith of Abraham), who is the father of us all. Before we begin in the book of Romans we need to look at the penman, Paul. 15For the law works wrath, for where there is no law, neither is there disobedience (Greek: parabasis—transgression). • and the fact that righteousness is possible only through faith (3:21-31). “But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (v. 5). But you trust God’s promise that “while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? Biblical Commentary (Bible study) Romans 1:1-7 EXEGESIS: ROMANS 1:1-7. He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M., 1976 in Bible exposition) and Califo... More, 3. The Book of Romans tells how God can save the whole person: body, soul and spirit. From 1977-1992 he was the pastor of Lake Gregory Community Church in Crestline, California. If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. Faith is the hand that receives the free gift of right standing with God apart from our works. God has convicted him of his terrible sins, so that he despairs about dying and facing God. Doesn’t this damage one’s self-esteem. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 5But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. It’s a debt. To be justified by God’s grace, you must stop working! “Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed” (v. 4). “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about” (v. 2a). Abraham was as much in need of God’s perfect righteousness as were the wicked people of Sodom. If you work to earn justification, then God owes you something. Rather, he had no grounds for boasting at all. God saves those who come acknowledging their need and trusting “him who justifies the ungodly.”. It’s absolutely essential for you to understand the doctrine that Paul sets forth in Romans 4:1-5, that we are justified (declared righteous) by faith alone, apart from any works. Is it fair (just) for God to forgive an evil murderer who trusts in Christ, but to condemn a loving person who didn’t trust Christ? Just as God created a people of God out of Abraham’s physical descendants who had become slaves in Egypt, so also God also created a people of God out of lowly Gentiles. Spurgeon applies it by saying that even so, God invites sinners to come at once for salvation, just as they are. God’s Righteous Judgment. He brings up Abraham because the Jews revered him as the father of their nation and their faith. Others argue that it should modify “forefather” (NASB & ESV). That’s not fair! Verses 17-22 explain the nature of Abraham’s faith. Who can boast of personal accomplishment in the presence of the creator of the universe? The passage in Genesis raises the question, “What did Abraham believe and why did God credit it to him for righteousness then?” We know that he had believed God previously, when he left Ur and set out for Canaan (Heb. In doing so, Paul was challenging the Judaism’s central premise—that obedience to the law determined one’s relationship to God (MacArthur). A faithful Catholic nun spends her life working in a slum in a poor country, feeding the poor, ministering to the sick and dying, and caring for the orphans. Paul’s point is that Gentiles were spiritually dead, but the God who gives life to the dead has breathed life even into the Gentiles. Their families mourn the tragic loss of their daughters. His righteous status cannot be earned, but is a gift of God. To receive the promise via the law would be to earn it, thus making faith unnecessary and the promise irrelevant (see vv. That, however, is not what Paul says. “but not toward God” (v. 2). 2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward God. But God will not be a debtor to anyone. What Paul says about sin and grace in Romans flies in the face of the traditional Jewish belief about Abraham, in part because of Genesis 26:4-5, where God promised Isaac a blessing “because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” In Romans 4, Paul seeks to show that it was not Abraham’s works that made him righteous before God, but his faith. But when you bring God into the picture, Abraham’s boast vanishes.” It’s as if one bug was bragging to another bug, “I’m taller than you are!” just before a human comes along and squashes both of them. The verb, elogisthe, is an accountant’s word. As the righteous Judge, God recognizes Jesus’ death as payment in full for all our sins. Is faith simply another form of works-righteousness? Faith means trusting Jesus to be your advocate in court, to plead His shed blood in your case before the bench of God’s justice. 2 Therefore you have f no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. 6:23), eternal separation from the holy God. So when Abraham believed in the Lord, he believed the specific promise that a Savior for all nations would come forth from his descendants. 3:16). God justifies the nice person who always meant well, who loved his family, devoted his time and money to help the needy, went to church, read his Bible, and prayed every day.” But Paul could not have meant, “God justifies the ungodly, could he? Again, although Paul says here, “his faith is credited as righteousness,” in the context (3:24-26) he means that the guilty sinner’s faith has laid hold of Jesus Christ as the perfect and final sacrifice for sins. The name Paul means little. The book of Romans is a Pauline Epistle (letter from Paul). 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. If we could effect our own salvation by adherence to the law or by faith, why would we need a savior? The New Perspective on Paul also argues that the Reformers misinterpreted Paul regarding this doctrine. 13For the promise to Abraham and to his seed that he should be heir of the world wasn’t through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;. Paul must have said, “God justifies the one who tries to do his best. While Abraham was relatively good when you compare humans with humans, in God’s sight we all have sinned and fall short of His glory. Genesis 15 ratifies Abraham ’ s favor, or grace would not be through... Of Jesus to die on the cross as the father of us all ” is quite radical compare to. 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