◄ Romans 4 Devotional Commentary ►
Romans 4:2
Abraham is often called 'the father of faith' because he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. We first read about this accreditation in Genesis chapter 15 and the apostle Paul confirms this in both Romans and Galatians. We find a third reference relating to the faith of Abraham in James chapter 2 for we read, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Abraham did read more...
Romans 4:3
When God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, He gave him a promise. And Abraham trusted God. Abraham believed what God said, which resulted in his being proclaimed righteous.
The Hebrew for the word 'believed' is 'aman'. This word carries with the thought of being propped up and supported; carried by God. Abraham rested on the character of God and trusted His Word. He abided in the truth of Scripture: "Abraham believed read more...
Romans 4:4
The important message that Paul is sharing here is that we are justified by faith and not by works. We are saved by believing the Word of God and not by the keeping of the works of the Law. Paul wants to make a clear distinction between salvation as a gift of God's grace and salvation as a work of man's flesh.
Salvation by grace has nothing to do with what we have done but has everything to do with what Jesus has done for us, read more...
Romans 4:5
The man or woman who is justified by grace through faith in Christ has been declared righteous by God. The only criteria to be justified in the eyes of God, is to believe on the name of the only begotten Son of God Who became the perfect Son of Man, and Who died on the Cross to pay the price for the sin of the world. And He rose again so that: "Whosoever believes on Him would not perish, but have everlasting life."
All read more...
Romans 4:6
The focus of Romans chapter 4, is salvation by grace through faith. In this section, Paul is writing about the justification aspect of salvation (being justified in the eyes of God). Although we are also to live by faith, to walk by faith, and to pray in faith throughout our earthly life (the ongoing process of our sanctification) the emphasis of this particular passage is initial salvation (justification).
Paul first read more...
Romans 4:7
Paul opens his letter to the Romans with a carefully constructed argument that all people are sinners, both Jew and Gentile alike, and all need a Saviour. He continues by presenting the doctrine of justification by faith in his third chapter, and then expands his reasoning in chapter 4, with examples of biblical characters who believed God's Word and whose faith was credited as righteousness.
His main concern in chapter 4, were read more...
Romans 4:8
Before salvation, we are all ungodly sinners under condemnation, unregenerate people who are dead in sin. We are children of darkness, enslaved to sin, and living in the realm of Satan. We are not sinners because we sin. The reason we sin is that we are born sinners; we are born in sin and were conceived by sinners. We have a fallen nature imputed to us and there is nothing we can do to justify ourselves or make ourselves right in the sight of God.
read more...
Romans 4:9
The book of Romans gives a step by step logical sequence to show that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ. It tells us that there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus (to those that are born again), because they are positioned in Christ, imputed with His righteousness, baptised into the Body of Christ (which is the Church) and accepted in the Beloved. And it is all by grace through faith in Him.
Paul uses read more...
Romans 4:17
Abraham is often referred to as the father of faith, because the Lord used His trust in God's promises as the foundational example of a man who is credited with the righteousness of Christ, by grace through faith. Among other things, God appointed Abraham as the father of many nations: the spiritual father of both believing Jews and believing Gentiles.
But Abraham is one of many men and women of faith who believed God's promises read more...
Romans 4:20
It was Abraham who did not waver in his trust of God and because of his faith, he was declared righteous. Abraham was not justified by good works... his righteousness was gained through faith in God's Word. He believed that the promised Saviour would be born through his seed.
Abraham believed implicitly that the Kinsman-Redeemer would be born through his seed – through Isaac, his own coming son of promise. Through the life read more...
Romans 4:22
God knew before the world was created that man would sin, and the wages of sin is death - spiritual death, physical death and eternal separation from their Creator. God ordained that the one and only way that a race of sinful creatures who were made in the image and likeness of God could be forgiven of their sin, would be through the shed blood of a perfect Kinsman-Redeemer - but none were good enough - not even one.
However, in read more...
Romans 4:25
Having been brought to a realisation of our sinfulness and unworthiness in the eyes of a holy God in the early chapters of Romans, we discover ourselves face to face with our own gross sinfulness and desperate need for salvation.
We are encouraged as we hear that Abraham was imputed with righteousness because He believed in God and trusted His Word. He believed that God raised the dead, and that God was true to His promises. read more...