God credits our faith as righteousness
Romans 4:1-25
Key verse 4:3
Good morning. Today’s title is that God credits our faith as righteousness. Last week, in chapter 3, Apostle Paul said that people are justified when they believe Jesus by faith. Then, some people opposed him. They argued, “what are you talking about? That is your own opinion”. So, today, in chapter 4, Paul explained that justification by faith is not his idea nor from the NT. But it was written already in the OT. From the OT, he mentioned two examples: Abraham and King. Through this passage, we will learn how Abraham’s faith and David’s faith were credited as righteousness in God’s eyes. Also we will learn that what kind of faith we should have in order to receive God’s righteousness.
- A case of Abraham
Apostle Paul said in the OT, without the works of the law, Abraham was justified by faith in God. Who is Abraham? To the Jews, he is the father of them. What he said or what he did is the model of all Jews should follow. So Paul used Abraham’s case to explain how he became righteous in God’s sight without the works. Look at verse 3. It says “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”. Verse 3 was quoted from Genesis 15. When Abraham believed God, God credited his faith as righteousness. Here credit means in Greek, “it was reckoned or considered”. So in other words, God considered Abraham righteous when he believed God. This had nothing to do with the circumcision or the law.
How could this be possible? Can we read verse 5? “However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness”. Abraham trusted God. God is the one who decides if the ungodly is justified or not. When Abraham trusted God, God proclaimed “Abraham, you are justified. You are righteous in my eyes”. Abraham was not a godly person at all. He was a Gentile. He worshiped idols at his hometown. When God commanded him to go to Canaan, he settled in Haran (middle points between his hometown to Canaan) for many years. Also later in Canaan when there was a famine, he did not ask God if he should stay in Canaan or not. He went down to Egypt and there he lied that his wife was his sister to save his life. We see here he was not a godly man. But surprisingly, when Abraham believed God, God reckoned him as righteous in his eyes.
Paul now explained the relationship between Abraham’s faith and the circumcision. Let us look at verses 9 – 12. In Genesis 15, God credited Abraham’s faith as righteousness. The circumcision occurred in Genesis 17. The interval between Genesis 15 and Genesis 17 is at least 15 years. So God’s righteousness to Abraham has nothing to do with the circumcision.
Then, why did God give Abraham circumcision? Can we look at verse 11? “And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.” The reason God commanded Abraham to be circumcised was to confirm his righteousness on his body. The circumcision was given as a sign and a seal of the righteousness. So Abraham’s faith was first, God’s righteousness was second, and the circumcision was last. Abraham became righteous in God’s eyes not because he was circumcised but because he trusted God by faith.
Now Paul explained the relationship between Abraham’s faith and the law. Can we read verse 13? “It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.” When did the law appear? In the times of Moses: The gap between Abraham and Moses was about 600 years. This shows that Abraham received God’s promise not by the law but by his faith. So God’s promise to Abraham has nothing to do the law. It was given only through the faith of Abraham.
Then, under what situations did Abraham believe God? What kind of God did he believe? What kind of faith did he have? Let us read verses 17-22. “As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”[c] He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[d] 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Abraham’s circumstances were not good at all. Verse 19 says his body was as good as dead since he was about 100 years old and his wife Sarah passed the age of childbearing. It was too late for the couple to have a baby. In such a hopeless situation, God spoke to him that he would have a son in following year. In Genesis 17, actually God sent three angels and delivered this good news to Abraham and Sarah. When Sarah heard of it, she laughed. Why did she laugh at? In her eyes, what God promised was impossible. It did not make sense at all. Nevertheless, Abraham believed God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. When Abraham believed God against all hope, God was pleased and credited his faith as righteousness.
How did Abraham have such a faith in God? Based on these verses, I can think of two reasons. First, Abraham looked up to God not to his human circumstance.. In verse 19, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead. His faith was not based on blind faith. As a rich businessman, he knew his body reality. Nevertheless, he fixed his eyes on God. He set his hearts on God. As a result, his faith was not weakening. His faith was not shaken. He did not waver regarding the promise of God. God was pleased with his faith. That is why God credited his faith as righteousness. His faith teaches us also we should look up to God not to our situations. When we look at our circumstances, we are frustrated in general: especially this times of Pandemic. But Abraham’s face teaches us that faith is to look up to God in good times and in bad times of our life. When we fix our eyes on God, God helps us overcome fears and anxiety. He also plants a hope in our heart that God would do something for us. Second, Abraham was fully persuaded by God. Can we read verse 21? “being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.“ “being fully persuaded”. What does this mean? It means God actually helped Abraham to believe the power of God. God had been revealing himself to Abraham. In the past, Abraham lived for only his life. But God appeared and promised him in Genesis 12:2,3. “I will make you a blessing. All people will be blessed through you”. When he was in big trouble in Egypt, God saved him from the hands of the Pharaoh. God also delivered his enemies into his hands when he fought for his nephew Lot. Through all these small, big life experience, Abraham had been persuaded by God. His faith had been growing. So against all hope, he was able to believe that God had a power to do what he had promised.
We have been living under the power of Coronavirus for last two years. Everyone hopes the Pandemic be over soon, but no one is sure about when this will end. However, we got to believe this pandemic is under God’s sovereign plan. In fact, God has been doing many good works in spite of the COVID 19. Tia was admitted to University of Delaware and God has trained her a future godly Christian chemistry professor. My family came to DE in the middle of pandemic. M. Jacob and Esther have supported us. John Dajeong will graduate this May and start his pharmacy graduate school at Baltimore. As our banner says, let us keep having faith in God.
In the OT, right after the Exodus, Israel was stuck between the Red Sea and chasing Egyptian solders. They did not have any hope for them. God spoke to Moses “stand firm, the Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still”. Even in such a hopeless situation, when Moses and Israel believed God, as he promised, God opened the Red Sea for Israel to walk through. So let us put our trust in God and continue to look up to God.
- A case of David
Paul now used another example about justification by faith: King David. Who is David? He was the greatest king in Israel history. All Jews respected him and considered what he said weighted like the law. Can we read verses 6 – 8? “ David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works, Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them“. When did David mention these verses? It was right after he experienced God’s forgiveness from his sins. The Ten Commandments says “do not covet your neighbor’s wife and do not murder”. David knew the law very well, but when he was filled with lust, he slept Basehba who was a married woman. When he found she was pregnant, he had her husband murdered to cover his sins. He did not have any desire to confess his sins. Then, Psalm 32:3-4 reveals his inner guilt and condemnation. He said, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of the summer.” God had mercy upon him. God sent him the prophet Nathan to give him a chance to repent his sins. With Nathan’s help, finally David confessed his sins. When he repented his sins sincerely before God, God forgave the guilt of his sins. He became free from the burden of his heart, guilt, and condemnation. According to the law, he was supposed to receive capital punishment. But, when he confessed his sins sincerely before God, his sins are covered. God would never count his sins again. God considered him righteous. This had nothing to do with the works of the law.
1 John 1:19 says “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” Through the works of the law, no one can be forgiven from their sins. How can we be just before God? How can we receive the forgiveness of God? How can we be purified from all unrighteousness? Like King David, when we confess our sins sincerely, God is faithful that he make us free from the burden of our sins.
- Our case
So far, we learned that against all hope, when Abraham believed God, his faith was credited to him as righteousness. Also, when David confessed his sins, God credited his faith as righteousness too. Then, why did the Bible record their examples? Was it just for them? No, it is for us. Can we read verse 23 and 24? “The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
The reason God credited Abraham’s faith as righteousness is actually for us. It is the same promise of God that when we believe him, as he considered Abraham righteous in his eyes, so will he credit our faith as righteousness in his sight. Especially when we believe God who raised Jesus from the dead, it will be credited to us as righteousness. Honestly, believing Jesus is not easy. How can believing Jesus who died 2,000 years ago save me from my sins today? How can a dead man rise from the dead? It does not make sense logically. Nevertheless, when we believe God, he is pleased with our faith and he honors our faith. He credits our faith as righteousness in his eyes.
I thank God for this passage. I also thank God for daily bread these days Psalms. I have been amazed how David did not talk about his power, his children, his ministry, his gold and silver but talk about God himself. I am very envious of him these days. And it helps me to look up to God not situations around me. As I have not found new bible students, I have worried about me and Delaware UBF. When I think about circumstances, I do not see any hope honestly. But I am very touched by Abraham’s faith: against all hope, he believed God and God credited his faith as righteousness. Based on Isaiah 43:18,19, God promised me to do a new thing in my life: make a way in the wilderness and streams in the wastelands. God made many new things in MD. He will do many new things in DE. Especially during the pandemic period, God has been making a way in my wilderness like heart and streams in my wastelands like heart. I must look up to God in no matter what situations might be.
In conclusion, Abraham faced the fact that his body was as good as dead, yet he believed God. Then, God credited his faith as righteousness. David committed sins of adultery and murder, yet when he confessed his sins and trusted God, God forgave his sins and reckoned him righteousness in his eyes. When we believe God who delivered Jesus to death for our sins and raised him from the dead for our justification, our faith is credited as righteousness. Faith is to fix our eyes on God in any circumstances. Faith is to look up to God’s promise rather than listening to the negative voice from situations. Let us keep giving our hearts to God. Let us trust God every day. Then, God will display his great power in his time.