15 Justified by Faith – Part 3

In the final portion of Romans 4, Paul not only continues to show how the believer is justified by faith, but also peaks to the importance of not wavering in one’s faith.

Even though Paul had made it clear that there is nothing anyone can do to warrant being accounted as righteous by God, he continued to build the case, from beginning to end in chapter 4.

As he concluded the chapter, Paul showed that grace is the standard of measurement for being justified:

1 Justification According to Grace by Faith

Romans 4:16

In the previous section, Paul had used the example of how Abraham had been accounted as righteous because of his faith. The evidence is due to the fact that the Lord considered him as righteous, prior to giving him the covenant of circumcision, and several centuries before the establishment of the Mosaic Law.

In verse 16, Paul states that righteousness comes about “of” or (by) faith, and is “according to grace”.

That statement has been explained in the following manner:
“Believers attain righteousness through the means of faith, by comes from the flow of God’s grace”.

This pointedly shows, that without God’s grace, no one would ever even have faith to exercise, and thus no one would ever attain righteous standing before God.

That undercuts the erroneous thought, that believers are saved by faith. Rather, Scripture is clear the believer is saved by grace, through faith.

With his statement that the believer’s righteousness is “of faith” he is therefore how the individual must respond to the Lord in faith, just as Abraham did:

Romans 4:3

Next, Paul made it clear that the promise of attaining righteousness was not simply for Abraham, but for all believers “to all the seed”. That speaks to the fact, that it wasn’t simply for those under the Law, but to all who responds to God in faith.

2 God’s Power in Action

Romans 4:17-18

In those verses, Paul was showing that while the Lord was speaking of a future event, He still did so, by declaring that it had already been accomplished:

Genesis 17:5

When God promised that Abraham would have multitudes of descendants, Abraham only had the promise of a single offspring. Yet, the Lord spoke in the “past tense” showing that He viewed it as having been accomplished, since He had decreed it.

Unfortunately, some believers use verse 17 out of context, acting as if any believer can in faith, speak of things which do not exist as if they do. That is clear twisting of Scripture.

When read in proper context, it is quite clear, that the verse is stating that God calls things which do not yet exist, as though they did. And the reason, is because He can determine an effectuate the course of events. We see that, as the verse shows how God gives life to the dead, here speaking of how He caused Sarah who had been barren into her old age, to miraculously conceive. That obviously, is something which only God can do:

Romans 4:17b

In the same vein, in verse 18, we see how Abraham (in faith) was believing for that which he could not see, but that which was unseen and as of that time unrealized. Thus, making it the very definition of faith:

Hebrews 11:1

Therefore, by exercising faith, Abraham was accounted as righteous, and would be the father of all who would likewise live faith-filled lives.

3 Do Not Waver in Faith

Despite his advanced age, Abraham believed God’s promise that he would have innumerable descendants, therefore he was not “weak in the faith”:

Romans 4:19-25

Verse 20 shows that Abraham was strengthened if faith, thus his faith grew, and he was able to give glory to God.

Abraham’s growing faith is seen in verse 21, as he believed that God was able to perform that which He had promised.

In verse 22, it is once again stated, that his faith was “accounted to him as righteousness”.

Paul was using Abraham as an example, to show believers of the benefits in exercising complete faith in Christ.

Paul shows the relevance to all believers in verse 24, where it is shown that righteous is imputed to us, which is the same idea of the believer being “accounted” as righteous. In both instances, it’s the idea of not being earned or worked for, but rather it is deposited into the believer’s account through God’s grace.

Verses 24 and 25 points to the believer’s righteousness being because of faith in the Son, whom the Father delivered for our sins, who He then raised to life for us justification (being made righteous).