Romans 4:1-2

The Illustration of Justification

4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, ¹  has discovered regarding this matter? ²  4:2 For if Abraham was declared righteous ³  by the works of the law, he has something to boast about – but not before God.

Romans 9:7

9:7 nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted.” ⁴ 

Romans 4:3

4:3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited ⁵  to him as righteousness.” ⁶ 

Romans 4:9

4:9 Is this blessedness ⁷  then for ⁸  the circumcision ⁹  or also for ¹⁰  the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” ¹¹ 

Romans 4:12-13

4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised, ¹²  who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised. ¹³ 

4:13 For the promise ¹⁴  to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

Romans 11:1

Israel’s Rejection not Complete nor Final

11:1 So I ask, God has not rejected his people, has he? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Romans 4:16

4:16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, ¹⁵  with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants – not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, ¹⁶  who is the father of us all

¹ tn Or “according to natural descent” (BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4).

² tn Grk “has found?”

³ tn Or “was justified.”

⁵ tn Grk “be called.” The emphasis here is upon God’s divine sovereignty in choosing Isaac as the child through whom Abraham’s lineage would be counted as opposed to Ishmael.

⁷ tn The term λογίζομαι (logizomai) occurs 11 times in this chapter (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24). In secular usage it could (a) refer to deliberations of some sort, or (b) in commercial dealings (as virtually a technical term) to “reckoning” or “charging up a debt.” See H. W. Heidland, TDNT 4:284, 290-92.

⁸ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

⁹ tn Or “happiness.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “upon.”

¹¹ sn See the note on “circumcision” in 2:25.

¹² tn Grk “upon.”

¹³ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

¹¹ tn Grk “the father of circumcision.”

¹² tn Grk “the ‘in-uncircumcision faith’ of our father Abraham.”

¹³ sn Although a singular noun, the promise is collective and does not refer only to Gen 12:7, but as D. Moo (Romans 1-8 [WEC], 279) points out, refers to multiple aspects of the promise to Abraham: multiplied descendants (Gen 12:2), possession of the land (Gen 13:15-17), and his becoming the vehicle of blessing to all people (Gen 12:13).

¹⁵ tn Grk “that it might be according to grace.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “those who are of the faith of Abraham.”