Romans 4:1
Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν εὑρηκέναι Ἀβραὰμ τὸν προπάτορα ἡμῶν κατὰ σάρκα;
What therefore, shall we say Abraham, our forefather according to flesh, to have found?
Paraphrase: Let’s look at some examples from the Bible of men who all of us acknowledge were righteous men. I don’t want anyone thinking that I invented this doctrine or that the truth of our justification is not taught us in the Bible. Let’s start with the father of our people, Abraham. There is no question that he was a man who met with God’s approval. (Isaiah 41:8) Now on what basis did he find such favor with God? Why did God regard him so highly?
Comments:
For εὑρηκέναι, see §122.
To “find grace” is a very common expression.
Romans 4:2
εἰ γὰρ Ἀβραὰμ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ἔχει καύχημα· ἀλλ’ οὐ πρὸς θεόν,
For if Abraham was justified by works, he has a boast but not before God.
Paraphrase: Perhaps God favored Abraham because of his steady devotion to God and his willingness to do whatever God commanded him. Think of Abraham packing up all his belongings and leaving his homeland simply because God appeared to him and told him to do so. (Genesis 12:1-4) Then, recall how readily he took Isaac and was prepared to offer him as a sacrifice simply because God commanded him to do so. Think as well of his rescue of Lot. Abraham, at great risk to himself, attacked those who had kidnapped Lot and restored them to their place again. (Genesis 14) Now if Abraham was justified because of these things which he did, then he would have something to boast about. He could publish it far and wide that God loved him because of all the good he had done. He could proudly claim to be superior to other people, and that, as a result of this, God favored him so highly. (Isaiah 65:5) Now, this is impossible since we know that everyone is corrupt (Psalm 53:3); no one, not even Abraham, has any reason to think that they have done enough good to merit God’s favor.
Comments:
Romans 4:3
τί γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ λέγει; Ἐπίστευσεν δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην.
For what does the Scripture say? Then Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.
Paraphrase: But what does the Bible actually say about why God favored Abraham so highly? Recall the story. There were so many things which led him to believe that God could not possibly keep the promises He had made, not the least of which was that he was so old and Sarah’s childbearing years were long passed. That’s why we read that he cried out to God in his distress. (Genesis 15:2-3) But here’s the point. In the face of all these obstacles, Abraham continued to believe that God would keep His word even though he could not see how it could possibly happen. (Hebrews 11:19) Abraham had so much confidence in God that he believed even when it seemed impossible to believe. (Romans 4:18) We read, “Then Abraham trusted that God would never fail to keep His word; and as a result of this faith, God gave him the gift of a perfect righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
Comments:
What is the antecedent of the “it” here? Miley argues (p319) that it must be faith. In some way, many of the Reformers agreed; see the quotes on p66 here. Gill points out that this interpretation is impossible because Paul later (Romans 4:23-24) says that “it” will be imputed to us if we believe in Jesus, but Abraham’s faith is certainly not our righteousness before God. Hodge points out (p137) that Paul does sometimes use a word to denote its object, not the act itself. He references Romans 8:24 where “hope” is used to refer to what is hoped for, not the act of hoping and Galatians 1:23, where Paul speaks not of the act of faith but of what is believed or the object of faith. Elsewhere, Paul certainly distinguishes between faith and the righteousness that comes by it. (Romans 1:17; Philippians 3:9) See also Griffith Thomas (p211).
λογίζομαι (see Romans 4:3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24) is a word often used in the context of accounting and keeping a record of debits and credits. source See the interesting remarks of Ramsay (p286).
Romans 4:4
τῷ δὲ ἐργαζομένῳ ὁ μισθὸς οὐ λογίζεται κατὰ χάριν ἀλλὰ κατὰ ὀφείλημα·
but to the one working, the wage is not reckoned according to grace but according to obligation.
Paraphrase: Now did Abraham earn this righteousness by a careful and strict obedience to God’s laws? Surely not. When one works for something, he is entitled to receive his wages. We would never think of someone’s wages as a gift. A person’s salary or wage is something to which he is entitled, and if they are withheld from him, he can sue his employer for theft.
Comments:
Bonar (p115): To do some great thing called faith, in order to win God’s favor, the sinner has no objection; nay, it is just what he wants, for it gives him the opportunity of working for his salvation. But he rejects the idea of taking his stand upon a work already done, and so ceasing to exercise his soul in order to effect a reconciliation, for which all that is needed was accomplished eighteen hundred years ago, upon the cross of Him who “was made sin for us, though He knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
Romans 4:5
τῷ δὲ μὴ ἐργαζομένῳ, πιστεύοντι δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν δικαιοῦντα τὸν ἀσεβῆ, λογίζεται ἡ πίστις αὐτοῦ εἰς δικαιοσύνην,
but to the one not working but believing on the One who is justifying the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.
Paraphrase: But Abraham did not obtain his righteous status by a careful and strict obedience to God’s law, and neither will any of us. On the contrary, we find righteousness before God when we are ready to stop all our efforts to better ourselves, when we recognize that even our good works are still stained with so much sin, and when we recognize that all our righteousness is mere self-righteousness and carries no weight with God. When we reach this place in our life, then we are ready to abandon our own efforts and to cast ourselves on the mercy of God. What else can we do? What other recourse do we have? Now to such persons, the gospel has a clear message. To such ones who place their full trust in Jesus, God credits to their account, in spite of the fact that they remain a sinner, a perfect righteousness. Yes, God takes people who are guilty in themselves and reckons to them a perfect legal status. With this status, they can stand in God’s courtroom without fear. God will pronounce them “Not Guilty!”.
Comments:
Watts notes (p434) that faith is here counted for righteousness; it is not αντι or υπερ, that is, for and instead of righteous works, but εις δικαιοσυνην, that is, in order to justification, or acceptance with God. Brown gives (p314) fourteen reasons why faith cannot be our righteousness before God.
Bonar (p120): The great manifestation of self-righteousness, is this struggle to believe. Believing is not a work, but a ceasing from work; and this struggle to believe, is just the sinner’s attempt to make a work out of that which is no work at all, to make a labor out of that which is a resting from labor. Sinners will not let go their hold of their former confidence, and drop into Christ’s arms. Why? Because they still trust these confidences, and do not trust Him who speaks to them in the gospel. Instead, therefore, of encouraging you to embrace more and more earnestly these preliminary efforts, I tell you they are all the sad indications of self-righteousness. They take for granted that Christ has not done his work sufficiently, and that God is not willing to give you faith till you have plied him with the arguments and importunities of months or years. God is at this moment willing to bless you; and these struggles of yours are not, as you fancy, humble attempts on your part to take the blessing, but proud attempts either to put it from you or to get hold of it in some way of your own. You cannot, with all your struggles, make the Holy Spirit more willing to give you faith than He is at this moment. But our self-righteousness rejects this blessed truth; and if I were to encourage you in these efforts, I should be fostering your self-righteousness and your rejection of this grace of the Spirit.
Owen commends (p63) this definition of true faith: “the flight of a penitent sinner unto the mercy of God in Christ.”
Romans 4:6
καθάπερ καὶ Δαυὶδ λέγει τὸν μακαρισμὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ᾧ ὁ θεὸς λογίζεται δικαιοσύνην χωρὶς ἔργων·
Just as even David says the blessing of the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works.
Paraphrase: It’s the same story with David. This is the man whom God said was a “man after His own heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14) This was the man with whom God made such a special covenant. (Psalm 89:20-37) Now what does the Bible tell us about how he found God’s favor? Well David makes this clear in the thirty-second Psalm where he exclaims how blessed that person is who receives God’s gift of righteousness. Note how David makes it clear that this gift is not earned by a strict and careful obedience of God’s commands. On the contrary, this legal status or righteousness is credited or reckoned to a person the moment he puts his trust in Jesus in the same way that an accountant might credit someone’s account with a gift of money which he had received as a gift.
Comments:
See Hodge’s article on the three imputations in the Bible. (p1462)
Romans 4:7
Μακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι,
Blessed whose lawless actions are forgiven and whose sins are covered over.
Paraphrase: “How blessed is that person whose sins (1 John 3:4) are forgiven and their guilt is taken away. (Leviticus 4:20, 26, 31, 35)
Comments:
Romans 4:8
μακάριος ἀνὴρ οὗ οὐ μὴ λογίσηται κύριος ἁμαρτίαν.
Blessed the man of whom the Lord does not credit sin.
Paraphrase: How happy is that person who receives this gift from God. Although he has sinned enough such that God could, in perfect justice, bring terrible wrath down on him, yet God does not hold him responsible for his sin but instead treats him as though he were perfectly righteous. This is the highest form of blessedness any human person can experience.”
Comments:
Sanday & Headlam (p102) write that μακάριοι is the highest term which a Greek could use to describe a state of happiness.
The strongest possible negation here οὐ μὴ λογίσηται.
The Hebrew term used in Genesis 15:6 and Psalm 32:2 is explained by Girdlestone (p276). The language of crediting here is critical to Paul’s argument. There is sin in the life of a believer, but God does not look upon him as a sinner or hold him guilty for that sin. The theological term is imputation. So the righteousness (Romans 4:5) which the believer receives is also credited to him, but not because he earned it. In the same way, Paul asks Philemon to charge him with any debt Onesimus may have incurred even though Paul himself had not “earned” those debts. (Philemon 18)
Romans 4:9
Ὁ μακαρισμὸς οὖν οὗτος ἐπὶ τὴν περιτομὴν ἢ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκροβυστίαν; λέγομεν γάρ· Ἐλογίσθη τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ἡ πίστις εἰς δικαιοσύνην.
Therefore, this blessedness, on the circumcised or even on the uncircumcised? For we say, “The faith unto righteousness was credited to Abraham.”
Paraphrase: We see then, that Abraham and David were set right with God, not by their obedience to God’s law, but by having righteousness credited to them as a gift. Now Abraham and David were both Jews; is there a place for gentiles in this happy state of blessedness? Can this righteousness also be credited to them? They have not kept God’s law, never having known it; neither are they circumcised as God commanded Abraham. (Genesis 17:14) Well, again, let’s bring this question to the Scripture. Let me put this question to you. When Abraham was justified by God, was he circumcised?
Comments:
Romans 4:10
πῶς οὖν ἐλογίσθη; ἐν περιτομῇ ὄντι ἢ ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ; οὐκ ἐν περιτομῇ ἀλλ’ ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ·
How then was it credited? Being in circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision but in uncircumcision.
Paraphrase: So this is my question. When God credited a perfect righteousness to Abraham, was he, at that time, circumcised or uncircumcised? We all know the answer. God tells us that Abraham was justified in Genesis 15:6, but God did not command Abraham to circumcise his sons until some fourteen years later. (Genesis 17:1, 10) Therefore, it is clear that Abraham received the gift of God’s righteousness when he was still uncircumcised.
Comments:
In Genesis 16:16, Abram is said to be eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born. In Genesis 17:1, Abram is ninety-nine. So at the least, fourteen years have elapsed between the events of Genesis 15 when Abraham was justified and Genesis 17 when he was commanded to circumcise his sons.
Circumcision was one of Judaism’s most important practices, central to Jewish identity. Keener, Acts, 3.2215. The Rabbis taught that Noah’s son Shem was born circumcised. source The Book of Jubilees (the oldest commentary on Genesis) writes (p110):
And every one that is born, the flesh of whose foreskin is not circumcised on the eighth day, belongs not to the children of the covenant which the Lord made with Abraham, but to the children of destruction; nor is there, moreover, any sign on him that he is the Lord’s, but (he is destined) to be destroyed and slain from the earth, and to be rooted out of the earth, for he has broken the covenant of the Lord our God. For all the angels of the presence and all the angels of sanctification have been so created from the day of their creation, and before the angels of the presence and the angels of sanctification He hath sanctified Israel, that they should be with Him and with His holy angels. And do thou command the children of Israel and let them observe the sign of this covenant for their generations as an eternal ordinance and they will not be rooted out of the land. For the command is ordained for a covenant, that they should observe it for ever among all the children of Israel.
Romans 4:11
καὶ σημεῖον ἔλαβεν περιτομῆς, σφραγῖδα τῆς δικαιοσύνης τῆς πίστεως τῆς ἐν τῇ ἀκροβυστίᾳ, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν πατέρα πάντων τῶν πιστευόντων δι’ ἀκροβυστίας, εἰς τὸ λογισθῆναι αὐτοῖς τὴν δικαιοσύνην,
and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith, which in uncircumcision in order that he might be the father of all believers through uncircumcision, for righteousness to be credited to them.
Paraphrase: Now what was this circumcision? What did it mean? Well first, it was a sign of membership in God’s covenant. (Genesis 17:11) Second, it was a seal guaranteeing to Abraham that God had really given him the gift of a perfect righteousness. That is why we say that Abraham is the father of all believers. He was our great pioneer in this matter of justification; he showed us the way to get right with God. Clearly, it was not by circumcision or by any other works which he performed. Abraham was justified by his faith, not by any of his righteous acts. Are you uncircumcised? Don’t for a minute doubt that you can be right with God. Look to your father Abraham and know that, if he was justified being uncircumcised, then so can you. In fact, you have more right to be called a child of Abraham than those Jews who pride themselves on their circumcision. (Matthew 3:9; John 8:37-38; Galatians 3:8, 29) By rights, Abraham should be known as the father of the uncircumcised since his justification took place when he was uncircumcised.
Comments:
These words “while still uncircumcised,” with slight variations, are found in three succeeding verses 10, 11, 12. It is as if Paul wanted to din into the ears of the uncircumcised Gentiles this enormous truth: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t hold back. Don’t hesitate to place your undivided trust in this marvelous Savior, the Revealer of God Triune. The fact that you have not been circumcised cannot prevent you from being saved. God is calling you. He is calling you now. It was while Abraham was still uncircumcised that God made his covenant with him. He stands ready to do the same for you.” (Hendriksen’s commentary on this verse)
Romans 4:12
καὶ πατέρα περιτομῆς τοῖς οὐκ ἐκ περιτομῆς μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς στοιχοῦσιν τοῖς ἴχνεσιν τῆς ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ πίστεως τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἀβραάμ.
and the father of the circumcision to those not of circumcision only but even to those who march in the tracks of the faith of those in uncircumcision, the [faith] of our father Abraham.
Paraphrase: Now I don’t mean to imply that Abraham is no longer the father of the Jewish people. I simply want you all to understand that Abraham is the father of those who have his faith regardless of whether they are Jew or gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised. (Romans 2:25-29; Galatians 6:15) The important thing is that we have the same faith which Abraham had. Anyone who believes God, as Abraham did, is righteous before God and will never be condemned by Him. These are the real children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:9, 29)
Comments:
The article τοῦ is anaphoric referring back to πίστεως.
Romans 4:13
Οὐ γὰρ διὰ νόμου ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ἢ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ, τὸ κληρονόμον αὐτὸν εἶναι κόσμου, ἀλλὰ διὰ δικαιοσύνης πίστεως·
For not through the law the promise to Abraham or to his seed, the heir him to be of the world but through righteousness of faith.
Paraphrase: Now we know that God promised His Son that He would give Him the nations as His inheritance and the very ends of the earth for a possession. (Psalm 2:8; Hebrews 1:2; 2:8 1 Corinthians 15:24-26) Furthermore, we know that this promise was also given to Abraham (Genesis 26:3-4; 28:13-15; 35:11-12; Galatians 3:18) and to his seed (Galatians 3:16) which shows Abraham and all his children will reign over the earth even as they are in Christ who has authority over heaven and earth. (Galatians 3:29; 1 Corinthians 3:21–23; 1 John 5:4; Revelation 2:26-27) Now answer me this; why did God give this incredible privilege to Abraham? Was it because he kept the law of Moses so strictly and carefully? How could this be when Moses had not yet been born neither had God given these laws to His people? Clearly, God brought all this blessing on Abraham at a time when he was not even aware of the laws of Moses. So then it it equally clear that this blessing came to Abraham as a result of the righteousness which he had by faith as we are taught in Genesis 15, not because of that righteousness which he might have worked out for himself by a strict and careful observance of the law.
Comments:
Edwards (p461): It is natural and reasonable to suppose, that the whole world should finally be given to Christ, as one whose right it is to reign, as the proper heir of him who is originally the King of all nations, and the possessor of heaven and earth. And the Scripture teaches us, that God the Father hath constituted his Son, as God-man, in his kingdom of grace, or mediatorial kingdom, to be the heir of the world, that he might in this kingdom have “the heathen for his inheritance, and the utmost ends of the earth for his possession.” Heb. 1:2. and 2:8. Psal. 2:6-8. Thus Abraham is said to be the heir of the world, not in himself, but in his seed, which is Christ, Rom. 4:13. And how was this to be fulfilled to Abraham, but by God’s fulfilling that great promise, that “in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed?” For that promise is what the apostle is speaking of: which shows, that God has appointed Christ to be the heir of the world in his kingdom of grace, and to possess and reign over all nations, through the propagation of his gospel, and the power of his Spirit communicating the blessings of it. God hath appointed him to this universal dominion by a most solemn oath; Isa. 45:23. “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear.” (Compared with Phil. 2:10, 11.) Though the solemn oath of God the Father is to be understood in so comprehensive a sense, as to extend to what shall be accomplished at the day of judgment, yet it is evident by the foregoing and following verses, that the thing most directly intended, is what shall be fulfilled by spreading the gospel of his salvation, and the power of the Spirit of grace, bringing “all the ends of the earth to look to him that they may be saved,” and come to him for “righteousness and strength, that in him they might be justified, and might glory.”
Romans 4:14
εἰ γὰρ οἱ ἐκ νόμου κληρονόμοι, κεκένωται ἡ πίστις καὶ κατήργηται ἡ ἐπαγγελία·
For if the inheritance was from the law, faith has become worthless and the promise cancelled.
Paraphrase: Now you know, brothers and sisters, that we participate in Abraham’s blessing and are heirs with him of all the promises which God made to him. Do we who live in these days receive these promises in a way different than he did? Did he receive them by faith in God’s word of promise and we now receive them by obeying the laws of Moses? Believe me, dear friends, if we receive this inheritance by law-keeping, then there is no room left for faith. Then Abraham’s faith, which is so celebrated by Moses (Genesis 15:6), was really not worth much at all. Furthermore, the promise which Abraham received by faith is also cancelled.
Comments:
Romans 4:15
ὁ γὰρ νόμος ὀργὴν κατεργάζεται, οὗ δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος, οὐδὲ παράβασις.
For the law works wrath, and where the law is not, neither is their transgression.
Paraphrase: You might ask why God’s promise is cancelled if receiving it is conditioned on obedience to God’s law. The reason becomes clear when we understand what the law does. The law can never reconcile us to God. (Psalm 130:3) The law only brings us to a place where we see God’s wrath and judgment (2 Corinthians 3:9) because it makes clear just how far short we have come of meeting God’s perfect standards. (Romans 7:13) That is why I said that if the promise is conditioned on law-keeping, then the promise is cancelled. The promise may still be there, but we have no possibility of ever obtaining it. Think about it; if there were no law at all, then no one would be guilty. That’s the only way anyone can know if they are guilty or not; they consult the law to know if they have violated it. Well then, this shows us what the law does; the law does not care about mercy or compassion or forgiveness or reconciliation; the law simply shows where a person has gone wrong; and on this basis, God’s hands down His verdict. That is why I said that if God’s blessing to us is conditioned on our law-keeping, then God’s promise is of no value to us. Perhaps if some other creatures could be found who could keep God’s law perfectly, the promise would be nice for them, but not for us who have a long record of law-breaking.
Comments:
Romans 4:16
Διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ πίστεως, ἵνα κατὰ χάριν, εἰς τὸ εἶναι βεβαίαν τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν παντὶ τῷ σπέρματι, οὐ τῷ ἐκ τοῦ νόμου μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ ἐκ πίστεως Ἀβραάμ (ὅς ἐστιν πατὴρ πάντων ἡμῶν,
On account of this, by faith in order that according to grace, in order that the promise might be reliable to all the seed not to those of the law only but even to those of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.
Paraphrase: This is the way God justifies sinners, and the reason He chooses to do it like this is so that the door of salvation might be thrown wide open to everyone. When salvation is given in this way, then the promise of God is sure and steadfast and may be relied upon by both Jew and gentile. Those who are physically descended from Abraham and who grew up knowing and living by God’s revealed law and who have come to put their trust in Jesus may have full assurance that God receives them as His children. Also those who have no acquaintance with the Mosaic law and indeed have a long record of violating God’s laws times without number, these too may know that since God’s saving mercies come to us in a way of grace and not of law-keeping, they may have full assurance that all their sins have been forgiven them, and they have been adopted into God’s family. Indeed, anyone who takes refuge in God’s promise of salvation just as Abraham did is saved and receives God’s gift of righteousness. Abraham is our father, and we all alike share in the blessings which God promised to him. (Galatians 3:29)
Comments:
Romans 4:17
καθὼς γέγραπται ὅτι Πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν τέθεικά σε, κατέναντι οὗ ἐπίστευσεν θεοῦ τοῦ ζῳοποιοῦντος τοὺς νεκροὺς καὶ καλοῦντος τὰ μὴ ὄντα ὡς ὄντα·
Even as it is written, “A father of many nations, I will make you.” Before whom, he believed God who is making the dead alive and calling the things not existing as existing.
Paraphrase: Recall what we read in Genesis 17, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. (Genesis 17:5) Now in the face of this promise Abraham could see so much which indicated to his own reason, that God’s promise was utterly impossible. There was no way it could happen. But now I say, that in the face of all these obstacles, Abraham had a firm confidence that God was able to do what He had promised. After all, consider the One on whom Abraham was trusting. He was believing in One who was able to give life to the dead and who was able to call things which did not exist into existence. Could He not also give children to one who was so long past the time for childbearing?
Comments:
Πατέρα is an object complement.
οὗ is genitive because of the attraction of its antecedent θεοῦ; see 1457 or GGBB p338. Robertson suggests (p717) that Paul intends us to understand κατέναντι τοῦ θεοῦ ᾧ ἐπίστευσεν…
Romans 4:18
ὃς παρ’ ἐλπίδα ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι ἐπίστευσεν εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι αὐτὸν πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· Οὕτως ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου·
who against hope on hope believed in order that he might become father of many nations according to what was being said, “In this way, your seed will be.”
Paraphrase: Abraham remembered so vividly that night when God had told him to look up into the sky and to count the stars. There were so many of them, far too many to count. “This is how many descendants you will have.” God promised him on that occasion. (Genesis 15:5) But when Abraham looked at his circumstances (Mark 14:30), he well nigh despaired that God’s promise would ever be realized in his life. But now look closely at Abraham’s faith. When there was every reason to abandon hope and to dismiss God’s promise as a failure, Abraham held on to the promise. To his own carnal reason, there was nothing left to hope for; there was no longer any possibility for God’s promise to be realized.
Comments:
Tholuck (p134): The Apostle’s meaning is, that on the one hand Abraham might look to the order and laws of nature; on which side he had no hope. On the other, he might contemplate the omnipotence and promise of God, and upon these build the strongest expectations.
Bunyan (p145): But to be brief. Let me here give thee, Christian reader, a more particular description of the qualities of unbelief, by opposing faith unto it, in these twenty-five particulars: …
Romans 4:19
καὶ μὴ ἀσθενήσας τῇ πίστει κατενόησεν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα νενεκρωμένον, ἑκατονταετής που ὑπάρχων, καὶ τὴν νέκρωσιν τῆς μήτρας Σάρρας,
and not growing weak in faith, he observed his own body being dead, being a centenarian and the death of the womb of Sarah.
Paraphrase: In light of all this, Abraham could have sunk into the blackest despair, but he stubbornly refused to give up His confidence in the God who had spoken. When he considered his own body, he knew full well that he was over 100 years old and as good as dead in terms of conceiving children. Sarah was no better; she could not possibly bear children at her advanced age.
Comments:
Paul refers to Isaac as the son born of a promise. (Galatians 4:23)
Romans 4:20
εἰς δὲ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ θεοῦ οὐ διεκρίθη τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἀλλὰ ἐνεδυναμώθη τῇ πίστει, δοὺς δόξαν τῷ θεῷ
but in the promise of God he did not hesitate in unbelief but was empowered by faith giving glory to God.
Paraphrase: Still, he did not waver. (1 Kings 18:21) Even though God’s promise seemed utterly impossible, Abraham clung to it. Rather, he clung to the Promiser never doubting that God could do what He had promised. He refused to give any place to the idea that God might fail to keep His promise. Instead, his faith caused him to grow stronger even as his own reason was leading him to give it all up. Now this kind of faith, my friends, is of infinite value. (Matthew 17:20; Mark 9:23) This kind of faith brings the greatest glory to God. (Hebrews 11:6; John 3:18; 11:40; 20:29)
Comments:
The pagan world did not glorify God as God, neither were thankful. (Romans 1:21)
δους is a result participle. (GGBB 637)
Romans 4:21
καὶ πληροφορηθεὶς ὅτι ὃ ἐπήγγελται δυνατός ἐστιν καὶ ποιῆσαι.
and being fully assured that what He promised He is able even to do.
Paraphrase: I say, Abraham clung to the Promiser. He knew God. (Psalm 9:10) He was fully assured that whatever God had promised him, He was also able to do it (Hebrews 11:19) regardless of what might be standing in the way.
Comments:
Romans 4:22
διὸ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην.
Wherefore it was reckoned for righteousness.
Paraphrase: Now on account of this faith, God credited to his account the gift of a perfect righteousness. No amount of law-keeping or circumcision or any works of piety and devotion count with God as much as this kind of faith.
Comments:
Romans 4:23
Οὐκ ἐγράφη δὲ δι’ αὐτὸν μόνον ὅτι ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ,
Now, it was not written on account of him alone that it was reckoned to him
Paraphrase: Neither must we think, dear friends, that Abraham’s experience was unique to him. We must not think that this is how God saved Abraham, but others will be saved in a different way.
Comments:
Romans 4:24
ἀλλὰ καὶ δι’ ἡμᾶς οἷς μέλλει λογίζεσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν ἐπὶ τὸν ἐγείραντα Ἰησοῦν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν ἐκ νεκρῶν,
but even on account of us to whom it is about to be reckoned, who are believing on the One who raised Jesus, our Lord from the dead.
Paraphrase: Certainly not; Abraham is the pattern which God sets before us so that everyone may know how God justifies His people. The same gift of righteousness, which Abraham received, every believer receives the moment they place their full trust and confidence in God who is the One who raised Jesus from the dead. Anyone who confesses with his mouth Jesus is Lord, and believes in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead, will be saved. For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)
Comments:
Previously, the question was about the antecedent of “it” in v3, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” This verse makes it clear that it was not Abraham’s faith which was righteousness because here the “it” is credited to all believers. Surely no one would understand Paul to be teaching that Abraham’s faith is the righteousness by which all believers are justified before God.
Romans 4:25
ὃς παρεδόθη διὰ τὰ παραπτώματα ἡμῶν καὶ ἠγέρθη διὰ τὴν δικαίωσιν ἡμῶν.
who was given over on account of our transgressions and was raised on account of our justification.
Paraphrase: Now this Man, Jesus, was given over by God to the cruel and shameful death of the cross that thereby He might take away our guilt and punishment. Then, God, our Father, raised Him from the dead in order that we might be fully assured that God has accepted His death as a sufficient atonement for our sin and that we really have a perfect legal status and will never again be condemned before His holy tribunal.
Comments: