Abraham’s Faith: Why Your Spiritual Résumé Doesn’t Matter
What’s Romans 4 about?
Paul takes us on a deep dive into Abraham’s story to prove that faith—not religious performance—has always been God’s way of making people right with Him. It’s like he’s saying, “You think this gospel is too good to be true? Let me show you it’s been God’s plan all along.”
The Full Context
Picture Paul in Corinth around 57 AD, dictating this letter to a church he’s never visited but desperately wants to reach. Rome is the epicenter of the ancient world, and the church there is a fascinating mix of Jewish and Gentile believers who are struggling with some pretty fundamental questions: Do you need to become Jewish to become Christian? Does following the law earn you points with God? Paul has just dropped a theological bombshell in Romans 3:21-31—that righteousness comes through faith alone, not works. Now he can practically hear the objections from his Jewish readers: “But Paul, what about Abraham? What about the law? Are you throwing out our entire heritage?”
So Paul does what any brilliant rabbi would do—he goes straight to the patriarch everyone reveres and shows them that Abraham himself proves the gospel. This isn’t Paul inventing something new; it’s Paul unveiling something that’s been hiding in plain sight in the Hebrew Scriptures all along. Romans 4 serves as the crucial bridge between Paul’s theological argument and its historical foundation, proving that justification by faith isn’t Plan B—it’s been Plan A since the very beginning.
What the Ancient Words Tell Us
When Paul quotes Genesis 15:6—“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”—he’s using a word that would make any ancient accountant sit up and pay attention. The Greek word logizomai means “to reckon, calculate, or credit to an account.” It’s the same word used for banking transactions.
Grammar Geeks
The verb tense here is crucial—it’s aorist passive, meaning this crediting happened at a specific moment in time as a completed action. Abraham didn’t gradually earn righteousness through years of good behavior; it was deposited into his spiritual account the instant he believed.
But here’s where it gets really fascinating. Paul isn’t just making a theological point—he’s making a chronological one. Look at Romans 4:10: “Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before?” Paul’s doing the math for us. Genesis 15 (where God declares Abraham righteous) happens before Genesis 17 (where God commands circumcision). We’re talking about at least fourteen years between these events.
Think about what this means. For over a decade, Abraham walked around as a righteous man in God’s eyes—completely uncircumcised. No Torah observance, no temple sacrifices, no religious ceremonies. Just faith. This isn’t a small point; it’s revolutionary. Paul is essentially saying, “The father of the Jewish nation was saved the same way Gentiles are saved—by faith alone, before any religious ritual.”
What Would the Original Audience Have Heard?
To understand the earthquake Paul is creating here, you have to know how first-century Judaism viewed Abraham. He wasn’t just the patriarch; he was the ultimate example of righteousness through works. The rabbis had developed an entire tradition about Abraham’s supposed perfect law-keeping, even though the Torah wasn’t given until Moses.
Did You Know?
Jewish tradition claimed Abraham kept the entire Torah—all 613 commandments—even before it was written. Some rabbis taught that he discovered God through philosophical reasoning and kept the law perfectly from childhood. Paul is directly challenging this cherished belief system.
When Paul quotes Psalm 32:1-2 in Romans 4:7-8, he’s bringing in David as his second witness. Now he’s got both pillars of Jewish identity—Abraham the patriarch and David the king—testifying that righteousness comes apart from works. The word David uses for “blessed” (makarios) is the same word Jesus uses in the Beatitudes. It describes not just happiness, but the deep, settled joy that comes from being right with God.
Notice how Paul frames David’s words: “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” The Greek phrase “will never count” uses the same banking terminology (logizomai) we saw with Abraham, but now it’s in the negative. God’s not adding sin to our account; He’s refusing to count it.
But Wait… Why Did Paul Choose These Two?
Here’s something that might puzzle you at first: Why Abraham and David? Paul could have chosen any number of Old Testament heroes. But look closer—these two men represent something crucial.
Abraham represents the time before the law was given. David represents the time when the law was fully operational. Paul is showing us that in both eras—before law and under law—righteousness came the same way: through faith, not works. He’s covering all the bases.
Wait, That’s Strange…
Paul never mentions Abraham’s famous “binding of Isaac” from Genesis 22, which Jewish tradition viewed as his ultimate act of righteousness. Instead, he focuses on the simple moment of belief in Genesis 15. Why ignore the dramatic sacrifice? Because Paul isn’t interested in Abraham’s works—even his most impressive ones.
But there’s something even more profound happening here. Paul is redefining what it means to be Abraham’s children. In Romans 4:16-17, he calls Abraham “the father of us all”—not just ethnic Jews, but everyone who believes. The Gentiles who believe are walking in the footsteps of Abraham’s faith, while unbelieving Jews, despite their physical descent, are missing the real inheritance.
Wrestling with the Text
Let’s be honest—this passage raises some challenging questions. If circumcision doesn’t save, why did God command it? If the law doesn’t justify, what’s its purpose? Paul addresses this head-on, showing that circumcision was meant to be a sign of the righteousness Abraham already had by faith, not the means of obtaining it.
The word Paul uses for “sign” (sēmeion) is the same word used for the miraculous signs Jesus performed. Circumcision was meant to be like a wedding ring—a visible symbol of an invisible reality that was already there. It was never meant to be the marriage itself.
“Abraham’s faith wasn’t impressive because of its object—it was impressive because it believed in the impossible when everything looked hopeless.”
Look at Romans 4:18-21 where Paul describes Abraham’s faith. Here’s a man who was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised,” even when his body was “as good as dead” and Sarah’s womb was barren. The Greek phrase for “fully persuaded” (plērophoreō) means to be completely filled with confidence. Abraham wasn’t hoping God might come through; he was convinced God would.
But notice what strengthened his faith—not positive thinking or trying harder to believe, but focusing on God’s character. Romans 4:21 says he was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Faith isn’t about working up confidence in our confidence; it’s about resting in God’s power and faithfulness.
How This Changes Everything
Here’s where Paul’s argument becomes deeply personal. Romans 4:23-25 makes it clear that this isn’t just ancient history—it’s your story too. The same God who credited righteousness to Abraham’s account will credit it to yours when you believe in “him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
Notice the parallel Paul draws: Abraham believed in God who gives life to the dead (Isaac was as good as dead, Sarah’s womb was dead), and we believe in God who actually raised Jesus from the dead. Both acts of faith trust in God’s power over death itself.
The final verse (Romans 4:25) gives us this beautiful summary: Jesus “was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” The word “delivered over” (paradidōmi) is the same word used for Judas betraying Jesus—but here, it’s the Father who delivers the Son. This wasn’t cosmic child abuse; this was cosmic love in action.
Key Takeaway
Abraham’s faith wasn’t impressive because it was strong—it was impressive because it rested in a faithful God. Your spiritual standing isn’t based on the quality of your faith, but on the reliability of the One you’re trusting.
Further Reading
Internal Links:
External Scholarly Resources:
- Commentary on Romans by Douglas Moo
- Romans: An Interpretive Outline by David Martyn Lloyd-Jones
- Paul and Palestinian Judaism by E.P. Sanders
Tags
Romans 4:1, Romans 4:16, Genesis 15:6, Psalm 32:1-2, Abraham, David, circumcision, justification, faith, righteousness, law, works, covenant, promise, belief, trust
