Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XII)

Early church scholar Ambrosiaster gives an interesting commentary on verse 15: “In order to show that no man can be justified before God by the Law, nor can the promise be given through the Law, Paul says that ‘the Law brings punishment.’ It was given in order to make transgressors guilty. But faith is the gift of God’s mercy, so that those who have been made guilty by the Law may obtain forgiveness. Therefore, faith brings joy. Paul does not speak against the Law but gives priority to faith. It is not possible to be saved by the law, but we are saved by God’s grace through faith. Therefore, the Law itself is not punishment, but it brings punishment to the sinner, for punishment is born from sin. For this reason, Paul wants the Law to be abandoned so that the sinner will take refuge in faith, which forgives sins, that he may be saved.”¹

John Calvin offers a convincing argument on this point: “The Apostle teaches us, that faith will perish, unless the soul rests on the goodness of God. Faith then is not a naked knowledge either of God or of His truth; nor is it a simple persuasion that God is, that His Word is the truth; but a sure knowledge of God’s mercy, which is received from the Gospel, and brings peace of conscience with regard to God, and rest to the mind. The sum of the matter then is this, — that if salvation depends on the keeping of the law, the soul can entertain no confidence respecting it, yes, that all the promises offered to us by God will become void: we will then become wretched and lost if we are sent back to works to find out the cause or the certainty of salvation.”² Then Calvin adds: “But the Apostle speaks not of the mere transgression of what is right, from which no man is exempt; but he calls that a transgression, when man, having been taught what pleases and displeases God, knowingly and willfully passes over the boundaries fixed by God’s word; or, in other words, transgression here is not a mere act of sin, but a willful determination to violate what is right.”³

John Bengel rightly says that Promise and Faith complete the whole of God’s salvation plan and we need not add the Law as if it were something homogeneous that would make it better. Therefore, those who depend upon the Law must be told that because of the work and sacrifice of Christ, the Law has been made void in bringing salvation. Bengel goes on to say, that the entire purpose of the Law was to expose sin so that the need for a Savior is more clearly evident. Nowhere can we find where God said that the Law was part of the Promise and Faith.⁴

Adam Clarke puts it this way: “[Having] laws, necessarily subjects the transgressor to punishment; for where no law is – where no rule of duty is enacted and acknowledged, there is no transgression; and where there is no transgression there can be no punishment, for there is no law to enforce it. But the Jews have a law, which they have broken; and now they are exposed to the penal sanctions of that law; and, if the promises of pardon without the works of the law, do not extend to them, they will be miserable in the end because they have all broken the law, and the law exacts punishment.”⁵

Henry Alford explains why successfully following the Law would make faith unnecessary. The reason this is so is because righteousness comes freely by faith, not by obligation based on their legal standing. Alford then asks: “How and why so? The Apostle himself immediately gives the reason. For the Law brings about, gives occasion to, wrath (which from its very nature excludes promise, which is an act of grace, – and faith, which is an attribute of confidence).”⁶ In other words, while the Law shows the path to righteousness, it does not give the key to the gate that needs to be opened in order to enter into a right relationship with God. Only Christ has that key, and only He has the power and authority to use it.

Frederic Godet simply says: “Faith deprived of its object, the promise made void for those who are under the Law, why all this? Simply because the Law, when not fulfilled, brings upon man God’s condemnation and wrath, which renders it impossible on His part to fulfill the promise.”⁷ Christ was the only one who could meet the demands of the Law. Therefore, He is the only one through whom man can be saved because His work on the cross is the only sacrifice God is willing to accept as an atonement.

Charles Spurgeon preached it this way: “This is plain enough. You cannot break a law if there is none; and thus, through our sinfulness, the Law becomes a cause of sin, and never does it become the cause of justification. So that the Law is not for justification, but for condemnation. It is the Law that reveals sin, and that shows sin to be sin; so men can never become right with God by the Law.”⁸ Thus Spurgeon makes the necessity of Christ’s coming to earth even clearer in order to free those imprisoned by the Law. No wonder Paul was so upset that the Jewish leaders of the church in Rome insisted that the Law be a mandatory part of the plan of salvation.

Says Charles Ellicott: “This Messianic kingdom cannot have anything to do with Law; for if it had, faith and the promise would cease to have any office. Faith and Law cannot co-exist. They are the opposites of each other. The proper effect of law is punishment; for law only exposes sin. Faith, on the other hand, is the real key to the inheritance. It sets in motion grace; and grace, unlike law, excludes no one. It is open alike to the legal and to the spiritual descendants of Abraham; in other words (as the Scripture itself testifies), to all mankind, as the representative of whom Abraham stands before God.”⁹

Verse 16: So people get what God promised by having faith. This happens so that the promise can be a free gift. And if the promise is a free gift, then all of Abraham’s people will get that promise. The promise is not just for those who live under the Law of Moses. It is for all who live with faith as Abraham did. He is the father of us all.

With what Paul says here being true, this then makes us heirs to the Promise through Abraham’s faith as the father of our spiritual nation, not just the Israelites. Even though the Jews received the invitation first, the right given to us to call Jesus our Messiah is more than a second thought. Thank God for a Savior that was promised to us from the beginning, rather than being offered some rejected and discarded Redeemer from the spiritual trash heap of another religion. We are His, and He is ours by the will of the Father, not by some stroke of luck, good or bad.

Paul made this abundantly clear to the believers in Galatia: “You should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith. The Scriptures told what would happen in the future. These writings said that God would make the non-Jewish people right through their faith. God told this Good News to Abraham before it happened. God said to Abraham, ‘I will use you to bless all the people on earth.’ Abraham believed this, and because he believed, he was blessed. All people who believe are blessed the same as Abraham was.”¹⁰

This Promise of God to Abraham was the center of Paul’s argument. The writer of Hebrews saw it the same way: “God made a promise to Abraham. And there is no one greater than God, so He made the promise with an oath in His own name – an oath that He would do what He promised. He said, ‘I will surely bless you. I will give you many descendants’.”¹¹ And, another important factor is that this promise was made long before the Law was given. Therefore, the reason for the Law was not simply to help people live right, but to show them that it was impossible to do so without help, God’s help. Yet, even with God’s help, they failed, so a Savior was needed. Not one chosen at the last minute out of panic, but One chosen long before the Law came into effect. Unlike the theory of evolution, God’s plan of salvation did not come into existence by accident.

Early church scholar Pelagius makes this point: “The Law does not forgive sins but condemns them, and, therefore, it cannot make all nations children of Abraham, because in the end all must be punished since all are found under sin. But faith makes all believers children of Abraham because their sins have been forgiven by grace.”¹² This is followed by Theodoret who states: “Paul humbled the pride of the Jews by calling all those who imitated Abraham’s faith ‘the seed of Abraham,’ even if they were of a different race. For if the law punishes those who break it, grace gives forgiveness of sins and confirms the promise of God, giving a blessing to the Gentiles.”¹³

To put this another way, if we look at God’s promise to Abraham like a bank account, and that Abraham made a deposit in that account with a currency called “Faith.” Therefore, as children of Abraham, when shopping in God’s department store of blessings, items can only be obtained by using the currency of Faith. You cannot bring you own currency, nor can you charge it to some other account, nor can you debit it to be paid in installments. That’s not how Christ paid the price for our salvation. Otherwise, He would need to keep doing it over and over and over again, just like the sacrifices under the Law.

Reformist John Calvin sums up what Paul has been saying here: “If the heirship of salvation comes to us by works, then faith in it vanishes, the promise of it is abolished; but it is necessary that both these should be sure and certain; hence it comes to us by faith, so that its stability being based on the goodness of God alone, may be secured.”¹⁴ Then Calvin adds this: “See how the Apostle, regarding faith as a thing firm and certain, considers hesitancy and doubt as unbelief, by which faith is abolished, and the promise abrogated. And yet this doubting is what the schoolmen¹⁵ call a moral conjecture, and which, alas! they substitute for faith.”¹⁶

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XI)

Bible scholar Frederic Godet gives us his explanation on the promise to Abraham of possessing the whole world. To Godet, this had been promised to Abraham and his posterity in three forms: – “(1) From the prophetic and Messianic point of view, which dominated the history of the patriarchal family from the beginning, the land of Canaan was the emblem of the sanctified earth; it was the point of departure for the glorious realization of the latter. (2) Several other promises naturally led to the extension of the possession of the promised land to that of the whole world.¹ (3) Above all these particular promises there always rested the general promise of the Messianic kingdom, the announcement of that descendant of David to whom God had said: “I have given you the uttermost parts of the earth for an inheritance.²”³

Charles Ellicott comments: “Abraham was the father of all who walk in his steps. For all this, is not limited by the Law any more than it is limited by circumcision. The promise of that worldwide inheritance was not given through the agency of the Law (which at that time did not exist) but as an effect of the righteousness which proceeds from faith. Heir of the world. – This promise was explained by the Jews as the universal sovereignty of the Messiah. Through the righteousness of faith, – As a further consequence of that (imputed) righteousness which proceeds from faith. Three stages are indicated: (1) faith, (2) imputed righteousness, (3) access [by everyone] to the Messianic kingdom with all its privileges.”⁴ In other words, that the Messiah would be Lord of all because without such sovereignty He would not be Lord at all. His Lordship would not be restricted to the Jews but would include all the nations of the earth.

Consequently, there is no doubt but that the promise of the Messiah is the key factor in how all of these promises made to Abraham were to be enjoyed by non-Jews around the world. It would have been impossible for all of them to convert to Judaism because making converts was not a Jewish priority, and to some, it was a disgrace. Therefore, it would take the coming of the Messiah for this to happen. This, then, establishes our spiritual relationship with Abraham through Jesus the Messiah.

Verses 14-15: If people could get God’s promise by following the Law, then faith is worthless. And God’s promise to Abraham is worthless because the Law can only bring God’s punishment for those who disobey it. But if there is no Law, then there is nothing to disobey.

Now Paul brings down the hammer, so to speak, on any forced inclusion of the Law as a necessary part of acquiring salvation.⁵ The Law was meant to show the need for redemption and freedom from the slavery of sin but had no intrinsic power to bring about that liberation.⁶ Paul made this crystal clear to the Judaizers in Galatia who were proposing such a doctrine. He wrote: “I am not the one destroying the meaning of God’s grace. If following the Law is how people are made right with God, then Christ’s death was pointless.”⁷ When we replace “the Law” with “Church law,” the principle against granting salvation and freedom from sin’s bondage is the same.

Paul had already shared the same point with the Galatian believers that he is sharing here with the Romans: “Does this mean that the Law works against God’s promises? Of course not. The Law was never God’s way of giving new life to people. If it were, then we could be made right with God by following the Law. But this is not possible. The Scriptures put the whole world in prison under the control of sin, so that the only way for people to get what God promised would be through faith in Jesus Christ. It is given to those who believe in Him.”⁸ In the same way, being part of a Church does not mitigate against receiving the promises of God. Where the error comes in is when an ecclesiastical organization is substituted and given the same power as the spiritual body of Christ.

Apparently, Paul had concerns about the Philippians following the same error, that’s why he wrote to them: “In Christ, I am right with God, but my being right does not come from following the Law. It comes from God through faith. God uses my faith in Christ to make me right with Him.”⁹ And the writer of Hebrews found cause to make the same point to his readers: “The Law of Moses could not make anything perfect. But now a better hope has been given to us. And with that hope we can come near to God.”¹⁰ He goes on then to say: “After the Law, God spoke the oath that made His Son high priest. And that Son, made perfect through suffering, will serve forever.”¹¹

Early church scholar Origen sees a lesson in this aspect of faith’s role in obtaining the promise for Gentile believers as much as it was for the Jews. He writes: “Paul says that the promise given to Abraham that he should inherit the world did not come from the Law but by faith, which was reckoned to him as righteousness. It doubtless follows that everyone who hopes that God’s righteousness will be imputed to him hopes for this by faith and not by the Law.”¹² In other words, all of our good deeds in the name of Christ will not buy us the promise of everlasting life that is already guaranteed by faith. Our works are done by faith to please God and do His will, not to earn a reward.

We see this expressed in Chrysostom’s preaching: “To prevent anyone from saying that it is possible to have faith and to keep the Law at the same time, Paul shows that this is impracticable. For one who clings to the Law as if it were of saving force dishonors the power of faith. This is why Paul says that faith is made void, i.e., that there is no need of salvation by grace.… And without faith, there is no promise of inheritance, which is what scared the Jews most of all, because that is what they really wanted. For the promise was that they should be heirs of the entire world.”¹³ Belonging to a church can bring a person many blessings, but it cannot guarantee salvation and everlasting life.

Then Paul adds, even more, weight to his argument about how foolish it was to expect the Law to do what it was not designed to do because that would make what God did through Christ of no value and without purpose. But this was not how God did things. He made that clear to the children of Israel: “When My words leave My mouth, they don’t come back without results. My words make the things happen that I want to happen. They succeed in doing what I send them to do.”¹⁴

Paul also wanted his Jewish readers to be reminded that God means what He says by establishing consequences if His laws are not followed. Back when the Law was given, Moses made it abundantly clear what would happen to those who said: I know what the Law says, but I’m satisfied with the way I live. Nothing bad will happen to me. Moses declared: “That attitude will bring total disaster. The Lord will not forgive them for that. No, the Lord will be angry and upset with them and punish them. The Lord will separate them from the tribes of Israel. He will completely destroy them. All the afflictions that are written in this book will happen to them.”¹⁵ This may sound harsh to some, but if there is no condemnation, then there is no need for salvation. Also, the same condemnation is in store for those who claim to be followers of Christ but avoid any involvement in His body the church. Otherwise, how can we claim to love one another, support each other, motivate and strengthen one another? We will become potted plants instead of fruit-bearing vines.

This warning against denying God and desecrating His Word and offer of salvation did not end with the Old Testament. It became part of the New Testament as well. The Apostle John made this clear in his Gospel where he said: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. But those who do not obey the Son will never have that life. They cannot get away from God’s punishment.”¹⁶ And Jesus Himself left no place for alibis or excuses: “If I had not come and spoken to the people of the world, they would not be guilty of sin. But now I have spoken to them. So they have no excuse for their sin.”¹⁷

When the Apostle Paul was in Athens, He spoke to the Areopagus Council concerning God’s patience and grace. He said: “In the past, people did not understand God, and He overlooked this. But now He is telling everyone in the world to change and turn to Him. He has decided on a day when He will judge all the people in the world in a way that is fair. To do this, He will use a man He chose long ago. And He has proved to everyone that this is the Man to do it. He proved it by raising Him from death!”¹⁸ In other words, God was not overlooking man’s disobedience in order to keep from destroying him but was looking over man’s disobedience in order to find a way to save him. Furthermore, in order for Him to judge the whole world, the whole world will need to hear the Gospel.

Therefore, the law was given so that mankind could not only become aware of their sins but also their need for a Savior to liberate them from the punishment for sin. Paul told the Corinthians: “Death’s power to hurt is sin, and the power of sin is the Law. But we thank God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”¹⁹ Then Paul goes on to write: “The old agreement that brought death, written with words on stone, came with God’s glory… So surely the new agreement that comes from the life-giving Spirit has even more glory. This is what I mean: That old agreement judged people guilty of sin, but it had glory. So surely the new agreement that makes people right with God has much greater glory.”²⁰ That’s why Paul wanted the Messianic Jewish leaders in Rome to see what he was trying to get the Corinthians to see: “That old agreement had glory. But it really loses its glory when it is compared to the much greater glory of the new agreement.”²¹

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson X)

Verse 13: Abraham and his descendants received the promise that they would inherit the whole earth, but not because he followed the law. He received that promise because of his being right with God through faith.

Paul continues his quest of showing the Messianic Jews in Rome that they have erroneously incorporated obedience to the Law as a requirement to their Christian faith, thereby making them superior believers. Again, he points to all that God promised Abraham long before the Law was given to Moses. We find that even before Abram left his home country in Mesopotamia, God told him that he would be the father of a great nation and that through him all the people of the earth would be better off.¹

To show His commitment to His promise, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham as part of their agreement. He told him: “I will make you the father of many nations… I will give you many descendants. New nations and kings will come from you. And I will prepare an agreement between me and you. This agreement will also be for all your descendants. It will continue forever. I will be your God and the God of all your descendants.”² So the Apostle Paul could see in this promise that those new nations and many descendants would of necessity involve more than the Jewish people as part of this agreement. In fact, they were chosen first in order to spread the word of this agreement throughout the world. But in that promise, God made sure that Abraham understood that all descendants would call Sarah their mother.³

This concept that the descendants of Abraham would inherit the whole world can also be found in the writings of the Rabbis. For instance, we read in the Talmud: “When the Rabbis departed from the school of Rabbi Ammi — some say, of Rabbi Hanina — they blessed him, saying: May you see your needs provided in your lifetime, and may your latter end be for the future world.”⁴ In other words, that his teaching would extend to the whole world.

In fact, there is a Jewish parable that goes like this: “Once there was a king who was seeking to build a palace. He began to dig, going further down, to lay a foundation, but he found only swampy soil. And so it was in many places. He was not able to build until he dug in one place, and there he found bedrock That’s when he said, ‘I am building and placing the foundation here,’ and he built. So too, the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to create the world. He was sitting and scrutinizing the generation of Enoch and the generation of the flood, and He said, ‘Why should I create the world and let those wicked men arise and vex me?’ But when the Holy One, blessed be He, saw Abraham arise in the future, He said, ‘Behold, I have found a rock to build upon and to lay the foundation of the world.’ Thus he called Abraham ‘Rock,’ as it says, ‘Look to the rock from which you were carved.’⁵”⁶

There were also a group of Rabbis who were discussing various Psalms, and the subject of Psalm 136 came up. So Rabbi Joshua ben Levi asked: “To what do these twenty-six ‘Give thanks’ correspond? To the twenty-six generations which the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world; though He did not give them the Torah, He sustained them by His love.”⁷ Say Jewish scholars: There were twenty-six generations from Adam until Moses. Lacking the Torah, they could not be sustained through their own merit but only through God’s love. So the Apostle Paul was not introducing here some radical idea that caught his Jewish readers in Rome by surprise.

It was when Abraham obeyed God’s request that he sacrifice his son Isaac, that God then said to him: “Since you did this for Me, I make you this promise: I, the LORD, promise that I will surely bless you and give you as many descendants as the stars in the sky. There will be as many people as sand on the seashore… Every nation on the earth will be blessed through your descendants. I will do this because you obeyed Me.”⁸ Again, this all happened before the Law was given on Mount Horeb in the Sinai wilderness.

Later on, when Jacob and his family wound up in Egypt because of a famine back in Canaan, the time came for him to bless his sons. After laying hands on Judah, Jacob said: “Men from Judah’s family will be kings. The sign that his family rules will not leave his family before the real King comes. Then many people will obey and serve Him.”⁹ Here we see where before the Law was given to Moses, the Messiah, the One who would fulfill the Law and bring a new agreement based on faith, not works, was announced as coming through the tribe of Judah.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul references this revelation: “God made promises to Abraham and his Descendant. The Scripture does not say, ‘and to your descendants.’ That would mean many people. But it says, ‘and to your Descendant.’¹⁰ That means only one, and that one is Christ. This is what I mean: The agreement that God gave to Abraham was made official long before the law came. The law came 430 years later. So the law could not replace the agreement and change God’s promise.”¹¹

Here’s how Reformer John Calvin sees this verse: “Though the ungodly swallow up the riches of the world, they can call nothing as their own; but rather, they snatch them as if it were by stealing; for they possess them under the curse of God. It is indeed a great comfort to the godly in their poverty, that though they exist with little, yet they steal nothing of what belongs to another, but receive their lawful allowance from the hand of their celestial Father, until they enter into the full possession of their inheritance, when all creatures shall be made subservient to their glory; for both heaven and earth shall be renewed for this end, — that according to their measure they may contribute to making the Kingdom of God glorious.”¹²

John Bengel points out that when the Scriptures say that the promise of Abraham was not extended through the law, it means that no person can acquire righteousness by simply obeying the law. This is clearly pointed out by the fact that Abraham was consider righteous before the law was given. Therefore, how could he gain righteousness through the law when there was no law? It was only by faith in believing what God said and told him to do. Bengel goes on to say: “This constitutes the foundation of the consequence derived from Abraham to all believers, and, therefore, to all persons and things.¹³ Heir of the world, is the same as father of all the nations, who accept the blessing. The whole world was promised to Abraham and to his seed collectively throughout the whole world. The land of Canaan fell to the lot of Abraham, and so one part was allotted to one, and another to another. So also physical things are a representative of spiritual things. Christ is heir of the world, and of all things,¹⁴ and so also are they who believe in Him according to the example of Abraham.”¹⁵

Adam Clarke notes: “This promise suggests that he [Abraham] should be the medium through whom the mercy of God should be communicated to the world, to both Jews and Gentiles; and the manner in which he was justified, be the rule and manner according to which all men should expect this blessing. Abraham is here represented as having all the world given to him as his inheritance; because in him all nations of the earth are blessed: this must, therefore, relate to their being interested in the Abrahamic covenant; and every person, now that the covenant is fully explained, has the privilege of claiming justification through faith, by the blood of the Lamb, in virtue of this original grant.”¹⁶

Robert Haldane explains the difference between righteousness through the law and righteousness by way of faith: “The righteousness of faith is a concise expression, meaning the righteousness which is received by faith. This is the only way in which the promise, in order to prove effectual, could be given. ‘If there had been a law given which could have supplied life, that means righteousness should have come by the law; but the Scripture has concluded all are under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.’ It was, therefore, to receive its accomplishment only by virtue of, and through the communication of, the righteousness received by faith. This is that righteousness which was counted or imputed to Abraham, when, upon the promise being made to him of numerous seed, he believed in the Lord.¹⁷ The inheritance comes solely in virtue of this righteousness to those who by it are ‘made righteous.’ ‘They shall be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.’¹⁸ ‘Thy people shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever.’¹⁹”²⁰

Henry Alford puts all of what Paul says here into context: “The actual promise,²¹ was the possession of the land of Canaan. But the Rabbis had already seen, and St. Paul, who had been brought up in their learning, held fast the truth, – that much more was intended in the words which accompany this promise, ‘In you (or in your seed), shall all families of the earth be blessed,’ than the mere possession of Canaan. They distinctly trace the fifth of the world [population] to Abraham to this promise… The inheritance of the world then is not the possession of Canaan merely either literally, or as a type of a better possession, – but that ultimate lordship over the whole world which Abraham, as the father of the faithful in all peoples, and Christ, as the Seed of Promise, shall possess.”²² In other words, the Good News of a coming Savior was not meant just for the Jews, but to all who would believe around the world. We should all rejoice for this provision

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson IX)

Verse 12: And Abraham is also the father of those who have been circumcised. But it is not their circumcision that makes him their father. He is their father only if they live following the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

It is clear that Paul is trying to get Messianic Jews in Rome to understand that having a spiritual father supersedes a genealogical father when it comes to faith. The Jews were making the claim based solely on kinship related to their human nature through Abraham. But when it came to their spiritual nature, they needed to establish a connection with Abraham on a spiritual level. This then, opened the door for the non-Jews to be just as related to Abraham and God as they were.

This was the same point John the Baptizer tried to pound into the heads of his Jewish opponents.¹ This disconnect between claiming Abraham as an earthly father while not following his example as a heavenly father is seen clearly in the story Jesus told about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Although the rich man called out, “Father Abraham!” in Hades, he learned very quickly there was an impassable canyon between them. All the pleas of the rich man failed, even his request that his brothers be warned about coming there. And Abraham ended their conversation with this dire conclusion: “If your brothers won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen to someone who comes back from the dead.”²

Later, Jesus would have a conversation with some of the doubting Jews who came to believe in Him as the Messiah. He encouraged them to continue accepting and obeying His teachings. By doing so, Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”³ Then, just like some of these Messianic Jews in Roman, they were offended that Jesus would suggest that somehow they had been living as slaves. So they quickly informed Jesus that as descendants of Abraham, they had never been slaves. Of course, they were only speaking of themselves, not Israel as a whole who were slaves for 450 years in Egypt.

But they missed the point. Jesus was not talking about slavery in the natural sense but in the spiritual sense. He said to them: “The truth is, everyone who sins is a slave – a slave to sin.”⁴ Our Lord went on to point out that while slaves serve a family, they are not part of the family because they were not born into the family. The Master was trying to make the same point Paul attempts here. While they claimed relationship with God through Abraham on a human level, they really had no relationship with God on a divine level.⁵

Paul had gone over this same subject with the believers in Galatia. In that teaching, Paul used the two mothers of Abraham’s sons. The outsider, Hagar, represented the sinful nature, while Sarah, the insider, was the symbol of the spiritual nature. Paul finally said to them: “My brothers and sisters, you are children who were born because of God’s promise, just as Isaac was. But the other son of Abraham, who was born in the normal way, caused trouble for the one who was born by the power of the Spirit… So, my brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman. We are children of the free woman.”⁶

Early church scholar Ambrosiaster gives his understanding of Paul’s point here: “Paul says this because Abraham, by believing, became the [genealogical] forefather of the Jews. But also of the heart, not only of those who descended from him but of those who, from among the nations, believed the way he did. He is the father of the Jews according to the flesh, but because of his faith he is the father of all believers.”⁷

Then, early church preacher Chrysostom exhorts us on how faith is so important in seeking to do God’s will: “[External] circumcision is meaningless if there is no faith within. It is a sign of righteousness, but if there is no righteousness, then there is no sign either. The reason the Jews received a sign was that they might seek diligently for the reality of which the sign spoke. If they had done so, they would not have needed the sign in the first place.”⁸ We can also look at water baptism, which has replaced circumcision as the sign of belonging to God, in the same light? Unfortunately, like the Jews Paul is writing to, Christians have taken water baptism as the starting point rather than the subsequent point in their working relationship with God.

Reformer John Calvin speaks on this same subject: “What we have stated also disproves the scholastic dogma respecting the difference between the sacraments of the Old [Testament] and those of the New Testament; for they deny the power of justifying to the former, and assign it to the latter. But if Paul reasons correctly, when he argues that circumcision does not justify, because Abraham was justified by faith, the same reason holds good for us. We deny that men are justified by baptism, inasmuch as they are justified by the same faith as that of Abraham.”⁹

Then Methodist theologian Adam Clarke puts it in perspective: “For, the covenant being made with Abraham while he was a Gentile, he became the representative of the Gentiles, and they primarily were included in that covenant, and the Jews were brought in only consequentially; but salvation, implying justification by faith, originally belonged to the Gentiles; and, when the Gospel came, they laid hold on this as their original right, having been granted to them by the free mercy of God in their father and representative, Abraham. So that the Jews, to be saved, must come under that Abrahamic covenant, in which the Gentiles are included. This is an unanswerable conclusion, and must, on this point, forever confound the Jews.”¹⁰ What many Christians do not realize is the Abraham was neither a Hebrew, Israelite, or Jew. They all came after Isaac and Jacob. So God was dealing with a Gentile when He first spoke to Abram.

Robert Haldane sees a clear connection between Abraham being the spiritual father of some of his descendants while being the physical father of all his descendants. He writes: “To those of them who walk in the steps of his faith, he is a spiritual father. While all Abraham’s children were circumcised, he was not equally the father of them all. It was only to such of them as had his faith that he was a father in what is spiritually represented by circumcision.¹¹ This is also established by our Lord Himself, who denied that the unbelieving Jews were the children of Abraham.¹² He was, however, not only the father of his believing children, who were circumcised but of all, in every nation, who walk in the steps of his faith. Believing Gentiles are therefore said to be grafted, contrary to nature, into a good olive tree,¹³ and to be Abraham’s seed.¹⁴”¹⁵ By the same token we can say that while God is the Creator of all mankind, He is not the spiritual Father of all mankind. Only those who are born again through faith in His Son can pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven.”

British preacher Charles Spurgeon was emphatic in his insistence that non-Jews have the same access to God’s promise to Abraham as the Jews. He says: “The historical argument is a very forcible one. The blessing was not given to Abraham as a circumcised man, but as a believing man; and hence it comes also to all of us who believe. What a mercy it is that there is, in this sense, no distinction between Jew and Gentile now! I hate that plan of reading the Scriptures in which we are told, when we lay hold of a gracious promise, ‘Oh, that is for the Jews.’ ‘Then I also am a Jew, for it is given to me.’ Every promise of God’s Word belongs to all those who have the faith to grasp it. We who have faith, are all in the covenant, and are thus the children of faithful Abraham; so be not afraid, you who are the true seed, to take every blessing that belongs to your father Abraham and to all the seed.”¹⁶

Swiss Protestant theologian Frédéric Godet also comments: “We find in these two verses the great and sublime idea of Abraham’s spiritual family, that people who are the product, not of the flesh, but of faith, and which comprises the believers of the whole world, whether Jews or Gentiles. This position of, ‘Father to all the believing race of man,’ assigned to Abraham, is a fundamental fact in the kingdom of God; it is the act in which this kingdom takes its rise, it is the aim of the patriarch’s call. From this point, the continuous history of salvation begins. Abraham is the stem of that tree, which after that sinks root and develops. For he has not believed simply in the God of creation; he has laid hold by faith of the God of the promise, the author of that redeeming work which appears on the earth in his very faith.”¹⁷

Charles Ellicott follows in his commentary on the previous verse with this: “On the other hand, the mere performance of the rite was no guarantee for justification, unless it was attended with a faith like Abraham’s. Of the two things, faith itself, and circumcision the sign of faith, the first only was essential, and the second was useless without it.”¹⁸ The same goes for all those ordinances, rites, rituals, and sacraments practiced by the Christian church.

Jewish theologian David Stern tells us: “Paul finishes destroying the argument that physical circumcision is the Jews’ big advantage. He consistently maintains that the advantage of Jews is spiritual, not physical. At the same time he shows that the righteousness that comes from trusting God is available equally to Jews and Gentiles not merely because it antedates the Mosaic Law, but because it antedates even the Abrahamic Covenant, when circumcision was given as a sign of Abraham’s already demonstrated faith and as a seal guaranteeing God’s promises, but not as something to boast about. Thus, ‘Abraham, our father’ — a common phrase in rabbinic writing and in today’s Siddur¹⁹ is ‘our’ father not only to Jews but also to trusting Gentiles, hence, to ‘all of us.’ Galatians 3:6-18 develops the same theme.”²⁰

Sometimes people say things we just don’t want to hear. It upsets us because we don’t think it is the proper thing to say or the best way to say it. But instead of closing our ears and turning off the light in our minds, let it sink in. That’s because, the next time you want to express your feelings, especially your frustrations, you’ll remember what upset you when you heard it. As a result, you’ll be able to do a better job of communicating. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

OUR FATHER, ARE YOU STILL IN HEAVEN?

When I was still very young, one of the first prayers I was taught to say before going to bed was this: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord, my soul, to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

Recently, I read another prayer that might be considered more appropriate for children today being raised in Christian homes. It goes like this:

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule.
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange, or green,
That’s no offense; it’s a freedom scene.
The law is specific; the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall

Might offend some with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate.
God’s name is prohibited by the state.

We’re allowed to cuss and dress like freaks
And pierce our noses, tongues, and cheeks.
They’ve outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We elect a pregnant Senior Queen
And an unwed daddy is our Senior King.
It’s “inappropriate” to teach right from wrong.
We’re taught that such “judgments” do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires, and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed.
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It’s scary here I must confess
Where chaos reigns, schools are a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot, my soul, please take!

Amen

It may have been seen as a novelty or trend some years ago, but Christian, Charter, Parochial, and Home Schools are needed more today than every before. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson VIII)

Consequently, by being obedient to God’s will, each occasion then became like a seal stamped on the agreement document certifying their vow to remain faithful to that agreement. To put it another way, today we would say it was like their signature on the dotted line. As a result, the children of Israel were later told: “Adonai your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your children so that you will love Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being, and thus you will live.”¹

So when looking at this idea of a seal from a Christian perspective, the Apostle Paul said this: “It is God who sets both us and you in firm union with the Messiah; He has anointed us, put his seal on us, and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee for the future.”² When writing the Ephesian believers, Paul said: “When you heard that Good News, you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put His seal on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that He promised.”³

One rendering of verse 11, to show righteousness being credited to Abraham, goes as follows: “In fact, he received circumcision as a sign, as a seal of the righteousness.”⁴ According to one Greek scholar, that the term “sign” was a synonym for “seal.”⁵ This falls in line with how the Jews viewed the reason and purpose of a seal. In fact, in an Aramaic Targum of Solomon’s Canticles we read: “And the priests and the Levites, and all the tribes of Israel, all of them are distinguished in the words of the Law (which is compared to a sword), and they swing it and turn it among themselves, as heroes experienced in warfare; and each and every one of them has the seal of circumcision on his flesh, just as the flesh of Abraham their father was sealed, and they are strengthened by it like a hero whose sword is girded on his thigh.”⁶

Also, in Paul’s thinking, this seal, that today we call a “trademark,” serves a dual purpose. Not only does it identify the person as belonging to God, but also verifies that God is the inventor and holds the copyright. When it comes to imitation and copyright infringement, there are many who have laid claims to this spiritual seal, some even proposing that they are the inventor. But as Simon the magician found out, it cannot be duplicated and sold as genuine.⁷ God is the sole creator and the only One who authorizes the endowment of the Holy Spirit as His seal of ownership and approval.

In the same way, God’s insistence on being known as the Father of all creation, especially those who were called His children, was also part and parcel of Jewish theology. Revered Jewish scholar Moses Maimonides makes this comment on the subject: “A convert, by contrast, may bring the first fruits and make the declaration, for [the Torah] states with regard to Abraham: ‘I have made you a father to a multitude of nations.’⁸ Implied is that he is the father of all those who enter under the shelter of the Divine presence.”⁹

Maimonides was commenting on the Jewish Mishnah where it states that when a convert comes into the Synagogue to pray, according to Deuteronomy 26:3 he cannot say: “The God of the fathers of Israel,” rather, “The God of your fathers.” However, if his mother was an Israelite, then he can say “The God of our Fathers.”¹⁰ Also in their Talmud, we read where Rabbis taught: “Abram is the same as Abraham. At first he became a father to Aram [Ab-Aram]¹¹ only, but in the end, he became a father to the whole world.”¹² So Paul’s reasoning here is that just as the Jews refer to Abraham as their father because it was through him, they all came into being, so it is that with God as the father of all believers because they trace their origin back to Him.

Early church scholar Tertullian has an emphatic point to make for the Jews reading Paul’s letter: “But you Jews say that Abraham was circumcised. Yes, but he pleased God before his circumcision, and he did not yet observe the Sabbath. For he had accepted circumcision as a sign for that time, not as a prerogative title to salvation.”¹³ And a contemporary scholar of Chrysostom’s made this clear: “Circumcision was given for these three reasons: First, to be a sign of faith; second, to mark out the race of Abraham, and third, to be a sign and symbol of good and wise behavior. It was not given in order to produce righteousness but as a sign and seal of the righteousness which was Abraham’s by faith.”¹⁴

Reformer John Calvin has a very enlightening commentary on how the rite of circumcision can relate to the sacraments of the church. He writes: “We have indeed here a remarkable passage with regard to the general benefits of sacraments. According to the testimony of Paul, they are seals by which the promises of God are in a manner imprinted on our hearts, and the certainty of grace confirmed. And though by themselves they profit nothing, yet God has designed them to be the instruments of His grace; and He effects by the secret grace of His Spirit, that they should not be without benefit in the elect… Hence it remains a fixed principle, that sacred symbols are testimonies, by which God seals His grace on our hearts.”¹⁵ In other words, God inspired the sacraments as a way for each believer to sign by faith on the dotted line confirming their pledge to obey God’s Word and will for their lives. But, without first having faith in Christ for their salvation, signing on the dotted line by participating in the sacraments makes the person’s signature a forgery.

John Bengel points out that the justification of Abraham took place when being circumcised or uncircumcised was still unknown; and Christianity, with its justification by faith, leads back to this method of becoming right before God without meeting any prior conditions.¹⁶ And Henry Alford makes a very valid point about circumcision. He points to a Targum on the Song of Solomon (3:8) that refers to, “the seal of circumcision.” He also makes note that many early church scholars used the term, “seal of the font,” for water baptism. Thus in both cases, the seal came after righteousness was imputed. That’s why in Abraham’s case, his faith in God’s word was sufficient to be declared righteous before either circumcision or baptism were established as ordinances. That’s why Abraham can be referred to as the father of the faithful by both converted Jews and Gentiles.¹⁷

Robert Haldane asks the question: “If then, Abraham was justified in uncircumcision, for what purpose, it might be asked, was he circumcised?” Haldane then answers: “He received circumcision, as a figure or sign of his paternity, literally with respect to a numerous number of descendants, and spiritually, of all believers. It indicated that He, in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed, was to spring from Abraham. This blessedness is described by David as consisting, in the imputation of righteousness without works.”

Haldane goes on to explain: “Circumcision, then, being such a seal or pledge, and as the appointment of Abraham as the father of Christ, by whom this righteousness was to be introduced, included his being the father of the line from which Christ was to spring, it was to be affixed to his posterity, and not to cease to be so till the thing signified was accomplished. Here, it would appear, we learn the reason why this seal was to be affixed on the eighth day after birth. On the eighth day, the first day of the week, when Jesus, the seed of Abraham, arose from the dead, that righteousness, of which circumcision was a seal or pledge, was accomplished. This mark, then, was a sign of Abraham’s being the father of all believers, both Jews, and Gentiles, to all of whom this righteousness was to be imputed. As it was a seal of the righteousness which he had received by the faith which he had in a state of uncircumcision, it implied that righteousness would be imputed to believers in the same state.”¹⁸

Later, Presbyterian scholar Charles Hodge offers this: “As Paul had shown that circumcision was not the condition of justification, it became necessary to declare its true nature and design… The circumcision of Abraham was designed to confirm to him the fact, that he was regarded and treated by God as righteous, through faith, which was the means of his becoming interested in the promise of redemption… The blessing promised to Abraham, in which the Gentiles participate through Jesus Christ, can he none other than redemption. As that blessing was promised to Abraham on the condition, not of works, but of faith, the Apostle hence argues, that in our case also we are made partakers of that blessing by faith, and not by works. This was the covenant of which circumcision was the seal. All, therefore, who were circumcised, professed to embrace the covenant of grace.”¹⁹

Then, 18th century Church of England theologian Charles Ellicott makes this point: “The Apostle here puts forth his view of the real import of circumcision. It was not (as so many of his contemporaries supposed) the cause or condition of Israel’s privileges so much as the sign or ratification of them. It ratified a state of things already existing when it was instituted. Hence, to those who inherited that state of things (justification by faith) the need for circumcision was not necessary.”²⁰

In other words, such ordinances as infant dedication; water baptism, communion, etc., are not to be thrown away as worthless just because they do not impute justification and sanctification, they do serve as signs of both reminder of the believer’s status and as a symbol to the world that they are in fact believers who are righteous in God’s eyes. However, they, in and of themselves, should never be seen as the objects by which justification and grace are imparted. With all this said, Paul does not leave this open for misinterpretation, he will explain more as he continues to write this letter.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson VII)

Scholar Albert Barnes adds his imprimatur to what others are saying about justification’s independence from good works: “Having shown that Abraham was justified by faith in accordance with the doctrine he was defending, the only remaining inquiry was it after he was circumcised or before; was it as a consequence of his circumcision or not. If it was after his circumcision, the Jews might still maintain that it was by complying with the works of the Law; but if it was before, the point of the Apostle would be established that it was without the works of the Law. Still further, if he was justified by faith before he was circumcised, then here was an instance of justification and acceptance without conformity to the Jewish Law; and if the father of the Jewish nation [Abraham] was so justified, and reckoned as a friend of God, without being circumcised, that is, in the condition in which the pagan world was then, then it would follow that the Gentiles might be justified in a similar way now.”¹ Even though circumcision is no longer an issue in the Christian church, the principle of obedience to God’s law over obedience to church law is still a matter of discussion.

Professor F. F. Bruce has quite a bit to say about this subject. His main points are: “What relation, if any, lies between Abraham’s being justified by faith and the rite of circumcision? For a Jew, this was a matter of great importance: circumcision was the outward and visible sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. No uncircumcised man could claim any share in that covenant; circumcision entitled Jews or Gentile proselytes to all the covenant privileges, apart from those who by a willful repudiation of the divine commandments cut themselves off from the covenant people… Abraham, accordingly, is the true father of all who, like him, believe in God and take Him at His word. He is the father of uncircumcised believers, for he was himself uncircumcised when his faith was reckoned to him for righteousness; he is the father of circumcised believers too, not so much on the ground of their circumcision as on the ground of their faith… Abraham’s justification and accompanying blessings were based on his faith in God; they were not earned by merit or effort on his part (as would have been the case had they been conditional on law-keeping) but conferred on him by God’s grace. And the principle on which God thus dealt with Abraham extends to his descendants – not to his natural descendants as such, for they have become subject to the obligations of the law, but to his spiritual descendants, those who follow the precedent of Abraham’s faith.”²

Verse 10: So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? God accepted him before his circumcision.

The main point is that justification by grace was offered to Abraham some fourteen years before God required physical circumcision as a sign for him and his descendants that they had been chosen by God to receive such justification. This is clearly recorded in the Torah.³ Later on, God spoke to Abraham and told him: “I am God All-Powerful. Obey me and live the right way. If you do this, I will prepare an agreement between us. I will promise to make your people a great nation.”⁴ Now, remember, this was all done long before the Law was given to Moses and encoded in the writings of the children of Israel.

Paul saw this then as a reason to say that if God was willing to accept Abraham based on faith, not obedience to the law, then He is willing to do the same for anyone who is justified outside the law. He expressed this in his letter to the Corinthians: “If a man was already circumcised when he was chosen, he should not disrespect his circumcision. If a man was without circumcision when he was chosen, he should not be circumcised. It is not important if anyone is circumcised or not. What is important is obeying God’s commands.”⁵

Now, since circumcision is a non-factor in Christian theology and belief, if we look at water baptism in the same light, we can then conclude that a believer is justified before they are baptized. And, just as God signaled circumcision as a sign that those who received it were among the chosen, so He gave water baptism to Christians as a sign that they had been chosen by God. But, just as circumcision alone could not save the Jew, so water baptism alone cannot save a sinner. In both cases, this is done by God as a gift for believing, not as a wage for obedience. Unfortunately, this has been turned around by some and baptism is all they have to point to as evidence that they have been made right with God.

This was part of Paul’s message to the Galatians: “When someone belongs to Christ Jesus, it is not important if they are circumcised or not. The important thing is faith – the kind of faith available through love.”⁶ Based on what we said above, you can quote this same verse while substituting the word “baptized” for “circumcised” and it would promote the fact that faith is the elemental essence that brings about justification. While Paul’s teaching here was intended primarily for the Jews in the body of believers in Rome, I’m sure the non-Jews were also paying attention. No doubt they asked the same question that early church scholar Pelagius did: “Now we must see whether circumcision is born of righteousness or righteousness of circumcision. It must be the former because Abraham was righteous before he was circumcised.”⁷

John Calvin has a theological view of this subject: “We must always bear in mind, that circumcision is mentioned here as the initial work, so to speak, of the righteousness of the law: for the Jews gloried not in it as the symbol of God’s favor, but as a meritorious observance of the law: and it was on this account that they regarded themselves better than others, as though they possessed a higher excellency before God… But Paul maintains the contrary, and thus reasons: ‘If Abraham’s righteousness was the remission of sins, (which he safely takes as granted,) and if Abraham attained this before circumcision, it then follows that remission of sins is not given for preceding merits.’ You see that the argument rests on the order of cause and effect; for the cause is always before its effect; righteousness was possessed by Abraham before he had circumcision.”⁸

Frederic Godet makes an interesting point here about Abraham’s status. He writes: “There was a time in Abraham’s life when by his uncircumcision he represented the Gentiles, as later after his circumcision he became the representative of the covenant. Now, it was in the first of these two periods of his life, that is to say, in his Gentilehood, that he was justified by faith… the conclusion was obvious at a glance.”⁹ This is important to understand because if a person believes that their being right with God depends on some rite or ritual, they will also assume that their forgiveness for sins is also included and, therefore, repentance and confession is only due afterward for any sins committed as a believer.

Charles Ellicott makes a similar point: “What is the bearing of this upon the relation between Jew and Gentile? Is the blessedness of the justified state reserved only for the former? Is it limited to those who are circumcised? On the contrary, the state of justification was attributed to Abraham himself before he was circumcised. Justification is the result of faith, not of circumcision. Circumcision is so far from superseding faith that it was only the sign or seal of it.”¹⁰ So, for Ellicott, this then was the great test for those Messianic Jews in Rome to consider. Was their hope for justification based on whether their descent from Abraham is spiritual or literal? It is also the great test today for those who feel they became believers after their baptism instead of before.

Verse 11: Abraham was circumcised later to show that God accepted him. His circumcision was proof that he was right with God through faith before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all those who believe but are not circumcised. They believe and are accepted as people who are right with God.

This factor concerning Abraham’s faith was important to Paul. After all, Abraham was not a Jew, he was a Chaldean. He did not have the Law later given to Moses to live by. So there were no good deeds for him to do in compliance with those laws. It was all based on obedience and faith. Even though circumcision and the Law followed, Paul wants these Jewish leaders to know that getting right with God still depends on faith first, not works.

In fact, even circumcision was based on obedience. God said to Abraham: “This is my agreement that all of you must obey. This is the agreement between Me and you and all your descendants. Every male must be circumcised.”¹¹ So in this context, we can clearly see that obedience was the important factor. God could have easily told them to cut off their thumb as a sign that they were willing to be obedient no matter what the cost. The main contributing factor in Israel’s relationship with God from the time they left Egypt until Jesus rose from death was their obedience to Him and His will. Each time they went into idolatry, it was because of disobedience, even though they were all circumcised. Therefore, since circumcision could not keep them from sinning, it likewise could not guarantee their obedience. That was only accomplished by an act of their will in submitting to God’s authority.

Even when examining their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, we read where they were told: “The blood will serve you as a sign marking the houses where you are; when I see the blood, I will pass over you — when I strike the land of Egypt, the death blow will not strike you.”¹² Had the blood of the lamb been left in a bowl or put in a jar on the shelf, the death angel would not have passed over that house, and they would have been treated just like the Egyptians. It had to be applied to the doorposts of the house. In other words, the blood on the doorpost was a sign of obedience. Likewise, the blood of Jesus in and of itself cannot be accepted by God as payment for sin unless, and until, it is applied to the heart as a sign of obedience by faith. Thus, obedience became the critical factor in everything the Jews did.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson VI)

British theologian Adam Clarke made this remark about what David said in the Psalm the Apostle Paul is using here to make his point: “That man is truly happy to whose charge God does not reckon sin; that is, they alone are happy who are redeemed from the curse of the law and the consequence of their ungodly life, by having their sins freely forgiven, through the mercy of God.”¹ How much more blessed do we feel when we realize that in spite of our sinful nature and regardless of our sinful ways, God was still willing to grant us salvation from sin’s punishment because of what His Son did for us on the cross. Such a gift is certainly more valuable than if it had been achieved by accomplishing some feat, especially, when we find out that no one before us had ever achieved this on their own. Except for one man from Galilee named Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the living God, our Lord, and Savior.

Robert Haldane makes an impassioned plea for us to understand what Paul really means by imputed righteousness. He writes: “The expression ‘imputes righteousness without works,’ is important, as it clearly ascertains that the phrase ‘for righteousness,’ signifies the receiving of righteousness. It signifies receiving righteousness itself, not a substitute for righteousness, nor a thing of less value than righteousness, which is accounted or accepted as righteousness. The righteousness said to be imputed here is that righteousness to which Paul had all along been referring, even the righteousness of God on account of the revelation of which the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and which is called by the Apostle Peter the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, in which believers have obtained precious faith. That the Apostle refers in the verse before us to this righteousness which fulfills the law, is evident, if we look back to what he says in the 21st verse of the preceding chapter, and to what he continues to say respecting it up to this 6th verse, and to the effect he here ascribes to it. If anyone can suppose that all this is insufficient to settle the question, I shall produce an argument which is unanswerable, and which all the ingenuity of man is unable to gainsay It must be the righteousness of God (or the righteousness of Christ, which is the same) that is here spoken of BECAUSE THERE IS NO OTHER RIGHTEOUSNESS ON EARTH.”²

F. F. Bruce provides this insight: “Psalm 32 is ascribed to David in the titles of both MT³ and LXX.⁴ There is a formal link between Psalm 32:1–2, quoted in verses 7–8, and Genesis 15:6, quoted in verse 3, in that the verb ‘reckon’ is common to both passages. In rabbinical exegesis, such a link was held to encourage the interpretation of the one passage by the other, by the principle called ‘equal category.’ Paul uses this principle here, but the link is not a merely formal one: the non-imputation of sin, in which the psalmist rejoices, amounts to the positive imputation of righteousness or pronouncement of acquittal, for there is no verdict of ‘Not proven’ in God’s court of law.”⁵ In other words, when anyone looks over the transcript of all the testimonies and examines all the evidence, there is no hung jury. Everything provided is more than enough to declare a sinner, “Not Guilty” because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Verse 9: Is this blessing only for those who are circumcised? Or is it also for those who are not circumcised? We have already said that it was because of Abraham’s faith that he was accepted as one who is right with God.

This is where many stumble today in attempting to attain salvation through their good works. Have you ever met someone who was baptized and christened as a baby; successfully completed their catechism classes; became loyal members of a church; established a record of regular attendance, became a faithful tither, and good all-around steward, then used all this as a basis to claim their salvation? They feel good because of all they contributed to the effort. But, if it were possible to attain salvation this way, then Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was in vain and senseless. This was how the Jews attempted to find redemption and salvation through their many rites and rituals and keeping the Law and all the commandments. It was like, “Look what I’ve done God! You owe me!” Faith would no longer be the substance of things we hope for.

Paul wanted the believers in Rome to know that it is by grace alone that God saves us, and He is not persuaded by works or words. Nevertheless, some Christians who claim salvation by faith, end up following the Jewish format in trying to retain their salvation through works. But Paul points out, if faith brought us salvation, then faith will make our salvation valid. Yet, works are still required for another purpose. Jesus said very bluntly, once you come to the cross and receive the free gift of salvation, then pick up your own cross and follow Me by doing what I have commanded you to do. However, all of these works of obedience are done out of gratitude and love for our Father, our Savior, and our Holy Spirit as a way to honor, praise, glorify and lift them up for all the world to see the light, so that they too can come to the same knowledge of the truth about God’s plan of true salvation.

At the same time, Paul was insistent that these Messianic Jews drop any notion that just because they were of Jewish stock, that they were first in line to receive forgiveness and be justified before God. Even though the children of Jacob were chosen to bring light to a world living in spiritual darkness, God’s promise as revealed through the prophet Isaiah said that His special Servant would not only be a Savior to the Jews but to people all over the world.⁶

Jesus was confirmed as that special Servant when Mary and Joseph brought Him to the Temple in order to be dedicated. By God’s design, a priest named Simeon, who lived in Jerusalem, was there on that day when Joseph and Mary arrived with the baby Jesus. Simeon lived and breathed for the day when he would see the Messiah, and had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before the Messiah would be revealed. So when he took Jesus in his arms, Simeon offered this prayer: “Now, Lord, you can let me, your servant, die in peace as you said. I have seen with my own eyes how you will save your people. Now all people can see your plan. He is a light to show your way to the other nations.”⁷

Paul had previously written the Galatians, and this is what he said: “Because of what Jesus Christ did, the blessing God promised to Abraham was given to all people. Christ died so that by believing in Him we could have the Spirit that God promised.”⁸ As a result, Paul went on to say: “In Christ, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or free, male or female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.”⁹ Paul reiterated the same truth in his letter to the Ephesians,¹⁰ and the Colossians.¹¹ But Paul is not happy just saying it, now he wants to prove it from Scripture.

Early church scholar Ambrosiaster has an interesting question: “Is this blessedness given to the children of Abraham only or to the Gentiles also? If in those days the Gentiles were not forbidden to come [to God] under the law and the promise made to Abraham, how could it be that in the time of Christ they should be prevented from coming to grace when God has clearly invited them?”¹² Ambrosiaster’s question is rhetorical. In other words, this idea of opening the door to salvation for all mankind did not start with the Apostle Paul, it was already true when Jesus was here on earth.

Adam Clarke adds his insight to this: “The apostle‘s question is very nervous. If this pardon, granted in this way, be essential to happiness – and David says it is so – then is it the privilege of the Jews exclusively? This cannot be; for, as it is by the mere mercy of God, through faith, even the Jews could not claim it. But if God offered it to the Jews, not because they have been obedient, for they also have sinned, but because of His mere mercy, then, of course, the same blessedness may be offered to the Gentiles who believe in the Lord Jesus… Abraham had no merit, he was an idolater; but he believed in God, and his faith was reckoned to him ‘in righteousness,’ in reference to his justification; he brought faith when he could not bring works; God accepted his faith in the place of obedience; and this became the instrumental cause of his justification.”¹³

Robert Haldane makes this point: “The Apostle having fully established the truth, that a man is justified by faith without works, now reverts to the allusion made to circumcision at the beginning of this chapter, in demanding what Abraham had obtained as pertaining to the flesh. He now shows, in the most decisive manner, that Abraham had not obtained justification by means of circumcision since he was justified before he was circumcised. And, proceeding to prove what he had affirmed, (ch. 3:30), that justification is not confined to the Jews, he asks if the blessedness he had spoken of comes only to those who are circumcised, or to the uncircumcised also. It was the more necessary to decide this question because the Jews not only believed that justification depended, at least in part, on their works, but that the privileges of the people of God were inseparably connected with circumcision. In the sequel, Paul shows that justification has no necessary connection with, or dependence on, circumcision.”¹⁴

Charles Hodge points out: “The apostle’s third argument, commencing with this verse and continuing to the 12th, has special reference to circumcision. He had proved that Abraham was not justified on account of his works generally; he now proves that circumcision is neither the ground nor condition of his acceptance. The proof of this point is brief and conclusive. It is admitted that Abraham was justified. The only question is, was it before or after his circumcision? If before, it certainly was not on account of it. As it was before, circumcision must have served some other purpose.”¹⁵ Of course, that other purpose was that circumcision was a passive sign that this individual was part of the covenant God made with Abraham. But being a part of was not enough, one must also be a participant of for the promise to take effect. What Paul says of circumcision for Jews can also be said of baptism for Christians.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson V)

Verses 6-8: King David spoke about this when he described the happiness of an undeserving sinner who puts his trust in God without working to be saved from the punishment of sin. “Blessed and to be envied,” he said, “are those whose sins are forgiven and put out of sight. Yes, what joy there is for anyone whose sins the Lord chooses no longer to hold against them.”¹

What Paul says now must be understood as the unbelievable realization that comes to anyone after they have been chosen, redeemed, and glorified by being made the children of God. We can see that the heading of this Psalm Paul quotes describes it as a “maskil” of David. In Hebrew, the word means “enlightened.” Therefore, a maskil psalm is one that is designed to teach the reader something that wasn’t clear to them before. After David opened his maskil with the words contained in the first two verses, he then goes on to tell his own personal story of how it worked in his case. This is also the way several Psalms are introduced.² It is also interesting that David starts this psalm much the same way Jesus began His beatitudes.³

But the main lesson here is that having one’s sins forgiven and erased so they can be accepted by the Lord is called a “blessing.” It signifies someone who is fortunate, well-off, and content while living a fulfilled life. Paul uses David’s words because he clearly points out that this blessing comes from the Lord as a gift. It is not something that is bought, bartered, or begged for. As it is so clearly stated by God through the prophet Isaiah: “They will say, ‘Goodness and strength come only from the LORD.’”⁴ And God reiterates the same truth through the prophet Jeremiah: “Let the boaster boast about this: that he understands and knows Me — that I am Adonai, practicing grace, justice, and righteousness in the land; for in these things I take pleasure, says Adonai.”⁵

Early church scholar Ambrosiaster makes this point: “Paul backs this up by the example of the prophet David, who says that those are blessed of whom God has decreed that, without work or any keeping of the law, they are justified before God by faith alone. Therefore, he foretells the blessedness of the time when Christ was born, just as the Lord Himself said: ‘Many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see and to hear what you hear without ever hearing it’.⁶”⁷ To this, another scholar adds: “After demonstrating by the example of the Patriarch Abraham that faith is older than the law, Paul quotes a further witness in support of his position, namely, David the prophet and king.”⁸

There is an interesting homily on Psalm 32 in Jewish writings that goes like this:

These words are to be considered in light of a verse from another Psalm: You have taken away the guilt of your people and pardoned all their sin. Selah.⁹ You know that Satan comes on the Day of Atonement to accuse Israel and he specifies the iniquities of Israel, saying; Master of the universe, there are adulterers among the nations of the earth; so, too, among Israel. There are thieves among the nations of the earth; so, to, among Israel. But the Holy One, blessed be He, lays out the just deeds of Israel. Then what does He do? He suspends the beam of the scales and looks to see what the balance or imbalance is between the iniquities and the just deeds. And as they are weighed – the iniquities against the just deeds, these against those – the two pans of the scale balance exactly. Thereupon, Satan goes out to fetch more iniquities to put in the pan of iniquities and bring it down. What does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? Even while Satan is going about seeking iniquities, the Holy One, blessed be He, takes the iniquities out of the pan and hides them under His royal robe. Then Satan comes and finds no iniquity on the scales, as it is said The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for; and there shall be none.¹⁰ When Satan see there is no iniquity, he cries out before the Holy one, blessed be He: Master of the universe, You have carried away the iniquity of Your people!¹¹ When David realized what God does, he said: How mercifully He carries away iniquity, how mercifully He hides their sin! Thereupon David went on to praise Israel as Happy is he whose transgressions are carried away, whose sin is hidden.¹²

Paul expressed this same thought of God being the only source for such blessings when he wrote to the Corinthians: “It is God who has made you part of Christ Jesus. And Christ has become for us wisdom from God. He is the reason we are right with God and pure enough to be in His presence. Christ is the One who set us free from sin.”¹³ Paul then goes on to quote the word of God from Jeremiah mentioned above. We should all be justly proud of being God’s children and counted among the redeemed and chosen, but that pride is not in ourselves or anything we may have done, but in the One who gave His life so that we could be given such an immeasurable and eternal gift.

This is why Paul wanted the Christians in Rome to know that it was accomplished by grace, not by our good deeds. He may have taken some of this from his letter to the Ephesians: “God did this so that His kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of His grace. I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things He had already planned for us to do.”¹⁴ This is the same message Paul had for his young protégé Timothy.¹⁵

Early church scholar Origen gives this explanation: “Note the order here. First, comes the forgiveness of iniquity, then the covering of sin, then the non-imputation of the sin to the sinner. This is the order: First, the beginning of the soul’s conversion is the renunciation of evil. Second, the soul begins to do good works, which eventually become more numerous than the evil deeds which preceded them, and in this sense, those sins may be said to be covered over. Finally, the soul reaches maturity. Every trace of sin is uprooted from it so that not even the smallest trace of wickedness remains The height of perfect blessedness is promised. The Lord will not impute any sin to the soul. Wickedness is different from sin in that it applies to things which are done without the law. In Greek, the word for this is ‘anomía,’ meaning something which is done without the law. Sin, on the other hand, refers to something which is done against the dictates of conscience and nature.”¹⁶ What Origen says here is what God does at the moment of conversion when confessed sins and sincere repentance leads God to let them start over with a new slate. But as Paul will go on to say, it will always remain a goal to stay this way. That’s why God’s grace is needed throughout the life of the believer, and it is the only thing that will help him, or her achieve a victorious ending to their journey.

Reformist John Calvin also explores this subject on people being declared right with God so that He is then justified in removing their penalty for sin. He writes: “But some one may say, “Why may we not maintain, on the ground of these testimonies, that man is justified and made blessed by good deeds? Because the words of Scripture declare that man is justified and made blessed by works as well as by faith.” Here indeed we must consider the order of causes as well as the dispensation of God’s grace: for inasmuch as whatever is declared, either of the righteousness of works or of the blessedness arising from them, does not exist, until this only true righteousness of faith has preceded and does alone discharge all its offices, this last must be built up and established, in order that the other may, as a fruit from a tree, grow from it and flourish.”¹⁷

John Bengel points out that in David’s recounting the basis for which God bestows salvation on a person, he does not mention good deeds at all. Says Bengel: “The argument from the silence of Scripture is very often conclusive.” But Bengel adds that some might say that if the LORD accepts them as if they are without sin, that must mean they met all the requirements of the Law. But Bengel answers: “It is not the same thing.” He then writes: “This… has nothing to do with the description of the subject; it is part of the predicate; even if it were such a description, the merit of works would not be established; for the thief who confessed his crime, and does not craftily deny it, merits no pardon for his offence by his confession.” What Bengel contends is this: “The meaning of all this is as follows: Blessed is the man to whom the LORD has not attributed sin: blessed is he, and in his spirit there is no deceitfulness; that is, he is now sure of his condition, of the forgiveness of his sins; he can be assured that his spirit and his heart are not deceiving him.¹⁸”¹⁹

Henry Alford sees this as a confirmation of the assertion involved in verse 5 that a person may believe in Him who justifies the ungodly and have his faith reckoned for righteousness. Alford goes on to say: “The Psalm, strictly speaking, says nothing of the imputation of righteousness, – but it is implied by St. Paul, that the remission of sin is equivalent to the imputation of righteousness – that there is no negative state of innocence – none intermediate between acceptance for righteousness, and rejection of sin.” In fact, Alford says it is a blessing, which makes it very clear that this righteousness must be apart from works, because its imputation consists in the remission and hiding of offences, whereas none can be legally righteous in whom there is any, even the smallest offence found.²⁰