Romans 4:1

Romans 4:1 says, What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?  The Jews considered themselves, and still consider themselves, the children of Abraham.  They claimed a special relationship with God simply by being born into the Jewish nation, so Paul asked them what Abraham found concerning the flesh. Verse two adds, For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.  Paul declares that if Abraham were justified by his works, he might glorify himself before men, but never before God.  Paul said he was a Hebrew of Hebrews.  If anyone could stand in Paul's day justified and glorifying before God by their works, it was Paul before he came to Christ through faith.  We can never stand justified before God by our own works, nor should we expect people to glorify us for them.  Verse three continues, For what saith the scripture?  Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.  When we teach about God, it must be consistent with what the scripture says, and we must take it in context.  We cannot search for a verse to support what we want to believe without considering what the whole passage says.  By picking a verse here and a verse there, we can justify many things, but we must always ask if this is consistent with the whole scripture.  Paul was asking the Jews of his day what the scripture said about the justification of Abraham, and the scripture said it was his belief in God that was counted for faith.  Verse four states, Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.   I believe Paul was saying to us that if we can work for our salvation then God owes it to us as His debt to us.  We would not be saved by God's grace, but by our own merit.  Verse five adds, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.  I believe Paul was once again stating that redemption comes only through faith in salvation made available through Christ by the grace of God.  If we had to earn our salvation, how would we ever know how much work was required? Would those who worked more faithfully for God attain a greater salvation? Salvation by the grace of God means that all are equally and totally saved, no matter how much work they have done.  This does not mean that we are not to do God's work, but we are to do it for His glory and not for our justification.