Bible Commentaries
Romans 4

Verses 1-17

SECTION 12 — JUSTIFICATION THROUGH FAITH RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM THE CASE OF ABRAHAM

CHS. 3:31-4:17

Do we then make law of no effect through faith? Be it not so. Nay, we establish law. What then shall we say that Abraham has found, our forefather according to flesh? For if by (or from) works Abraham was justified, he has a ground of exultation; but not in reference to God. For what says the Scripture? “But Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness.”

But to him that does work, the reward is not reckoned according to grace but according to debt: but to him that does no work, but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. According as also David describes the blessedness of the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works, “Blessed are they whose lawlessnesses have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered over. A blessed man is he to whom the Lord will not reckon sin.”

This pronouncing-blessed then, is it upon the circumcision, or also upon the uncircumcision? For we say that to Abraham was reckoned his faith for righteousness. How then was it reckoned? While in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received a sign, that of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had in his uncircumcision; that he may be father of all that believe in uncircumcision, that to them also the righteousness may be reckoned; and father of the circumcision, to them not of circumcision only, but also to them who walk in the steps of the faith in uncircumcision of our father Abraham.

For not through law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world, but through a righteousness of faith. For if they of law are heirs, faith has been made vain, and the promise has been made of no effect. For the Law works out anger: but where no law is, neither is there transgression. Because of this, it is by faith, in order that it may be according to grace, in order that the promise may be sure to all the seed, not to that of the Law only but also to that of the faith of Abraham, who is father of us all-according as it is written, “Because a father of many nations I have made thee”-before God whom he believed, who makes alive the dead ones, and calls the things which are not as though they were.

Romans 3:31. A question suggested by the inference in Romans 3:29-30 that justification through faith shuts out all boasting that God is in a special sense the God of the Jews. This assumption was based on the fact that to them only He gave the Law. Paul asks, Do we, by preaching a doctrine which ignores the distinction of Jew and Gentile, set aside the Law, which created that distinction?

Law: in its usual sense, viz. the Old Testament, viewed in its general character as a declaration of God’s will and as a standard of right and wrong. There is nothing here, as there was in Romans 3:21, to limit the word to the Pentateuch.

Of-no-effect: as in Romans 3:3; cp. Matthew 15:6. It might seem that Paul, who preaches faith without reference to circumcision or previous obedience to law, denied the authority of the Old Testament. For there the favour of God depends on obedience to precepts, and circumcision is commanded as a sign of God’s special covenant with Abraham’s children. Now, to the Jews, the Old Testament was the authoritative standard of right and wrong. Does not the doctrine of justification through faith discredit, not only Jewish boasting, but those sacred books which were to the Jews the ground of moral obligation? If so, two bad results will follow. Paul’s teaching will weaken, in those who receive it, the authority of the Scriptures, and thus weaken the moral obligations therein embodied; and the Gospel will be rejected by others whose conscience tells them that the voice of Sinai, which still speaks from the pages of the Old Testament, is the voice of God. Cp. Acts 6:13.

We establish law: by preaching faith as the condition of justification, we give additional proof of the divine authority of the sacred books.

So serious and so plausible is the above objection that we cannot conceive Paul, who is so careful to prove everything, meeting it by a mere assertion, viz. that contained in this verse. A full proof of this assertion, we shall find in his exposition, in Romans 4, of the faith of Abraham. Even the narratives of the O.T. are included in the Law: for they announce the principles of God’s government. For another example of a narrative in Genesis quoted as law, see Galatians 4:21.

Romans 4:1. What shall we say? what shall we infer? as in Romans 3:5. If we defend the authority of the O.T., how shall we explain its teaching about Abraham?

Our forefather: speaking as a Jew to Jews.

According to flesh: in contrast to the spiritual fatherhood of Romans 4:11.

Romans 4:2. Reason for introducing the case of Abraham. God’s covenant with him proves that he found favour with God, and was in this sense justified. Now, if this justification was derived from works, he has a ground-of-exultation. This last word is cognate to, and recalls, those in Romans 3:27; Romans 2:17; Romans 2:23. Paul proclaims a Gospel which shuts out all boasting; and he now introduces the case of Abraham in order to test by it the objection that, by overturning Jewish boasting, the Gospel overturns the ancient law.

But not in reference to God: his exultation would be, not an exultation in God, like that in Romans 5:11, but something infinitely inferior. If from works done in obedience to law Abraham had obtained the favour and covenant of God, God would be to him, not the free Giver of every good, but only a master who pays according to work done; and Abraham’s confidence would rest upon, and his expectation be measured by, his own morality. Cp. Galatians 6:4. The Gospel gives us that nobler joy which arises from confidence in God. This better exultation, a justification derived from works could not give, to Abraham or to us.

Romans 4:3. By introducing Abraham after saying that the Gospel confirms the Law, by admitting that justification from works would give him a boasting which Paul has proved that no man can have, and that it would deprive him of the only well-grounded exultation, Paul has implied clearly that Abraham’s justification was derived from a source other than works. This he now proceeds to prove: for what says the Scripture? This last word denotes a single passage. The whole collection is called “ Scriptures,” as in Romans 1:2; Romans 15:4; Romans 16:26.

Paul quotes Genesis 15:6, perhaps the most important verse of the Old Testament. In Romans 12:1; Romans 12:7; Romans 13:14, we read of God’s promises to Abraham and of Abraham’s conduct on receiving them; but from Romans 15:3-4 we learn that the promise had not been fully believed. In Romans 15:5, God solemnly repeats it. And now, for the first time in the Bible, we are told the effect produced in man’s heart by the word of God: “He believed in Jehovah,” i.e. he was fully assured that God’s promise of posterity as numerous as the stars will be fulfilled. See under Romans 4:18. These words are the more conspicuous because of the purely outward character of nearly all Bible narratives. Equally remarkable are the words following.

Righteousness: fulfilment of a condition, inward or outward, on which God is pleased to bestow blessing, spiritual or temporal: see under Romans 1:17. God reckoned Abraham’s faith to be a fulfilment of the only condition required; and, because he believed, gave to him the blessing promised. God commanded him to offer sacrifice; and in that sacrifice again revealed Himself. “In the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram:”

Genesis 15:9; Genesis 15:18. Of that covenant, circumcision was afterwards appointed to be the sign: Genesis 17:10. Thus Abraham’s faith put him in a new relation to God.

Reckon: as in Romans 2:26; Romans 8:36; Genesis 31:15; Proverbs 17:28, etc.

Reckon for righteousness: an important parallel in Psalms 106:31, which is a comment on Numbers 25:10-13. God graciously reckoned the loyal act of Phineas as something which He will reward with an eternal priesthood. Similarly, in Deuteronomy 24:13, He promised to reward the return of a pledged garment; and, in Deuteronomy 6:25, general obedience to His commands. Same phrase in 1 Macc. ii. 52, expounding Genesis 22:16-18. Hence, in James 2:21, Abraham is said to have been justified by offering Isaac. The two phrases are practically equivalent. The reckoning may be spoken of as the mental act of God; and justification as the formal declaration of it.

Thus the Book of the Law declares that Abraham obtained the favour and covenant of God by belief of a promise. And, of that covenant, all the blessings which afterwards came to Israel were a result. Whatever distinguished the sacred nation from the rest of mankind, their deliverance from Egypt, the Law, the possession of Canaan, and the voice of the prophets, was given because of Abraham’s faith: so Exodus 2:24; Deuteronomy 9:5. The question in Romans 4:1 is answered. Abraham found justification through faith. Consequently, the preaching of faith is in unexpected harmony with the Old Testament; and thus confirms the divine authority of the Law.

Genesis 15:6 is quoted also in Galatians 3:6; James 2:23; and ten times in the works of Philo, an older Jewish contemporary of Paul.

The rest of § 12 expounds Genesis 15:6. In Romans 4:4-5, Paul will show that it implies justification apart from works, which in Romans 4:6-8 he will confirm from Psalms 32:1-2; and justification without circumcision, of which rite he will in Romans 4:9-12 explain the purpose. He will show in Romans 4:13-15 why the promise was given to Abraham apart from law; and (Romans 4:16-17) on the simple condition of faith. He will thus show that the Law is in harmony, not only with the Gospel proclaimed in § 10, but with the levelling of Jew and Gentile which was to the Jews so serious an objection to it.

Romans 4:4-5. Proof, from Genesis 15:6, that Abraham was justified apart from works, and had therefore no ground of exultation. Romans 3:4 describes the case of one whose claim rests on works, and Romans 4:5 that of another who has no works on which to base a claim. It is then evident that Abraham belongs, not to the former, but to the latter, class. Paul assumes that there is no merit in faith, that it does not lay God under the least obligation to reward us. Consequently, whatever follows faith comes, not by necessary moral sequence, but by the undeserved favour of God: so Romans 4:16. Therefore, that Abraham obtained the covenant through faith, proves that he had done no work to merit so great reward. For we cannot give a man as a mark grace, i.e. undeserved favour, what we already owe him as a debt. Consequently, the recorded faith of Abraham puts him apart from those who obtain blessing by good works.

The reward: or pay for work done.

Romans 4:5. The opposite class, to which Abraham does belong. That a man’s faith is reckoned for righteousness, and thus put in place of works, proves that he does no good work which fulfils the required condition.

Ungodly: as in Romans 1:18. That Abraham was such, we need not infer: and his obedience to God’s call proves his fear of God. Paul states a general principle, in a form which applies to his readers rather than to Abraham. He obtained by faith a numerous posterity, and through the promised seed a fulfilment of the earlier promise that in him should all families of the earth be blessed. The promise made to us is escape from the wrath of God, and eternal life. To make this dependent on faith, implies that all men are exposed to punishment: and to expect justification through faith is an acknowledgment of ungodliness, and a reliance upon Him who justifies the ungodly. By thus turning from Abraham to the sinner, Paul prepares a way for the quotation in the next verse.

Thus Genesis 15:6, which asserts that Abraham was justified through faith, implies also that he was justified apart from works. Therefore he has no ground of self-exultation, but a good ground of exultation in view of God. Consequently, Paul, by proclaiming a new law which shuts out all boasting on the ground of works, does not overthrow, but supports, the authority of the Old Covenant and of the Jewish Scriptures.

Romans 4:6-8. A quotation from Psalms 32:1-2, in harmony with the foregoing.

David: as in Romans 11:9 from Psalms 69:22-23. The name is found (Heb. and LXX.) in the heading of each Psalm. But to this we cannot give any critical value. Paul quotes the O.T. as he found it. See further in Diss. iii.

Blessedness: the highest form of happiness, found only under the smile of God: so Matthew 5:3-11. This sacred sense is not absent in Acts 26:2, 1 Corinthians 7:40. So Aristotle, Nic. Ethics bk. x. 8. 8: “To the gods, the whole of life is blessed; to men, so far as it is some likeness to divine activity:” cp. 1 Timothy 1:11, “the blessed God,” 1 Timothy 6:15.

David is quoted to support, not “faith reckoned for righteousness,” but righteousness apart from works. Here we have a man guilty of acts of lawlessness and of sins. But they are forgiven and covered-over: cp. James 5:20.

To reckon sin, is practically to inflict punishment: so 2 Timothy 4:16; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Philemon 1:18. We have in Psalms 32 the joyful song of a pardoned man. Breaches of law have been forgiven, and a veil cast over sins. Consequently, in the future God will not reckon the man a sinner.

The Lord: see under Romans 9:29. In Psalms 32:5, the Psalmist confesses his sin, and rejoices in forgiveness. He finds in God a refuge from trouble, and bids others rejoice in Him: Psalms 32:7; Psalms 32:11. We have here a clear case of righteousness without works, of a man on whom, in spite of past sins, God smiles with forgiving grace. Thus the negative side of Paul’s teaching is proved to be in harmony with the ancient Scriptures. Although Psalms 32 is not quoted in proof of justification through faith, we notice Psalms 32:10, “ He that trusts in Jehovah, mercy shall compass him about.”

Psalms 32 is quoted only in passing: and Paul returns at once to Genesis 15:6. As the words quoted do not mention faith, they were probably not quoted to prove expressly that the preaching of faith supports the Law. But, as we learn from Romans 3:19, they have the authority of law. And, by supporting an inference following necessarily from justification through faith, viz. justification without works, they point to another harmony of the Law and the Gospel; and thus confirm the divine origin of both.

Romans 4:9-12. Further evidence, from the historic origin of circumcision, in support of the Gospel which announces righteousness apart from it, followed by an exposition of the purpose of the rite.

Romans 4:9-10. This announcement-of-blessedness: in Psalms 32:1-2. Is it for the circumcision as such, or also for the uncircumcision? abstract for the concrete, as in Romans 2:26; Romans 3:30.

For we say etc.: reason for Paul’s question, in which he takes his readers along with him, and for the tone of triumph in which he asks it. Paul and they have now learnt from Genesis 15:6 that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. He asks, How then was it reckoned? While in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? To this last question, there is only one answer. For fourteen years, Abraham was in covenant with God before he was circumcised. Consequently, the rite is not needful for the validity of faith or for a covenant relation with God. All the distinguishing blessings of the Jewish race were a reward of the faith of an uncircumcised man. Paul’s answer is an emphatic repetition of his own question.

Romans 4:11-12. An explanation of the purpose of the rite, supplementing and strengthening the foregoing argument.

Sign of: Matthew 24:30; Luke 11:29.

Circumcision was enjoined as a visible mark or token of the covenant of God with Abraham in the day when he believed: Genesis 17:11; Genesis 15:18.

A Seal: a solemn and formal attestation of that to which it is annexed. So 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Timothy 2:19. Specially appropriate to circumcision, this being a visible and permanent attestation. The sign of the covenant, ordained by God in the day when Abraham believed, was a divinely-erected monument of the covenant and of the validity of faith even apart from circumcision.

That he may be etc.: purpose of this sign and seal, viz. that the faith of Abraham, thus made prominent, may lead many others to a similar faith, and that thus he may be father of a great family of believers; and that all who believe, even without circumcision, may be able to call Abraham their father, and to claim the inheritance of sons. The meaning of father is explained by heirs in Romans 4:14 : cp. Galatians 3:9; Galatians 3:29, also Genesis 4:20-21.

That to them also etc.: further purpose of the rite. God’s purpose was, by leading both Jews and Gentiles to a similar faith, to make them partakers of the righteousness which comes through faith.

Father of circumcision: suggested by also in Romans 4:11, which implies that God’s purpose embraced others besides Gentiles. Even among those who bear in their bodies the sign of the covenant, Abraham was to have a spiritual posterity. But his true children are those only who imitate the faith of their father, which was earlier and nobler than circumcision.

Walk: go along a line: so Galatians 5:25; Galatians 6:16; Philippians 3:16; Acts 21:24. Cp. Romans 6:4; Romans 8:4; Romans 13:13; Romans 14:15. Every act is a step forward in some direction.

Faith in uncircumcision: emphatic repetition of the point of the argument in Romans 4:9-12.

Romans 4:13. Not through law; about which as little was said as about circumcision when God made the covenant with Abraham.

The promise: as stated in Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 12:7; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 22:17. In these passages nothing was said about law, in reference either to Abraham or to his seed. The fulfilment of the promise was not conditioned by obedience to a prescribed rule of conduct.

That he should be heir of the world: the promise described, not in the form given to Abraham, but as we, taught by the Gospel, now understand it. Abraham’s children, i.e. those who imitate his faith, will one day possess a new earth and heaven: and this, because given to his spiritual children, will be the reward of his faith. Of this greater gift, Canaan was but an earnest. It will be obtained, not through law, but through a righteousness of faith, i.e. a state which the judge approves and which comes through faith. On the historic independence of the promise to Abraham and the Mosaic Law, see Galatians 3:17.

Romans 4:14-15. Reason why the promise was given apart from law.

They of law: who make law their starting-point in seeking life, and whose claim is derived from law: so Galatians 3:10; cp. Romans 2:8; Romans 3:26; Galatians 3:7; Galatians 3:9.

Heirs: who receive the blessing in virtue of their imitation of, and therefore spiritual descent from, Abraham.

Is-made-vain, or empty: same word in 1 Corinthians 1:17; 1 Corinthians 9:15; Philippians 2:7.

Made-of-no-effect: as in Romans 3:3; Romans 3:31; Galatians 3:17. These two words are practically equivalent. Of the statement in Romans 4:14-15 is a proof.

Works-out anger: brings men under the anger of God. For none can obey the Law as it claims to be obeyed: and God is angry with all who disobey.

But where no law is, there are no prescribed limits, and therefore no transgression or overstepping of limits: same word in Romans 2:23; Romans 5:14. Before the Law, there was sin, but it did not assume the form of transgression. If when God gave the promises, He had annexed the Law as their condition, He would have made fulfilment impossible. For none can keep the Law as it needs to be kept. Therefore He said nothing about law. He thus winked at or passed over the sinfulness of those to whom He spoke; in view of the propitiation afterwards provided: cp. Romans 3:25.

Notice here another summary of DIV. I. The causes which made justification from works impossible to us made it impossible to Abraham. The constant recurrence of this teaching reveals its importance in Paul’s theology.

Romans 4:16. Because of this: viz. that the Law works out anger, and would if it were the condition of fulfilment make the promise without result. Therefore the inheritance is by faith. According to grace: God fixed faith as its condition in order that it might be in proportion, not to man’s merit, but to God’s undeserved favour. As in Romans 4:4, Paul assumes that there is no merit in faith.

Sure: a firm basis for confident reliance. God made faith the condition of the promise, in order that all the seed, not only Jews but Gentiles also, may have a firm ground for expectation of fulfilment, and this measured not by their works but by God’s grace. Had obedience to law been its condition, they could have looked forward to nothing except His anger.

Who is father etc.: actual fulfilment of the purpose stated in Romans 4:11.

Of us all: including Jews and Gentiles.

Romans 4:17. According as… I have made thee: a parenthesis asserting that the foregoing is in harmony with a promise of God to Abraham (Genesis 17:5) at the time of the change of his name. Israel was not many nations but one nation: and the sons of Hagar and Keturah were not heirs of the covenant. To what then did this promise refer?

To something important: for it was embodied in a change of name. The only adequate explanation of it is that it refers to Abraham’s spiritual children. Jew and Greek, Englishman and German, call him to-day their father. Thus the Gospel again confirms the divine origin of the Law by affording an explanation and fulfilment of a prophecy therein contained and otherwise unexplained.

Before God etc.: completing the sentence interrupted by the parenthesis. Abraham stands before God whom he believed, who, as we shall see under Romans 4:19, makes alive the dead, and calls, i.e. summons to His service and disposes of as He will, the things which are not as though they were. This description of God calls to our mind those elements of His nature on which Abraham’s faith rested. Cp. Genesis 17:1 : “I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be thou perfect.” God speaks to men and things not yet existing, and they come into being, and dispose themselves at His command. These words refer to the many nations whom, before they existed, God gave to Abraham to be his children. Before Him whose voice is heard and obeyed by nations unborn, to whom the decay of natural powers, even when amounting practically to death, was no obstacle, Abraham stood; and believed. And, because he believed, he stood in that day before God as the father of the whole family of believers of every nation and age.

REVIEW. We shall best understand this section by attempting to rebuild Paul’s argument from the materials he used. In Genesis 12:2; Genesis 12:7; Genesis 13:16, God promised to make of Abraham a great nation, to give to his children the land of Canaan, and to make them numerous as the dust of the earth. In obedience to God, Abraham left his fatherland. But in Genesis 15:1-3 we find him in fear and unbelief. It is night; and there is darkness around and within. Although God has promised him a numerous posterity, Abraham speaks of a servant as his heir. God brings him out from the tent in which the lonely man nurses his loneliness, directs him away from the darkness around to the everlasting brightness above, and declares that his children shall be numerous as the stars. Abraham stands before Him who made the stars and calls them by their names, who is the Author of life, whom even death cannot withstand, who controls even men and things not yet existing. He hears the promise, believes it. and looks forward with confidence to his children unborn. His faith is recorded in the Book of the Law, where, in Genesis 15:6, we read for the first time the effect upon the heart of man of the word of God. We also read that God accepted Abraham’s belief of the promise as a fulfilment of the divinely-appointed condition of fulfilment. In that hour he stood before God as father of unnumbered children. The words of Genesis 15:6 are soon explained by the act of God. Sacrifices are slain; and in the presence of shed blood God makes “in that day” a covenant with Abraham. Of this covenant, the birth of Isaac, the deliverance from Egypt, the giving of the Law, the possession of Canaan, and all the distinctive privileges of Israel, were a fulfilment; We see then that the blessings of the Old Covenant were obtained by Abraham, for himself and for his children, by faith.

Again, since Abraham obtained the covenant by believing a promise, it is evident that he had performed no works of which it was a due reward; else it would have been given him as a debt. The words of Genesis 15:6 remove him from those who earn something by work and put him among those who know that they are sinners and believe the word of Him who justifies the ungodly. Consequently, Abraham was justified without works. Therefore, though he may well exult in view of the grace of God, he can exult no more than we in view of his own works. Justification without works is also taught by David, who calls himself a sinner and rejoices in a pardoning God. Again, when Abraham believed, he was uncircumcised: and nothing was said about the rite till fourteen years after he received the covenant. Therefore, circumcision is not essential to the validity of faith, or to the favour and covenant of God. What then is the use of circumcision?

It was a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham: Genesis 17:11. And, since the covenant was obtained through faith, circumcision, the visible and divinely ordained sign of it, was a solemn and public attestation by God that faith, even without circumcision, is sufficient to obtain the favour of God. In our days, God has announced justification for all men on the one condition of faith. Therefore, remembering that the Old Covenant was preparatory to the New, we cannot doubt that the rite of circumcision was ordained in order to call attention to Abraham’s faith, and thus to lead his children to similar faith. And, since the Gospel proclaims salvation for Jew and Gentile alike, we cannot doubt that circumcision was delayed in order to teach the believing Gentiles of future ages that they may claim Abraham as their father and the righteousness of faith as their inheritance.

We are prepared for this levelling of Jew and Gentile by the fact that, at the time of Abraham’s faith, as little was said about the Law as about circumcision. The reason is evident. If the promises had been conditional on obedience to law, they would have been practically useless, and Abraham’s faith an illusion. For neither he nor his children could keep the Law. The only result would have been disobedience and punishment. We therefore infer that nothing was said about law in order that sin, although existing, might not be a breach of the covenant; and that faith was chosen as its condition because God was minded to bestow the blessing as a gift of pure favour, and in order that believers, both Jews and Gentiles, might look forward with certainty to a fulfilment of the promise. In the Christian Church, we see fulfilled the purpose for which circumcision was ordained, and the promise that Abraham should be a father of many nations. He stands to-day in actual fact, as he stood then in the purpose and foresight of God, as the father of us all.

In § 11, Paul proved that the Gospel breaks down the barrier hitherto existing between Jew and Gentile. Now this barrier was erected by the Law. To break it down, seemed to be a denial of the divine origin and authority of those Sacred Books which were to Israel the ground of moral obligation. But now Paul has proved from these Books that the covenant which was to the Jews the source of all their instinctive privileges was obtained by Abraham through faith and apart from circumcision and from law. An inference from this, viz. justification without works, has been confirmed from another part of the Holy Scriptures. This unexpected harmony confirms both Law and Gospel, for it reveals their common source. Consequently, the Gospel, which by the resurrection of Christ is itself proved to be divine, affords proof of the divine origin of the Law. If therefore, after saying that the Gospel confirms the Law, we are asked what benefits Abraham obtained for himself and his descendants, our reply is, justification through faith, without works and without circumcision.

In this section, Paul has touched one of the strongest internal proofs of the divine origin of the revelations recorded in the Bible, viz. the profound harmony which, amid a great variety of outward form breathes through the whole.

Verses 18-25

SECTION 13 — DESCRIPTION OF ABRAHAM’S FAITH

CH. 4:18-25

Who against hope believed in hope, in order that he might become father of many nations, according to the spoken word, “So shall be thy seed.” And, without being weakened in faith, he considered his own body as good as dead, being about a hundred years old, and the death of the womb of Sarah. But in view of the promise of God he did not doubt with unbelief, but was made strong by faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He has promised He is able also to do. For which cause it was also reckoned to him for righteousness. Moreover, it was not written because of him only, that it was reckoned to him, but also because of us, to whom it will be reckoned, to those that believe on Him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was given up because of our trespasses and was raised because of our justification.

In § 12, we learnt that Abraham obtained by faith the blessings of the Old Covenant. We saw him standing in the presence, and believing the word, of Him who makes the dead to live. Paul will now analyse Abraham’s faith, and show that it is a model for ours.

Romans 4:18. Hope: in N.T., expectation of good; in classic Greek, expectation of good or ill, e.g. Thuc. i. 1.

Against hope… in hope: literally upon hope; so Romans 5:2; Romans 8:20; Acts 2:26; Acts 26:6. Abraham’s faith was a reliance upon the future when, humanly speaking, the future promised nothing.

To the end that etc.: purpose of this faith. That what follows was a result of it, is at once evident: for it led to the birth of Isaac and the fulfilment of the promises; and, by setting an example, it led thousands to exercise similar faith and to look back upon Abraham as their spiritual father. But it is needless to give to the preposition here used (εις το κ.τ.λ.) any other than its ordinary sense of purpose: so in Romans 4:11. For we cannot doubt that God led Abraham to believe in order to set an example to thousands who should afterwards walk in his steps. In the Bible, frequently a purpose far above their thought is attributed to the acts of men. This comes from a consciousness that nothing takes place without God’s permission, and that nothing is permitted except what will work out His purposes. Hence men’s acts have a meaning the actors think not of. When Abraham trampled under foot the expectation of nature, resting upon the expectation of faith, he was by his faith working out the purpose of God, a purpose corresponding to the promise believed. Cp. Matthew 2:15; Matthew 2:23.

The spoken word: spoken by God to Abraham. Contrast “as it is written” in Romans 4:17.

Romans 4:19-21. A wonderful analysis of Abraham’s faith and hope.

Romans 4:19. Negative aspect of his faith. The word not after considered is omitted in the four oldest MSS. and by all the Critical Editors; and is certainly spurious. It may have been put in by a copyist who thought it needful to make up the sense, and supposed that some earlier copyist had omitted it. The practical difference is not great. In the one case, we are told that Abraham did not take into account his advanced age; in the other, that he was unmoved by his consideration of it. In either case, he was unmoved by the fact of his old age.

Dead… death: reproductive powers, in both Abraham and Sarah, being dead.

A hundred years old: referring to Genesis 17:1; not to Genesis 15:6, when Abraham first believed God’s promise of a numerous posterity. When Ishmael was born, Abraham looked upon him as the promised seed: Genesis 17:18. But God tried his faith by declaring in Genesis 17:16 that the promised child should spring from Sarah. In Genesis 17:17, we see the effort of his faith to overcome this new difficulty; and we infer with certainty that his faith was again victorious. Belief of this last promise was all that God required; and the birth of Isaac soon followed. To this matured faith, Paul now refers.

Romans 4:20-21. Positive description of Abraham’s faith. He looked with unshaken faith, at his own aged body; but he looked also at the promise of God. That doubt is contrasted with faith, implies that God requires a faith which excludes doubt. So Romans 14:23; Matthew 21:21; Mark 11:23; James 1:6. Had Abraham doubted, it would have been with unbelief.

Strong by faith: able to break down obstacles: cp. Hebrews 11:33. Giving glory etc.: he recognised with admiration the grandeur of God. Being fully assured etc.: a description of Abraham’s faith. Faith in a promise is a full assurance that the speaker will fulfil it. Here the fulfilment involved power greater than that of nature. Consequently, Abraham’s assurance that God’s word will come true implied an assurance that He is able to suspend the ordinary course of nature: for otherwise He cannot do what He has promised. Notice here an emphatic repetition of the ground of Abraham’s faith. Owing to the kind of promise believed, it was a reliance upon the power of God. Such reliance is the highest tribute of glory to God: contrast Romans 1:21. But faith is, here and everywhere, an assurance that God not only can, but actually will, perform His word. Abraham contemplated the natural impossibility of a child being born from himself and Sarah. But he fixed his eye on the promise of God and on the infinite grandeur and power of Him who had promised. This banished doubt and unbelief, and gave him the strength of faith. His faith was a reliance on the word and power of God.

Romans 4:22. For which cause: because he was fully assured etc. This may refer to Genesis 15:6 or Genesis 17:15-23 : cp. 1 Macc. ii. 52. Because Abraham’s faith was what has just been described, God accepted it as the condition required for fulfilment of the promise. This prepares a way for Romans 4:23-25.

Romans 4:23-24. Bearing upon us, of the story of Abraham.

It was not written because of him only, i.e. to pay honour to him, but also because of us, i.e. for our good. By this assertion, Paul attributes to Genesis a purpose far above the thought of its human author and therefore attributes the book, in some real sense, to one who foresaw the day of Christ. So Romans 3:19; Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 9:10; 1 Corinthians 10:11; Galatians 3:8. Of all this, the O.T. contains abundant evidence. For the far-reaching harmony underlying the Old and New Testaments, of which Romans 4 is so wonderful an example, must have a common and superhuman source. And if, as Paul everywhere assumes, the Old Testament contains actual revelations from God to man, and these preparing a way for the supreme revelation in Christ, we cannot doubt that, in the providence of God, they were written down in order that the permanent records might help the faith of those who in later ages should put faith in Christ. In other words, we need not doubt that the benefits actually derived by Christians from the Old Testament were designed by God. And if so, the world-wide importance of the Gospel makes this the chief purpose for which the Jewish Scriptures were given. The future tense, will be reckoned, cannot refer to the judgment day: for justification will then be, not by faith, but, as we read in Romans 2:13, by works. And the word us forbids us to refer it exclusively or mainly to those who in time to come will be justified. It is best to suppose that Paul puts himself beside the writer of Genesis and looks forward to the Gospel as still future. Just so in Romans 5:14 “the coming One” refers to the incarnation of Christ; and “we shall be,” in Romans 6:5, to our present Christian life. Similarly, in Romans 7:14, Paul throws himself back into the days when he was under the Law; and in Romans 8:30 throws himself forward and looks back upon his final glorification as already achieved. This sudden change of mental standpoint is a mark of the intense vividness of his thought. He ever identifies himself with that about which he writes.

Believe on: as in Romans 4:5. To believe a promise, is to lean upon him that gave it.

Him that raised Jesus: on whose superhuman power both Abraham relied and we now rely. Just as to him belief of the promise was impossible without an assurance that God is able to set aside the decay of nature, so now we cannot believe Christ’s promise of eternal life unless we are sure that God is able to open the gates of death. For, that God raised Jesus from the dead, is an essential element of the Gospel: so Romans 10:9; Acts 17:18; Acts 17:31. That Abraham’s faith had in view a miracle in the future, ours one in the past, does not mar the similarity. For, past or future, each involved the infinite power of God. This reference to the raising of Christ suggested the words dead and make alive the dead in Romans 4:19; Romans 4:17. The birth of Isaac was virtually a resurrection of the dead. Again, the resurrection of Christ, once believed, becomes a proof of the power of God, and therefore a pledge that He will fulfil all His promises: so Acts 17:31; Ephesians 1:20; 1 Peter 1:21. Hence, the description here of God whom we believe is parallel to that in Romans 4:17 of Him whom Abraham believed.

Romans 4:25. Two great facts closely related, one to Doctrine 2. Justification through the Death of Christ, of which the significance will be expounded in Romans 5:1-11; and the other to Doctrine 1. Justification through Faith, which has just been illustrated by the faith of Abraham. Thus this verse is a bridge between Romans 4, 5.

Trespasses: sins looked upon as a moral fall where we ought to have stood upright: cp. Romans 11:11.

Given-up: surrendered to a hostile power, as in Romans 1:24; Romans 1:26; Romans 1:28; Romans 8:32.

Because we fell, Jesus was given over into the hands of His enemies that He might be a propitiation for our sins. And, just as our sins, taken in connection with God’s purpose to save us, moved Him to give up Christ to die, so our need of justification moved Him to raise Christ from the dead: for without this proof of the divine mission of Christ there would have been no faith in Him and no justification through faith. So 1 Corinthians 15:17; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 Peter 1:21; notice the want of faith in Luke 24:11; Luke 24:21.

God raised Christ from the grave in order to give to His disciples a firm foundation on which their faith may rest securely as a means of justification. This last word will become the key-note of the next section.

The use of the same preposition (δια with accusative) with a past fact and a purpose touching the future need not surprise us. In each case it denotes, as always, a motive for action. When God resolved to justify, His own purpose became to Him a motive. Compare The Nicene Creed, “Because of us men and because of our salvation:” a very close parallel. The simplicity of this exposition renders needless Godet’s suggestion that Paul refers to “a sentence of justification pronounced in favour of guilty humanity” in the resurrection of Christ. For of such collective justification Paul never speaks; and the reference of the word here is fixed by the word justified immediately following.

In this section, no reference is made to any similarity or connection between the promises believed by Abraham and by us. The comparison does not embrace the object-matter of faith, but only the mental act and the personal object, viz. the God of power whose word is in each case believed. The promises believed and the blessings obtained are altogether different. But the disposition of mind and heart is the same. The total difference between the two cases is a great advantage: for it compels us to look, not at one particular promise, but at a great underlying principle, viz. that every promise is fulfilled to those who believe it. God promises to us, and by faith we obtain, pardon and holiness and every grace. At the same time, the careful reader will observe that the promises to Abraham receive their complete fulfilment only in the fulfilment of the promises given to us; and that this fulfilment is brought about by the resurrection of Christ. The connection is referred to in Galatians 3:16. Thus He is the centre towards which tends every step in the setting up of the Kingdom of God.

Sections 11-13 defend a point in § 10 specially liable to objection, viz. faith as the one condition of righteousness. § 11 provokes the objection, by showing that this condition overthrows all Jewish and human boasting.

This is in complete harmony with the teaching of DIV. 1. § 12 meets the objection by showing that faith was the condition on which were bestowed upon Abraham all the blessings of the Old Covenant. And § 13 teaches that his faith was similar to that required from us. The defence of faith as a condition of justification is now complete. The doctrine is assumed in the opening words of the next chapter; and then all mention of faith ceases till Romans 9:30, when the harmony of the Old and New will again meet us.

FAITH and belief and the cognate verb believe represent the same Greek and Hebrew words. They denote mental rest in an idea, touching past, present, or future. The idea in which we are at rest is often mentioned as the object-matter of our belief. We say, I believe it, or I believe that it is so: cp. Romans 6:8; Romans 10:9; John 9:18; John 16:30; 1 John 5:1; 1 John 5:5; Mark 11:23-24; also John 11:26; 1 John 4:16; Acts 13:41. The assurance may arise from perception by the senses, as in Matthew 15:32; John 20:8; John 20:29; from testimony of others; from a course of reasoning, as in Romans 6:8; or from pure fancy. It may rest on good grounds, and correspond with reality; or on evidence altogether insufficient, and be, as in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, an utter delusion. Yet in all these cases, if the mind be at rest in an idea, we say, He believes it.

The most important beliefs are those which bear upon the future, and upon our own interests. Faith then assumes the form of expectation. We look forward, with an inward rest proportionate to the degree of our faith, to the realisation of that which we believe. Such beliefs call forth our strongest emotions, and frequently direct our actions. And only so far as objects and events are reflected in our belief do they influence our action.

The variety of the effects of belief arises, not from different kinds or sources of it, and not altogether from different degrees of confidence, but chiefly from variety of its object-matter. When we believe, we submit ourselves to be influenced by the object-matter of our belief. But our submission is voluntary: and each act which springs from faith is a fresh and free submission. For we may refuse, if we will, to act according to our convictions. But such refusal always tends to weaken and destroy the conviction trampled under foot.

A person is frequently introduced as the object of our belief. When we say, I believe him, we mean that our assurance arises from, and rests upon, the word and character of a speaker. In John 4:21; John 14:11; Acts 27:25; Acts 8:12, we have both the personal object and the object-matter of faith.

Justifying faith is “belief of Jesus Christ:” Romans 3:22; Galatians 2:16. This can only mean belief of the word of Christ, a mental rest reposing on His promise of life eternal for all who believe. In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, we have “belief of the truth;” this last being the object-matter of saving faith. In Romans 4:5; Romans 4:24, we have one who “believes on Him that justifies the ungodly,” and “on Him that raised Jesus.” Abraham’s faith was an assurance, resting on the power of God, that He will fulfil, in spite of natural impossibility, His promise of a numerous posterity.

In the O.T., e.g. Psalms 13:5; Psalms 32:10, we very often find “trust in God,” and much less often, e.g. Numbers 14:11; Deuteronomy 1:32, the phrase “believe in Him.” In the N.T., we have very often the words faith and believe, with God and Christ as their personal object; and more seldom “trust in Him.” The difference is significant. Trust is a confident expectation resting on a man’s character, but not necessarily on a definite promise. Consequently, all saving belief in God is trust: for it is a reliance upon His character that He will fulfil His words. But it is often more than trust: it is a definite assurance resting upon, and corresponding with, a definite promise of God. To ancient Israel, God revealed Himself; and upon His revealed character His people rested their hopes of deliverance and prosperity. In our happier days, God has spoken in plain words His purposes of mercy for us; and upon His very words we lean and expect their exact fulfilment.

To denote a belief involving trust, the Hebrews used the phrase believe in, implying confident expectation touching the future conduct of the person believed in: so Genesis 15:6; Exodus 14:31; Exodus 19:9; Jeremiah 12:6; Micah 7:5; Proverbs 26:25; 1 Samuel 27:12; contrast Genesis 45:26; Proverbs 14:15. The phrase believe in (πιστευειν εις) is a conspicuous feature of the Fourth Gospel, also 1 John 5:10; 1 John 5:13; but is rare elsewhere: Matthew 18:6; Acts 10:43; Acts 14:23; Acts 19:4; Romans 10:14; Galatians 2:16; Philippians 1:29; 1 Peter 1:8: cp. Acts 20:21; Acts 24:24; Acts 26:18. This rarity of the phrase is obscured by the Revisers’ rendering of Mark 11:22; Acts 3:16; Romans 3:22; Romans 3:26; Galatians 2:16; Galatians 2:20; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 3:12; Philippians 3:9; Colossians 2:12. But we have no intelligible and correct English rendering of the phrase there used. Another phrase (πιστευειν εν) is found in Mark 1:15; John 3:15; cp. Ephesians 1:15; Colossians 1:4; 1 Timothy 3:13; 2 Timothy 1:13; 2 Timothy 3:15.

Since saving faith is reliance upon God’s known character, we may speak of implicit faith, viz. such estimate of His character as, apart from any particular promise, is prepared to accept with confidence and expectation whatever He says; and of explicit faith, viz. a definite assurance of the fulfilment of a definite promise. In the former sense, the phrase believe in Him is very common in the Fourth Gospel. But all faith in Christ has reference, direct or indirect, to His spoken word.

It is now evident that JUSTIFYING FAITH is an assurance, resting upon the word and character of God, that He now receives into His favour, according to His promise in Christ, us who here and now accept that promise. And we have seen that this faith has a close parallel in the faith by which Abraham accepted, and obtained fulfilment of, God’s promise to him of a numerous posterity through which blessing should come to all mankind. Under Romans 6:11, we shall find another exercise of faith, laying hold of other promises, and followed by still more wonderful results.

So far I have spoken of faith without reference to the Holy Spirit. In so doing, I have imitated Paul, who up to this point has not mentioned the work of the Spirit. We have studied faith merely as a mental process. For the spiritual source of our assurance of the favour of God, see notes under Romans 8:17.