Or, Two Sides of the Same Count Romans 4:1-8 March 20, 2022 Lord’s Day Worship Sean Higgins

Introduction

The first song we sang this morning was “Blessed Assurance.” It’s an old-school Baptist hymnbook staple, and it’s good enough for what it is. I’ve seen evangelism/discipleship materials in which step one was get the other person to pray the sinner’s prayer, and step two was get them to embrace their assurance of salvation. That’s not what I would do, though I do talk to a considerable number of professing believers who struggle with wondering if they are truly saved; genuine assurance is a blessing for sure. 1 John is the best epistle for testing one’s confession of faith “that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13), but it is a process to “make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10, KJV), so maybe not step two. And before looking for blessed assurance, it’d be worthwhile to get a tighter hold on blessed credit.

Paul started laying ground-level gospel a couple paragraphs ago. The good news is that salvation is not by works (Romans 3:21), and mostly because we’ve already failed by works. Our works have been the wrong ones-sin, and incomplete ones-falling short of glory (Romans 3:23). But salvation is God’s work, a work that includes Christ taking the Father’s wrath our disobedience deserved and also giving us the righteous standing of Christ’s obedience.

The Jews reading this letter in Rome may have had questions, if not objections. For that matter, James’ letter (written maybe 15 years earlier), appears to say that more than faith is required for justification. Both Paul and James look to Abraham, which is what all Israel also did. Much of this next section of the epistle (our chapter 4) is about Abraham’s justification, and it leaves no room for boasting. Abraham was the first one not to get what he deserved.

Abraham’s Way (verses 1-3)

God chose Abraham and promised him blessing (Genesis 12:2). God promised to make Abraham the father of His chosen nation (Israel) and the father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:6). If the Law and the Prophets bear witness to righteousness apart from the law (Romans 3:21), and if Abraham is at their headwaters, then in what way was Abraham saved?

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather 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 counted to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:1–3 ESV)

The patriarch of patriarchs was Abraham, the first forefather. God called Abram out of Ur and said that in him all the nations would be blessed. The chosen line went through Abraham’s second son, Isaac, to Jacob, whose name became Israel. When the LORD revealed Himself to Moses, He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). So Abraham is the forefather according to the flesh, the ethnic people group. If you had to pick just one example, this is the guy.

Verse 1 asks the question, and verse 2 rules out works. Paul argues according to impossibility. It’s almost a full syllogism (as pointed out in the commentary by John Murray), and can be translated into standard categorical form. (Providentially, my Logic class just got to this chapter: take a singular—Abraham—as a universal, and a hypothetical—if—as a universal).

All men justified by works are men who have reason to boast.(All) Abraham was a man justified by works.Therefore, (All) Abraham was a man with a reason to boast.

The problem is that the minor/second premise is false, which makes the argument fall apart. We know the minor premise is false because of Scripture.

The authority for our logic is God’s Word. Paul quotes from Genesis 15:6, and it’s the first declaration [...]