Through Faith (Romans 4)

by Brian Farrell⁽²⁴⁵⁾ Red Star

http://www.ph16.com

This is now the fourth installment in the Romans Bible Study! God is so good and has shown us so much about His sufficiency in our lives; for salvation and for victory today.

In chapter four, Paul gives examples of what he has been teaching us by pointing us to the lives of Abraham and David. This message of salvation and sufficiency for Godly living, by grace through faith, is nothing new. God's grace was perfectly illustrated in the lives of all the "Old Testament saints", of which David is an excellent example. His language toward God matches Paul's descriptions perfectly. Paul shows us in this chapter that justification with God by grace through faith is a well established and biblical principle.

Below is an excerpt from the study on Romans 4. The link to the whole study, as well as the studies on the other chapters, is at the end of the article.

King David spoke of this, describing the happiness of an undeserving sinner who is declared to be righteous: "Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose sin is no longer counted against them by the Lord." (Romans 4:6-8, NLT)

David’s understanding of the forgiveness of sins lines up perfectly with Paul’s description of justification as a free gift/act of God. Paul’s argument is not based on the act of reckoning by good works, but is centered on God’s act in not reckoning our sins against us. For David, God had removed his sin out of sight and was no longer counting it against him. David was not just referring to himself because he says “what joy for those” and “whose sins are removed.” David’s words may as well be Paul’s, as they both clearly confirm that all can be made right with God in this same way. And no wonder they agree perfectly, for there is but one Author of the Bible. The Holy Spirit spoke through Moses, David and Paul to communicate this same message.

Paul gives us a secondary “source” in David, and this was a common Jewish homiletical practice. We now have the account of Abraham from the Pentateuch (the Law, the first five books of the Bible written by Moses), we have also the quotation from Habakkuk in “the prophets” (Romans 1:17), and finally now David from “the writings”. Paul quotes from all three main divisions of the Hebrew Bible to give his Jewish brothers and sisters a thoroughly “biblical” argument.

We also notice that the verb used for account/impute/reckon is the same verb used to describe this act of God toward both Abraham and David. God does the same thing for both David and Abraham, and for the same reason, namely their faith in Him. And that’s why Paul uses these two examples here together. They work perfectly together with his argument and really give us a firm biblical foundation for the argument of justification by faith and not by works. Luther found it in Paul, but Paul found it in Moses, David and Habakkuk, and all throughout his Bible!

This truth cannot be spoken of too often. Not only is our sin removed but it is not counted against us! It is no longer counted against us; past, present and future.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 1:9 & 2:1, NKJV)

To read the complete article on Romans 4, "Through Faith", or other works by this author, please visit http://ph16.com/cbcstudies.html.

Article submitted Sunday, August 09, 2009 & read 861 times.

Leave your comments through World Wide Bible Studies:

» left by Teresa^(1,655) (2 years 182 days ago.)

Hi Brian, excellent summary, this alone speaks volumes. I love how you pointed out that Paul uses the patriarchs of old to minister to the Jewish people. Paul's example of relevancy should speak to us today when we seek to minister to others. We must meet others right where they are at, or we will lose them. I am looking foward to reading the complete lesson. Thank you for providing it for us, while making this a lesson all its own. Blessings to you! Teresa
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» left by Brian Farrell⁽²⁴⁵⁾ (2 years 181 days ago.)

Thank you for all of your support, Teresa. My prayer is that our gracious Lord and Savior will use WWBS so that we all may know Him more! Thank you, Jesus, for your wonderful grace toward us.

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» left by Marijo Phelps⁽¹⁹⁹⁾ (2 years 180 days ago.)

So good especially in this culture where our worth is measured by what we produce - SO glad it is Jesus and His gift to us and not what we can do or produce - we needed this reminder, thanks!

Marijo
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» left by Brian Farrell⁽²⁴⁵⁾ (2 years 180 days ago.)

Awesome, thanks Marijo. As the writer to the Hebrew said, Abraham "confidently looked forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God."

God's grace and peace to you!

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» left by Anonymous (2 years 164 days ago.)

good lesson. I am waiting for the part 5?
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» left by Brian Farrell⁽²⁴⁵⁾ (2 years 160 days ago.)

Thank you so much for your comment. You know, I'm not sure about part 5 yet. Initially, I was only going to do the first four chapters because we knew our Bible study was going to take a break in August and start with something new in September. If you feel led, keep me in your prayers and we'll see what the Lord has in store. May the Lord strengthen you and encourage you in His grace and love!

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