Grace is a word used frequently in Christian circles. In our songs, prayers, sermons, and studies, grace is heard again and again. Even the most famous hymn of the Christian church characterizes grace as "amazing." We ask for grace, talk about grace, refer to the need for grace, and assume that all around understand what grace means.
I could use the word rather handily as a young fellow even though I had not experienced grace nor did I understand what it meant. Yes, I knew the quick definition that we often give, "God's unmerited favor," yet even that good definition had not sunk into my mind and liberated me from self-effort and self-reliance for salvation. I could talk about grace but did not know the effects of grace.
I suppose that there may be some among us that are in the same predicament. You can define grace but you know nothing about it. Or perhaps you do know the experience of grace but you struggle to rely upon grace day after day. In either case, this text is just what you need to help sort out the matter of grace.
Granted, we use the word in different ways. We sometime refer to someone as showing grace in the way they treated an objectionable person. In that case, it carries the idea of kindness toward someone that by their actions appeared undeserving of it. Other times we speak of some young lady carrying herself with grace. By that we mean that she has an air of dignity and honor befitting of a young lady. Paul talked of how our conversation was to be "with grace, seasoned as it were with salt," an indication of the gentleness and kindness of Christian spirit in contrast with the coarseness and darkness of the world.
In our text, however, Paul uses grace specifically in reference to God as the author and completer of salvation. It is God giving what we cannot do ourselves, and not because we need a helping hand or because we deserve His help; rather it is the activity of God's love and kindness toward sinners, giving us life while we deserve death. We cannot demand grace though we can ask for it. It is God's prerogative alone to show grace to sinners. Thankfully, He is pleased to do so abundantly! He gives grace to people that have cursed Him, hated Him, blasphemed Him, and said they wanted nothing to do with Him. That's why this activity of God is called "grace"!
Grace is not the only word we use in Christian circles. "Faith" is heard every week in the gathering of the church. Do these words mean the same thing? Obviously not, and our text makes that clear. But what part does faith have with grace? If God is actively working and giving in grace then what does faith do? John Stott has rightly pointed out, "For grace gives and faith takes." He further explains, "Faith's exclusive function is humbly to receive what grace offers" [Romans: God's Good News for the World, 131]. We cannot receive what God gives by grace through any means other than faith. Faith alone is compatible with the grace of God in salvation. Why is this the case? Paul's continuing reflections on how Abraham received the righteousness of God through faith helps us to distinguish these two key Christian themes and apply them rightly.
It's easy to talk about faith! We hear it all the time in the media. Even those barely religious, having no true knowledge of God are called "people of faith." In such cases, faith becomes a synonym for generic religious beliefs of the lowest order. That's just not adequate when we think of the faith of Abraham or the faith that characterizes true believers.
Keep in mind Paul's argument about the righteousness of God through faith. He clues us in by the opening words in verse 16, "For this reason." What reason does he mean? He points us back to the argument he has laid out concerning the righteousness that constitutes justification before God. In verses 1-8, he makes it clear that this righteousness is not due to works as though we can accomplish a number of good deeds that would merit righteousness. Instead, God bestows this righteousness "apart from works" so that no man may boast before God for their salvation. In verses 9-12, Paul takes up the subject of circumcision, the most important ritual in Judaism. God commanded Abraham to be circumcised. Yet his justification took place at least 14 years before that time. As we considered when we studied this passage, Abraham was actually a saved Gentile since he was uncircumcised yet declared righteous by faith. Then in verses 13-15, Paul takes up the subject of law. The word could be used generically to refer to any kind of moral law though he probably puts more weight on the substitution of adherence to the Mosaic Law for righteousness than other laws. His point was clear: Abraham was justified by faith 430 years before the Mosaic Law was given.
Shrimpers on the Gulf Coast trawl the gulf floor in wide swaths for several hours until it is time to draw the nets in. At that point, sixty feet of net funnels down into one heavy net called "the money bag," filled with trash fish, eels, crabs, and then the treasure, those luscious shrimp. They had trawled for hours to get to this one point of gathering the treasure. In a sense, that's what Paul has done: he trawled the religious floor to gather all of the excuses and collect them as rubbish to be thrown overboard, so that he might show the one treasure leading to life: faith in Christ alone.
"For this reason it is by faith." The Greek is terser with no verb: for this reason by faith. The translators substitute "it is" as implied; again they do this in the next phrase, "in order that it may be in accordance with grace." The it Paul referred to is the gospel promise made to Abraham in embryo form and filled out in all of its splendor and glory by the revelation of Christ in the gospel. "It is by faith." The promise made to Abraham four thousand years ago that in his seed all the nations of the world would be blessed, he clung to by faith. What is this faith by which Abraham received God's promise?
The Apostle explained a little later in Romans 4 that when God gave Abraham the promise, which we noted in our last study comprised the promise of Christ as the Messiah, "he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb" (4:19). God told the childless couple that they would have a descendant; yet they were both well past the time of childbearing. Abraham could not coax Sarah's womb to life. They saw that there was nothing within them sufficient to fulfill this promise. But Abraham thought on the promise of God and "did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform" (4:20-21).
Now, what is Paul's point? Is it just a lesson on childbearing by a very old couple? Of course not; the point of the promise of God was not Isaac but Christ! Yes, Isaac would be born and then Jacob but they were descendants in a long line of Abraham for the "seed" promised by God who would be the point of blessing for the nations (cf. Gal. 3). Abraham saw that he had no means to achieve the promise of God. He believed God's promise, and that faith was imputed to him as righteousness (4:3, 9, 22).
Faith confesses, "I am inadequate in myself for righteousness before God. I have nothing to commend myself to God. I have no ability to justify myself. There is no law that I can keep or ritual that I can practice or work that I can achieve to merit such righteousness before God. I rely upon Christ alone!"
Faith's confession of inadequacy is quickly followed by looking outside of oneself for the righteousness needed before God. It is popular in our day to tell people to "look within" for whatever strength or goodness needed. But faith does not look within; faith looks up to a God of great mercy who gives grace to poor sinners! Faith looks to Christ as God's provision of righteousness. Faith looks to Christ's death as full-satisfaction for every sin and judgment against you. Faith looks to the Lord and lives.
I think this is at least hinted at in our text by the phrase in verse 17 describing the context of Abraham's faith as "in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God." Abraham knew that he was not practicing the power of positive thinking when it came to God's promise! There was no empty hope but rather, in simple faith, he looked to the Lord, conscious that God had come to him with this promise.
So, the promise of God in the gospel (that's the context of our passage) is "by faith." Faith has no merit, no claims of goodness, and no right to claim the divine blessing outside of the promise made in the gospel for all that will believe (Rom. 1:16-17; 3:22). Faith leaves no ground for boasting for even faith itself is a gift of God's grace (Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 1:29).
That's the way that the Greek text puts it, "For this reason, by faith in order that according to grace." Paul's excitement was so increased at this point in his argument that he does not even put a verb in—we have to supply it. You could do that in the Greek language as a point of emphasis just as some journalists will occasionally do for the same reason. It gets our attention at its simplicity. "For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace." The promise of the imputed righteousness of God in Christ had to be received by faith in order for this promise to be on the basis of grace alone. Remember, grace excludes works, ritual, and morality by the law. Grace and law are incompatible as means to righteousness. If it is by law it cannot be by grace; or as Paul wrote in 11:6, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace." Why is grace unwilling to have the company of works or ritual or morality by the law?
What is the nature of grace? We call it "God's unmerited favor," which means that it comes from God as a gift and "not the result of works lest anyone should boast." Grace is an active word; it's not just a disposition in God but even more, a disposition that leads to loving action on behalf of undeserving sinners. The root meaning of the word "grace" is gift. Grace does not look for worthiness in its object. Think about that for a moment. God does not look for people that can do something for Him—because He has no needs. He does not look for people that will love Him—because He is infinitely satisfied with the inter-Trinitarian love. He does not even look for people that will serve Him—because He is altogether sufficient for whatever situation might arise in the universe. Instead, He looks for sinners, helpless and unworthy sinners upon whom He might bestow kindness and favor.
Savor that for a moment. Remember how God called Abraham beyond the River Euphrates where he and his family "served other gods," according to Joshua 24:2. Then God took him out of the midst of paganism and showed him grace! Abraham did not seek God. God sought Abraham. He pursued Abraham with grace and kindness—not because he deserved it. Abraham was an idolater. Yet God chose to show him love.
That's grace both then and now. The Lord does not save any of us because He finds something good in us or some measure of worthiness or some potential for good. Here is the great mystery of the Christian faith! The eternal God, altogether holy and majestic, removed from sinners, dwelling in infinite light and glory pursues sinners with grace. Such a gift of God is an act of mercy—since we don't deserve it—and an act of love—since we can do nothing to reciprocate God—and an act of kindness—since we really deserve judgment. Yet God gives! He gives grace to sinners! The aim of this grace is to impute the perfect righteousness of God's Son to sinners so that we might be declared righteous before Him, acceptable in His presence as His own dear children.
Could Abraham boast before God of his right standing? Paul already answered that in 4:2. He might boast "but not before God." Grace excludes boasting in every form. We cannot take a bow as a new Christian as though we have done something to cause God to save us. We cannot grab any thread of glory for all of that belongs to Him who pursued us with grace. Paul's explanation to the Corinthians gives one of the clearest statements in this regard (1 Cor. 1:26-31).
26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;
27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,
29 so that no man may boast before God.
30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
31 so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."
Notice how Paul further explains the reason for grace. Suppose that you could labor and work and serve and somehow earn justification from God. (You cannot do it but we're looking at it hypothetically) How are you going to keep it? How much more labor will it take and how much more sinlessness will it take for you to maintain justification? There are multitudes of frustrated and depressed people who have spent their lives trying to merit what they can never merit and trying to keep what they have never received. Their religious practice teaches them that they can go through works, rituals, and morality to earn righteousness; yet the same teaching does not give them assurance that they can keep what they have supposedly earned. They spend their lives on a religious treadmill, spinning and spinning like a hamster on a wheel, but never getting anywhere.
But grace gives something much different. "For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law [that is, those who are Jewish and beneficiaries of the Law], but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham [that is, Jews and Gentiles who put their faith in Christ], who is the father of us all, (as it is written, 'A father of many nations have I made you')." The guarantee that you and I have that we have been justified before God is never found in our works or rituals or moral behavior; rather it is found in God's grace. Now why is that the case? How does grace guarantee us, Jews and Gentiles alike who have faith in Christ, how does it guarantee that we have received the promise? It is because grace is the work of God alone. Grace is not cooperation with God in which we contribute a little to our salvation and God contributes the rest. Grace is God at work for us, giving us what we could never deserve in a thousand lives, and sustaining us through eternity. If salvation has come as a gift of grace and not works, then salvation is sustained by that same grace and not by works. Otherwise, we cannot say that salvation is by grace. We would have to say that salvation is by works—and that is foreign to both Old and New Testaments. That's the point that Paul has labored to show us. Abraham was not justified by anything that he did but through the pure, unadulterated grace of God that he received by faith.
Ultimately, that means that assurance of salvation points us to God's faithfulness to His promises in the gospel of Christ. We will see later when we get to chapter 8 that the Lord has given us some precious encouragements in assurance through the leadership and witness of the Holy Spirit, yet even with such encouragements, we still rely upon God's faithfulness to sustain us. We don't have the power to sustain our salvation. If left to us, we would fall the first day and never recover. Yet His Spirit preserves us by grace so that we can persevere by faith. More on that when we get to it in chapter 5 and beyond!
"So that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants," points to the durability, reliability, and certainty of what God has done for us through Christ and bestowed upon us by grace. Your salvation is just as secure as God Himself since He is the One bestowing it through grace. The guarantee is not limited by genealogical descent, either. It's "to all the descendants," whether Jews or Gentiles, since Abraham was promised in the embryonic gospel, "A father of many nations have I made you." The same gospel that saved Abraham is the same gospel that saves us. He became the prototype for justification by faith though certainly not the first saved by God's grace. The grace shown to Abraham is the grace shown to sinners of every nationality, race, gender, and culture. "This is the great missionary charter," wrote Martyn Lloyd-Jones. "That is why we preach the same Gospel exactly to people who have been brought up religiously and to pagans in unevangelized countries who have never seen a Bible and who have never even heard the Name of God. It is exactly the same Gospel for all, and all who believe have to come to God through Christ in the same way" [Romans: Atonement and Justification, An Exposition of Chapters 3:20-4:25, 200].
Have you come to God by His grace through faith in Christ alone? It is that same grace that brought you to the knowledge of Christ, that lifted you out of spiritual deadness so that you might believe that will sustain you. Rely upon His grace!
I will be the first to admit that the sentence structure in verses 16-17 is cumbersome. You will likely need to read over it numerous times in context to see how the verses flow together; I know that has been the case for me. But reading it and meditating on it yields rich encouragements! The parenthetical statement in verse 17 may interrupt our flow of thought to some degree but it is a necessary reminder by the Apostle as he grounds his doctrine in Scripture. The doctrine—Abraham is the father of the faith to all believing God for righteousness in Christ—is founded upon Genesis 17:5: "No longer shall your name be called Abram ["exalted father"], but your name shall be Abraham ["father of a multitude"]; for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations." The emphasis both in Genesis and in Paul's quotation is upon God's action of grace in accomplishing this gospel promise. Abraham received this promise by faith. He was too old to have a child and Sarah too old to conceive and give birth. Yet God promised. Grace came to Abraham and he believed God. In that moment of faith God imputed righteousness to him.
What Paul does is to tie our faith and dependence upon the grace of God to Abraham's faith and dependence upon the grace of God. The same grace he received and same faith by which he laid claim to God's promise is the same for all who believe. He argues this further in 4:22-25. Notice especially verses 23-24: "Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead." What was good for Abraham is good for us! Admittedly, we have much more revelation than did Abraham. We have so much more to see and enjoy concerning Christ and His fullness. Yet the simplicity of Abraham's faith and dependence on God's grace remains a model for us.
Notice that phrase, "in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God." How did Abraham get into God's presence? It is not because the patriarch made his way to God. It's because God came to him! Grace brings God to us. That may sound strange in our ears; and I certainly don't imply that God is not omnipresent and thus has to be moved around. I'm not speaking in spatial terms but in terms of reality. The living God became real to Abraham, even though he had been steeped in paganism, because grace made the omnipresent God real to him. Grace does that to us as well. I remember that first reality of the living God in my own life. It came when I certainly was not seeking after Him. I had other things on my mind as most teenagers do. Grace opened my eyes and made me conscious of the living God revealed through Jesus Christ. I saw my sin and saw my need for forgiveness in that work of grace.
Grace turns our eyes from inward dependence to look to God in Christ. Grace made Abraham aware of God; and grace moved Abraham to look with eyes of faith to "Him whom he believed, even God." Just as the Israelites in the wilderness when struck with a plague of serpents were told to look to the brazen serpent that God had provided so that they would live; even so, we look to Christ lifted up on the cross for us and live (John 3:14-15).
This God "gives life to the dead." Grace teaches us to rely upon such a God. Paul probably alludes to two incidents. First, and primary, is the deadness of Abraham and Sarah's reproductive abilities. He considered his body "as good as dead" and Sarah's womb dead as well. But by grace through faith he relied on God's resurrection power that "gives life to the dead" so that the gospel promise might be fulfilled. The second incident, that has its roots in the first, is that occasion where God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Hebrews 11:17-19 tells us that the reason he could do this was because "he considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead." What does grace do? It reveals the God who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead and who is able to raise us from spiritual deadness into life eternal. Grace enables us to see God in this way and believe that He can save us to the uttermost; that there is no sin that escapes the power of the crucified Son to deliver us.
This same God also "calls into being that which does not exist" or "calls that which is not as though it is." God saw the multitude of nations from Abraham, even though he did not even have a son, as though completed. He called it into existence by His mighty power! The word "calls" is the term that theologians refer to as "effectual calling." It's what happens as the gospel is preached and someone truly hears its life-giving truth and believes. The gospel calls into being something that has not before existed in that person—life.
Grace bids you look to Christ and live. Grace comes to you in the proclamation of the gospel, showing you the kindness of God to sinners, revealing the righteousness of God that changes your standing with Him forever. Look to Christ and live. Rely upon God's grace to save and preserve.
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