Paul quotes from Genesis 15:6. Meanwhile, on death row a serial killer awaits execution. Under grace you do not work for justification. “but not toward God” (v. 2). “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about” (v. 2a). 3 For what does the Scripture say? He/she has no currency to purchase salvation, but is wholly dependent on God to provide it as a gift. What is the best of human righteousness when you compare it to God’s absolute righteousness? Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation, Related Topics: Faith, Regeneration, Justification, Soteriology (Salvation), Steve served as the pastor of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship from May, 1992 through his retirement in December, 2018. Romans 5:8-10. As noted above, Jews considered Abraham to be justified by works. If we could effect our own salvation by adherence to the law or by faith, why would we need a savior? Thus for your own salvation, for your being able to resist the winds of false doctrine blowing in our day, and for your being able to present the gospel clearly to those who are trusting in their good works to save them, you must be clear on this truth: God graciously justifies the ungodly sinner who believes in Jesus Christ. His righteous status cannot be earned, but is a gift of God. Paul illustrates his point. 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. We are “justified freely by his (God’s) grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). He lived and died without seeing God’s promise fulfilled, but believing that it would be. I have denied myself for decades. Spurgeon applies it by saying that even so, God invites sinners to come at once for salvation, just as they are. No person can stand in God’s presence claiming to have rendered satisfactory service, so God has no moral obligation to provide compensation for services rendered. In a certain correspondence with philosopher Bertrand Russell, author Joseph Conrad lamented the following: “I have never been able to find in any man’s book or in any man’s talk anything convincing enough to stand up for a moment against my defeated sense of fatality governing this man-inhabited world…The only remedy for Chinamen [referring to the problems in China] and for the rest of us is the change of hearts. 3:21-31. First (4:4) Paul gives a negative example from everyday life that we can easily understand. He mercilessly tortured, raped, and murdered many young women. But God will not be a debtor to anyone. Romans 5:6-8 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly… Joshua 24:2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. My aim today is that all of you will understand this crucial doctrine that is at the core of the gospel and that you will join Spurgeon in worshipful wonder that God has justified you. “What then will we say that Abraham” (v. 1a). Achtemeier, Paul J., Interpretation: Romans, (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1985), Barth, Karl, The Epistle to the Romans (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1933), Brawley, Robert L., in Van Harn, Roger E. Abraham Justified by Faith. God justifies even the ungodly (Romans 4:5). Rather, faith is the means by which we lay hold of God’s promise in Christ. That sweet, selfless old nun deserves to go to heaven! The Roman Forum was the scene of public meetings, law courts, and gladiatorial combats in republican times and was lined with shops and open-air markets. It is self-evident that, when there is no law, there can be no transgression of the law. 38A (Dallas: Word Books, 1988), Gaventa, Beverly R. in Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV — Year A (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995), Knox, John and Cragg, Gerald R., The Interpreter’s Bible: Acts and Romans, Vol. Thus Abraham was already what we would call “saved” before this experience. God graciously justifies the ungodly sinner who does not work for salvation, but believes in Jesus Christ. There is debate among scholars as to whether Paul was referring specifically to Abraham or whether he meant to contrast a notoriously sinful person with the relatively good Abraham. Many early Jewish writings put Abraham on a pedestal far higher than the way the Bible portrays him. He regarded himself as called to both his master’s side and to the promulgation of the good news—news inextricably bound up with the death, resurrection, and exaltation of his Lord and God’s richest blessing upon sinful, erring human beings. 5But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. Then he illustrates it negatively by a common example (4:4) and states it positively in rather shocking language (4:5). Come to Jesus, crucified for sinners! Read Scripture Part I. Paul’s Magnus Opus. A street sweeper who was unkempt, ragged, and filthy was known to everyone and there was a suitable place in the picture for him. Paul does not say that our faith makes us righteous, but that “faith is accounted for righteousness”—which is to say that God, seeing our faith, credits our account to wipe out our insolvency—freeing us of debt—God’s grace undoing our unrighteousness. 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but u not before God. Create. Romans 8:1-4 Under the gospel we are free from condemnation, walking. If this were not so, why would God have sent Jesus to die on the cross? The best news in the world is, God graciously justifies the ungodly sinner who does not work for salvation, but rather believes in Jesus Christ! As she nears death, you ask her why God should let her into heaven. He brings up Abraham because the Jews revered him as the father of their nation and their faith. In All of Grace [Ages Software], C. H. Spurgeon wrote about Romans 4:5. (ed. God’s Righteous Judgment. 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