Romans 4:1-3 - 1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Message: Question: Was Abraham justified by works?
Time: The date of the book is probably 60 A.D. written from Corinth on Paul's third missionary journey. The church in Rome seems to be established and Romans does not speak of any one error in the church that he is addressing. The church had a large Jewish element, but also filled with Gentile converts from paganism, both free as well as slaves.
What the Lord is Saying:
Paul has just finished a statement that God is not impartial and He is the God of both Jews and Gentiles. And while the Law does not save, the Law is necessary in our life, most notably as a guide for living after we realize Jesus saved us from our sins.
Paul begins this passage in a similar way to Chapter 3, by asking questinos from an imaginary questioner, as such it is a diatribe. Paul states in verse 1, "What shall we say?" So, what is being said is if Paul's word are correct and true, then what benefit could the Jew derive from his religion.
Recently, I watched the movie Hawaii, made in 1966, starring Julie Andrews (Jerusha) and Max Von Sydow (Reverend Alan Hale). Max plays a Calvinistic missionary to the Hawaiian islands. One thing about Reverend Hale was his contempt for the people he was ministering to; he never took the time to look at what they believed to see the value in it and thereby use it to bridge to the Gospel. But instead he quickly discounted it all as evil and that it needed to be replaced with faith in Christ. Granted, there is some truth to this, but the way we approach people needs to be more compassionate. So, Paul was hearing a question, what possible value could there be in being a Jew? The Jew had basically been told that their core beliefs were of no value. The simple question is, "Was Abraham justified by works?" If so, he has something to boast about (Rom 3:27-28). However, not before God. Is Paul saying that even if the theology of being saved by works was true, man can only boast of himself before other men?
Paul, here, first, calls upon Abraham. He will later call upon David. According to Jewish law, a question was settled by 2 or 3 witnesses. Paul states that Abraham believed God and it was credited to Him as righteousness.
In the 1st century (and even some today) there is the belief that a Jew has salvation because of their offspring from Abraham. Thus salvation came about by entering into Judaism. A person could convert to Judaism and thereby be saved. I see this today, often, among people that think if they grew up Catholic, and went through confirmation, or joined a particular church, that this is what made salvation secure to them.
Yet, in verse 2, something different is stated. Was Abraham justified before God because of his works? If he was, has something to boast about, but not before God. In Rabbinical teaching and interpretation, there is the explanation that Abraham was not just good, but he practiced all the parts of the Law before it was even given.In the Mishnah’s third division, Kiddushin (4.14) makes a specious interpretation of Genesis 26:5 in which God repeats His covenant promise to Abraham's son Isaac, declaring. "And I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because Abraham OBEYED Me and KEPT My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws." The Mishnah wrongly concludes, "we find that Abraham our father had performed the whole law before it was given, for it is written, ‘Because that Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statues, and my laws.’"
But in verse 3, Paul appeals to the Old Testament to testify that the message has always been that a man is justified apart from works, but by believing and in turn, God credits man's account with righteousness. Reckoned means to take something that belongs to another and credit it to another's account. The sin of the human race was charged to Jesus so that the righteousness of God, by the act of the believing sinner, can be given to each person.
Thoughts from J. Vernon McGee: To the Jew, Abraham is our first father. And according the flesh is by natural human effort. Abraham was first chronologically and first in importance. Abraham found that his works, according to the flesh, did not produce boasting, but instead shame and confusion. Abraham did have many good works [as do many people today], but these works were not the ground of salvation, but the result of salvation and the result of being justified by faith. The works of the flesh cannot stand before God's holiness. Paul quotes from the Old Testament over 60 times in Romans and this quotation is from Genesis 15:6. Abraham believed in his heart that God told the truth. He put it on his account. By believing in God, Abraham was declared righteous.
Promise: When a person believes God, the righteousness of God is credited to that person's account or life.
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