Week 5

We have found the gospel in the Old Testament, we have established that we are hopelessly lost; we are persuaded that we are sinners, we are acquainted with the law but we are aware of the “righteousness of God apart from the law.” Are we the only folks who are aware of this? Do we have to have Paul tell us these things? This week we take an in-depth look at one of the first people to be justified apart from the law.

We are now ready to tackle chapter 4 so brew a fresh pot of coffee, get your Bible and buckle your seatbelts: this is going to take a while.

Romans 4:1- What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

What happens when we see a righteous man? Most of us know people who are better than we are. No matter how much we try, we convince ourselves that they outshine us in good deeds and righteousness. Paul was one of those folks. He even says that He exceeded in righteousness (Phil 3:4-6). Perhaps Abraham was such a man. However, Paul says that even if he was such a man, he would have nothing to boast of before God. God was not concerned with Abraham’s righteousness. God saw his faith and his faith was more important than his righteousness. Thus it is written: “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” This passage comes from Genesis 15.

Genesis 15:1-3 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

Remember in Genesis 12, God gave Abram promises, namely that through his seed the nations would be blessed (12:3). By chapter 15, as we could imagine, Abram is looking at the situation and doesn’t see the promises fulfilled. God comes to him and tells him that He is his great reward. Perhaps the best response to this kind of conversation would be falling on one’s face in reverence and adoration with thanksgiving and praise. Instead, Abram cuts to the chase: “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” Let’s go back to Genesis 15.

Genesis 15:4-5 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” Ad He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

So Abram saw that Eliezer was going to be his heir. Eliezer was only “born in [his] house,” he was not his son. God had not fulfilled His promise. But God reveals a very important detail that He withheld from Abram in chapter 12: that the seed He promised would come from Abram’s own body. Abram, being very old, could do two things here: he could look at the situation and call God crazy or he could believe God.

Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

There has been no time spent on how “good” Abram was. He has done nothing to earn righteousness. Last week, we spoke of the righteousness of God apart from the Law. At this point, there is no established law. God doesn’t give the law to Moses until much later. So, just as Paul says, if Abraham is justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. That is to say, even if Abraham’s righteousness exceeded that of the Pharisees, that righteousness was not what God saw to declare him righteous. Paul is only teaching what we learn here, in Genesis: the just shall live by faith. Even the Pharisees had this teaching available. If asked how Abraham was considered righteous before God, a Pharisee would have to say, “Because he believed God.” So we have answered the question we asked earlier: are we the only folks who are aware of this kind of righteousness, righteousness by faith? No. Anyone looking at this passage in the Old Testament had this teaching available to them.

Here is a little quiz: how was Abraham saved?
A) By sacrifice
B) By the blood of goats and bulls
C) By the keeping of the law
D) By faith

If you chose D), we can move on. If you didn’t, review week 5’s notes again.

To move on, we must go back to a very important detail mentioned above. God promised Abram that this seed would come from his own body. Until now, God had only revealed a vague promise and withheld a lot of information. Little by little, Abraham is fed more details. We should not fault him for not understanding God’s purpose. Being very old, he sees that it isn’t probable that he will have children of his own, yet he still expects God to stick to His word. But lest Abram should think that what God meant by his seed was only figurative; God tells him that this seed will come from his own body. Prophesies are funny things. When received, we could take them literally or find some hidden meaning. We won’t know exactly what they mean until after they are fulfilled. This is the situation that Abram found himself in. Imagine his joy when God told him this news. The significance of this information, however, is much bigger than God bringing joy to the heart of a nomad. The purpose of prophecy, oftentimes, is so that we might glorify God and His omniscience. We are given information about the future; we cannot know for sure what it will be like; it happens; we are amazed; we glorify God. So when a prophecy is given to Abraham about his seed and that through it, all the nations will be blessed, God will be glorified in the day that it is fulfilled. The promises made to Abraham are complex because, although he did not live to see it completely fulfilled, he did see it partially fulfilled. Ishmael is born, praise God! Isaac is born; this is even more amazing. Abraham had to take it on faith that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars because he knew he couldn’t live long enough to see it happen. In the twenty-first century, we can see this promise fulfilled but in two different ways.

The Physical Descendants of Abraham and the Israel of God

We can trace Abraham’s lineage. We can follow his children and his children’s children. Surely, God fulfilled His promise to Abraham. The Jewish nation spawned from Abraham. If you are Jewish, you could call Abraham your father, and you would be correct. Physically, you came from Abraham. However, if all God wanted to do was bless Abraham with a lot of children, why does He say that all of the nations will be blessed through his seed? If we understand this prophecy as purely physical, as many people do, we must ask ourselves how all of the nations have been blessed by the Jewish people. Whatever answer we come up with will fall short of the truth if it does not ultimately end with Christ.

Thankfully, we do not need my insights here, but we can refer to Paul’s teaching. Let’s look at Galatians 3:15.

Galatians 3:15-18 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. And this I say, that the law which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

The first thing we must address, here, is a translation phenomenon. This passage quotes Genesis 22:16-19. Paul is telling us what this passage means: God’s promise to Abraham was that the nations would be blessed by one of his descendants. However, in most translations, this teaching is obscured. A typical reading of this passage would have us believe that there is nothing more to this prophecy than that God would rise up a great nation from one man. But Paul says that God’s promise was not to Abraham’s many descendants, but to ONE of his descendants. This is a phenomenon because, although Paul’s translation is clear, our Bibles miss the boat, almost across the board, in this passage. To avoid any future confusion, cross out the word descendants/offspring in verse 17 and replace it with the word “Seed” with a capital “S.” Also, a better translation for the word “their,” would be “His.” In effect, verse 17 should read: “blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your Seed shall possess the gate of His enemies.” Now we are on board with Paul.

So, if the promise is made to Abraham’s Seed, that is Christ, then in Christ all of the nations will be blessed. Paul tells us that this is the key to understanding the God’s promise to Abraham. Let’s take another quiz:

How has God blessed the nations of the earth through Abraham and his Seed?

A) He increased Abraham’s physical descendants,
B) The promise has not yet been fulfilled,
C) Through Abraham came the one Seed, Christ, who offers salvations for Jew and Gentile alike.

If you answered C, you are correct. This is the solution that Paul has given us.

Paul tells us in Romans, chapter 4, that Abraham was justified, not by works, but by faith. Faith in what? Faith in God’s promise. What was God’s promise? That through Abraham’s Seed the nations would be blessed. Abraham’s faith in a rudimentary gospel is how righteousness was imputed to him. We are jumping through a lot of hoops to prove this point but we are trying to follow Paul.

Abraham Did Not Stagger at the Promise of God

Romans 4:20-21 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

The last point we covered in week 5 also counters a modern phenomenon. Usually, modern preaching and teaching uses the story of Abraham and Hagar to illustrate Abraham’s lack of faith that God would fulfill His promise. Romans 4:20-21 clearly teaches the opposite. The reason for this is that it seems as though Abraham was impatient and took it upon himself to fulfill God’s promise. Therefore, he fathers Ishmael through Hagar. This is simply not the case. If we look at the sequence of events and God’s revelation, we can see how Abraham did not stagger at the promise of God by lying with Hagar.

In Genesis 12:1-3, God makes a covenant with, or promise to, Abraham. All that is revealed to him is that 1) God will make him a great nation, 2) he shall be a blessing, and 3) all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Knowing what we know now, this seems like a vague revelation. How could an old, childless man be made into a great nation? How could he be a blessing? And how could all the families of the earth be blessed by him? God only gives him a little information. A few chapters later, God gives him a little more information.

Genesis 15:4 “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”

As we said before, looking at the situation, Abraham sees that to be a great nation, he would need an heir. Not satisfied with the prospect of Eliezer becoming his heir, he complains to God. God reveals to Abraham that this blessing will indeed come by his offspring, as he suspects, but by his physical offspring. This is information that God withheld in chapter 12. What happens next?

Genesis 16:1-4a, 15 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived…So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

With our current knowledge, we tend to look at Abraham and ask, “What are you thinking?” We know that Sarah eventually conceives and it is in her child that the promise is fulfilled (partially). Clearly, it would seem, Abraham “messed up.” Was Abraham impatient? Possibly. If so, was his impatience faithlessness? No. Why? Because God has only told Abraham, at this point, that the promise would come through his physical body, not Sarah’s. Sarah did the math and figured that she would not bear the child of promise; God had not told anyone that she would. She proposed that he take Hagar, that she might bear the child of promise. This, being a common custom, seemed good to Abraham. It isn’t until chapter 17 that God reveals a little more of the promise.

Genesis 17:19 Then God said; “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

Now Abraham has information that he did not have before taking Hagar to be his wife. That is, Abraham could not have had faith that Sarah would conceive and bear the child of promise had God not told him so. How can it be, then, that Abraham was faithless by taking Hagar as his wife only to “fulfill” God’s promise? He didn’t know any better. Proverbs says “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, it is the glory of kings to seek it out.” When God points man in a direction, it is his glory to seek it out.

Another quiz:

True or False
Abraham wavered at the promise of God.

If you answered False, you are in agreement with Paul. Amaze your friends with this teaching.

What does all of this mean for us? Why is Paul talking about Abraham and faith? He just spent several chapters convincing us that we are sinners, why bring Abraham into the whole mess? The answer is, in Abraham, we should see ourselves: a people who are not righteous but to whom righteousness is accounted. Next week, we will look at chapter 5 where Paul elaborates on why Abraham’s faith is so significant and how it relates to us. Next week is a mandate to praise. I told you it gets better.