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LESSON 5
TEACHERS OUTLINE
ROM 4:1-25
God's
Faithfulness To Abraham And Christ
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God’s Righteousness (Rom 1:16,
17; 3:21-31)
We have learned thus far
that Romans is a letter which introduces Paul to the Roman churches. He
wants the Roman churches to send him on to Spain.
The Roman letter lays out
Paul’s Apostolic credentials and doctrine he teaches to both Jew and
Gentile.
A major aspect of Paul’s
doctrine or gospel is that God is a Righteous God who treats everyone, the
Jews and the Gentiles, exactly the same.
For the Jew this raises
some serious questions! What about the law (Torah), what about God’s
calling and election of Israel through Abraham?
In Rom 4 Paul will
demonstrate that God is a faithful God who is consistent.
His righteousness is tied
closely to he faithfulness.
One question in the Jews
mind would be “Is this a new gospel that Paul is proclaiming that is
different form the message of the Torah?
Paul has already stated
that the Scriptures and prophets of old had already prophesied of the gospel
(Rom 1:2; 3:21).
God Made a Promise to Abraham,
and was Faithful to that Promise (Rom 4:1-25)
In this chapter Paul will
focus on four major thoughts;
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God’s promise to Abraham
that he and Sarah would bare a son and that through that son all nations
would be blessed (Rom 4:1-5).
Paul cites Gen 15:6 as a text demonstrating that God was faithful to
Abraham, and because Abraham had faith and believed in God, God declared
Abraham righteous based on his faith.
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Abraham was proclaimed
righteous by faith long before the Torah or circumcision were introduced
(Rom 4:9-12).
Historically we know form the Genesis record of God’s dealings with
Abraham and then later with Israel through Moses that the Torah came much
later than Abraham being declared righteous based on his faith, and even
Abraham’s covenant sign of circumcision (Gen 17) came later than his being
declared righteous by faith (Gen 15).
Every Jew would know these historical facts!
[Circumcision was a sign of a covenant God had made with Abraham that was
based on faith. Baptism is not the equivalent sign of a covenant made
between a Christian and God regarding salvation, the indwelling Holy
Spirit is that sign (Eph 1:13, 14; 2 Cor 1:22)].
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In God’s promise to
Abraham, all nations were included. God is not only the God of the Jew,
but also of the Gentiles (Rom 4:13-17).
This is an important point Paul makes. Abraham was not only the “father
of the Jews”, but also of Gentiles (Ishmael, the ancestors of the Arab
nations). But God becomes in another more important sense the “father of
all” (Rom 4:17).
If he were the father of those who lived under the Torah he could not be
the “father of us all”, but only the father of Israel.
He becomes the father of us all because he is the father of those who have
faith (Rom 4:16).!
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Abraham’s justification
by faith was an example for all (Rom 4:18-25).
It was because of Abraham’s faith that he and Sarah would bare a son,
Isaac, that Abraham became the father of all.
We learn something interesting about faith in this little narrative!
Abraham had faith in God and did not waver or distrust in that faith, but
twice his faith was not what it should be and he lied about Sarah his
wife, calling her his sister! (Gen 12:13 and Gen 20:2. the first in
Egypt, the second with Abimelech king of Gerar).
The point is that Abraham, like Job, made mistakes, had fear, had
questions, but never gave up on God and his promises, even though at times
he did not understand them fully!
Paul’s Concluding Argument on
Abraham’s Faith (Rom 4:23-25)
Rom 4:23-25 speak for themselves!
What God was doing through
Abraham was not only for Abraham’s sake, but really for our sake, that we
might know that the only way to righteousness with God was to trust in his
grace which we access through our faith in what God was doing in Jesus and
his death and resurrection.
Righteousness and a covenant relationship with God does not come through law
keeping or works of any kind, only
through faith in Jesus Christ.
Notes:
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