Romans 4:1-4

Main Theme: Sinners are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Key Points

• The gospel is for both Jews and Gentiles because there is only one God who saves all who believe.

• All people are sinners and stand under God's righteous judgment.

• No one can be justified by keeping the law because the law exposes sin rather than removes it.

• Justification is received through faith, not through works.

• Abraham serves as the biblical example that God's people have always been saved by grace through faith.

• Abraham was declared righteous in Genesis 15 when he believed God's promise.

• Abraham was justified before circumcision, proving that justification is not based on covenant signs or religious ceremonies.

• Circumcision served as a sign and seal of righteousness already received through faith.

• If righteousness came through works, it would be earned wages rather than a gracious gift.

• Salvation is a free gift of God's grace, not a reward for human performance.

• Christians should find peace and assurance in Christ's finished work rather than attempting to earn God's favor.

Central Application

Stop trying to earn God's grace. Rest in Christ alone. God saves sinners because of His grace, not because of their performance.

Abraham Justified by Faith

Primary Passage

Romans 4:1–12

Supporting Scriptures

• Genesis 12:1–3 – God's call of Abram

• Genesis 15:1–6 – Abram believes God and is counted righteous

• Genesis 17:1–14 – Circumcision instituted as a covenant sign

• Romans 1:16–17 – The gospel for Jew and Gentile

• Romans 3:20–28 – Justification by faith apart from works

• Ephesians 2:8–9 – Salvation by grace through faith

• Galatians 3:6–9 – Abraham as the father of all who believe

Historical Context

Abraham

Abram was originally a pagan living in Ur of the Chaldeans. God sovereignly called him and established His covenant with him.

Genesis 15

God promised Abram descendants as numerous as the stars. Abram believed God's promise despite his old age and childlessness. God counted that faith as righteousness.

Circumcision

Circumcision was given later in Genesis 17. Therefore, Abraham was justified before receiving the covenant sign. This demonstrates that justification does not depend on external rites but on faith.

Doctrinal Themes

1. Total Sinfulness

All people, regardless of ethnicity or religious background, are sinners before God.

2. Justification

Justification is God's legal declaration that a sinner is righteous in His sight because of Christ's righteousness imputed to them.

3. Grace

Salvation is entirely God's gift and cannot be earned.

4. Faith

Faith is the instrument through which believers receive Christ and His righteousness.

5. Covenant Signs

Circumcision (and today baptism) does not save but points to God's covenant promises.

Practical Applications

Rest in Christ

Believers should find assurance in Christ's finished work rather than their own performance.

Reject Spiritual Pride

There is no room for boasting because salvation is entirely by grace.

Fight Legalism

The Christian life begins and continues by grace, not by earning God's favor.

Worship with Gratitude

Good works are the fruit of salvation, not the cause of salvation.

Share the Gospel Freely

Since salvation is by grace, the gospel is good news for every kind of sinner.

Westminster Standards Connections

Westminster Confession of Faith

Chapter 11 – Of Justification

• God freely justifies sinners.

• Justification is based solely on Christ's righteousness imputed to believers.

• Faith is the instrument by which justification is received.

Chapter 14 – Of Saving Faith

• Faith receives and rests upon Christ alone for salvation.

Westminster Larger Catechism

Q.70 – What is Justification?

Justification is an act of God's free grace whereby He pardons sins and accepts believers as righteous solely because of Christ's righteousness imputed to them and received by faith alone.

Q.71 – How is Justification an Act of Free Grace?

Because God freely provides Christ and accepts His obedience and satisfaction on behalf of sinners.

Westminster Shorter Catechism

Q.33 – What is Justification?

"Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone."

Q.86 – What is Faith in Jesus Christ?

Faith is a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon Christ alone for salvation.

Please turn in your Bibles with me to Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4. If you're using your pew Bibles, you'll find that in the New King James Red Pew Bibles on page 1001. Romans chapter 4, really what we're going to do is we're going to read Romans chapter 3 beginning at verse 27 through Romans chapter 4 verse 12. Hear now God's perfect word. Romans chapter 3 beginning at verse 27.

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Or is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not. On the contrary, we establish the law.

What then shall we say that Abraham our father was found 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 accounted to him for righteousness. For to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. But to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

Just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from the works. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whom the Lord shall not impute sin. Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? while he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.

And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also. and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised."

Well, in the reading of God's word there, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Let's pray. Father, we have read your word It is perfect, and it is true. But Father, we know that there is nothing more that our adversary would like than for us to have our ears stopped, our hearts hardened, our minds distracted. Lord, we pray that you would please help us. Give us a supernatural ability to be able to understand these words. and that your spirit might apply them and change our hearts. Give us joy, Lord, that we might worship you. In Jesus' name, amen.

There's a song, a jingle, parents teach their children. It's like just ubiquitous, it's all over the place in American culture. And I think it spoils one of the holidays people look forward to most. around Christmas time. You turn on the radio, you walk in the store, or maybe you've even taught this to your children.

He knows when you've been sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been bad or good. So be good for goodness sake. And if you don't, you're gonna get lump of coal, you little brat. But think about what that does. What does that do to what the gifts on Christmas are meant to be? It's performance. You get the gift if you're good enough.

But that's the exact opposite of what Christmas is, the exact opposite of what the gospel is. The gospel is we were on the naughty list. And while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So I want you to walk out of this room here this morning so know that you were saved by grace alone. You don't have to earn grace. You don't have to be good enough for goodness sake that God might love you. But God saved you by grace. You were saved by grace.

And so as we look at Romans chapter four, verses one through four this morning, I hope that we'll get to that idea of being saved by God's grace by first seeing who the gospel is for. Secondly, by asking the question, how do sinners escape the wrath and curse of God that we are owed for sin? Thirdly, that God has always justified by grace. It's always been that way. And lastly, to bring it home, that you might know yourself that you are saved by grace. So first, who is the gospel for? Well the passage right before us is Romans chapter 4 verses 1 through 4.

What then shall we say that Abraham our father was found 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 accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. Okay, so you got Abraham. I don't think anybody is going to argue Abraham wasn't saved. Wasn't chosen by God. But the question is, is it just Abraham? Is it just Abraham and his descendants? Who gets to be saved? Well, that's really what Paul has been dealing with.

I'm not going to rehearse everything from the last sermon when I was here with you guys. We're all sinners. The gospel is for everyone, Jews and Gentiles. This good news of God's freedom for captives is for everyone. That's a thesis statement of Romans. Romans chapter 1 verse 16, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.

Remember, in Jewish people's minds, there's only two categories of people. Jewish people and Gentiles. Some of your translations might call them Greeks. That's fine. But the word there is the other ethnicities. The other ethnoi. Those who are out there. Paul's saying, no, no. The good news is for all who believe. Because the truth is, all are sinners. Jewish people and Gentile people. And in Romans chapter 3 verse 29, what we covered just in the last chapter said, or is he the God of the Jews only? And every good Jewish person would say, obviously he's not just the God of the Jews only because he judges the entire world.

Nebuchadnezzar had to bow to King David. Darius had to bow to God. King Darius had to bow to God. Every single pagan king had to bow to God. So of course God's not just the God of the Jews, he's also the God of the Gentiles. So is he the God of the Jews? Is he not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. Why? Because there's only one God. There's only one God.

But the problem is, all are sinners. And that's what he had looked at in verses, chapter 1, verse 18, all the way through chapter 1, verse 32, as the great sins of all the Gentiles. But then in Romans chapter 2 all the way through Romans chapter 3 verse 8 was a whole litany of Jewish sins and Jewish people who are breaking the law. And they can't be saved by their works because they're sinners who break the law.

And the only person who's found righteous in any of this is God himself. Romans chapter 1 verse 18. Romans 1 18, it's only God who's the righteous one. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. In Romans chapter 1 verse 32, who knowing the righteous judgment of God that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of them who practice them. And in Romans chapter 2 verse 2 through 3, it's only God who's righteous. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

And do you think this, O man, that you who judge those who practice such things and do the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? God doesn't play partiality. God is the only one who judges righteously, because He is righteous. He is impartial as a righteous judge. Romans chapter 2 verse 11. For there is no partiality with God. It doesn't matter if you're a Jewish person. If you're a sinner, you're a sinner. It doesn't matter if you're a Gentile. If you're a sinner, you're a... Sinner. There's no partiality.

God judges righteously and with equity. So the question then that flows from that is how do sinners then escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin? If we know that God's wrath is being poured out for all unrighteousness, how do sinners escape that wrath? Well it's never going to be by works.

Romans chapter 3 verse 20. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. In Romans chapter 3 verse 28. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. You will never be saved because you're a good enough law keeper. Because you can't be a good enough law keeper. Because what does the law do? When we use the law rightly it shows us we are sinners. So we're not gonna be saved by our keeping the law, but we are saved by faith.

Romans 3, 21 and 22. But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe, for there is no difference. You're saved by faith. Everyone, period. We are justified freely by God's grace through Christ. That's verse 24, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. The only way you're declared righteous is through faith in Christ Jesus. And this is where we come to now in our passage. But has it always been that way? Yeah. Yeah, it's always been that way. And Paul says, let's take the best test case possible.

Let's zoom way back in history. And let's look to the forefather, Abraham himself. That's actually what it says in Romans chapter 4 verse 1. What then shall we say that Abram, by the way there's two translations here I want to point out. What then shall we say that Abram, our forefather, has found according to the flesh? Two things in that translation stuff. His name in the Greek here is even Abram. I don't know why in English we want to push it to Abraham. He's not Abraham yet. God hasn't, this is coming from Genesis chapter 15. He's not been renamed yet. He's not been circumcised yet. The law's not going to come for another 400 years.

And when he says our father, the Greek is actually forefather. Father is the word petra. But this is propetra. This is before father. This is like when we go to the prototype, the very first one, that father, that's the one we're going to look at. And so Paul is doing something very purposeful. He's saying let's go all the way back to when the covenant started. When this covenant with the circumcised people started. And it's with Abraham. And Abram was this interesting guy.

By the way, we are going to look through two weeks ago, we read Genesis chapter 15, the passage cited in this. Romans chapter 4 and today we read Genesis chapter 17 and we're going to work through passages of Abram's life, Abraham's life until about chapter 21 as we work through Romans chapter 4. So you're going to see more and more of Abram's faith unfolded as we keep working through this passage. But it starts really in Genesis chapter 12.

Let's face it, Abram, this might sound shocking to you, ready? Abram was a Gentile. Because everyone was Gentiles. Abram was an Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram didn't find God. He didn't think, oh, I want to be good enough and so I'm going to go take an expedition and go find God. No, God found pagan Abram in a pagan nation and said, I want you to move from here to way over there. And Abram picked up his tent, picked up his belongings and left. He believed and he followed. And God makes a series of promises to Abram.

I'm going to make you a great nation. I'm going to bless you. I'm going to bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. I'm going to make you great. And Abram follows. He goes after the Lord, but then we flip over three chapters and we're in Genesis chapter 15 and God appears to Abram again. And now it's been a long time. Still no children of his own. The guy's almost 100 years old. No kids.

And God says to Abram in Genesis chapter 15, I am your shield and your very great reward. And Abraham says to him, right after he says, he says, that's great, Lord, but I still don't have any, I still don't have any descendants. I've got Eleazar of Damascus, he's one of my servants, so he's gonna get everything I have, because I don't have any kids. The Lord says, no, no, it's not gonna be Eleazar of Damascus, it's gonna be one of your own children. And Abraham walks out of his tent. The Lord says, look at the stars in the sky.

Now, I gotta tell you, when I was a kid and I heard this story, I didn't understand that because I grew up in Southern California and there wasn't stars in the sky, there was thar. There's too much light pollution. But then I moved to here, rural Iowa, and we go in the backyard on the north side, away from the street light at the end of the driveway, and you stand out there for no more than three seconds and all of a sudden, stars and stars and stars and stars and stars. And the more you stay out there, and the more your eyes adjust to it, it just fills the night sky. That was one of my first things I did when I moved here. So I took my camera out, and I put it in the backyard, and I put it on a long exposure, because I wanted to see the Milky Way in all of its glory.

Abraham, by all natural means, shouldn't have any kids, almost 100 years old. I've been in quite a few nursing homes talking to people who are near 100 years old, and I've not heard a single one say, you know what, I think I'm gonna have a baby next year.

And yet God says this audacious, incredible, unbelievable thing to Abraham. And he says, in his heart, I believe it. And that's when it says, Romans chapter four, verse three, Abram believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Abram believed that word of God. He was going to make him a great nation, that God was good for his word, that God made promises, and God was going to make good on his promises. It was impossible by man, but with God nothing is impossible. And he believed and God accounted it to him for righteousness. Abraham couldn't come to God and say, look at my works, they're perfect.

Actually, I'm gonna suggest to you, you can go read a little bit more about Abram's life, we've skipped over a few parts, but just before this, Abraham had pawned off his wife, Sarai, as his sister, because he was afraid of the Egyptians. I gotta tell you, if I did that to Olivia, we went to a foreign land, let's say we go overseas, and I was worried that she was gonna get taken by another man, I said, hey, you know what? Why don't you just pretend you're my sister? And then later, I went to God, and I was like, God, I am perfect in all my ways. I could imagine Olivia going, really? Perfect. Your works, that's why you think you're righteous? Remember what you did when we were overseas? You coward.

Abraham wasn't justified by his works. He was justified. It was accounted to him as righteous for his faith. He wasn't accounted as righteous even for circumcision. We read today in Genesis chapter 17 about circumcision. God declared him righteous in Genesis 15. Years before circumcision came. Years before the sign of the covenant.

That had to be promises, and Abram believed those promises. Abram wasn't circumcised, yet the law wouldn't come for another 400 years. Abram was a Gentile, saved by faith, declared righteous because of his faith. Because of that reason he became the father of many nations. Both of his own bloodline and of Gentiles who would also have faith.

That's what Paul was getting at see in Romans chapter 2 verse 29. But is he a Jew who is one inwardly? And circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit Not in the letter whose praise is not from men but from God. Circumcision is at the heart. The whole point of God calling together people who would be the descendants of Abram is that they would have an opportunity to believe more easily and readily upon God himself. True Jews are those who believe. Those who are justified are those who believe. Abram had nothing to boast about before God. Abram had nothing to boast about before God.

He came believing the promise. And this is where Paul will push it even further in verse 4, that you are saved by grace. You were saved by grace. Look with me at verse 4. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. See, if you are declared righteous, if you are justified because of your works, that means you earned it. But it's a gift, not works.

I can imagine a few of you get paychecks. Or maybe you can even say you You raised a crop. You did all the work that you needed to do. And at the end of the day, somebody handed you a paycheck. And after you've raised the cattle, after you've raised the grain, after you've done the work, you've punched your time card, you've done everything necessary, how often do you go to that person giving you a check and say, thank you so much for this gift? No, you done worked for that money. You had a contractual agreement. I'm going to put in this much work and put out this much product, and you're going to pay me these wages.

It's owed to you. But the wages of sin is death. That's what's owed to us. It's different than grace. Now, to him who works, those are wages. And they're not counted as grace, but as debt. But see, that's the blessing. That's the beauty of what is here. We get the free gift. That's what Romans 3, 23, and 24 was getting at.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. That word freely, being justified freely, the reason why they have to put it freely there is because the root word of it is gift. Your justification is a gift. You're being declared righteous isn't because you were on the good list or the naughty list, but because God loves you list. It's a gift. You didn't have to earn it. You're saved by grace. You. You, Christian, are saved by grace.

I know that we can be so afraid of Latching on to this, because we're so worried about just antinomianism. And we're so worried about, well, what places our good works have been? And how do we not just let this be, OK, so we're going to sin that grace may abound? When I start getting wiggly about these types of possible conclusions from this teaching, I feel a little bit of sigh of relief, because Paul has to answer those questions. Paul is saying unashamedly, unqualifiedly, unabashedly, you are saved by grace. It is a free gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Period. Hard stop. Do not pass go. You get, you get grace. I hope that you'll just this week sit in that for a little bit. There was a song that I was, I heard, oh this is probably 2009. Came back from a sports practice and I was sitting in my car and the song came over and I don't normally listen to too much Christian radio, but this one hit me like a ton of bricks because in it, one of the lines in the song said, why are you trying to earn grace? And the whole song was about this. Why are you trying to earn grace?

Jesus has already done that for you. God loved you so much that while we were yet sinners, he died for us. So my hope this morning is that you, your sanctification, your good works, yes, those are true, and they're gonna be parts that flow out of this grace, but I wanna encourage you That this must be the bedrock of your soul. That when you hear the benediction pronounced in a little bit, that the grace and the peace that you receive from God, you don't think that, oh, I had to earn that smile from the Lord. Oh, I get peace now because I've been a good enough boy, or I've been a great enough woman. No, no, no, no. Oh. God loved you. Because he chose to love you. Period. And because he loves you, then he'll transform you from the inside out.

This is the foundation, right? Grace is the foundation for Christian theology. And it's what will build us up in our hearts. It's what will actually make us be able to put to death sin. It's what will give us peace when we need to sleep at night. It's the answer that our souls desperately need when our consciences condemn us because there is one greater than our consciences and his name is Jesus.

Christian, you were saved by grace through faith. You didn't have to work for it. You were righteous before God. if he sees you in Jesus. So the question I leave you with this morning is, are you trusting in Jesus alone? Are you trusting, resting in Jesus alone?

Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that You teach us in stories that we can understand, like people's lives of Abram. And we thank You, Lord, that even though we may be wild branches engrafted into the vine, Lord, we thank You that You have done so by faith. We thank You for giving us the gift. Father, we pray that You would please help us. We cannot believe except that Your Spirit takes out our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh. For those of us who do believe, Lord, we pray that you would please help us to have peace and to rejoice in who you are, and out of a heart of love for you, that then we might truly live for your glory in every way. Thank you for the gift, the grace of your Son, You are a wonderful God in every way. In Jesus's name, amen.

• Why does Paul use Abraham as his primary example in Romans 4?

• What does it mean that Abraham's faith was "counted" as righteousness?

• Why is it important that Abraham was justified before circumcision?

• How does the difference between wages and gifts help explain grace?

• In what ways are Christians tempted to earn God's favor?

• How does justification by faith destroy boasting?

• What comfort does this doctrine provide when your conscience condemns you?

• How should God's grace motivate obedience and holiness?

• What is the relationship between faith and good works?

• How can this passage help you share the gospel with unbelievers?

Justification – God's declaration that a sinner is righteous because of Christ.

Grace – God's unearned favor toward sinners.

Faith – Trusting and resting in Christ alone for salvation.

Imputation – The crediting of Christ's righteousness to believers.

Righteousness – Perfect conformity to God's holy standard.

Circumcision – The Old Testament covenant sign given to Abraham and his descendants.

Covenant – God's binding relationship with His people.

Legalism – Attempting to earn God's acceptance through obedience.

Sanctification – The lifelong process of growing in holiness.

Assurance – Confidence that one belongs to Christ and is saved by His grace.