Romans 4

In Romans, Paul has been giving a dissertation on the core beliefs of Christianity. In the last chapter, Paul was talking about God's righteousness and faithfulness and how everyone, both Jews and Gentiles, is under the power of sin. He then expounds on a revolutionary idea: Justification by Faith. Throughout history, the Israelites had believed that if they followed every law written in the Tanakh, then they would be righteous before God. But Paul tells us that outside of faith, it is impossible to be righteous. All have fallen short of the glory of God. But by faith in Christ Jesus, we may be justified. That through this faith, we complete the law. In today's chapter, Paul uses the example of Abraham to show how even from the very beginning, righteousness was from faith.

Abraham has always been known as the father of faith. To both the Jews and the Gentiles, this was undoubtedly true. But in this chapter, Paul is really arguing about timing. Was Abraham considered righteous before or after God gave him Laws to follow? If it was before God gave him any Laws, then Abraham was righteous because he trusted God. If he was considered righteous after God gave him laws, then he might be righteous because he followed the Laws. Circumcision is used here as a representation of the Law most likely because it was the first "Law" that was given. In Genesis 17, we see God establishing a covenant between Himself and Abraham and his descendants. And as a sign of this covenant, Abraham and all his descendants were to be circumcised. This happened when Abraham was 99 years old and still childless. The first time the Bible records Abraham being called righteous was 2 chapters ago in Genesis 15. When God first promises Abram that his descendants would be great in number, Abram had faith and "he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." Even before this, we see that Abraham had many acts of faith. This included leaving his home to sojourn through a foreign land, enter into battle against other kings to rescue his nephew, and choosing the worse land and allowing Lot to have the better one. It wasn't because Abraham followed a million laws or traditions, it was because Abraham had faith in God. In the same way, our faith if God justifies us. According to God's standard (ie the Law), all of us have fallen short. No one can stand before God and declare that he is righteous because he lived a perfect life. But God used Christ and his sacrifice to complete His Law. Even though we were the ones that sinned, even though we were the ones who should be put to death, Christ placed all of our sins on Himself, and sacrificed Himself for us on the Cross. His death dealt with our sins. Through our faith in Christ, our sins can be erased. Everytime I am reminded of this, I have to say that I am not worthy of receiving this grace. Who am I that God, the creator of the Universe, should send His only Son to die for me? What have I done to make me worth this sacrifice? As Paul said in the last chapter, He did this so that no one can boast. It is so true, I have no quality or characteristic that makes me a better person to save than anyone else. It is all by God's mercy. But thank God He did not leave it at death. Christ did not just die for our sins, He was resurrected for our justification. By His resurrection, we were also given a new justified life. And through this new life, we can continue our relationship with Him. More on this new life in later chapters, so be sure you keep on reading!