Today we resume a study in Romans that we taught in 2019. Five years ago, we expounded Romans 1-3 verse-by-verse with 35 messages. Those are available on our YouTube channel for anyone who wants to review them.i
Romans is a book that cannot by properly understood without giving detailed attention to the content. “Romans,” wrote Richard Longenecker, “is probably the most difficult of the NT letters to analyze and interpret.”ii To understand this book we have to slow down and study it methodically. We have to carefully follow Paul’s reasoning. And we rely on the Holy Spirit to help us do that.
The effort is well worthwhile –for the content in Romans 1-8 is essential for New Testament Christianity.iii When the Roman Catholic Church got this wrong, it took the Protestant Reformation to get back on track. Multitudes of religious people going to hell because they have not received the truths taught in this epistle.
In Romans 3:28 Paul came to this all-important conclusion: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”iv This theme of justification by faith is explained more fully in Romans 4. It is an essential revelation. It contradicts and corrects the religions of the world which are typically based on justification by works. Christian cults tend to be works driven. Mormonism is a works religion. The Jehovah Witness cult is a works religion. The natural inclination of the carnal mind is toward justification by works.
What is justification by faith? It means we are declared righteous before God by faith in Christ’s redemptive work rather than by our own works. This will become clearer as we study Romans 4 in detail.
OVERVIEW OF ROMANS 4
Before we get into those details, we will do a quick overview of Romans 4 so that we a general sense of how Paul’s argument proceeds.
For proper context, let’s back up and read Romans 3:21-31.
“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God [This point was soundly established in the verses prior to this.], 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. [Who does God justify? The one who has faith in Jesus. Amen?] 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”
Now in chapter 4, the general theme is this justification by faith declared in chapter 3.
I. In verses 1-8, Paul supports justification by faith using Old Testament Scripture. In verses 1-5, he shows how Abraham was justified by faith rather than works. Then in verses 6-8 he demonstrates that from David’s testimony.
II. In verses 9-12, he points out that Abraham was not justified by the ritual of circumcision. “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Rom. 4:3) before he was circumcised. He was saved by faith alone before the ritual was performed.
III. In verses 13-16, Paul explains why justification must be by faith rather than works. Only on the basis of grace can it be sure and secure. This is true for Jew and gentile alike.
IV. In verses 17-22, Paul describes the kind of faith that Abraham exercised which resulted in his justification. It was something more than mere mental accent.
V. In verses 23-25, Paul applies this teaching to all who believe in Christ. You and I are justified in the same way Abraham and David were justified: by faith, not by works. And what is the object of this faith? Verse 24-25: “It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”
So, the theme of Romans 4 is justification by faith. That theme continues into chapter 5 which beings with this summary of chapter 4: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). So, the question for us is this: Do you have peace with God today? It is available to all who receive it as a gift of grace “through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Understanding Romans 4 will require considerable attention to the details in those verses. But we can begin our study of the chapter with some sense of the overall progression of thought.
Why is our understanding of these things so important? Are there practical benefits that make the study worthwhile? Before we go into the details of the text, I want to share with you five benefits of understanding justification by faith as it is taught in Romans 4.
FIVE BENEFITS OF UNDERSTANDING ROMANS 4
1. By understanding justification by faith, we are better equipped to discern the difference between genuine Christianity and false religions.
The bedrock of true Christianity is justification by faith. The bedrock of false religions is typically justification by works. The carnal mind understands justification by works. So, that is readily accepted by most people.
In 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Paul addresses the tendency of the carnal mind to reject the true gospel. There he wrote:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent [A rough paraphrase of Isa. 29:14].’ 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe [Who are saved? Those who believe]. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
The gospel of grace is foolishness to the carnal mind. People enamored with their own intellect have a difficult time receiving it. Pride is a major obstacle that must be laid aside for a person to become a Christian. In Luke 18:17 Jesus said, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” To receive the kingdom of God we “must trust God in the simple faith and humility of a dependent child.”v
In Scripture, God has revealed a way of salvation that leaves humanity without any basis for boasting. The salvation in the Bible is something God does for sinful people, not something people do for God. Saved people do serve God, but they do that out of the strength that God supplies by his grace. Therefore, all the glory goes to God. The natural man seeks to exalt himself, but the spiritual man lives for the glory of God.
So, here is one reason we are studying Romans 4 with intense interest: The revelation here is essential to genuine Christianity.
2. Receiving the truth of justification by faith is essential for your own salvation.
Back in Romans 3:20 we learned that “by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His [God’s] sight.” Anyone who is trying to be saved by becoming a better person and doing good works will fail in his attempt. No one can be good enough to save himself. Yet in a variety of ways, that is what false religions tell people to do. For anyone to be saved, that person must hear the gospel of Christ and receive salvation as a gift of grace. You have to become “poor in spirit.”vi You must acknowledge your utter inability to measure up to God’s standards. You must acknowledge your utter dependence on God’s mercy and receive the salvation of Christ as a gift from a loving God. You must receive salvation on God’s terms as revealed in Scripture. No one can be saved by their good works because no one is good enough to meet God’s standards. Romans 3:10-12: “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.’”
So, your personal salvation is dependent on receiving it as revealed in Romans 4-5. Why is it worthwhile to study Romans 4?
3. Effective evangelism depends on presenting the gospel in accordance with what is taught in our text.
If we do not offer salvation as it is taught in Scripture, people will not get saved. They may get religious. They may join your church. But they can only be saved through the gospel that Paul teaches in Romans. They can only be justified by faith. If we add works to the formula, we place an unbiblical barrier to their entrance into the kingdom. We can be well-intentioned but wrong when we tell them to read their Bibles more, pray more diligently, or go to church. Those works are not a means of salvation. They are disciplines that Christians should observe. But to lead a person to Christ, we must offer them a salvation freely given and unearned in any way.
The hymn, “Just As I Am” communicates well what I am trying to say:
“Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bid'st me come to thee
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
[verse 4] Just as I am, Thou wilt receive
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve
Because Thy promise I believe
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”vii
For people to be saved they must come to God just as they are “without one plea.” They cannot plead any good works, any religious heritage, any religious ritual. Their only plea must be that Christ has shed his blood to give them the salvation they need. They must simply take God at his word and believe the promise of salvation as a gift of grace.
According to Romans 4:5, God “justifies the ungodly.” Only the ungodly who acknowledge their sinful state enter into the kingdom. Jesus told the Pharisees in John 9:41: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.” By claiming to see, by claiming to have no need of healing and forgiveness, the Pharisees shut themselves off from the grace being offered to them by Christ. Their sin was not forgiven because they continued to rely on their own goodness and ability. Salvation is for the ungodly who recognize their utter inability to save themselves. We must keep all this in mind when evangelizing the lost. The better we understand Romans 4-5, the better we are equipped to evangelize others.
4. We must understand these truths as foundational to our walk with God as a Christian.
The Galatians began their walk with the Lord by simply trusting his grace. But false teachers led them into a legalistic mindset that undermined their relationship with the Lord. Paul said to them in Galatians 1:6: “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel.” The gospel that God has called us to is a reliance on “the grace of Christ.” We should do good works as a result of God’s grace in our lives. But we do not rely on those works for our favor with God. Good works are a fruit of God’s grace in our lives; they are never a substitute for the favor God freely gives us as his children.
I said earlier, the carnal mind gravitates toward a works religion. When a Christian is walking in the flesh, he can easily fall into a works mentality. Any form of legalism frustrates the flow of God’s grace in our lives.viii And it is the flow of God’s grace or divine enablement that empowers us to live above sin and minister in the Spirit. Most of the Pentecostal Movement fell into this error in various degrees—not to the degree that the Galatians did, but enough legalism to limit their effectiveness. Some began to think they could keep themselves saved by good works. Instead, it is the faith in Christ and his grace, that keeps us producing the good works.
So, in Romans 5:1 Paul writes, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” That addresses our initial salvation experience. But listen carefully to what Paul says in the next verse about our Christian life. Verse 2 continues, “through whom Christ] also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” How do we stand firm in our relationship with the Lord after we have been born again? We do it in the same way as we did in the beginning. We do it “by faith into this grace.” We stay saved by reliance on the grace of God in the same way we got saved by reliance on the grace of God. If we shift our reliance toward our own good works, we hinder the purposes of God in our lives.
The book of Hebrews is written to Christians who were tempted to go back into Jewish legalism. In Hebrews 13:9 the exhortation is given: “Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.” The foods referred to here are the diet requirements in the law. But any form of legalism is a problem. Legalism rests on the concept that I am going to gain favor from God by my works. Instead, the heart must be “established by grace.” One’s faith must remain in God’s unmerited favor and his divine enablement. The NLT says, “Your spiritual strength comes from God's special favor [grace], not from ceremonial rules about food, which don't help those who follow them.”
In Romans 10, Paul commended the zeal that Jews had for their religion, but it was not according to knowledge. He wrote in Romans 10:3-4, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” To the extent that a Christian seeks to establish his own righteousness through good works, to that extent God’s divine enablement diminishes in his life. The person’s faith is in the wrong place. The person falls into the struggle of Romans 7 because he is relying on his own resources to please God. This is a big subject, and I can only mention it here. My purpose is to point out a very common error that well-meaning Christians easily fall into. In their religious zeal, they begin to rely on their own efforts rather than continue in the mindset they had when they came into the kingdom, rather than trusting God’s grace from beginning to end.
Roman 6-8 teach how we are to live as Christians. But we cannot operate effectively in Romans 6-8 without the revelation that is in Romans 4-5. Of course, we cannot understand Romans 4-5 without the revelation that is in Romans 1-3. That’s one reason we don’t just jump to Romans 6-8 and teach that. We must have the foundation that is in our current text.
Romans 4-5 provide the footing in grace that we need to navigate Romans 6-8. Without being well established in the grace of God, we are tempted to draw back when God calls us to higher consecration. Hebrews 12:14 tells Christians to “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” A faithful pastor leads his congregation into higher and higher levels of holiness in their daily walk with God.
When I taught holiness and exhorted people to higher levels of consecration, I encountered three possible responses:
(1) Some are apathetic and pay very little attention to the message. They are occupied with worldly things and the message goes into one ear and out of the other.
(2) A second group have their faith deeply rooted in the grace of God and respond wholeheartedly to the call.
(3) A third group hear the message and freak out. They even get upset with me and call me legalistic. Why do they respond this way? They are hearing the word with a legalistic mindset. They immediately think: “I can’t do that. It’s an unreasonable demand.” They are relying on their own ability to move into the higher level of holy living—and they know they cannot do it. Some may hypocritically act like they’re doing it. But in their hearts, they are frustrated with the message. If they had a sound understanding of grace, their response would be: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).
Do you thoroughly know in your heart that Romans 5:2 is true? Do you know that it is by accessing God’s grace that you “stand”—that it is not by your own good works but by the grace of God available to you by faith that produces the good works as a fruit of that grace?
We will talk more about all this as we examine Romans 4-5. The truths about grace accessed by faith that is taught in those two chapters provides the footing needed to live victoriously as a Christian. That’s the fourth reason we are studying this text. need to study and know these chapters.
5. As Christians, we must rely on the grace of God for effective ministry. This is really an extension of number 4, but we must not miss the importance of these truths for effective ministry. A legalistic mindset will hamper everything we do.
When Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “by the grace of God I am what I am,” he was acknowledging that in his initial experience he was justified by grace. But from that point on he continued to rely on God’s grace for his ministry. He did good works, but he knew that those good works were not grounds for his favor with God. They were the fruit of God’s grace in his life. So, in the remainder of that verse he wrote, “and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Although he labored hard for the Lord, he never took the glory for that. He recognized that it was simply a result of God’s grace working in him.
When we stand praying for others, we must expect the answer based on the grace of God. If we think the answer should come because of our good works, then we frustrate God’s grace and limit his empowerment for the situation. Biblical faith relies on God’s goodness, his unmerited favor, for the answer. It has no confidence in the flesh.ix
To protect us from legalistic tendencies, we must be thoroughly grounded in the truths taught in Romans 4-5. We must keep our faith in God’s unmerited favor toward us, rather than assuming a self-reliant attitude of heart. We must be rooted and grounded in the grace of God.
To summarize: A sound knowledge in the truths taught in Romans 4-5 will help us in these five ways:
1. By understanding justification by faith, we are better equipped to discern the difference between genuine Christianity and false religions.
2. By receiving these truths about justification by faith, we can personally come into God’s kingdom on his terms and be born again.
3. By understanding justification by faith, we are better equipped to evangelize the lost.
4. By being grounded in these truths, we are better equipped to rely on the grace of God for Christian living and avoid legalism.
5. By understanding these truths, we are better equipped to operate in the power of God for ministry.
With this overview, we are ready for a detailed study of Romans 4. We will begin that study next week.
ENDNOTES
i See https://www.youtube.com/@lifechurchspringfieldmo.6907 for the YouTube Channel and find the Playlist entitled “Book of Romans.”
ii Richard N. Longenecker, The Epistle to the Romans, NIGTC, Marshall and Hagner, eds. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016), xiv.
iii “It is commonly agreed that the Epistle to the Romans is one of the greatest Christian writings. Its power has been demonstrated again and again at critical points in the history of the Christian church.” Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 1. Romans is perhaps the most profound document in human history.
iv All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
v Darrell L. Bock, Luke, The NIV Application Commentary, Terry Muck, ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996) 462.
vi For a fuller understanding of this see Richard W. Tow, Beatitudes of Christ: Pathway of Blessing (Bloomington, IN, 2024), 3-14.
vii Charlotte Elliott, “Just As I Am” in The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration, Tom Fettke, ed. (Waco, TX: Word Music, 1986), 342.
viii Cf. Gal. 2:21.
ix Cf. Gal. 3:5; Phil. 3:3.
