Abraham Justified by Faith
Study note
Paul appeals to Abraham, the most revered figure in Jewish history, to prove that righteousness comes through faith, not works. If Abraham had been justified by works, he might have had reason to boast before people, but not before God. Scripture declares that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Paul also cites David, who pronounced a blessing on those whose sins are forgiven and covered, receiving righteousness apart from works.
1 So what about Abraham, the ancestor of the Jewish people? What did he discover about all this? What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2 If Abraham earned his way into God's good side by doing good works, he would have had something to brag about. But bragging would get him nowhere with God. For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 What do the scriptures say? 'Abraham trusted God, and because of that trust, God counted him as right and good.' For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Think about it like a job: when you work, your paycheck is not a gift -- you earned it. Your boss owes it to you. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But what if you stop trying to earn it? What if you simply trust the God who makes guilty people right? Then God counts your trust as making you right with him. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
6 King David talked about this same joy. It is the happiness of someone God says is right with him, not because of what they did: Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
7 'What a happy thing it is when your sins are forgiven and your wrongs are wiped away! Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8 What a happy thing it is when the Lord decides not to count your sin against you!' Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Faith Before Circumcision
Study note
Paul raises a crucial question: was Abraham declared righteous before or after his circumcision? The answer is decisive -- it was before. Circumcision came later as an outward seal of the righteousness Abraham already had by faith. This means Abraham is the spiritual father of both uncircumcised Gentile believers and circumcised Jewish believers who walk in the same path of faith.
9 Now, does this happiness belong only to people who are circumcised, or can everyone have it? We keep coming back to the same point: Abraham trusted God, and God counted that trust as making him right. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
10 So when exactly did God count Abraham as right? Was it after Abraham was circumcised, or before? It was definitely before! How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they are not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
12 Abraham is also the father of circumcised people -- but not because they are circumcised. They also need to walk the same path of faith that Abraham walked before he was circumcised. And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.
The Promise Realized Through Faith
Study note
God's promise to Abraham that he would be heir of the world came not through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If the promise depended on the law, faith would be meaningless and the promise worthless, because the law produces wrath where it is broken. Instead, the promise rests on grace so that it is guaranteed to all of Abraham's descendants -- both those under the law and those who share Abraham's faith.
13 God made a promise to Abraham and his family that they would receive the world as their inheritance. That promise did not come because Abraham followed a set of rules. It came because he trusted God, and God counted him as right. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 If people who follow rules are the ones who get the promise, then faith means nothing. The promise means nothing either. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
15 Here is why: the law stirs up punishment. But where there is no law telling you what is wrong, there is no rule to break. Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
16 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. 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,
17 The scriptures say, 'I have made you a father of many nations.' Abraham is our father in God's eyes, because he believed in the God who brings dead people back to life and speaks things into existence that did not exist before. (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Abraham's Example of Unwavering Faith
Study note
Paul celebrates Abraham's remarkable faith in the face of impossible circumstances. Though his body was as good as dead and Sarah's womb was lifeless, Abraham did not waver through unbelief but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. He was fully convinced that God could do what he promised. Paul applies this directly to believers: the same crediting of righteousness applies to those who believe in the God who raised Jesus from the dead for our justification.
18 When there was zero reason for hope, Abraham still believed. He held on to the promise that he would become the father of many nations, just as God had told him, 'That is how many your descendants will be.' Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19 His faith never got weak, even though he could see his body was worn out. He was about a hundred years old. And Sarah was way past the age of having children. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:
20 He never doubted God's promise or let unbelief shake him. Instead, his faith grew even stronger, and he gave glory to God. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21 He was completely sure that God had the power to keep his promise. And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22 And that is exactly why God 'counted it to him as being right.' And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
23 But those words -- 'it was counted to him' -- were not written just for Abraham's sake. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
24 They were written for us too! God will count us as right when we believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord back to life. But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
25 Jesus was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was brought back to life so we could be made right with God. Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.