By The Rev. Ron Purkey
Guest Columnist

Read: Romans 4:1-25

“And (Abraham) believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” (Genesis 15:6-7)

The Rev. Ron Purkey

By all means we should seek to master Romans chapter 4! It explains how God justifies (declares righteous) ungodly people through the death and resurrection of his son the Lord Jesus Christ. “Salvation” is a broad term and includes all that God does for the believer in Christ; “justification” is a legal term describing our perfect standing before God in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Romans chapter 4, Paul uses the example of Abraham to illustrate some great facts about justification by faith.

First, Salvation Is Not By Doing Good Works (Romans 4:1-8). Every Jew revered “Father Abraham,” and from Genesis 15:6 knew that Abraham had been justified before God. Abraham’s acceptance by God was so certain that they referred to heaven as “Abraham’s bosom.” Knowing this, Paul points to Abraham and asks, “How was Abraham, our father in the flesh, justified?” Was it by works? No, for then he could have gloried in his accomplishment, and we have no record of such action in the Old Testament. What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God!” (See Genesis 15:1-6.) The gift of righteousness came, not by works, but by faith in God’s revealed Word.

Notice that in his argument, Paul used the words “reckon,” “impute,” and “count” (Romans 4:3-6, 8-11, 22-24). These words all mean the same thing: to put to a person’s account. Justification means righteousness imputed (put to our account) and gives us a right standing before God. Sanctification means righteousness imparted (made a part of our life) and gives us a right standing before men, so they believe we are Christians. Both are a part of salvation, as James 2:14-26 argues. What good is it to say that I have faith in God if my life does not reveal faithfulness to God?

Second, Salvation Is By Faith In Jesus Christ (Romans 4:9-25). Salvation is either a reward for works or a gift through the grace of God; it cannot be both. Romans 4:5 states God justifies the ungodly (not the righteous) through faith and not works. The Jews thought God justified religious people on the basis of their works; yet Paul has proved that “Father Abraham” was saved simply on the basis of faith. Then Paul refers to David and quotes Psalm 32:1-2, proving that Israel’s great king taught justification by faith, apart from works. God does not impute (count) sin to our account, because that was charged to Christ’s account (2 Corinthians 5:21, and see Philemon 18). Rather, God imputes (counts) Christ’s  righteousness to our account purely on the basis of his grace! What a wonderful salvation we have. That’s a good reason to do right and live for Christ!

Read Ron Purkey’s Bible study outlines free at rcpbibleoutlines.com. Purkey has been an ordained Baptist minister for 50 years.