"Now it was not written for his [Abraham's] sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on Hime that raised us Jesus our Lord from the dead: Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification."
Romans 4:23-25
Part 1
Today: Abraham’s Example of Salvation by Faith
The Bible doctrine of Justification is of vital importance to the child of God.[1] God, in His grace, declares the believing sinner to be justified. Abraham, in Romans 4, is our example of “justification by faith.” Paul uses Abraham as the picture of how faith justifies a believing sinner. Wiersbe’s breakdown of the fourth chapter:[2]
Abraham was justified by faith, without works (vv. 1-8).
Abraham was justified by grace, without the law (vv. 9-17).
Christ’s resurrection power justified Abraham without human effort (vv. 18-25).
“Now it was not written for his sake alone.”
God did not have Paul write this only for Abraham’s sake. The Holy Spirit had these things written down so everyone who read Paul’s letter to the Romans could be saved in the same way that Abraham was, “by grace, and through faith.” There are not two kinds of salvation, one for the Old Testament believer and another for those in New Testament times. God’s salvation has always been “by grace, and through faith.” Every genuine believer has received salvation the same way Abraham did, for there is no other way to be saved.
“That it was imputed to him.”
God, through Abraham’s faith, declared him to be “righteous.” Paul has already shown in chapter 3 that God “imputes[3] righteousness” to sinners by their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are all guilty of sinning against the holy God. He knows we are guilty, and we know that we are guilty. We are deserving of His righteous judgment, but the wonderful thing about God and His salvation is that He is willing to extend us grace anyway! When we “believe” He adds His “righteousness” to our sin account, and He declares us to be righteous, as He did Abraham.
“For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3).
“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5).
We cannot work for our salvation, for we can never repay our sin-debt to God! We believe by trusting in Jesus’ work on the cross and His resurrection by faith.
“Therefore, it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end, the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16).
Faith was not just for Abraham alone for salvation, but it is necessary for our salvation too. Come back tomorrow as we look at the importance of believing in Christ’s death and resurrection for our sin. See you then.
Quote: “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God” (James 2:23).
[1] Justification is “the act of God declaring men free from guilt and acceptable to Him.” J.H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] These thoughts on Romans chapter 4 divisions borrowed from Dr. Wiersbe. Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. Victor Books, 1996, c1989, S. Thanks to Dr. Wiersbe’s thoughts on this.
[3] God imputes to us, or He counts, concludes, reasons, or reckons our faith as righteousness.