Romans 4:1-12 Sola Fide
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. 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, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
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In the first section we were thoroughly convinced that everyone is sinful and in need of justification. The work that was required to bring us into right relationship with God, to give us righteousness, was done entirely by Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
Abraham is a powerful example of someone who lived well. However, it was not his deeds that were accredited as righteousness but his faith. Read Hebrews 11:8-19
In addition to Abraham, David speaks about sin being covered or propitiated. Psalm 32:1-2, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”
If our sin was merely balanced against our good deeds it would remain an affront to perfect holiness, which is the standard. Sin cannot be ignored or balanced out. It must be dealt with. No sinful man could overcome sin. A million good deeds do not erase a single sin. Only the blood of Jesus covers sin.
In the Jewish mind circumcision was the mark that was given to the right kind of people who did the right kind of things that set them apart from the rest of humanity. There are many ways of falling into similar ways of thinking such as nationality, profession, denomination, family, etc. Anything that makes us feel as if we are part of a special or better group can lead to thinking that we, without Christ, somehow merit preferential treatment from God because of our affiliations.
Paul makes it clear that none of that matters. In Galatians 5:6 he says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” Abraham was declared righteous before he was circumcised, before there was any law of Moses, by his faith in God that was demonstrated by his actions.
Our trust in God, our faith, makes us children of Abraham who receive righteousness by grace through faith just as he did.
brotherpayne 