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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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Romans 4
4
The Example of Abraham
1So what can we say about Abraham, the father of our people? What did he learn about faith? 2If Abraham was made right by the things he did, he had a reason to boast about himself. But God knew different. 3That’s why the Scriptures say, “Abraham believed God, and because of this he was accepted as one who is right with God.”#Quote from Gen. 15:6.
4When people work, their pay is not given to them as a gift. They earn the pay they get. 5But people cannot do any work that will make them right with God. So they must trust in him. Then he accepts their faith, and that makes them right with him. He is the one who makes even evil people right. 6David said the same thing when he was talking about the blessing people have when God accepts them as good without looking at what they have done:
7“It is a great blessing
when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done,
when their sins are erased!
8It is a great blessing when the Lord accepts people
as if they are without sin!” Psalm 32:1-2
9Is this blessing only for those who are circumcised? Or is it also for those who are not circumcised? We have already said that it was because of Abraham’s faith that he was accepted as one who is right with God. 10So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? God accepted him before his circumcision. 11Abraham was circumcised later to show that God accepted him. His circumcision was proof that he was right with God through faith before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all those who believe but are not circumcised. They believe and are accepted as people who are right with God. 12And Abraham is also the father of those who have been circumcised. But it is not their circumcision that makes him their father. He is their father only if they live following the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
God’s Promise Received Through Faith
13Abraham and his descendants received the promise that they would get the whole world. But Abraham did not receive that promise because he followed the law. He received that promise because he was right with God through his faith. 14If people could get God’s promise by following the law, then faith is worthless. And God’s promise to Abraham is worthless, 15because the law can only bring God’s anger on those who disobey it. But if there is no law, then there is nothing to disobey.
16So people get what God promised by having faith. This happens so that the promise can be a free gift. And if the promise is a free gift, then all of Abraham’s people will get that promise. The promise is not just for those who live under the Law of Moses. It is for all who live with faith as Abraham did. He is the father of us all. 17As the Scriptures say, “I have made you a father of many nations.”#Quote from Gen. 17:5. This is true before God, the one Abraham believed—the God who gives life to the dead and speaks of things that don’t yet exist as if they are real.
18There was no hope that Abraham would have children, but Abraham believed God and continued to hope. And that is why he became the father of many nations. As God told him, “You will have many descendants.”#Quote from Gen. 15:5. 19Abraham was almost a hundred years old, so he was past the age for having children. Also, Sarah could not have children. Abraham was well aware of this, but his faith in God never became weak. 20He never doubted that God would do what he promised. He never stopped believing. In fact, he grew stronger in his faith and just praised God. 21Abraham felt sure that God was able to do what he promised. 22So that’s why “he was accepted as one who is right with God.”#Quote from Gen. 15:6. 23These words (“he was accepted”) were written not only for Abraham. 24They were also written for us. God will also accept us because we believe. We believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from death. 25Jesus was handed over to die for our sins, and he was raised from death to make us right with God.
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