Romans 4
4
1WHAT shall we say then that Abraham hath found, who is our father according to the flesh.
2For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God.
3For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.
4Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned according to grace, but according to debt.
5But to him that worketh not, yet believeth in him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reputed to justice, according to the purpose of the grace of God.
6As David also termeth the blessedness of a man, to whom God reputeth justice without works:
7Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin.
9This blessedness then, doth it remain in the circumcision only, or in the uncircumcision also? For we say that unto Abraham faith was reputed to justice.
10How then was it reputed? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
11And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the justice of the faith, which he had, being uncircumcised; that he might be the father of all them that believe, being uncircumcised, that unto them also it may be reputed to justice:
12And might be the father of circumcision; not to them only, that are of the circumcision, but to them also that follow the steps of the faithful, that is in the uncircumcision of our father Abraham.
13For not through the law was the promise to Abraham, or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world; but through the justice of faith.
14For if they who are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, the promise is made of no effect.
15For the law worketh wrath. For where there is no law, neither is there transgression.
16Therefore is it of faith, that according to grace the promise might be firm 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,
17(As it is written: I have made thee a father of many nations,) before God, whom he believed, who quickeneth the dead; and calleth those things that are not, as those that are.
18Who against hope believed in hope; that he might be made the father of many nations, according to that which was said to him: So shall thy seed be.
19And he was not weak in faith; neither did he consider his own body now dead, whereas he was almost an hundred years old, nor the dead womb of Sara.
20In the promise also of God he staggered not by distrust; but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God:
21Most fully knowing, that whatsoever he has promised, he is able also to perform.
22And therefore it was reputed to him unto justice.
23Now it is not written only for him, that it was reputed to him unto justice,
24But also for us, to whom it shall be reputed, if we believe in him, that raised up Jesus Christ, our Lord, from the dead,
25Who was delivered up for our sins, and rose again for our justification.
Currently Selected:
Romans 4: DRC1752
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Romans 4
4
The Example of Abraham
1What shall we say, then, of Abraham, the father of our race? What was his experience? 2If he was put right with God by the things he did, he would have something to boast about — but not in God's sight. 3#Gen 15.6; Gal 3.6The scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.” 4Those who work are paid wages, but they are not regarded as a gift; they are something that has been earned. 5But those who depend on faith, not on deeds, and who believe in the God who declares the guilty to be innocent, it is this faith that God takes into account in order to put them right with himself. 6This is what David meant when he spoke of the happiness of the person whom God accepts as righteous, apart from anything that person does:
7 #
Ps 32.1–2
“Happy are those whose wrongs are forgiven,
whose sins are pardoned!
8Happy is the person whose sins the Lord will not keep account of!”
9Does this happiness that David spoke of belong only to those who are circumcised? No indeed! It belongs also to those who are not circumcised. For we have quoted the scripture, “Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.” 10When did this take place? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? It was before, not after. 11#Gen 17.10He was circumcised later, and his circumcision was a sign to show that because of his faith God had accepted him as righteous before he had been circumcised. And so Abraham is the spiritual father of all who believe in God and are accepted as righteous by him, even though they are not circumcised. 12He is also the father of those who are circumcised, that is, of those who, in addition to being circumcised, also live the same life of faith that our father Abraham lived before he was circumcised.
God's Promise is Received through Faith
13 #
Gen 17.4–6; 22.17–18; Gal 3.29 When God promised Abraham and his descendants that the world would belong to him, he did so, not because Abraham obeyed the Law, but because he believed and was accepted as righteous by God. 14#Gal 3.18For if what God promises is to be given to those who obey the Law, then faith means nothing and God's promise is worthless. 15The Law brings down God's anger; but where there is no law, there is no disobeying of the law.
16 #
Gal 3.7
And so the promise was based on faith, in order that the promise should be guaranteed as God's free gift to all of Abraham's descendants — not just to those who obey the Law, but also to those who believe as Abraham did. For Abraham is the spiritual father of us all; 17#Gen 17.5as the scripture says, “I have made you father of many nations.” So the promise is good in the sight of God, in whom Abraham believed — the God who brings the dead to life and whose command brings into being what did not exist. 18#Gen 15.5Abraham believed and hoped, even when there was no reason for hoping, and so became “the father of many nations.” Just as the scripture says, “Your descendants will be as many as the stars.” 19#Gen 17.17He was then almost 100 years old; but his faith did not weaken when he thought of his body, which was already practically dead, or of the fact that Sarah could not have children. 20His faith did not leave him, and he did not doubt God's promise; his faith filled him with power, and he gave praise to God. 21He was absolutely sure that God would be able to do what he had promised. 22That is why Abraham, through faith, “was accepted as righteous by God”. 23The words “he was accepted as righteous” were not written for him alone. 24They were written also for us who are to be accepted as righteous, who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from death. 25#Is 53.4–5Because of our sins he was handed over to die, and he was raised to life in order to put us right with God.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.