Romans 4:1-25
Key Verses: 4:23-24
“The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness — for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
In last week’s passage, we learned that we are sinners, and no one can rescue us from God’s eternal judgment. But Jesus died on the cross for our sins, set us free from the bondage of sin, and justified us by His grace. We only need to have faith in Jesus—there is no other requirement, such as keeping the law or being circumcised. Through faith alone, we are called righteous before God. What amazing grace this is! In today’s passage, Paul explains more deeply what it means to have faith in Christ, using Abraham as an example. Through this chapter, Paul raises two profound questions. 1. Was Abraham justified by works or by faith? (4:1–8) 2. Is this blessing only for the Jews, or also for the Gentiles? (4:9–25) I pray that through today’s passage, we may find the answers to these questions, learn from Abraham’s faith, and understand the gift of God.
Part 1, Was Abraham justified by works or by faith? (4:1–8)
Look at verse 1, What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? The “matter” he is referring to is the key issue of how a person is justified before God. In fact, many religions require good works and strict obedience to the law in order to attain righteousness. For example, Jainism is one such religion. It is one of the religions in India (Approximately 4.45 million Jains live in India). Jain monks live under extremely strict discipline—some do not wear clothes, avoid using electricity, walk barefoot, and they even wear masks to avoid unintentionally eating tiny creatures. They practice severe fasting, and some even choose to fast unto death for spiritual liberation. They believe that their severe practices are credited as righteousness in the eyes of their gods and lead to liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
What about Abraham? Was Abraham made righteous by his good works, like a Jain monk? Of course, Abraham did many good works. Because of God’s calling, he obeyed and left his hometown and his father’s household. He built altars to the Lord and called on the name of God among the unbelievers. He welcomed the Lord and two angels as his guests and prayed earnestly for Lot and the people of Sodom. He fought a fierce battle against Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and his allies to rescue his nephew Lot. He also gave a tenth of everything to Melchizedek, the high priest. Abraham became successful and well-known in the region. Indeed, he did many good works and accomplished much. He had many reasons to boast about his works before others. Look at verse 2, If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. But the Apostle Paul said that Abraham was not justified by any of these things before God. So then, how could he receive righteousness from God?
Let’s read verse 3, What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Paul refers to Genesis 15:6. What happened in Genesis chapter 15? After rescuing Lot, Abraham returned home, but he was troubled because he had no children and thought that his servant Eliezer would become his heir. But God assured him that he would have a son of his own. Then God took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5). Abram opened his eyes and looked up at the sky, seeing the countless stars. He began to count them one by one: “One, two, three… one hundred, two hundred…” As he tried to count them, he realized how small he was and how great and vast God is. The Creator God, who made the entire universe, gave Abraham a deeply personal promise: “So shall your offspring be.” Through the wonder of His creation, God helped Abraham grow in faith. Then, Abraham believed God’s promise, and God credited his faith to him as righteousness. What a beautiful story this is!
But here, we should take a closer look at the important word: ‘credited.’ God credited his faith, what does it mean? Have you ever applied for a credit card? Before a banker gives you a credit card, they always check your credit score. They want to know if you’ve paid your debts and handled your money wisely. Everything is based on your past actions. If your record is bad, you’ll be denied. What if God used the same credit check system to decide whether we were righteous or not? What if He checked our spiritual “credit score”? If that were the case, none of us would qualify because the Bible says we’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (3:23). In other words, our spiritual credit is cooked(ruined). But here’s the good news, God doesn’t credit us based on our condition. He credits us based on our faith. When Abraham believed God, it wasn’t because he had an 850-credit score. In fact, Abraham had made many mistakes. But God looked at Abraham’s faith and treated him as if he was righteous—not because he earned it, but because he believed. It’s like God stamped “Approved” on Abraham’s account by his faith alone.
So, the Apostle Paul explains this even more deeply using the example of wages and a gift in verses 4 and 5. Let’s take a look at them. 4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. Paul teaches that being made righteous is not like receiving wages from an employer. As employees, we sometimes feel that our paycheck is too small compared to all the hard work we do. Don’t you think so? And even though I work hard, such small wages can never truly satisfy my heart or even please my wife. Yet, no matter how I feel, wages are given out of obligation. If I work, I must be paid, that’s how it works. In the same way, there are some Christians who treat righteousness like a wage. They believe that because they’ve worked hard in their communities, families, or even in the church, they deserve righteousness. Some people may think, “Look how much I donated to the church,” or “Look at all the sacrifices I’ve made for the worship service, surely God should repay me.” (Hey, take it easy, my friend and look at verse 5!)
But Paul makes it clear that righteousness isn’t something we can earn like a paycheck. It’s a gift. A gift is completely different from a wage. A gift brings joy and happiness to our hearts—not because of how big or expensive it is, but because it shows the love and thoughtfulness of the giver. Paul tells us that righteousness is a gift from God, given to those who put their trust in Him—just like Abraham. Abraham wasn’t made righteous because of anything he did, but because of his faith.
And throughout the Bible, we see many others who received God’s gift not because they worked for it, but because they believed. Apostle Paul gave exemplary person who received a gift from God. Look at verses 6-8. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” David was a talented musician, a poet, a successful general and a king. David seemed to have everything in this world: talent, fame, love, power and handsomeness just like Denial Gates. But everything changed when he committed a serious sin against God. He saw a married woman named Bathsheba bathing and was filled with lustful desire. He committed adultery with her and tried to cover it up by killing her husband, Uriah, a loyal soldier. Afterwards, David took Bathsheba as his wife. He thought no one would ever find out, but God was watching. God sent the prophet Nathan to confront and expose his sin. Despite his failure, David did not run away from God. When he was convicted, he humbly responded with deep repentance, saying, “I have sinned against the Lord.” (2 Samuel 12:13)
David’s repentance was not shallow or superficial—it came from a broken heart. By faith, he sought God’s forgiveness and trusted in His unfailing love.
As Psalm 32:1–2 says:7 “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” In response, God accepted his genuine repentance, forgave his sins, and did not count his iniquity against him.
David’s forgiveness was not earned by works or sacrifices, but through faith it was credited to him as righteousness as God’s gift. In many ways, we are like David. We turn away from God, love the world, and run after sinful desires. We break His heart again and again. But God never gives up on us. He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins and bring us back to Himself. This is the true meaning of grace- a gift we did not deserve. So let us put our faith in our Father in Heaven, who accepts us just as we are.
Through Abraham and King David, we found the answer to Apostle Paul’s first question. Was Abraham justified by works or by faith? Yes, Abraham was justified by faith in God. It was God’s gift. This is the true gospel for those who earnestly seek Him with faith. I pray that God may help us to trust Him as Abraham did and receive righteousness as a gift not through our works, but by faith.
Part 2, Is this blessing only for the Jews, or also for the Gentiles? (4:9–25)
The Apostle Paul brings up a second question. Look at verse 9. 9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Why did Paul bring up the question of circumcision? To understand this, we need to know the background of the church in Rome.
During Paul’s time, there were problems between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians in the church in Rome. In A.D. 49, the Roman Emperor Claudius forced all Jews to leave Rome.
Because some Jews believed Jesus is the Savior, and others did not. These disagreements caused trouble in the city, and Claudius wanted to keep peace, so he kicked all the Jews out of Rome. We can also see this in Acts 18:2, where it says that Aquila and Priscilla had to leave Rome because of this. Therefore, Jewish Christians had to leave Rome. While they were gone, the Gentile Christians continued worshiping together, growing in number, and leading the church. Since they were not Jewish, they didn’t follow Jewish traditions like circumcision, food laws, or keeping the Sabbath. In A.D. 54, the Jews were allowed to return, and Jewish Christians came back to the church in Rome. But when they came back, they found that the church was no longer the same as before. They felt that the Gentile believers had turned the church into a mess.
This caused conflict between them. The Jewish Christians still believed it was important to follow the laws of Moses, even though they believed in Jesus. In Acts 15:5 says, “Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.’” This made Gentile believers ask big questions: Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? Do we need to keep the law of Moses?
So what did Paul say in response? Let’s look at verses 10-11: “Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.”
The Apostle Paul reminded them of Father Abraham, who was credited with righteousness before he was circumcised. Circumcision was only a sign or seal of righteousness. Therefore, Abraham became the father of both Jews and Gentiles who believe—not because of circumcision, but because of faith. But Jewish Christians urged church members not only to be circumcised but also to keep the laws of Moses. For example, Exodus 23:19 say, “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” Because of this command, even today, many Jews do not eat meat and dairy products together. This is part of the kosher dietary laws. According to this law, they do not eat cheeseburgers (because cheese i made from milk and the patty is made from meat). Exodus 35:3 says, “Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” Lighting a fire on the Sabbath was considered a form of work. For this reason, many Jews today also avoid turning on electric switches during the Sabbath, as it is seen as similar to kindling a fire. In fact, there are 613 Torah laws that Jews are traditionally required to follow.
But what did Apostle Paul say about the law? Look at verse 13. 13 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. In Genesis 12:2–3, Abraham received God’s promise that he would become the father of many nations, and that through his offspring, all nations on earth would be blessed. This promise was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. If the promise had been based on keeping the law, then faith would have no meaning, and the promise would be powerless—because none of us can keep the law perfectly. My son Matthew really likes to eat cheeseburgers, but according to the law of Moses, that would make him a lawbreaker. The truth is, we are not able to fully keep the law until God’s promise is fulfilled. In Romans 3:10-12, Paul declares, 10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Yes, we are all sinners who have failed to keep the law—instead it is the law itself that reveals and exposes our sin and unfaithfulness. The more we try to keep God’s law, the more we are condemned by it and suffer from the guilt of our sins.
Let us read verse 16 together. 16 the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believes. (NLT) “Wow! God gives us another free gift here.” The promise of God is not based on law-keeping, but on our faith. It is not something we earn—it is a gift we receive. God gave the promise to Abraham and also gives us same promise as His gift. Genesis 12:2–3 says, 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” When I got married to Msn. Peace in 2008, my step shepherd delivered this message as the wedding sermon. At that time, I couldn’t fully focus on the sermon because I was captivated by my beautiful bride. But now, I realize that the promise spoken that day was not only for Abraham—it was also given to our house church.
Although we have not always kept God’s commands faithfully, God has blessed us abundantly according to His promise. By His grace, we have become missionaries and Bible teachers to American students begin with Jousha and are now raising three wonderful children. We are praying and expecting that God will give us many physical and spiritual descendants, as numerous as the stars in the sky. This is not the result of our own efforts or works—it is entirely by the grace of God. It is His gift to us. Thank God for giving us His promise as a free gift through faith! While sharing today’s message, I’ve used the word faith 38 times so far. Wow! I began this message with the word faith, and I’m ending it with the same word—faith. It’s like a broken record. “faith..faith.. faith…”
At this point, we may raise one important question about it: What kind of faith did Abraham have? Look at verse 18. 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Jesus once described faith as small as a mustard seed—tiny at first, but capable of growing into a great tree where birds can perch (Matthew 13:31–32). In the same way, Abraham’s faith didn’t start out strong. When he was around 75 years old, his faith was still taking baby steps, and he made many mistakes. His journey of faith had ups and downs with fear, lies, and impatience. Yet God never gave up on him. Instead, God patiently strengthened Abraham’s faith again and again through His promises and gracious guidance. As the years passed, Abraham matured in faith. By the time he was nearly 100 years old, he had become “fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised” (21). 1 Corinthians 3:6 says, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” In the same way, it was God who helped Abraham’s faith grow—starting from a mustard seed. God gave him the faith to believe in His promise, even when Abraham’s body was as good as dead and Sarah was unable to have children. In the end, God accepted their faith and fulfilled His promise by giving them a son—Isaac. Later, Abraham even obeyed God’s command to offer his one and only son as a burnt offering—trusting that God could raise him from the dead. What amazing faith Abraham developed from such a small beginning! But all he did was simply look to God with faith for his lifetime. Through God’s grace, his faith reached its highest point—the faith of resurrection, and now he became the father of faith to all who believe.
Here, we learn an important lesson: God chose one ordinary old man, planted a small seed of faith in his heart, and raised him into a great tree where birds could perch. This gives us hope in God. Though we are weak and sinful like Abram, God has planted His faith in our hearts. He will lead us and shape us into great men and women of faith, because it is His will and His grace in our lives. Now we can answer Paul’s second question: “Is this blessing only for the Jews, or also for the Gentiles?” Thank God that this blessing is not only for the Jews, but also for us Gentiles. God has given us the same promise, just like He gave to Abraham. Let us give Him thanks and praise forever—Amen!
In conclusion,
Apostle Paul encourages us to have faith of resurrection through risen Jesus. Let’s read verses 23-25. 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Christ died for our sins, and He rose again so that we could be justified and made right with God. This is the core of the gospel. May the Lord help us to repent of our self-righteousness and pride, and to humbly confess that we are helpless sinners before Him. I pray that, even if our faith is small now, God will grow it like Abraham’s—until we have faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.