Paul began this chapter by showing that God declared Abraham righteous because of the patriarch's faith.
4:1 By referring to Abraham as "our forefather after the flesh"(v. 1) Paul revealed that he was aiming these comments at his Jewish readers primarily. Abraham's case is significant for Gentiles as well, however, because in another sense, as the father of the faithful, he is the father of "us all"(v. 16). "All"refers to all believers, Jews and Gentiles alike.
4:2 This verse applies Paul's earlier statement about boasting (3:27) to Abraham's case for the sake of contrast. Abraham had no ground for boasting before God because he received justification by faith, not by works.
4:3 In Paul's day many of the rabbis taught that Abraham experienced justification because of his obedience rather than because of his faith.119Consequently the apostle went back to Genesis 15:6 for his authority.
Exactly what Abraham believed is not clear in Genesis 15. The Hebrew conjunction wawused with a perfect tense verb, as in Genesis 15:6, indicates a break in the action. A good translation is, "Now Abraham had believed . . ."Abraham had obviously believed God previously (cf. Gen. 12:1-4, 7; 14:22-24). However now Abraham learned that he would receive an heir from his own body and innumerable descendants (Gen. 15:4). He believed this too. Exactly what Abraham believed is incidental to Paul's point, which was that he trusted God and specifically believed God's promise.
". . . Abraham just believedGod: gave Him the honor of being a God of truth."120
Trust in God's promise is what constitutes faith and results in justification. The promises of God vary. These promises constitute the content of faith. The object of faith does not vary, however. It is always the person of God. For us God's promise is that Jesus Christ died as our substitute and satisfied all of God's demands against sinners (3:24-25).
Note that God credited Abraham's faith to him as righteousness (v. 3). Faith itself is not righteousness. Faith is not meritorious in itself. It is only the vehicle by which God's righteousness reaches us. However, it is the only vehicle by which it reaches us.
4:4-5 Verses 4-5 contrast faith and works. Work yields wages that the person working deserves. Faith receives a gift (v. 4; lit. grace, Gr. charin) that the person believing does not deserve. Incredibly God justifies those who not only fail to deserve justification but deserve condemnation because they are "ungodly"(NASB) or "wicked"(NIV; v. 5; cf. 3:24). This is how far God's grace goes (cf. Deut. 25:1)!
In our day there are many subtile as well as obvious perversions of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Advocates of lordship salvation effectively add works to faith when they make commitment to Jesus Christ necessary for salvation. One astute writer has observed that this "front loading"of the gospel with works is "paving the road back to Rome."121Some lordship salvation advocates believe that an unbeliever only has to be willing to submit to Christ's lordship. However this is only changing the human work from submitting to being willing to submit.
One lordship salvation advocate wrote that to exclude submission to Christ's lordship from the gospel message amounts to antinomianism.122Later he defined antinomianism as follows.
"antinomianism:the idea that behavior is unrelated to faith, or that Christians are not bound by any moral law. Antinomianism radically separates justification and sanctification, making practical holiness elective."123
Clearly this is not the position of most Christians who believe that faith alone is what God requires instead of faith plus commitment.124
Another subtile modern form of works salvation often accompanies an incorrect interpretation of the biblical doctrine of perseverance. This view says that if a professing Christian does not continue in the faith and in holiness all his or her life, allowing for occasional lapses, he or she was not a true believer. This view "back loads"the gospel with works. Faithfulness to the Lord thus becomes a condition for salvation. This incorrect interpretation of perseverance usually goes hand in hand with lordship salvation.
Some who hold these views try to get away from their connection with works by saying that it is God who produces submission and or sanctification in the believer, not the believer himself.125Nonetheless it is the professing Christian whom God holds responsible for his or her choices, not Himself.
"Indeed, every command to the believer implies the necessity of his involvement as part of the process [of sanctification]."126
Another answer that some who hold these views give is that what the Bible affirms is that man cannot merit eternal life.127This is not the same, they say, as doing something necessary to obtain it such as submitting or remaining faithful. Yet the Bible uses the word "works,"not just merit (vv. 2, 4, 5; Eph. 2:8-9).128
