However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. Sermons I. ITS REASONABLENESS. The subject of faith is not merely an abstract theological question. Abraham's faith, in particular, is not something which concerned Abraham but has no interest for us. We are told in the close of this chapter that "it was not written for his sake alone, that his faith was imputed to him for righteousness; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification" (vers. 23-25). What, then, do we mean by faith? Faith is a strong inward persuasion manifesting itself in outward acts. We could have no better illustration of it than the life of Abraham. "Abraham believed God." His life was a life of faith in God. He trusted God's word, and he took God's way. Here, then, we have a simple definition of what faith means - trusting God's word and taking God's way. Is not this an eminently reasonable course for a human being to take? So Abraham thought. He was a man of experience when we have the first record of God speaking to him. He was seventy-five years old when God's first command reached him - the command to leave his country and his father's house. It would appear as if Abraham had begun before that time to look beyond the seen to the unseen. His spiritual instincts and his reason told him that those idols which the people round him worshipped could not represent the great Creator of the world. He had already a conviction that there was a God - a reasonable conviction based on the evidence of natural laws. He knew something of that almighty Being's power, and wisdom, and immortality, and unchangeableness. And so he reached the conclusion, which became an irresistible conviction, that "what God had promised he was able also to perform" (vers. 18-21). He was "fully persuaded." Upon this Abraham based his faith. For these reasons he trusted God's word and took God's way. Is it not still more reasonable that we should have faith in God? We too have had experience, and not merely our own experience, but the experience of thousands of others from Abraham's day till now, who have trusted God, and found that what he hath promised he is able also to perform. The history of the ages teaches us that heaven and earth may pass away, but that God's words do not pass away; that men will change and die, and mighty empires crumble into dust, but that the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him. It teaches us also this lesson, that God's way is always best, and that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Abraham's faith was a reasonable faith. It is a reasonable thing that we also should trust God's word and take God's way. II. ITS RESULTS. 1. Abraham's faith led him to unfaltering obedience. It was a strange and apparently a harsh command which God gave to him, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee" (Genesis 12:1). But Abraham did not hesitate. He knew whom he had believed. It was God, the living God, his heavenly Father, who was speaking to him, and he felt he must obey. He knew that God would provide for him; he knew that God would lead him right. How many of us under similar circumstances would show such unhesitating, unfaltering obedience to God's command? How many of us are willing to trust God to take care of us when we are doing his will? Alas! is it not true that we often hesitate to do his will, just because we cannot trust him to take care of us, to bring us safely through the difficulties and to crown our labours with success? But, then, it must be admitted that there is a real, practical difficulty here which sometimes perplexes God's people. Some one may say, "Well, I am quite willing to do God's will, to follow the path of duty, if I could only tell what it was. There are so many cases where I cannot see my way. If I could only hear God speaking to me as he did to Abraham, there would be no difficulty about it." I think the way to meet that difficulty is this. Saturate your mind with the spirit of the gospel, with the teachings of the Word of God, with the spirit of Christ. A Christian is one who has the spirit of Christ. And, while there will be inconsistencies, as a rule we can depend upon the Christian. A remarkable illustration of this was given in Abraham's own case. Before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord" (Genesis 18:17, 19). God had confidence in Abraham doing what was right, although in one case Abraham acted sinfully and inconsistently. So we can trust the Christian to act in a Christian way. There will be mistakes, inconsistencies, in his life. But there are some things we know he will not do. He will not be among the sabbath-breakers, among the profane, the foul and filthy speakers, among the intemperate, among those who defraud or those who defame their neighbour. And all this we know, because we know him to have the spirit of Christ. We must cultivate this spirit, then, if we would know what the path of duty is. 2. Abraham's faith led him to unflinching self-sacrifice. There are two grand scenes in his life that illustrate this. One was when he gave Lot the permission to choose what portion of the land he would have. Abraham had the right to choose, but he relinquished his own rights in favour of his nephew. The other was when God called on him to offer up as a sacrifice his son Isaac. What a spirit of faith Abraham showed then! He trusted God, and so he took God's way. He had himself said once before, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25). And now when God, who gave him his son, asks him to give him back again, his faithful servant is ready to do what God asks. It was enough. The Lord himself had provided a lamb for the burnt offering. But Abraham showed the greatness of his faith by the sacrifice he was ready to make. There is a process in mathematics called the elimination of factors. The factor self had been eliminated from Abraham's character and life. So it will be with the true Christian. The spirit of self-sacrifice is the spirit of Christ, the spirit of Christianity. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." We must be ready to make sacrifice of self for Christ's sake. Such, then, was Abraham's faith. It was a reasonable faith, and a faith that resulted in unfaltering obedience and in unflinching self-sacrifice. He trusted God's word, and he took God's way. That is the way of salvation for every sinner. Such faith is the condition of all righteousness. If we are to please God, if we are to get to heaven, we must take God's way. The manner of Abraham's justification is an encouragement for every sinner, whether Jew or Gentile. If salvation had been by the Law, only those who had the Law, or who kept it, could be saved. But it is "of faith, that it might be of grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the Law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham (ver. 16). The Jews' beast that they were Abraham's seed showed a narrow idea of what the promise was. Abraham was the father of many nations" (vers. 17, 18). Abraham's true spiritual children are those who imitate Abraham's faith. - C.H.I.
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that Justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. The first sound of these words is startling. What! is it, then, the idle or the vicious person, he that does nothing or nothing that is good, and merely has faith or belief, who is to be treated as righteous? And is God the justifier, not of the godly, but of the ungodly? A moment's examination of the words will show that the apostle never entertained the sentiments which at first sight they appear to exhibit.1. The very expression, "His faith is counted for righteousness," intimates that righteousness is essentially worthy and acceptable. If faith is received in the stead of righteousness, then surely righteousness is of as much value, at least, as that which is accepted in its place. If righteousness be the debt which man owes to God, and it pleases God, in consideration of man's failure, to take his faith as an equivalent, it is clear that righteousness, the debt, is even of more value than faith, which is taken, in kindness and pity, as an equivalent. And a clue is here put into our hands by following which, with the context to aid us, we shall no doubt be guided to a satisfactory interpretation, and a clear result. 2. "His faith is counted for righteousness." But what righteousness? The righteousness which ought to have been; which is due; which is not paid. He who "worketh not" owes long arrears of righteousness; he has been a sinful man; he is a debtor to a large amount. But when he turns away from sin, and believes heartily and truly on God, then his faith, which is a pledge of future righteousness, is graciously credited to him for those long arrears, and the debt remains no more against him. "By grace are we saved through faith." The single consideration, then, that it is past righteousness which is intended in the text, lights it up at once with a holy, and cheering, and satisfying light. 3. And that this consideration is introduced, not only allowably but necessarily, appears from the context (vers. 6-8). To impute righteousness without works is evidently synonymous with forgiveness of sin; it is to treat one who has not worked as if he had worked. But then there is a condition — faith, which, working by love, produces henceforth the fruits of righteousness. So the imputation of righteousness without works, or the non-imputation of sin, is by no means a dispensation from future righteousness, but exactly the contrary. This is the doctrine of St. James, as well as of St. Paul; the doctrine of our Saviour and of His most touching parable of the prodigal son; and is the doctrine not only of the New Testament, but of the Old. Abraham, before he knew and believed in God, was not the righteous man that he was after he believed in Him; and his faith was counted to him for righteousness; his past sins were forgiven. Since Jesus came and died, there is a louder call to repentance and a stronger array of motives, and a more general justification. A sincere and earnest faith in Him will move, if anything can move, the heart to love and gratitude, and the life to duty. And the heart being thus moved to love and gratitude, and the life to duty, past sin is forgiven, the ungodly is justified, and faith is counted for righteousness; not, surely, because this powerfully moving faith dispenses with righteousness, or is above righteousness, but because it moves to it and secures it. (F. W. P. Greenwood, D. D.) I. THE GENERAL GROUND OF THE DOCTRINE.1. Man was made in the image of God, holy as He is holy, and perfect as He is perfect. To man, thus upright, God gave a perfect law, to which He required a perfect obedience, which man was capable of rendering. To this was superadded the commandment not to eat of "the fruit of the tree," with death as the penalty annexed. 2. Man disobeyed, and the sentence began to take effect. His soul died, being separated from God, his body became mortal, and he hastened on to death everlasting. Thus, "by one man sin entered into the world," and we have inherited the sin and penalty of our representative, 3. In this state we were when God gave His Son to be a second general Parent and Representative, and as such "He bore our sins," and by that one oblation of Himself He has redeemed all mankind. In consideration of Christ's death God has reconciled the world unto Himself, not imputing their former trespasses. II. ITS NATURE. 1. Not the being made righteous; that is sanctification, which follows justification, but is a distinct and inward gift. 2. Nor the clearing us from the accusation — (1) (2) 3. Nor that which implies that God is deceived in those He justifies, viz., accounting them to be otherwise than what they are. 4. But that act of God the Father, whereby, for the sake of Christ's propitiation, He forgives sin (vers. 6, 7). III. ITS SUBJECTS. 1. The ungodly and only such. As the righteous need no repentance, so they need no forgiveness; which contradicts the absurd supposition that holiness is necessary to justification. Only sinners can be forgiven. 2. Him that worketh not. But do not men feed the hungry, etc., before justification? Yes, and these may in a sense be called good works — "good and profitable to men" — but no work is good which is not done as God wills and commands, and God hath willed that all our works should be done in charity, i.e., that love to Him from which love to man proceeds. But none of our works can be done in this love while the love of the Father is not in us. IV. ITS CONDITION. Faith, i.e., a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for my sins, and loved me, and gave Himself for me. This is the only but the necessary condition, for "he that believeth not is condemned already." (J. Wesley, M. A.) 1. The man who has obtained justification may be looked upon as in possession of a title deed, which secures to him a right to God's favour. The question is, How comes he into possession of this title deed? Did he work for it, and thus receive it as a return for his works? No; he did not work for it; and thus it is that justification is to him who worketh not — that is, he did nothing antecedent to his justification to bring this privilege down upon him; nor subsequently, for it is a contradiction to allow that he has to work to obtain what he already has; nor at the time, for he came to it by believing. But then, as in the case of a man coming into an estate, no sooner does he lay hold of the deed than he begins, and that most strenuously, to qualify himself for the possession: and, with a foot which touches lightly that earth from which he is to ascend so soon into the fields of eternal glory that are above him, to aspire after the virtues which are current there; and, by an active cultivation of his heart, labour to prepare himself for a station of happiness and honour.2. But beware of having any such view of faith as will lead you to annex to it the kind of merit which is annexed to works under the law. It is God who justifies. He drew up the title deed, and He bestowed it. It is ours simply by laying hold of it. Ye are saved by grace through faith. By which is a house enlightened by the sun, or by an open window? The answer may justly enough be that it is by the window — and yet the window does not enlighten the house — it is a mere opening for the transmission of the light of the sun. Christ hath wrought out a righteousness for us that is freely offered to us of God. By faith we discern the reality of this offer: and all that it does is to strike out, as it were, an avenue of conveyance, by which the righteousness of another passes to us; and through faith are we saved by this righteousness. (T. Chalmers, D. D.) 1. It is obviously the only way in which a testimony can be received; and God has been pleased to appoint that such only as receive His testimony shall reap the benefit of what it reveals.2. It is a medium of justification by which the whole glory is secured, as it ought to be, to "the God of all grace"; agreeably to the nature and design of the whole scheme of redemption, by which "the loftiness of man is bowed down, and the haughtiness of man is laid low; and Jehovah alone is exalted." 3. It is a method of justification which unites it inseparably with sanctification. The truth must be received by faith into the mind in order to its operating with its holy influence on the affections and desires of the heart. (R. Wardlaw, D. D.) Observe what happens when the cry rises at sea, "A man overboard!" With others on deck, you rush to the side; and, leaning over the bulwarks, with beating heart you watch the place where the rising air bells and boiling deep tell that he has gone down. After some moments of breathless anxiety, you see his head emerge from the wave. Now, that man, I shall suppose, is no swimmer; he has never learned to breast the billows; yet, with the first breath he draws, he begins to beat the water. With violent efforts he attempts to shake off the grasp of death, and by the play of limbs and arms to keep his head from sinking. It may be that these struggles but exhaust his strength, and sink him all the sooner. Nevertheless, that drowning one makes instinctive and convulsive efforts to save himself. So, when first brought to feel and cry, "I perish!" when the horrible conviction rushes into the soul that we are lost. When we feel ourselves going down beneath a load of guilt into the depth of the wrath of God, our first effort is to save ourselves. Like a drowning man, who will clutch at straws and twigs, we seize on anything, however worthless, that promises salvation. Thus, alas! many poor souls toil, and spend weary, unprofitable years, in the attempt to establish a righteousness of their own, and find in the deeds of the law protection from its curse.(T. Guthrie, D. D.) Faith is natural to man; the mightiest principle in the soul. It is the foundation of trade; the wheel of commerce; the bond of social life; the abiding root of the family tree. And such is the faith that reposes on the Son of God. Faith is not the creation of theology or Christianity. It is older than either. It is not something supernaturally implanted in a man when he becomes a Christian. It is no new faculty bestowed. That principle which trusts a parent's love, and produces obedience to a parent's will, is the same principle exercised in another region which makes us one with God. Thus, the salvation which God has provided for all becomes a salvation not only worthy the acceptance of all, but possible to be accepted by all. Salvation becomes a universal possibility, because it is offered to a capacity which all men possess and exercise.(R. Henry.) I. THE WAY OF THE NATURAL MAN. "Worketh." He wishes it to be of desert.II. THE BETTER WAY — by faith. This is — 1. The old way. (1) (2) 2. The blessed way. (J. Lyth, D. D.) People David, Paul, Romans, SarahPlaces RomeTopics Account, Accounted, Actions, Believes, Believeth, Believing, Case, Counted, Credit, Credited, Declares, Declaring, Doesn't, Evil-doer, Faith, Free, Gives, Guilt, Impious, Justifies, Justifieth, Placed, Pleads, Reckoned, Righteous, Righteousness, Simply, Trusts, Ungodly, Whereas, Wicked, Worketh, WorkingOutline 1. Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness;10. before he was circumcised. 13. By faith only he and his seed received the promise. 16. Abraham is the father of all who believe. 24. Our faith also shall be credited to us as righteousness. Dictionary of Bible Themes Romans 4:58022 faith, basis of salvation 6678 justification, Christ's work 5499 reward, divine Library September 24. "He Calleth Things that are not as Though they Were" (Rom. Iv. 17). "He calleth things that are not as though they were" (Rom. iv. 17). The Word of God creates what it commands. When Christ says to any of us "Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you," We are clean. When He says "no condemnation" there is none, though there has been a lifetime of sin before. And when He says, "mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds," then the weak are strong. This is the part of faith, to take God at His Word, and then expect Him to make it real. … Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth October 17. "Abraham Believed God" (Rom. Iv. 3). Waiting Faith Rewarded and Strengthened by New Revelations Free Grace Justification by Faith Hooker -- the Activity of Faith; Or, Abraham's Imitators Of Self-Surrender Abandonment to God --Its Fruit and Its Irrevocability --In what it Consists --God Exhorts us to It. God's Way of Peace Moreover He Fulfilled the Promise Made to Abraham, which God had Promised Him... Its Nature Its Instrument Its Basis Faith the Sole Saving Act. "But if the Spirit of Him that Raised up Jesus from the Dead Dwell in You, He that Raised up Christ from the Dead, Shall Also Now this Election the Apostle Demonstrating to Be... Justification. In Process of Tithe, that is to Say, in the Tenth Generation after the Flood... Our Status. Its Objects Introductory Note to the Epistle of Barnabas The Doctrine Justification by Faith --Illustrated by Abram's Righteousness "Who Walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit. 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