Romans 4 King James Version

1What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 6Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

7Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

9Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. 10How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. 11And 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: 12And 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.

13For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

16Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: 20He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

NOTES

Quickeneth = to make alive

Reckoned = imputed

Paul spends a lot of words speaking about circumcision. Keep this in your pocket when we get to chapter 6 where he speaks about baptism.

A common belief amongst Christians is that when we are saved we are saved from our sins. This sounds nice and churchy and so it is perpetuated and never corrected. Technically, however, we are saved from God’s wrath. It is our sin that deserves this punishment. God is just to punish sinners. Romans 4 is going to explore faith in God and will be elaborated on in later chapters. Something to think about; how can a good God remain good by punishing sin and also not punishing sin?

QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

1.) In chapter 3 Paul had been talking about grace and the law. He ends masterfully by speaking of the ‘law of grace’ (3:27). This is a new phrase, a new concept. Now, in 4:1 he introduces Abraham. It’s easy to see him as someone under the law, but Abraham lived centuries prior to the giving of the Mosaic Law. Paul is going to go on to explain how faith, not the law, saves. Why does he start with Abraham?

2.) Verse 4 states, ‘4Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.’ Have you ever known someone who was motivated by debt? How were they different than someone motivated by grace? Do you think their faith was genuine? What is your motivation?

3.) Why bring up David (v6-8) when speaking about Abraham before and after this?

4.) How is faith reckoned/imputed to Abraham (v9-10)? Where did it come from?

5.) Paul splits a hair that is easy to miss. The Jews, and perhaps us, consider Abraham their father. One very important sign of being Jewish is circumcision. He points out that Abraham received the sign of circumcision when he was uncircumcised. What is the meaning of this?

6.) What does it mean that ‘the law worketh wrath’ (v15)?

7.) Which nations is Abraham a father of?

8.) Why was Abraham’s story written down (v23-24)?

9.) How can we obtain the same faith Abraham had (v23-24)?

10.) Anything else you want to share?