The Book Of ROMANS.....A Systematic Teaching

Major said:
It was assumed that Abraham did good works, a lot of them.
Click to expand...
And some not so good works e.g. pawn off Sarai as his sister and 'push' God's promise along via Hagar, (David's list is longer), yet...


And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, Romans 4:5 ESV
 
crossnote said:
And some not so good works e.g. pawn off Sarai as his sister and 'push' God's promise along via Hagar, (David's list is longer), yet...


And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, Romans 4:5 ESV
Click to expand...
All true!

Abraham sounds a little like "me".
 
Romans 4:3............
"For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
What Scripture?????

A Bible professor by the name of Dr. Benjamin Warfield once said............
"The Bible is the Word of God in such a way that whatever the Bible says God says"!

Paul quotes the Old Test. over 60 times in the book of Romans. Here of course he is quoting Genesis 15:6........
"And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness."

It was faith in God, not his own works, which allowed Abraham to be justified before God.

Paul made this very same argument to the Christians in the region of Galatia (Galatians 3:6). They were being persuaded by a group known as the "Judaizers" that they must be circumcised and follow the law, in addition to believing in Christ, in order to be truly saved. Paul used the example of Abraham in that letter, as well, to show that this argument was false.
 
crossnote said:
Well brother, you just need my little booklet titled, "5 Easy Steps to a Sinfree Life" for just $6.66 . Free postage if you act within 24 hours.
Click to expand...
LOL!...........Now that is funny!!!! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

I know I have seen that on Peter Popoff's TV show. I was looking for some Holy Water stright from the Jordon River when I saw that book advertised!
 
Tomans 4:4..........
"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.:
Abraham was declared righteous by God, in spite of his own personal sin, because he believed God. All of Abraham's acts of faith came after, and were driven by, his faith in God.

Paul begins here to illustrate the difference between salvation by works and salvation by God's grace through faith in Christ. When we have a job, we get paid. That paycheck is not a gift. It is what our employer owes us in exchange for our work. Clearly, we can't demand that God "owes" us salvation on the basis of our works.

First and foremost, as Paul has already demonstrated, none of us can earn being declared righteous by God. No matter how hard we try—which is not as hard as we could try (Romans 3:10)—we can't get the job done. God still owes us nothing.

In the following verse, Paul shows the difference of being declared righteous as a gift, as opposed to as a payment for services rendered to God.
 
Romans 4:5...........
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

My dear friends, righteousness can never be accounted to the one who approaches God on the principle of works. Instead it is given to the one who believes on Him who justifies the ungodly.

"The ungodly" is who God justifies !!!
We might expect God would only justify a godly man but because of what Jesus did on the cross, God can justify the ungodly.

The Lord Jesus Christ did not die to save GOOD men or the men who were already great church members.

It isn’t as if God is happy with our ungodly condition. We are not justified because of our ungodliness, but despite our ungodliness.

Morris quoting Denney:..........
“The paradoxical phrase, Him that justifieth the ungodly, does not suggest that justification is a fiction, whether legal or of any other sort, but that it is a miracle.”

Faith is accounted for righteousness: Just as Abraham, so our faith is accounted for righteousness. This was not some special arrangement for Abraham alone. We can enter into this relationship with God also.

By this we understand that there are not two ways of salvation – saved by works through law-keeping in the Old Testament and saved by grace through faith in the New Testament. Everyone who has ever been saved – Old or New Testament – is saved by grace through faith, through their relationship of a trusting love with God. Because of the New Covenant we have benefits of salvation that Old Testament saints did not have but we do not have a different manner of salvation.
 
Romans 4:6............
" Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,"
NOW PAUL USES DAVID AS AN EXAMPLE!
David lived under the Law. Abraham DO NOT live under the Law. The Law came 400 years after Abraham.

However, although David lived under the Law he could never be saved under the Law. Therefore, David described the blessings that God reckons righteousness without works because David had no works.

David lived under the Law, but DAVID DID NOT KEEP THE LAW. Actually, can you think of a Law that David did NOT break???
Let's be totally honest in our teaching here and say that His works were evil!

YES........I do know that the NIV translation says that David kept all the laws of God in 1 Kings 15:5.
However, where the NIV talks about keeping the commands, the other translations talk more about a lifestyle. David knew of God’s mercies that bring forgiveness for his sins (Ps 25:6-7). The sacrificial system of the OT provided a means for sinners to come into communion with God (though not as perfectly as the sacrifice of Christ). From this passage we see that David’s lifestyle, similar to many Christians today, was one where he would disobey God, SIN and mess up, but he always saw his mistake right away and he came right back to God.

Therefore righteousness must be totally apart and separate from works. Righteousness must therefore come on an entirely different principle!
 
Romans 4:7...........
"Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered."
This is a direct quote from Psalms 32:1-2. There are TWO great penitential (showing sorrow) Psalms and this is one of them. The other is Psalms 51.

These are the outcome of David's great sin and his confession and acceptance that followed.

Are YOU one of the blessed ones today whose sins are forgiven?????????

I can promise you that I am blessed to be counted in that number.

"Iniquities" = Lawlessness!

David deliberately broke the Law. In other words.....he did not do what he did out of ignorance. He knew what he did and he choose to do it and God forgave him of it.

Now.........YOU and ME are in the very same situation. Don't fall into that LIBERAL wishey washey way of thinking that.....MY SINS ARE REALLY LITTLE!

Listen folks........All sin is a falling short of God’s glory. ALL SIN!
So there’s either righteousness or unrighteousness, and righteousness—perfection—is an absolute.
Broadly speaking, all sins are equal to God in that all sins are by definition “unrighteous” and “imperfect.” All things less than holy share the quality of unholiness.

Let's play jump to Cuba!

YOU and ME stand on Key West. YOU get a running start of let's say 100 feet and then you jump south toward Cuba.
I do not get a running start and I simply stand on the beach ramp and jump south toward Cuba.
Now.....what happens???? WE BOTH FALL INTO THE WATER AND GET WET! It does not make any difference if YOU went 1 foot or 10 feet more that I did. It does m=not matter if YOU flapped your wings and I didn't. We both fell into the water and we are both wet.

In a similar way, all sins are equal to God; it doesn’t really matter how short we fall. We all fall.
Now that we’ve established the general rule that all sins are equal to God by nature, we can add some refinements. Although lust and adultery are both sinful, that does not mean they are equal in every respect. Having lust in one’s heart will have consequences in this world, but those consequences will not be as severe as committing the physical act of adultery. The same is true with harboring a grudge versus actually committing murder. Coveting has a lesser effect than thieving. Sin is sin, but not all sin bears the same penalties in this world. In that sense, some sins are worse than others.

There is one other way in which all sins are equal in God’s eyes: all sins, no matter how “big” or “small,” can be forgiven in Christ.
 
Romans 4:8........
"Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."
In other words.....joyful is the man whose sin God does not require him to pay for!

IF, YOU had to pay for your sin on judgment day, what is the amount YOU would write on the check???????

David was a GREAT SINNER! He never heard of a sin he did not like. However, God put his sin away.(2 Sam. 12:13).

That does NOT mean that there was not any consequences for his sin. Look carefully at 2 Samuel 12:13.........
"And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die."

What is the penalty for sin.........DEATH!
David should have died. Adam should have died.

David paid the consequences of his choices to sin because God allowed him to live.

He witnessed FOUR of his children killed.
 
Romans 4:9........
"Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness."
The argument now turns back to Abraham. to show that justification is universal.

Since David has spoken of the joy of a man under Law who has been forgiven, the answer of the Jew would be that David belonged to the circumcision and only he circumcision could expect that kind of joy!

For this reason Paul comes back to Abraham to show that he was justified before the Law was given and also before he was circumcised.

Thus, circumcision must not be required for the blessing of being forgiven for our sin through faith in Christ.
 
Romans 4:10...........
"How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision."
What is Paul asking here?

Paul has asked once more whether the blessing of being forgiven for our sin, of being declared righteous by God and welcomed into His family, is only for the circumcised.

Or, is it for the uncircumcised, as well? In other words, can Gentiles be saved by faith and not by following the law?

God made the promise to Abraham and Abraham believed God long before there was any kind of agreement made at all-----
other than that God said He would do it. Abraham believed the naked Word of God.

To answer, Paul pointed again to what was said of Abraham in Genesis 15:6. There, we are told that Abraham believed God, and God credited that faith as righteousness. Now Paul asks and answers whether that moment happened before or after Abraham was circumcised in obedience to God's command. Of course, Abraham's expression of faith happened before circumcision.

How do we know this? Abraham is declared righteous for his faith in Genesis 15 as God was promising Abraham a son. Sometime later, Ishmael was born when Abraham was 86 years old (Genesis 16:16). Abraham was not circumcised until he was 99 years old (Genesis 17:24). So it was at least 13 years after God declared Abraham righteous before he was circumcised.

Paul's point is that Abraham's circumcision had nothing to do with Abraham being declared righteous by God for his faith. The two were not connected. So what is there to exclude the uncircumcised non-Jewish world from being justified by God for faith in Christ?
 
Romans 4:11..........
"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 be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:"

Abraham was counted righteous by God for his faith (Genesis 15:6). So what was the point of circumcision if it wasn't what caused Abraham, or his descendants, to be righteous in God's eyes?

Circumcision was a sign that served as a seal, Paul writes. It was an outward sign for the Jewish people that they believed what God had told them. Abraham's righteous standing before God was still by faith. His circumcision sealed—demonstrated and proved—the righteousness he had already been given credit for. God credited righteousness to Abraham when Abraham was yet to be circumcised.

Why was there a GAP?????

Paul states now that there was a definite reason for that gap of time between when Abraham was declared righteous by God for his faith and when he was circumcised. It caused Abraham to become the father of both the Jews and the believing Gentiles who would follow.

First, Abraham is the father to all who believe God without being circumcised. By this, Paul means non-Jewish people around the world, whether they are circumcised for other reasons or not. All non-Jewish people can follow Abraham's example of being declared righteous before God because of faith and not because of works.

Then, as the following verse will show, Abraham became the father of all the Jews, as well.
 
Major said:
Romans 4:8........
"Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."
In other words.....joyful is the man whose sin God does not require him to pay for!

IF, YOU had to pay for your sin on judgment day, what is the amount YOU would write on the check???????

David was a GREAT SINNER! He never heard of a sin he did not like. However, God put his sin away.(2 Sam. 12:13).

That does NOT mean that there was not any consequences for his sin. Look carefully at 2 Samuel 12:13.........
"And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die."

What is the penalty for sin.........DEATH!
David should have died. Adam should have died.

David paid the consequences of his choices to sin because God allowed him to live.

He witnessed FOUR of his children killed.
Click to expand...
Could you explain 'will not impute sin, or the imputed righteousness of Christ'? I think this is a crucial point.
 
crossnote said:
Could you explain 'will not impute sin, or the imputed righteousness of Christ'? I think this is a crucial point.
Click to expand...
Absolutely and thanks for asking. You are correct.

The word "IMPUTE" literally means...........CHARGE! It can also be said that God will not recon or regard him as guilty.
That speaks to the doctrine of "Justification"!

I would also say that this shows clearly what the apostle meant by imputing faith without works. It is to pardon sin, and to look upon the repentant man with favor.

Another way to look at this is that God does not keep a list. God doesn't impute iniquity unto that man who is believing and trusting in Jesus Christ.

What a beautiful position that is where God is not imputing iniquity to me, because of my faith. HE PUT MY SIN ON HIS SON!
Now, I would not dare to say this unless it was said in the scriptures. I mean, this seems to be so presumptuous I wouldn't dare to utter it, but the scripture declares it, so I am only declaring what the scripture declares.
Oh how happy I am that God accounts me righteous and does not account my iniquities against me because of my faith in Jesus Christ.

God accounts me righteous. Now comes this happiness, because my Sins were forgiven on the basis that Jesus DID come and die for all transgressions which is the act of DEBIT!
 
Major said:
Absolutely and thanks for asking. You are correct.

The word "IMPUTE" literally means...........CHARGE! It can also be said that God will not recon or regard him as guilty.
That speaks to the doctrine of "Justification"!

I would also say that this shows clearly what the apostle meant by imputing faith without works. It is to pardon sin, and to look upon the repentant man with favor.

Another way to look at this is that God does not keep a list. God doesn't impute iniquity unto that man who is believing and trusting in Jesus Christ.

What a beautiful position that is where God is not imputing iniquity to me, because of my faith. HE PUT MY SIN ON HIS SON!
Now, I would not dare to say this unless it was said in the scriptures. I mean, this seems to be so presumptuous I wouldn't dare to utter it, but the scripture declares it, so I am only declaring what the scripture declares.
Oh how happy I am that God accounts me righteous and does not account my iniquities against me because of my faith in Jesus Christ.

God accounts me righteous. Now comes this happiness, because my Sins were forgiven on the basis that Jesus DID come and die for all transgressions which is the act of DEBIT!
Click to expand...
So the righteousness of Jesus Christ is credited (imputed) to those who place their faith in Jesus, ¿n'est pas?
 
crossnote said:
Just wanted to get some of these very helpful (at least in my case) points across. Hope you don't mind.
Click to expand...
Absolutely not! It is what we should do and it is the product of teaching. Everyone has an input because I am not the expert on anything.

Except on doing what my wife tells me to do.
 
Romans 4:12............
"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."

It should be noted, and I probably should have already stated this, but the Jews of Paul’s day thought circumcision meant they were the true descendants of Abraham. Paul insists that to have Abraham as your father, you must walk in the steps of the faith that Abraham walked in.

“Our father Abraham” is an important phrase, and one that the ancient Jews jealously guarded. They did not allow a circumcised Gentile convert to Judaism refer to Abraham as “our father” in the synagogue. A Gentile convert had to call Abraham “your father” and only natural born Jews could call Abraham “our father.” Paul throws out that distinction, and says that through faith, all can say, “our father Abraham.”

Can you imagine the shock for the Jewish readers of this letter to see that Paul called Abraham the father of uncircumcised people! !!!
Faith, not circumcision, is the vital link to Abraham. It is far more important to have Abraham’s faith (and the righteousness imputed to him because of it) than it is to have Abraham’s circumcision.

We read that today and say.........DUH! Common sense --right??? But remember, this was sent to believers in Rome 2000 years ago.

FAITH is what made Abraham a spiritual father to everyone who believes God without being circumcised, referring to all non-Jewish people, whether circumcised for other reasons or not.

Now Paul shows that Abraham was also the father of circumcised people, as well. However, in this case Paul is not referring to all of them. Abraham is, of course, physically the father of all the Jewish people. He is their primary ancestor. They are his descendants.
Paul, however, qualifies this second group of the children of Abraham.

He describes them as, yes, circumcised and Jewish, but also as those who walk in his footsteps by having the same faith in God Abraham did before he was circumcised. In other words, Abraham became the spiritual father both of the believing non-Jews and the believing Jews. Paul's point here is crucial: ......
even under circumcision, faith is what truly separates those who are in God's family from those who are apart from it. Abraham set the example for all who would follow in faith.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top