Romans Chapter 4

Abraham and David

            ¹ What can we say, then, our ancestor Abraham discovered? ² If what he did, justified him, he had something to feel good about, but not toward God. ³ What does the scripture say? “Abraham trusted God, and God considered him righteous” [Gen 15:6] because of it. ⁴ In the case of people that are producing righteousness, the consequence—being considered righteous—doesn’t come from God or his grace; he would owe it to them to consider them righteous. ⁵ But for those who are not producing righteousness but are trusting the One that considers the ungodly as righteous, their trusting God to do that is considered righteousness. ⁶ David speaks about the “good fortune” of people God considers righteous aside from law,

                                    ⁷ “‘Fortunate’ are the ones whose unlawful deeds God forgives,

                                    whose sins he covers.

                                    ⁸ ‘Fortunate’ are the people whose sin the LORD

                                    doesn’t hold against them” [Ps 32:1-2].

⁹ Is the “good fortune” only on the circumcised, or is it on the uncircumcised too? We’ve said, “God considered Abraham righteous because he trusted” [Gen 15:6]. ¹⁰ When did God consider him righteous? When he was circumcised or uncircumcised? When he was uncircumcised. ¹¹ He received the circumcision sign as a seal for the righteousness he’d received by trusting when he was uncircumcised. And he received it as a seal that he would be the father of everybody that, without being circumcised, trust that God will consider them righteous like he did Abraham. ¹² His circumcision was also a seal that he would be the father of the uncircumcised who walk in his footsteps while he was uncircumcised.      

Rom 4:1-12

The Promise to Abraham

¹³ The promise to Abraham and his descendants—that he’d inherit the world—didn’t come by law, but by righteousness conditioned on trusting. ¹⁴ If law can cause people to be heirs, trust is null and promise is void. ¹⁵ Law brings God’s displeasure, but where there’s no law there’s no violation of it. ¹⁶ So righteousness comes by trust so it can come by grace and make the promise sure for all of Abraham’s seed, whether they’re under law or under the trust he had who is “father” of us all: ¹⁷ the scripture says, “I’ve appointed you to be the father of many nations” [Gen 17:5]. He trusted God, who makes the dead live and speaks of things that aren’t yet as if they already are. ¹⁸ Hoping against hope, he trusted that he would become “the father of many nations,” like God said, “That’s how your seed will be” [Gen 15:5]. ¹⁹ He wasn’t weak in trust but considered his own body as good as dead—he was about 100—and Sarah’s womb as dead too. ²⁰ He didn’t hesitate to trust God’s promise but grew strong in trust. He praised God, ²¹ confident that what he’d promised, he could do. ²² So, “God considered him righteous” [Gen 15:6]. ²³ Now that wasn’t written just about him, ²⁴ but about us too. God will consider us “righteous” who trust in the One that resurrected our Lord Jesus— ²⁵ who was delivered up for our trespasses and resurrected for our justification.                                                         

Rom 4:13-25