Romans 4 – Day 1: “Faith not Works” (V1-4) Make sure you start your study time today by quieting your heart before the Lord in prayer. Read Romans 4:1-4 Digging Deeper: (V1-2) In this context, “what then” is the equivalent of “therefore,” tying the discussion of Abraham to all that Paul has said in the preceding chapter. He reminds us that both Jew and Gentile are justified by faith (Romans 3:30,) the apostle brings Abraham into the picture because he knew that this greatest of Jewish patriarchs, their forefather according to the flesh, was used by the rabbis as the ultimate example of man’s being justified by works. Abraham was the human forefather of God’s first covenant with His chosen people. The flesh which was from the physical lineage, also suggests human effort in regarding to justification. This major premise is that, if a man 1 could be justified before God by his own human efforts, then he has grounds for boasting in himself. The minor premise is that Abraham, as a man, was justified by works. The necessary conclusion would be that Abraham therefore has something to boast about, because he would have merited his own salvation. But, as Paul goes on to demonstrate, the minor premise is not true. Abraham did not have anything in himself to boast about before God. (V3-4) On the positive side of this argument, Paul first appeals to Scripture, the divine and infallible truth upon which all of his arguments are based. Quoting Genesis 15:6, he declares Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Early in the Genesis account of Abraham, which begins with chapter 12, Moses was inspired to write of the patriarch that he was made right with God only because of his faith. Because Abraham believed God, and on no other basis, his belief was accounted to him by God for righteousness. In his letter to the Galatian churches, the apostle cites the same verse from Genesis and then goes on to say “Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.” (Galatians 3:6-7) With no guarantee but God’s word, 2 Abraham left his business, his homeland, his friends, most of his relatives, and probably many of his possessions. He abandoned his temporal security for a future uncertainty, as far as his human eyes could see or his human mind could comprehend. The land he was promised to inherit was inhabited by pagans perhaps even more wicked and idolatrous than those of his home country. Abraham may have had only a remote idea of where the land of Canaan was, and it is possible that he never heard of it at all. But when God called him to go there, Abraham obeyed and began the long journey. If man were able to save himself by his own works, then salvation would be apart from God’s grace, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross would have been in vain. If such righteous works were attainable by men, then salvation would not be a gift of God’s grace but a wage that is due. The Grace Paul speaks of here is justification, that unfathomable act by God, whereby He imputes Christ’s perfect righteousness to the sinner’s account, then declares His verdict that the forgiven one is fully just. 3 Application Questions: 1.) Abraham was a man like us who fell short at times and like Abraham we to will become the patriarch in our own individual families. A.) What do you need to do too build your faith in God like Abraham did? _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ 2.) We’re counted as righteous because of our faith in Jesus Christ. “But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” Galatians 6:4 A.) Are you content in your relationship with Jesus? Or do you see a lot of room for improvement? _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ 4 3.) Our works can be summed up by going through the motions and not having that intimate relationship with Jesus. It takes commitment on our part to draw closer to Him. We’re saved by grace, and we need to make Jesus the first priority in our lives. List your top priorities in life. _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ Prayer for the day: Jesus, thank you for your grace. I know that I cannot earn it or ever deserve it but I am so grateful for the wonderful gift that it is. Would you help me to continually receive and show your grace today and Would you help me to build my faith and to grow in my walk with you. 5 Romans 4 - Day 2: “Goodness AND Truth” (V5-8) Will you start your study time today by quieting your heart before the Lord in prayer? “No sinner, and try he ever so hard, can possibly carry his own sins away and come back cleansed of guilt. No amount of money, no science, no inventive skill, no armies of millions, nor any other earthly power can carry away from the sinner one little sin and its guilt. Once it is committed, every sin and its guilt cling to the sinner as close as does his own shadow, cling to all eternity unless God carries them away.” Lenski Read Romans 4:5-8 Digging Deeper: Oh, you know that “payday” feeling, if you’ve ever worked for something, if you’ve ever set a goal, then reaped the reward at the finish. We feel fully justified and pleased to receive all that we have 6 coming to us. We’ve earned it! Nobody gave it to us. We put in the time and energy, and now, through our work somebody owes us. Isn’t this the picture of “wages” that Paul speaks of in Romans 4:4, the man who knows there is a debt to be paid to him for his work? Imagine, if we could work hard enough to earn the justification from God to stand before Him in perfect righteousness. We would have to wonder what sort of a just god we were seeking. And then, what need would there be for the cross? But, of course, no one would get in because we know ourselves well enough to know we could never work that hard, or be that good. We could work, work, work, only to discover that it wasn’t a perfect and just God in heaven we were seeking all along, but that feeling of being justified in our own minds that someone owes us and we deserve to get paid! Taken to the other extreme, consider the man who does not lift a finger to try to earn a better standing before God (V5), but simply believes. Even in the midst of his darkest hour of sin and ungodliness, he trusts in the God who freely “deposits” absolute forgiveness and freedom from the penalty of sin – justification - into his account. 7 To argue his case before the Jewish man who highly esteems the law and the prophets, Paul quotes from the Law of Moses, who wrote of Abraham’s faith (Romans 4:3, from Genesis 15:6.) Paul goes on to quote David, beloved king, forefather, and prophet (V6-8), who wrote of the intense happiness of the man who simply believes by faith. To this man, who learned to cover sin through a heritage of animal sacrifice and the shedding of blood, his sins are now covered once, for all time. Forgiveness is freely given, and no trace of debt for his past sins will ever appear on the bank statement of his soul. Application Questions: 1.) Paul uses some words here in his development of Romans that describe huge building blocks in the foundation of our salvation. How do these words speak to the penalty, power, and presence of sin in our lives? A.) Justification: __________________________________________ 8 __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ B.) Sanctification: __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ C.) Redemption: __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ D.) Are you “justified” today? How so? __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ E.) What is “regeneration,” and where does it fit into this picture of salvation? __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ 9 Prayer for the day: Father, we hear these words from the pulpit, and we see them often in Your Word. I pray Lord that You will open my eyes with greater understanding to the meaning of these words, not just to have a greater intellectual understanding of their definitions, but to have a greater knowledge of You Lord, of Your character, of who You are. Help me Lord, I pray, to draw closer to You through these tremendous and basic truths about who You are and what You’ve done to make a way for me to come boldly to Your throne. Thank You Father. Amen. 10 Romans 4 – Day 3: “Righteousness through Faith” (V9-12) “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 Read Romans 4:9-12 Digging Deeper: (V9-10) If we are counted righteous by God because of FAITH, not because of circumcision, then the blessedness mentioned in Romans 4:7 can be given to the uncircumcised Gentiles (non- Jewish people) by faith. Abraham was counted as righteous in Genesis 15:6 which said “And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.” (NLT). He did not receive the covenant of circumcision until Genesis 17, which was at least 14 years later!! Therefore, his righteousness wasn’t based on circumcision, but on faith.