Romans 4:18

Romans 4:18 says, Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. Abraham, or Abram as he was known when he was called, had no reason to believe that God would use him in such a spectacular way.  He could only hope through faith.  He had to believe in the reality of God's promise and act on it.  Our only hope today is to believe through faith in the reality of the promise of God that we are saved through faith in Christ and to act on it.  There should never be a wavering of our faith.  When we accept Christ as our Savior and follow Him, we don't need to wake up every morning wondering if we are truly saved that day.  Just as Abraham through his faith belonged to God forever, so do we. Abraham was not perfect when God called him, nor did he become perfect. Verse nineteen adds, And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:  Abraham could have looked at the facts and decided that there was no way that God could carry out his promise.  We can either believe in the power of God or the facts that the world presents to us.  The world tells us that we are foolish or delusional to believe that we can be saved by putting our faith in Christ, who died over two thousand years ago.  We either accept God's word as truth and come to Him through faith, or we look at the world and say that salvation makes no sense and cannot be true. Verse twenty continues, He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; Abraham did not stagger at the promise of God, and neither should we.  We need to look to the power of God and not the negativity of the world.  Sometimes, if we look at a situation strictly from the facts the world presents, we may want to question our faith, but we must never waiver in our faith in God.  Verse twenty-one states, And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.  Abraham believed that God could perform what He promised, and we so should we.  Verse twenty-two adds, And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.  Abraham's belief, his faith in God, was what brought him into a right relationship with God, and not his following of any ritual, and the same is true for us today. Verse twenty-three continues, Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;  This is why we today have hope.  The promise of God was not to Abraham alone, but to all who believe.  Verse twenty-four states, But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;  God's promises are for all who believe He raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  There is nothing added to this requirement. Through faith in God alone and His atonement through Christ can we find salvation.  Verse twenty-five adds.  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.   Christ died for all people for all time, and through His death and resurrection alone can we find hope.

Romans 4:13

Romans 4:13 says, For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. This is a continuation of the discussion of faith verses the Law.  Paul spent a lot of time discussing this issue, because the Jews were claiming justification by the Law and the necessity of others to follow the Law, and the rituals that they applied to it, in order to be considered a part of God's family.  We need to understand this concept today, so that nothing is added to the requirement for salvation.  We are saved through faith in Christ alone, and none is more saved than another.  Verse fourteen adds, For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:  I believe Paul was stating the basic truth of salvation, for all those who came before Christ and all those who have and will come since, and that is if there is any other way to salvation than through faith in Christ, then His sacrifice on the cross is made void.  We have to firmly claim and proclaim this truth today. Through the promise of Christ alone do we have salvation.  Those who came before Christ looked to the promise in faith, and those who have come since look back on the fulfillment of that promise.  Christ died for the sins of all people for all time.  It is up to each individual how they respond to that sacrifice.  Verse fifteen continues, Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. The law establishes the fact that we are sinners but can do nothing to save us.  We can only earn punishment by the law, since to fail in one point is the same as failing in all.  There are no degrees of sin or minor sins with God, and the law of God makes us aware of those sins.  Verse sixteen states, Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.  Here I believe Paul was pointing out the superiority of the grace of God over the law of God.  Grace is received simply by faith in God, not by our own efforts to become good enough to be God's people.  Grace is for all people, and not just for those born into a particular family or nation.  Still today, the Jews feel that they are the only people of God, but this verse tells us that all who come to God by faith in His grace are the descendants of Abraham.  We are a part of that great nation that God promised Abraham that he would be the father of.  Verse seventeen adds, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.  This verse continues to speak of Abraham as the father of many nations, through the quickening power of God.  Once we accept Christ as our Savior, we are made alive for evermore in our relationship to God.  This is never earned but is always a free gift from God.

Romans 4:6

Romans 4:6 says, Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Verse seven adds, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.  Paul once again refers to the scripture and one of the great men of the Jews, King David.  Paul reminded them that David had taught that righteousness was given to them by God without any works on their part. The Hebrews, or Jews, were chosen not because of their power and greatest to be God's people, but because of their weakness and insignificance in the eyes of the world.  When they did great things, it was not that they could be glorified, but so that God would be.  We need to understand that concept today.  We are not followers of Christ because of our own goodness and power, but we are His followers because of our own inabilities.  We are weak and insignificant and incapable of saving ourselves.  Verse eight continues, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.  If we want something to be thankful for everyday, we need only to look to this truth.  As followers of Christ, we are blessed because God does not hold us accountable for our sins.  The sins are not done away with, but the penalty for them is.  Sin will always be sin, but by the salvation of Christ, those sins are put behind God, to be looked on no more.  Verse nine states, Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.  Paul again refers to Abraham, the father of the Jewish faith, asking if he was blessed by circumcision or by faith. Paul answered that it was by faith.  We today are not blessed by any earthly ritual, but by faith in Christ alone. We cannot justify ourselves by any religious ritual. Verse ten adds, How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.  Abraham was found faithful by God, not by His actions, but by his faith in God long before circumcision became a sign for the Hebrew nation.  Through faith today we are justified by God before any sign, such as baptism, has any meaning.  Verse eleven continues, And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:  Paul said to them and to us that circumcision was a sign of the righteousness of faith, that Abraham through his faith might be the father, not of all who were circumcised, but of all who believe.  We all are not called to be brothers and sisters of all who follow certain rituals, but of all who believe in Christ.  Verse twelve concludes, And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.  Here Paul was stating the good news for all who are not Jewish.  God chose to work through Abraham to call all people to Him, and not just the Hebrews.  God works through followers of Christ the same way today, not to just call certain people to Him, but to call all people.

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.

Romans 3:28

Romans 3:28 says, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.  These last three verses are somewhat of a summation of what Paul had been teaching in the first part of the chapter.  Paul starts with the underlying principle of salvation, and that is that we are justified by faith alone.  No matter how good we may feel that we are, no matter how morally superior we may feel to others, we cannot be justified by the Law.  We must come to God humbly through faith in Jesus Christ as our Redeemer. We cannot just do better when we have sinned and hope to justify ourselves, but we must ask God's forgiveness through faith.  It requires more than just words.  True faith requires a broken and contrite heart as we ask for God's forgiveness.  Verse twenty-nine adds, Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:  Paul was asking the question based on the way the Jews saw the world in his day, and that was that they were God's people, and everyone else was a Gentile, and therefore not as worthy of God's love and blessings as they were.  Matthew Henry asks if we think that God limited His love to that perverse little group of people who were the Jews.  We today could ask this question based on any number of qualifiers.  God is not just the God of a particular nationality or ethnic group, but He is the God of all believers, and we are all equal in His sight.  Verse thirty continues, Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.  There is but one God, and He alone can justify people through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Our religious service must come from faith in this fact for it to have any meaning.  Verse thirty-one concludes, Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.  Faith does not negate the Law of God, but establishes it.  The Ten Commandments are no longer written on stone, but are written in our hearts, for example.  God's Law is still God's Law.

Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 says, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  This is a continuation of Paul's discussion as to why there is no difference between the Jew and Gentile and why the Law could not save us.  All have sinned.  The degree of sin may vary, but God did not say that the wages for some sins is death, but that the wages of any sin is death.  We earn death by our sins.  God does not just arbitrarily impose death for sin on some while forgiving others. Verse twenty-four adds, Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:  There is only one way to restore our relationship to God, and that is through the redemption of Christ. We are justified freely by God's grace.  Again, we cannot earn salvation but can only accept the free gift of grace from God.  Verse twenty-five continues, Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; God sent Jesus as be a propitiation for all sins, past, present and future.  Christ paid the price for those who had gone before Him, those who were there with Him, and those of us who have come since.  Verse twenty-six states, To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.  God declared His righteousness through Jesus Christ, Who is the only One Who can justify us.  There is a penalty for any and all sin, and that is death.  We can choose to accept the free gift of redemption through faith in Christ as our Savoir, or we can choose to take the penalty on ourselves.  God always gives us the choice. Verse twenty-seven adds, Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.  We cannot boast of our salvation because it is a gift of grace.  We did nothing to earn it by our own goodness, by our birth into a particular family, or by God's Law.  Though we are to boldly proclaim salvation through Christ to the world, the emphasis must always be on Christ and never on us. Our only claim can be that we are sinners saved by grace.

Romans 3:19

Romans 3:19 says, Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.  I believe Paul was saying that God's law applied to the Jews, those under the Law, and that it could not lead to bragging, but only to guilt before God.  The Pharisees in Jesus' day liked to boast of their keeping of the Law while at the same time condemning Jesus.  We cannot stand on our own goodness but must humbly acknowledge that the only way to salvation is through accepting the gift of Christ for our redemption.  Even in the secular world today, we may feel superior to those who have committed great crimes, but we must remember in God's eyes, any sin brings the penalty of death.  Verse twenty adds, Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.  The Law of God was given to point people to God, but was never a way to salvation. No one can be justified by the Law.  Many Jews in Jesus' day, and even today I would guess, believed that by nature of their birth as a Jew they were automatically God's people.  Paul was reminding them, and us, that we can never be justified before God by our own righteousness.  No one can ever live up to God's standards by their own virtue.  The Law can only point us to our own sin. Verse twenty-one continues, But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;  God's righteousness is manifested without the Law through Jesus Christ, but this was no new concept.  The law had been but a guide to point people to their own inability to live up to God's calling and the prophets pointed to the Messiah, Who is Jesus Christ.  Once Christ came, though we are still to attempt to live by God's standards or law, it is in no way to be seen as a requirement for salvation.  Some Jews in Paul's day were attempting to require Jewish rituals to be observed in order to truly be saved.  Verse twenty-two concludes, Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:  This righteousness of God comes by faith in Jesus Christ and is available to all people.  There is no Jew or Gentile in Christ.  We are all saved by faith through the grace of God by accepting the salvation made available to all through Christ.  Even when gentiles converted to Judaism, the Jews still did not see them as equals.  We must guard against having the same attitude toward other Christians.  We are all equal in Christ.