Romans 4
12 Mar 2026 - Theology
Romans 4
The Only Way of Salvation (1-12)
Romans 4:2 - “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.”
Genesis 15:6 - “And he [Abraham] believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”
To him that [ppt] worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but [ppt] believes on Him that [ppt] justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness (4-5).
[ppt] = The present participle expresses continuous or repeated action
David describes the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputes righteousness without works:
Romans 4:7-8 - “Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
“Blessed” - Strong’s Concordence [3107]
- indicates the state of the believer in Christ (no longer the state of sin)
- He is indwelt by God because of Christ, and as a result is fully satisfied
Psalm 32:1-2 - “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.”
Can this state of blessedness come upon Gentiles, those outside the people of God (uncircumcision), or only to the circumcised who are part of the people of God (the Jews)?
The righteousness reckoned to Abraham because of his faith came before he was physically circumcised!
Romans 4:11-12 - “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.”
God’s Promise (13-25)
The promise to Abraham was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Romans 4:14 - “For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:”
Galatians 3:18 - “For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.”
The law worketh wrath [from God], but where there is no law, there is no transgression (15).
“wrath” - Strong’s Concordence [3709]
- anger as a state of mind
- different from wrath as an outburst of anger with the purpose of revenge
Without the law, there is no knowledge of sin, thus there is no eternal wrath, because sin is not imputed to a person when there is no law.
Romans 5:13 - “(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.”
Romans 4:17 - “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who [ppt] quickeneth the dead, and [ppt] calleth those things which be not as though they were.”
“quickeneth” - Strong’s Concordence [2227]
- [ppt] = continuous or repeated action
- make alive, vivify
- raise the dead back to life
- generally used when talking about salvation
Paul is using a both/and approach when talking about Abraham’s physical situation as a literal mirror for the spiritual reality of salvation.
In verses 18-19, Paul explicitly mentions the “deadness” of Abraham’s body and Sarah’s womb. In this context, “quickeneth” refers to God miraculously revitalizing their aged bodies to produce a child (Isaac) when it was biologically impossible. Paul’s ultimate goal here is to explain how a person is justified by faith. He uses the physical “resurrection” of Sarah’s womb as a type (a physical example) of how God brings spiritual life to a dead soul.
Romans 4:19 - “And being not weak in faith, he [Abraham] considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:”
What does it mean that he “considered not” his own body, or Sarah’s womb, as dead? Did he not consider it, ask a question, and even laugh?
Genesis 17:17 - “Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?”
Many commentators argue that his laugh was not in opposition to the promise of God but a reaction of joyful amazement. The fact that he fell on his face (a posture of worship) suggests he was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the miracle God was promising. Abraham ultimately chose trust over skepticism, despite his natural questioning. Faith isn’t the absence of questions, but the decision to believe God’s word despite them.
Romans 4:23-25 - “Now it was not written for his [Abraham’s] sake alone, that it was imputed to him [for righteousness]; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
References
- The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)
- Romans 4 - Greek Interlinear