Romans 4.1-12
we believe (chorus)
Call to worship:
OT:
pastor bobby owens
Genesis 15.1-6
NT:
pastor bobby owens
John 8.53-58
song:
The solid rock
Historical reading:
pastor andrew loginow
apostles creed
song:
Lord have mercy
Confession & Pardon:
pastor michael champoux
song:
Jesus is better
Sermon:
dr. alex loginow
Romans 4.1-12
Introduction
What do you do? That’s a staple of almost every new conversation, isn’t it? – “so, what do you do for a living?” There’re a lot of reasons why this is a go-to question. It’s an easy icebreaker; a safe question to ask that puts everyone on a level playing field, plus most everyone just wants to talk about themselves anyway.
But I think it goes a little deeper than that. As Americans, as modern Westerners, we, often naïvely, swim in the waters of individualism and consumerism; money worship, equating our identity to our job title, our bank account, our success, our stuff. We simply don’t know any other way. But it goes even deeper still. Something else still is ingrained in humanity, regardless of cultural background, something from the very beginning.
When God created the very 1st man, Adam, God initiated with Adam what is called the covenant of works – if Adam obeyed God, Adam and his posterity would live forever, but if Adam broke the covenant, he and all his posterity would die. Adam’s righteousness – and everything that flows out of that: contentment, security, harmony in marriage, family, and with neighbor, even peace in the world, everything – this was all tied to Adam’s obedience to the covenant of works. But Adam sinned, he broke the covenant of works, he listened to Eve, who listened to the serpent, but Adam was responsible – God made the covenant with Adam; Adam is the federal head of humanity, not Eve, nor the serpent, and so Adam, and all his posterity fell in sin. And that covenant of works, that inclination, that tendency to earn our righteousness remains – we are all sons and daughters of Adam.
That’s why Cain offered up the fruit of the ground instead of a blood of sacrifice. That’s why every religious movement outside of the gospel is always, in some form or fashion, rooted in earning righteousness or salvation by works. This is what we’ve seen for several weeks in Romans. The Jews believed that they were righteous because they had been given the Law and they were marked by circumcision. But last week Pastor Kevin reminded us of the true purpose of the Law – (1) it reveals our sin and drives us to Christ; (2) it guides us in obedience to God after we trust Christ; and, of course (3) it restrains evil and promotes order in society, but contrary to what the Jews believed and taught, it does not make us righteous.
Can We Earn Righteousness?
Now St. Paul calls 2 witnesses to his rhetorical stand – 2 expert witnesses that the Jews understood to be on their side: Father Abraham and King David.
Father Abraham
In verse 1 St. Paul asks what was gained by Abraham? Abraham is the father of Judaism. Jewish identity originates with Abraham. Much like we tend to venerate the founding fathers and the origin story of America, Israel did with Abraham, but even more so partially because he is their forefather according to the flesh; they naturally descend from Abraham.
So invoking Abraham cut right to their identity and St. Paul says: if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. These ancient Jews believed, taught, and practiced that they were justified – declared righteous, made right with God – by works (keeping the Law, circumcision). But if Abraham, the father of Israel (grandfather, technically), was justified by works, he would have something to boast about – if he, or Israel, or you, or anyone is righteous because of what you do or don’t do, there are legitimate grounds to boast. As the saying goes, it ain’t cocky, if you back it up. But this is not true before the God who is holy, holy, holy.
It wasn’t true of Abraham. How was Abraham righteous: Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness (Gen 15.6). There’s an important word to note in this pericope beginning here in verse 3 – notice the word counted (counted to him as righteousness). That’s the word λογιζομαι and it pops up 7 times in these 12 verses. The verb means, “to reckon, calculate.” In this text it’s used both 1) positively (to credit something to someone), and 2) negatively (to count something against someone, or punish them for it). It was a fiscal word; meaning, “to keep records of commercial accounts, involving both debits and credits.”
That’s why, in verse 4, St. Paul says, now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. The Greek literally reads: but to the one who works wages; it is not counted according to grace but according to debt. He’s using ancient accounting lingo to illustrate and explain our deficit of righteousness before God. If Abraham was righteous because of works, because he earned it, by circumcision, or obedience, or whatever, then God would be in debt to Abraham – God would owe Abraham justification. You go to work, you get paid, that’s how it goes. But the word gift there is actually the word grace (χάρις); grace is unmerited favor. Earning and boasting is the antithesis of grace.
Verse 5 continues it is not the one who works, but the one who believes in the one who justifies the ungodly – his faith is counted as righteous. Righteousness is credited to the account of the person who believes in Christ who justifies the ungodly. We don’t need to rehearse all of the exegesis and theology of the last few weeks, but St. Paul has spilled a lot of ink showing us that our good works could never be good enough because we’re all guilty sinners, total depraved, unable to stand righteous before God – we’re all in the red; we’ve over drafted; we don’t have a surplus of righteousness; we don’t break even; we’re all in debt. The apostle uses the Israeli Godfather, Abraham, as a character witness against Israel. The point is: if this was true of the OG Abraham, isn’t it true of you sons of Abraham?
King David
Abraham is not the only member of Jewish Mt. Rushmore (starting 5) St. Paul uses to preach justification by faith alone; he also calls on King David. David was revered as the greatest king is Israel’s history. David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13.13; Acts 13.22). King David received the covenant from God that his kingdom would endure forever (2 Sam 7).
The Apostle quotes from Psalm 32.1-2, penned by King David. Psalm 32 says that blessed people are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. St. Paul also gives us some Spirit-inspired commentary: just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works. Psalm 32 reveals the forgiveness of lawless deeds, the covering of our sin, the Lord not counting our sin against us – and this is not based on our good works, but it is righteousness apart from works. We do not earn our own righteousness to deposit in our account, but God forgives, God covers, God doesn’t count against us – God credits righteousness to our account, apart from what we think, say, or do.
Abraham and Circumcision
After King David’s Testimony, St. Paul recalls Father Abraham to the stand for one more question, this time about circumcision, because that’s the next logical question – if Abraham was justified by his faith, then what’s the deal with circumcision? If Abraham’s account was credited, not by what he did, but by God’s grace through faith, what is the point of what Abraham did, his obedience, circumcision? If you didn’t grow up in Sunday School (or even if you did but don’t remember) let me remind you quickly what’s going on here. When God made the covenant with Abraham that the nations would be blessed through him, the sign of this covenant was circumcision (Gen 12, 15, 17). Abraham, and all of his men were circumcised (pause for effect) as (1) a sign of their separation from other idolatrous nations to God, which also (2) tangibly represented the cutting off of sin, and was also (3) tangibly represented the promise of a son to Abraham, echoing back to Genesis 3.15 (as indicated by the male body part undergoing the circumcision). I know, it’s a lot to process, but back to the original question: if Abraham was justified, by faith, what was the point of circumcision? – if it is not their status as Jews, their inheritance of the Law, their birthright, their circumcision that justifies them, then what’s the point of circumcision?
In verse 10 St. Paul rhetorically responds: was Abraham declared righteous by faith before or after he was circumcised? The answer: it was before. Verse 3 – Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness – is from Genesis 15. Abraham was circumcised in Genesis 17. Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness before he was circumcised. Abraham’s account was credited before he did the work.
Then why? What’s the deal with circumcision? Abraham’s circumcision was a seal of the righteousness he had before he was circumcised. Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant, a type of sacrament of the Abrahamic covenant. Just like the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist are the signs and seals of the New Covenant, circumcision was the sign – the tangible picture – that accompanies faith for Abraham’s covenant.
In this Abraham is the father of the uncircumcised (gentiles) and the circumcised (Jews). Abraham is the father of the uncircumcised (gentiles) because they are justified by faith, like Abraham was before he was circumcised. Abraham is the father of the circumcised (Jews), not just because they’re circumcised like he was, but in order that they may follow in his footsteps of faith before he was circumcised. The main point was not circumcision, or Jewish ethnicity, or the Law, but faith. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.
Righteousness Is Earned (Just Not By Us)
But father Abraham and King David are not merely examples of some abstract religious doctrine or philosophical category or faith or righteousness, no; they’re testifying to faith in a righteous person – the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham’s faith was not merely abstract faith, but faith in the promised one of Genesis 3.15. When King David wrote of the blessing of the one who’s lawless deeds are covered and sins forgiven, it would be through the righteous one who endured God’s just wrath against sin. And once again, this takes us all the way back to the beginning. Because Adam broke the covenant of works and Adam’s sin was imputed to us, credited to everyone’s account, causing us to practice sin in thought, word, and deed, we need a righteous representative, we need a new federal head to credit righteousness to our account; we have imputed guilt, we need imputed righteousness.
Scripture calls Jesus the last Adam because Jesus is the true and better Adam – He is the new head of a new humanity, by grace through faith. Jesus is God incarnate – the eternal 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, the only begotten Son of God, truly God and truly man. Jesus is the meaning of the covenant of grace – the fulfillment of the Genesis 3.15 promise; the seed of the woman, born of the virgin Mary, conceived not from Adam, but from the Holy Spirit.
Because Jesus is not naturally descended by Adam, but supernaturally conceived by the Spirit, Jesus did not inherit Adam’s guilt and Jesus did not practice sin in thought, word, or deed. Jesus never broken God’s Law. Jesus kept the covenant of works. Like Adam, Jesus was tempted by the devil, but unlike Adam, Jesus did not fall.
And because Jesus is righteous, he was the acceptable, unblemished sacrifice for all the sins of God’s elect. Jesus died on the cross bearing the wrath of God against the sins of the church. Jesus was buried and on the 3rd day Jesus resurrected from the dead for our justification. This is why, as King David wrote, God can cover our lawless deed, God can forgive our sins.
Abraham and David and every OT saint looked to God’s promise in faith and like Father Abraham, for us, this justification is through faith. Faith is the knowledge of who Jesus is and what Jesus did. Faith is also the assent of that knowledge – assent means you concede that this knowledge about Jesus is true; it means to confess and not deny it. And most importantly, faith means trusting in Christ alone as your righteousness, for the forgiveness of your sin and the hope of eternal life. The result of faith is repentance. Repentance is when you humble yourself, confess your sin, and turn to Jesus.
So, Give Up
Some of you are already tuning me out because you’re like, “he’s at the gospel part of the sermon, I don’t need to listen because I’m already a Christian, let me check my phone, or think about what I’m having for lunch, or whatever I’ve got to do this week.” To quote Lee Corso, “not so fast.” This is the problem with so much of modern Christianity – we separate the gospel from the rest of life. We view the gospel like the thing we believe, or worse, the thing we do to become a Christian, and then the rest of life, or the rest of Christianity as separate, or we’ve got to figure it out on our own, or do our best, or whatever.
The gospel is most fundamentally about how we are made right with God, that’s true, but the gospel changes everything – it is for all of life. This is what we misunderstand when we tie our identity, or our security, or our righteousness to our jobs, or how much money we have, or how successful we are, or whatever – we’re trying to keep a covenant of works; we’re trying to earn our righteousness. That’s legalism, even if you drink alcohol. That’s fundamentalism. That’s works-based righteousness, even if you say you believe in faith alone.
Maybe you were raised in legalistic Christianity and so you’re hardwired to think or feel like you have to earn your righteousness, maybe it’s not through the Law or circumcision like the Jews, but through reading your Bible, and prayer, and not saying this, or not doing that. Maybe when you have a “good” day it makes you self-righteous and when you have a “bad” day you feel defeated. Or maybe you’re just a good ole’ fashion individualistic consumeristic American and so you think you need to have a certain job, or a certain bank account, or a certain address to be “righteous,” not like those lazy, poor unrighteous who live down there.
This is legalism. The only righteousness you’ll be able to stand before God with is the imputed righteousness of Christ. And so, what I’m saying is: give up. Give up trying to meet the ever-changing “righteousness standards” of the world. Give up the arbitrary unbiblical legalism of fundamentalism. Give up trying to earn it because you never can and you never will. It will only make you self-righteous or spiritually depressed.
Give up viewing the gospel merely as the doorway into Christianity and see that the gospel is Christianity. If you have faith in Jesus then that is your identity, regardless of what your job title is, or how much money you have, or where you live, or whether you’ve read your Bible today, or whether you’ve had a good day or a bad day. Stop judging yourself; stop judging others based on these arbitrary, foolish standards. Give up thinking or feeling like you’re better or worse than anyone based on these worldly or legalistic standards. Give up and rest in Jesus.
Conclusion
What you do is not who you are. What you have is not who you are. If you’re an executive or a homemaker, if you’re a multi-millionaire or living paycheck-to-paycheck; that’s not who you are. You are an image-bearer of God. You are fallen in sin and in need of righteousness. And if you have faith, you are justified before God in Jesus Christ.