by David Flatt
Synopsis: Understanding how Abraham was counted as righteous illustrates the way that we can share a relationship with God.
In Romans 4, Paul begins to analyze Abraham's family. If sinners can be added to God's covenant family through faith in Jesus, what is their relationship to Abraham? After all, Abraham was the beginning of God's covenant family. If justification is what God does by adopting sinners into His family through faith in Jesus, what kind of family do they join?
Paul asks, "What shall we say then? Have we found Abraham to be our ancestor in a human, fleshly sense?" In other words, is the family into which believers are adopted an ethnic, physical family, or are we related to Abraham in some other way? There was a great deal of misunderstanding about the answer to this question.
Many Jewish Christians in the first century demanded that Gentile converts be circumcised to become part of God's covenant family: Abraham's descendants. This issue is addressed in other writings, not the least of which is Paul's letter to the Galatians. In Romans 4, the apostle begins to answer these questions.
By introducing Abraham, Paul is not using him as a random example of justification. Instead, he is explaining God's original intent for making a covenant with Abraham. His description of the nature and scope of Abraham's family climaxes in Romans 4:17, which affirms that this family is comprised of many nations, not just Israel. To reach this point, Paul starts by explaining how Abraham was declared righteous by God.
The historical context of this passage is found in Genesis 15. God promised that Abraham's heirs would be more numerous than the stars of the sky (Gen. 15:4-5). The patriarch responded to this promise by believing: "And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6).
Belief was the basis of the covenant relationship between God and Abraham. God expressed His will. Abraham believed. God justified Abraham by faith. Obviously, justification by God requires more than being born into a particular physical family. Abraham may serve as an example of the very kind of Gentile that Paul described in the second chapter: one who had God's law written on His heart by the Spirit (Rom. 2:26-29).
Abraham's justification by faith predated Moses and the law. Abraham received no revelation about the details of this future law. All he had was his faith in God. Abraham's faith was based on his understanding of God's character. This is explained in Hebrews 6:
For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us (Heb. 6:13-18, ESV).
Abraham not only believed that God would give him a family, but he also believed that God would justify the ungodly through faith. Why? This was how He justified him.
We do not know much about Abraham's background. We can conclude, however, that Abraham was ungodly (i.e., a sinner) when God met him. Had it been otherwise, Abraham would have had something of which to brag (Rom. 4:2). When details of the covenant were initially given in Genesis 12, Abram and Sarai traveled to Egypt, seeking refuge during a famine. Although God had made a covenant promise to Abraham, he and his wife began to lie about their relationship (Gen. 12:10-13). Yes, Abraham was a sinner; yet, God was willing to work with him. Abraham believed in God who justifies the ungodly (Rom. 4:5). God is willing to meet the wicked where they are, and extend the offer of justification by faith. God justifying Abraham by faith is what He offers to do for us as well.
To further strengthen his argument of how Abraham—and by extension, all humanity—are made part of the covenant family by faith, Paul cites David (Ps. 32). In this Psalm, David celebrates the forgiveness of sins. By faith, sinners can be forgiven and added to the covenant family. God's covenant is designed to deal with the problem of sin. God reckons those who are members of the covenant family as being in the right, i.e., justified. Their sins are not held against them. Why? Because God sent Jesus the Messiah to shed His blood at the seat of mercy and provide for the forgiveness of sins (Rom. 3:25-26). God is willing to meet sinners at the seat of mercy, the cross—offering grace and forgiveness if they believe.
Who receives the blessings of justification? Who receives the benefits and blessings of the covenant? Only the circumcised? Only the uncircumcised? In providing an answer, Paul asks an important historical question: when was Abraham justified? Was it before or after he was circumcised? Abraham's circumcision occurred after being justified and receiving the covenant (Gen. 17:10-11). Abraham, along with Ishmael and all of his household, were circumcised the same day (Gen. 17:23-27).
That Abraham was justified before being circumcised has significant theological consequences which Israel was ignoring. Abraham was justified by faith as an uncircumcised pagan, Gentile, non-Jew, sinner, or however else one might label him at that point. Of course, this sequence of events was not coincidental. Paul explained they happened in this order: "The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well" (Rom. 4:11b).
Yes, God's intentions for initiating the covenant with Abraham were not just to save Abraham's biological descendants. Instead, He intended to save the world through the seed (i.e., descendants) of Abraham, or, more specifically, One descendant in particular. Now, as a consequence of what God did through the Messiah, the true descendants of Abraham are those who walk in the steps of Abraham's faith, the same faith he had when he was uncircumcised (Rom. 4:12).
To this point, Paul has redefined the family of Abraham in the minds of most Jews. He both expands and narrows this family: (1) broadening the family, in the sense of opening it to Gentiles through faith; (2) narrowing the family, in the sense of excluding unbelieving Jews. Yes, more is required to be part of the covenant family than merely being a biological descendant of Abraham, being circumcised, or possessing the Law of Moses.
The promise of being an heir of the world was not received by blood, circumcision, or the law. The covenant God made with Abraham included more than just his biological descendants. Blood alone did not make a person part of Abraham's family. It gave no one a claim to the inheritance. Instead, the promise of inheritance was received through faith.
Abraham was not justified according to the law. It had not yet been given to anyone. At this stage, Paul introduces a significant point: If the law was to be a defining characteristic of God's people, as is faith, then He would not have a people for Himself.
Israel had broken the law; none had kept it perfectly. God's wrath was being poured out against them and the Gentiles. For God to have people who are His, there must be, in a sense, a law-free space. This was the kind of space where Abraham entered the scene. He lived before the law.
Also, the Gentiles would need a space without the law to have the opportunity to become part of God's covenant family. Paul is saying that, by faith, the Gentiles can come into the covenant family on equal footing with Israel. Neither Jew nor Gentile had an advantage over the other. After all, Abraham's family was never limited to biological descendants but included people of all nations.
Well, how does God do all of this? How does He make one covenant family out of the Jews and Gentiles? How does God make one covenant family out of sinners? The ability of this covenant family to form is the result of the creative power of God. He can give life to the dead. God can call into existence things that do not exist (Rom. 4:17).
Paul reminds the saints at Rome of Abraham's faith and hope. As impossible as these divine promises may have seemed, Abraham believed God would do just as He promised. Despite the advanced age of Abram and Sarai, he trusted that He would give him a son, and countless other descendants, namely, a family. As a result, Abraham was justified: i.e., reckoned to be righteous. This is how Abraham and Sarah are remembered:
For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us (Heb. 6:13-18).
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore (Heb. 11:8-12).
As impressive as Abraham and Sarah may be, we can share in their faith and hope. We can be justified if we believe God has redeemed us through Jesus, the Messiah. Again, Paul reminds the brethren of the good news, i.e., of what God had done for them, and all humanity. By extension, this includes what God has done for us.
For some Christians, such faith is nearly impossible. Disciples often question their growth potential. Doubting one's salvation is even more prevalent; the promise of eternal life in heaven is considered out of reach by far too many. Is the hope of heaven any more impossible than an aged man and woman giving birth to a child? Only faith can answer these questions.
What Paul here states about Abraham and Sarah stands in stark contrast to what he said about the Gentiles in the first chapter. Gentiles ignored the Creator as the giver of life, whereas Abraham and Sarah believed the Creator and trusted Him to give them a descendant.
In this masterful letter, we are beginning to understand how God restores order to the creation through the Messiah. This is all foreshadowed in what God did through Abraham. What God does through Abraham is a response to the fall of Adam. Of course, Adam is addressed in chapter 5.
At this point in the letter, Paul has come full circle in declaring how God proved faithful to the covenant that He made with Abraham through Jesus the Messiah. This section supports Paul's thesis: the just shall live by faith. Behind his complex arguments stand a simple truth: everyone can become part of God's family through believing the gospel.
Author Bio: David and his family began laboring with the Fry Road church of Christ in Houston, TX in 2019. The church website is fryroad.org. He can be reached at dflatt85@yahoo.com.
