Romans Chapter Four                    Lesson 51

                                 Justification Illustrated

 

#1 Destruction of faith;  4:13-15

- Paul is still answering the larger question; How does man attain a standing before God!

 

Every approach that man comes up with revolves around the idea of appeasing God somehow!

 

 

- What's the B.L. with man's answer??

It's basically find out what you think God expects and then perform, do your best to live up to that standard! 

 

* God's answer and that of Scripture is much different!

"by faith"  believe what God says;  this dominates the rest of  the chapter. 

 

- What was the pattern with Abe; Abraham was justified, he became an heir of the promise of God by believing the promise of God not by law performance.

 

- Paul says it was not through the Law, but through the agency of righteousness by means of faith.

 

When was the M/L given?  Just after the Exodus in 1445 BC.

 

- The way Paul puts it here, the point he is trying to drive home is that even later, for those descendants of Abe's who do come along after the M/L is given; even for them it must be through the agency of righteousness by means of faith.

 

- In this way Paul makes his point very vividly to all that any  kind of law performance does not establish a relationship with  God,  ever;  its always by faith!

 

- To what does the phrase "heir of the world" refer??

 

- Think about it; his seed is the Messiah, the Christ; who will rule the whole world!  Millennium.

   

 

- Paul's response I believe would be to any of their arguments, "Yes, but don't forget that this promise that Abraham would be the heir of the world, in which you Jews are boasting, was not received through the law or through works or through any rituals. 

 

 

Next we find how faith is destroyed

4:14 Paul sets up a hypothetical situation to show the ramifications of the common thinking, man's answer to attaining a standing before God.

 

"For if those who are of the Law are heirs  if it was possible for one to become an heir by law performance; its not, but if it were true!

 

- If they did inherit on that basis, that is on the basis of personal merit, What would it do??

"faith is made void and the promise is nullified;"

 

As soon as we mix any thing with faith, with the promise; here human merit of law performance/observance it empties the faith of its value;

 

Paul's idea here is that faith would fail to attain its proper  end or goal.

Whenever we add conditional elements to faith and therefore to grace it loses its value.

 

4:15b

- "but where there is no law neither is no violation.” para,basij  go beyond the limits; law sets a boundary; without the law no limits; no line in the sand!

 

Paul's point here is not that there is no sin where there is no law but that there can be no deliberate disobedience of a command  from God where there is no positive command for one to disobey.

 

What the Mosaic law does is to create even more wrath; rather than curing people from the sentence of condemnation, what it does is to confirm  their status, that of being under condemnation.

 

#2 Necessity of faith;  4:16

Faith is the only condition that fits grace! Only thing compatible with grace!

 

- If we conclude that its drawing a conclusion from the previous,  then we could say this; "For this  reason, ...."

Because works will not secure for you a standing before God!

Because participating in a ritual will not secure for you a standing  before God!

Because law performance is unable to secure for you a standing before God!

In fact the only thing that law performance does is what?    brings wrath.

 

- If we conclude that it looks forward; this is possible when you have a following  i[na  purpose clause; as we do here; then it would be   "For this reason, that it might be in accordance with grace it is by faith"

 

- "That" introduces us to the ultimate end that God had in view in making the promise, the blessing, being justified to be dependent on faith,  "That it might be in accordance with grace"

 

 

If justification is by works, by ritual or by law performance it is by  personal merit, it depends on man and it is insufficient and must fail because man is a sinner.

If justification is by faith it is by grace which depends solely and totally on the finished work of  Christ on the cross and cannot fail because God cannot fail.

 

Paul says here that since it is by faith therefore according to grace a result flows out of that; in order that the promise may be certain to all the descendants.

 

Who are the descendants in view??