로마서 Chapter 4

Translation: ESV

1

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?

Key Message

The example of Abraham, the most revered ancestor of the Jewish people, serves as Old Testament evidence confirming justification by faith.

▸Chapter 4 begins Paul's confirmation of the justification-by-faith argument from 3:27–31, now grounded in the concrete historical figure of Abraham.

Chapter 4 begins Paul's confirmation of the justification-by-faith argument from 3:27–31, now grounded in the concrete historical figure of Abraham. Abraham was the most revered ancestor in Jewish tradition. If Abraham was also justified by faith rather than works, then justification by faith is not merely a new theory but something already attested by the Old Testament.

Related Verses

They answered him, 'Abraham is our father.' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did.'
2

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

Key Message

There is no meritorious righteousness that can boast before God; righteousness is given solely by God's grace.

▸If Abraham were justified by works he would have grounds for boasting, but not before God.

3

For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.'

Key Message

That Abraham's faith was counted as righteousness by God proves that justification by faith is a principle already revealed in the Old Testament.

▸This is a direct quotation of Genesis 15:6.

4

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.

Key Message

Just as wages earned by work are not grace but a debt, salvation by works would be a matter of human merit rather than God's grace.

▸Verses 4–5 explain the verb 'to count (λογίζεσθαι)' through everyday economic logic.

5

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

Key Message

Believing in the God who justifies the ungodly sinner — this is faith, and this faith is counted as righteousness.

▸'Believes in him who justifies the ungodly' — this is the paradox of the Christian gospel.

6

just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

Key Message

David's psalms sing of the blessedness of being counted righteous apart from works, confirming that justification by faith is a principle running throughout the entire Old Testament.

▸In addition to Abraham's example, Paul presents David's testimony.

7

'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

Key Message

Lawless deeds forgiven and sins covered — this is the essence of the blessing God gives.

▸This is a quotation of Psalm 32:1.

8

blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.'

Key Message

The one whose sin God does not count — that is, the one whose sin has been forgiven in Christ — is the blessed person.

▸A quotation of Psalm 32:2.

9

Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.

Key Message

The question is whether this blessing of faith applies only to the circumcised (Jews) or equally to Gentiles — and Abraham's example confirms it.

▸Is this blessing only for Jews, or also for Gentiles? To answer this question Paul examines when Abraham was counted righteous.

10

How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.

Key Message

The fact that Abraham was counted righteous before circumcision proves that justification by faith applies equally to Gentiles.

▸The decisive argument is presented.

11

He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,

Key Message

Circumcision is a sign confirming righteousness received by faith, and Abraham is the spiritual father of Gentile believers who have been justified by faith.

▸The role of circumcision is redefined.

12

and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Key Message

The true children of Abraham are not those of biological descent but those who follow in the footsteps of Abraham's faith.

▸Abraham is not only the father of Gentile believers but also the father of Jewish believers.

13

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

Key Message

The promise given to Abraham came through the righteousness of faith, not through the law, and is therefore eternally valid.

▸The promise given to Abraham ('heir of the world') came through the righteousness of faith, not through the law.

14

For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and void, and the promise is annulled.

Key Message

If the law were the standard for inheritance, both faith and the promise would lose their meaning — but God's promise is faithfully valid.

▸If law-keeping were the standard for inheritance, two consequences would follow: (1) faith would become meaningless, and (2) the promise would be cancelled.

15

For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

Key Message

The law brings wrath by clearly defining sin, and therefore cannot serve as the basis for the promise.

▸Two functions of the law are presented.

16

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

Key Message

Only the promise given through faith — that is, through grace — can be guaranteed with certainty to all people.

▸This is the conclusion.

17

as it is written, 'I have made you the father of many nations'—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

Key Message

The object of Abraham's faith is the almighty Creator God who gives life to the dead and brings into existence what does not exist.

▸This is a quotation of Genesis 17:5.

18

In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, 'So shall your offspring be.'

Key Message

True faith is clinging to God's promise even in the depths of despair when human hope has disappeared.

▸'In hope he believed against hope (παρ' ἐλπίδα ἐπ' ἐλπίδι)' — this is the essence of Abraham's faith.

19

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.

Key Message

Faith is not ignoring desperate reality but, while squarely facing it, trusting God's power all the more.

▸The specific circumstances of Abraham's faith are described.

20

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,

Key Message

True faith does not waver concerning the promise but grows stronger, manifesting itself in giving glory to God.

▸Three characteristics of Abraham's faith are presented: (1) no wavering, (2) growing strong in faith, (3) giving glory to God.

21

fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Key Message

Faith is a complete conviction about God's omnipotence — the assurance that God is able to do what he has promised.

▸'Fully convinced (πληροφορηθεὶς)' means completely persuaded.

22

That is why his faith was 'counted to him as righteousness.'

Key Message

Faith that is fully convinced of God's promise is precisely the faith that God counts as righteousness.

▸The quotation of Genesis 15:6 is confirmed again.

23

But the words 'it was counted to him' were not written for his sake alone,

Key Message

The story of Abraham's faith is the word of Scripture for all believers of every age.

▸The purpose of the scriptural record is expanded.

24

but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,

Key Message

Our faith — believing in the God who raised Jesus from the dead — has the same structure as Abraham's faith.

▸The content of the faith through which we are counted righteous is presented: believing 'in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord.

25

who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Key Message

Jesus died for our sins and rose for our justification — death and resurrection are the two pillars of the gospel.

▸This is the conclusion of chapter 4 and the transition point to chapter 5.