Romans 4
4
Romans 4
1¶ What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, has found?
2For if Abraham were justified by works, he has reason to glory in himself, but not before God.
3For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4But unto him that works, the reward is not reckoned as grace, but as debt.
5But to him that does not work, but believes in him that justifies the ungodly, the faith is counted as righteousness.
6Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man unto whom God doth attribute righteousness without works,
7 saying, Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered.
8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin.
9¶ Is this blessedness, therefore, only upon the circumcision or also upon the uncircumcision? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.
10How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
11And he received the circumcision as a sign, as a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had, yet being uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all the uncircumcised believers, that it might be counted unto them also as righteousness,
12that he be the father of the circumcision: not only to those who are of the circumcision, but also unto those who walk in the steps of the faith that was in our father Abraham before he was circumcised.
13For 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.
14For if those who are of the law are the heirs, faith is in vain, and the promise annulled,
15because the law works wrath; for where there is no law, there is no rebellion either.
16Therefore by faith, that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to that which is of the law, but also to that which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
17¶ as it is written, As a father of many Gentiles have I placed thee before God, whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which are not as those that are.
18Who believed to wait against all hope, that he might become the father of many Gentiles, according to that which had been spoken unto him, So shall thy seed be.
19And he did not weaken in faith: he considered not his own body now dead when he was about one hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb;
20he doubted not the promise of God, with unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
21being fully persuaded that he was also powerful to do all that he had promised;
22therefore, his faith was also attributed unto him as righteousness.
23¶ Now it is not written for his sake alone that it was so reckoned to him,
24but for us also to whom it shall be so reckoned, that is, to those that believe in him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification.
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Romans 4: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Romans 4
4
1Let's take Abraham as an example. From a human viewpoint he is the father of our nation. Let's ask, “What was his experience?” 2For if Abraham was set right by what he did, he would have had something to boast about—but not in God's eyes. 3However, what does Scripture say? “Abraham trusted God, and so he was considered as being a good person who did right.”#4:3. Quoting Genesis 15:6. 4Whoever works gets paid—it's not considered as a gift, but because they've earned their wages. 5But God, who makes sinners right, considers them as right not because they've worked for it but because they trust in him. This is why 6David speaks of the happiness of those whom God considers as right, and not because they worked for it: 7“How happy are those whose wrongs are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8How happy are those the Lord does not consider sinful.”#4:8. Quoting Psalms 32:1-2.
9Now is this blessing just for the Jews, or is it for others too? We've just stated that Abraham was accepted as good and right because he trusted God. 10But when did this happen? When Abraham was a Jew or before? 11It was actually before he became a Jew by being circumcised, which was a confirmation of his trust in God to make him right. This happened before he was circumcised, so he is the father of everyone who trusts in God and are considered as right by God, even though they may not be circumcised Jews. 12He is also the father of circumcised Jews not merely because they're circumcised, but because they follow the example of the trust in God our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
13God's promise to Abraham and his descendants that the world would belong to him was not based on his keeping of the law, but because he was made right through his trust in God. 14For if the promised inheritance is based on keeping the law, then the issue of trusting God is not necessary, and the promise is pointless. 15For the law results in punishment#4:15. Punishment for law-breaking, which of course includes everyone.—but if there's no law then it cannot be broken.
16So the promise is based on trusting God. It is provided as a free gift, guaranteed to all the children of Abraham—not merely to those who follow the law,#4:16. Paul is not saying here that those who obey the Mosaic law are consequently made right with God—he has already dealt with that issue. He is simply pointing out that those who are not following the Mosaic law are not excluded by God. but also to those who trust like Abraham, the father of us all. 17As Scripture says, “I've made you the father of many nations.”#4:17. Quoting Genesis 17:5. For in the presence of God, Abraham trusted in the God who makes the dead alive and speaks into existence what didn't previously exist. 18Against all hope Abraham in hope trusted God, so he could become the father of many peoples, just as God had promised him: “This is how many descendants you'll have!”#4:18. Referring to Genesis 15:5. 19His trust in God didn't weaken even though he thought his body was practically dead (he was around a hundred years old), and knew that Sarah was too old to have children. 20He held on to God's promise—he didn't doubt it. Instead his trust in God grew stronger, and he gave glory to God. 21He was totally convinced that what God had promised he had the power to deliver. 22That's why Abraham was considered right by God.
23The words “Abraham was considered right”#4:23. Quoting Genesis 15:6. weren't just written down for his benefit. 24They were for us too, those of us who will be considered as right, since we trust in God who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead. 25Jesus was handed over to die because of our sins,#4:25. See Isaiah 53:4-5 and was raised to life to make us right.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com