Romans 4:22-24a - Declaration Versus Transformation

Romans 4:22-24a - 22 Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. 23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited,

Message: Abraham credited and every person believing is also credited.

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:

Preface
Every day that I read a new set of scripture for that day, I am once again reminded that Paul wants his readers to understand more completely what he is saying. Chapter 4 has all been about defending the faith and explaining righteousness by faith. The gospel was clearly put forth at the end of Chapter 3 where after Paul showed that all people had sinned, it was a person's faith that made them right with God. For in faith, God transfers Christ's perfect righteousness to man. And all of the sin in a person's life is transferred to Christ. Yesterday, the definition of faith came more clearly, that God makes a promise and I believe completely that it will occur. But, in chapter 4, Paul wants his reader to really understand what is meant by this faith that credits righteousness to a person. He uses Abraham and then David's lives to show people today how their lives were a testimony of this truth. The imputation of our sin and Christ's righteousness is not a new thing, but rather an old truth that, now in Christ, has been fulfilled and more clearly seen. 

In verse 18 and on, Paul shows from Abraham's life what faith really meant as Abraham believed God would provide an offspring to Abraham and his wife in order to fulfill the promise God had made to him that He would be the father of many nations. Again, through this explanation, Paul once again shows that the answer is not keeping the Law or even having the Law nor is it circumcision, but that Abraham was made right with God while uncircumcised. 

Verse 22 - Therefore, faith
From yesterday, the message in those verses was:

1. Abraham had hope and believed in the impossible 
2. Despite what he saw and knew, Abraham did not become weak in faith 
3. Abraham's faith grew 
4. Abraham's faith was defined completely  

Believe, Faith, Faith, Faith. This is how a person is credited with righteousness. But it is not faith that merits salvation, but it is through faith that we receive salvation for the performance of salvation was completely and only by Christ.

Verse 23 - This faith is not just for Abraham
Paul now turns a corner. He has described the faith of Abraham. David told us that all of our sins were transferred to Christ. Paul has given the clear examples of 2 patriarchs of our religion. But, these are not just to describe what happened to other people. This transaction of being credited with righteousness is not just to Abraham.

Verse 24 - But faith or credited righteousness is for every other person.
Faith is not just for Abraham, but it is for everyone. So, just like Abraham, it is for our sake as well to be credited. The Old Testament is not just a record of facts, but it is a description of what can happen in every person's life. Paul clearly puts forth that there is personal application in these verses. Yes, it was true for Abraham and receiving God's promise of offspring. But, what occurred in Abraham being credited as righteous is also for us today and every person in the future. 

And Paul wants it be clearly understand that a person is credited. It is a done deal. It is not a process or a growing process of making a person righteous (sanctification), but it is a done deal, in that a person is justified. The righteousness of Christ is transferred to the believer, who has faith, in accordance with grace. Faith connects us to God's righteousness. 

An illustration:
Suppose I say to Barnabas, my sixteen-year-old son, “Clean up your room before you go to school. You must have a clean room, or you won’t be able to go watch the game tonight.” Well, suppose he plans poorly and leaves for school without cleaning the room. And suppose I discover the messy room and clean it. His afternoon fills up and he gets home just before it’s time to leave for the game and realizes what he has done and feels terrible. He apologizes and humbly accepts the consequences.To which I say, “Barnabas, I am going to credit your apology and submission as a clean room. I said, ‘You must have a clean room, or you won’t be able to go watch the game tonight.’ Your room is clean. So you can go to the game.” What I mean when I say, “I credit your apology as a clean room,” is not that the apology is the clean room. Nor that he really cleaned his room. I cleaned it. It was pure grace. All I mean is that, in my way of reckoning—in my grace—his apo­logy connects him with the promise given for a clean room. The clean room is his clean room. I credit it to him. Or, I credit his apology as a clean room. (From PreceptAustin.org)

Promise: Crediting Righteousness is available to every person, in Christ.