返回Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Rom. 4:1. What then shall we say that Abraham, our father, acquired according to the flesh?
Rom. 4:2. If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
Rom. 4:3. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
Having sufficiently proven that faith is necessary for all, he confirms this further with the example of Abraham, who enjoyed great respect among the Jews, and says that he too, having excellently accomplished many great things, was justified not by works, but by faith. He calls him father "according to the flesh," in order to show that the Jews do not have a spiritual kinship with him, or rather, in order to oblige them to imitate him in all things. If he was justified by works, then he "has something to boast about, but not before God," that is, he can boast that he accomplished something well by his own labors, but this does not mean boasting before God, and is not directed toward God.
On the contrary, whoever is justified by faith has praise before God and can boast in God, as one saved by His grace and beloved by Him. The believer can also boast in another way, namely as one who has glorified God by believing that He can do what seems impossible to us.
So, he has praise and boldness before God, as one having a true understanding of Him, and believing in Him as almighty.
Rom. 4:4. Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned according to grace, but according to debt.
Rom. 4:5. But to him who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
Rom. 4:6. So also David describes as blessed the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
Rom. 4:7. Blessed are those whose lawlessnesses have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered.
Rom. 4:8. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
The one who works, he says, receives wages as something given to him for his labor as a debt; the one who believes, although he does not work, nevertheless presents on his part faith — a thing of great significance; for to be convinced that God can not only free from punishment one who has lived in ungodliness, but also make him righteous, is a matter of high value. For this reason, "to the one who believes... his faith is counted as righteousness," that is, God accepts his faith — not in order to give him wages, but in order to justify him. Therefore the one who believes brings something on his part as well, namely faith.
Having proved by the example of Abraham that righteousness or justification is from faith, he presents David as well, who calls blessed the man to whom God does not impute sin, and shows the advantage and superiority of faith. For if he who receives forgiveness by grace is blessed, then far more blessed is he who has shown faith and been justified by it. Why, he says, do you hesitate over the fact that he receives forgiveness of sins by grace? You see that he who has received remission by grace is called blessed; for the prophet would not have called him blessed if he did not know that he possesses great glory: for blessedness is something exceedingly important and higher than righteousness itself; it is the summit of all the good things we receive from God.
Rom. 4:9. This blessedness, does it come upon the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
Rom. 4:10. When was it reckoned? In circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
If, he says, blessedness belongs to the one whom the Lord does not impute sin to, that is, to the one who is justified, and Abraham was justified, then he most certainly received blessedness. Let us see, then, when he was justified: before circumcision or after circumcision? Of course, before circumcision. Therefore, blessedness falls upon uncircumcision, that is, it belongs more to uncircumcision than to circumcision.
Rom. 4:11. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness through faith which he had while in uncircumcision, so that he became the father of all who believe while in uncircumcision, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,
Rom. 4:12. And the father of circumcision, not only to those who have received circumcision, but also to those who walk in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham, which he had while in uncircumcision.
He resolves a naturally arising objection. Someone might perhaps object: if Abraham was justified before circumcision, then why was he circumcised? The Apostle answers: he "received the sign of circumcision" — in place of a seal, confirming that he was justified by faith, which he demonstrated earlier, while being uncircumcised.
So, regarding Abraham, two things are presented: uncircumcision and circumcision. Through uncircumcision he proves to be the father of the uncircumcised. But which ones? Those who, like him, believe, "that righteousness might be imputed to them also," that is, so that they too might be justified. On the other hand, through circumcision Abraham proves to be the father of "the circumcision," that is, of the circumcised. Yet he is the father not only of those who have circumcision, but also of those who walk in the footsteps of the faith that he had while in uncircumcision.
So, the present passage must be read thus: he became the father of the circumcised not for those who resemble him in circumcision alone, but for those who walk in the footsteps of his faith, that is, who like him believe in the resurrection of dead bodies. For in old age and in deadness he believed that God could make his seed fruitful and give him a son.
The complete thought is this: Abraham, being uncircumcised, believed and was justified, so that in this way he might become the father of believing uncircumcised ones.
On the other hand, he received circumcision, a seal and sign of the faith which was in uncircumcision, so as to become the father of the circumcised who walk, of course, in the footsteps of his faith which he had while not yet circumcised. As long as this faith is absent, circumcision boasts in vain, imitating one who shows a purse to which only a seal has been affixed, but in which there is nothing.
So then, the Jew is a purse sealed by circumcision, but not having the faith whose seal is circumcision.
Rom. 4:13. For the promise to Abraham, or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world, was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Rom. 4:14. If those who rely on the law are heirs, then faith is in vain and the promise is of no effect.
The Apostle has already proven that justification comes not by the law, but by faith. Now he proves that Abraham also received the promise not by the law, but by righteous faith. What then is the "promise"? "To be heir of the world," that is, that in him all the nations of the entire world would be blessed. For if the inheritance, he says, is given by the law, then "faith is made void," that is, it turns out to be vain and useless. For who would concern himself with faith if the promise of the inheritance were given by the law? But the state of affairs is not so. Abraham inherited the promise not by the law (for where was the law then?), but by faith, as it is written: "Abraham believed" (Gen. 15:6).
Rom. 4:15. For the law produces wrath; for where there is no law, neither is there transgression.
Now he proves in what way "the promise is made of none effect." With the law, he says, transgression is joined, and transgression of the law produces wrath and subjects one to the curse and punishment. How then, one asks, is the one guilty of transgression worthy to inherit?
Rom. 4:16. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; so that the promise might be sure to all, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of the descendants of Abraham, who is the father of us all:
Rom. 4:17. (as it is written: I have made you a father of many nations) before God, Whom he believed.
Since the law produces wrath, it is said that Abraham was justified and became an heir by faith, so that everything would be by grace. And why is grace necessary? "So that the promise would be firm." For grace, unlike the law, has no transgression, so that what is given would not be uncertain. Since everything comes by grace and the mercy of God, what is given is justly firm "for all of us," that is, for all believers, not only for those who are "of the law," that is, circumcised, but also for those who are uncircumcised, who are the seed of Abraham, born "by faith." Therefore whoever does not have faith is not the seed of Abraham, "who is the father of us all," that is, of believers, as it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations."
The meaning is as follows: Abraham is the father of all "before God," that is, in a manner similar to God. As God is the Father of all, so also is Abraham, not by natural kinship, but by the bond of faith. He added "whom he believed" in order to show that Abraham also received a reward for his faith—to be the father of all. Therefore, if you, O Jew, do not acknowledge that Abraham is the father of all, then you have diminished the honor which he received through faith.
Rom. 4:17. Giving life to the dead and calling the non-existent as existent.
Now he repeats what was said above, that is, that Abraham believed that God could not only revive his deadened flesh, such as his was, but also make it fruitful; which is why he now says: "who gives life to the dead." And the words "who calls those things which do not exist as though they did" he added in order to show that it is not impossible for God to make those who are not children of Abraham into his children. He did not say, however, "who brings into being that which does not exist," but "who calls." How easy it is for us to name something that exists, just as easy it is for God to bring into being that which does not exist.
Rom. 4:18. He, beyond hope, believed with hope, through which he became the father of many nations.
Do not think, he says, that Abraham was honored without merit. For how could this be, when beyond human hope he believed with divine hope that he would become the father of many nations — not those who descended from Ishmael (for they descended from Abraham not by faith, but by nature), but those who are like him in faith?
Rom. 4:18. According to what was said: "so numerous shall your seed be."
Rom. 4:19. And not being weak in faith, he did not consider that his own body was already dead, being about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb;
Rom. 4:20. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.
Rom. 4:21. Being fully convinced that He is able also to fulfill what He has promised.
Having said that Abraham beyond human hope believed with the hope of God, he now proves this, saying that Abraham was told: "I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand" (Gen. 15:5, 22:17); yet he did not weaken in faith, but, remaining firm in it, paid no attention either to his own body, already deadened by time, or to the double deadening of Sarah's womb (for her womb was deadened both by old age and by barrenness), and did not fall into perplexity, that is, he did not doubt in the least, was not shaken in thought, but "remained firm in faith."
Note how he proves that the believer has need of great strength. Many disparaged faith as a matter requiring no labor, while they exalted works as requiring sweat and strength. But the apostle says that the believer has need of a great and mighty soul, so as to repel the suggestions of unbelief, just as Abraham was strong in faith. And how was Abraham strong in faith? "Giving glory to God," that is, not believing through human reasoning, but thinking within himself thoughts worthy of the glory of God, and being fully persuaded that God is able to do the impossible; for in this consists the glory of God. He said "almost a hundred years old" approximately, because at that time Abraham was not yet a full hundred years old.
Rom. 4:22. Therefore it was also imputed to him for righteousness.
Rom. 4:23. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him,
Rom. 4:24. But also with respect to us; it shall be imputed to us as well, who believe in Him Who raised from the dead Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Rom. 4:25. Who was delivered for our sins and rose for our justification.
The Apostle said much in praise of Abraham, but someone might object: what is that to us? Therefore he states that it was written for us as well, that faith will be reckoned as righteousness for us too, if only we have it, believing in Him Who raised Jesus. If you doubt how you can be justified, then picture in your soul Jesus, Who blotted out all your sins, Who died not for His own sin, but for the sin of the world. Since He died without having sin, He justly rose again. For how could He Who had no sin be held in Hades? Thus, He died and rose again precisely so that He might both free us from sins and make us righteous. Therefore, just as Abraham believed that his already deadened body would become fruitful, so you too believe that Jesus died and rose again, and it will be reckoned to you as righteousness, just as it was to your forefather Abraham.
Rom. 4:1. What then shall we say that Abraham, our father, acquired according to the flesh?
Rom. 4:2. If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
Rom. 4:3. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
Having sufficiently proven that faith is necessary for all, he confirms this further with the example of Abraham, who enjoyed great respect among the Jews, and says that he too, having excellently accomplished many great things, was justified not by works, but by faith. He calls him father "according to the flesh," in order to show that the Jews do not have a spiritual kinship with him, or rather, in order to oblige them to imitate him in all things. If he was justified by works, then he "has something to boast about, but not before God," that is, he can boast that he accomplished something well by his own labors, but this does not mean boasting before God, and is not directed toward God.
On the contrary, whoever is justified by faith has praise before God and can boast in God, as one saved by His grace and beloved by Him. The believer can also boast in another way, namely as one who has glorified God by believing that He can do what seems impossible to us.
So, he has praise and boldness before God, as one having a true understanding of Him, and believing in Him as almighty.
Rom. 4:4. Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned according to grace, but according to debt.
Rom. 4:5. But to him who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
Rom. 4:6. So also David describes as blessed the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
Rom. 4:7. Blessed are those whose lawlessnesses have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered.
Rom. 4:8. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
The one who works, he says, receives wages as something given to him for his labor as a debt; the one who believes, although he does not work, nevertheless presents on his part faith — a thing of great significance; for to be convinced that God can not only free from punishment one who has lived in ungodliness, but also make him righteous, is a matter of high value. For this reason, "to the one who believes... his faith is counted as righteousness," that is, God accepts his faith — not in order to give him wages, but in order to justify him. Therefore the one who believes brings something on his part as well, namely faith.
Having proved by the example of Abraham that righteousness or justification is from faith, he presents David as well, who calls blessed the man to whom God does not impute sin, and shows the advantage and superiority of faith. For if he who receives forgiveness by grace is blessed, then far more blessed is he who has shown faith and been justified by it. Why, he says, do you hesitate over the fact that he receives forgiveness of sins by grace? You see that he who has received remission by grace is called blessed; for the prophet would not have called him blessed if he did not know that he possesses great glory: for blessedness is something exceedingly important and higher than righteousness itself; it is the summit of all the good things we receive from God.
Rom. 4:9. This blessedness, does it come upon the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
Rom. 4:10. When was it reckoned? In circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
If, he says, blessedness belongs to the one whom the Lord does not impute sin to, that is, to the one who is justified, and Abraham was justified, then he most certainly received blessedness. Let us see, then, when he was justified: before circumcision or after circumcision? Of course, before circumcision. Therefore, blessedness falls upon uncircumcision, that is, it belongs more to uncircumcision than to circumcision.
Rom. 4:11. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness through faith which he had while in uncircumcision, so that he became the father of all who believe while in uncircumcision, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,
Rom. 4:12. And the father of circumcision, not only to those who have received circumcision, but also to those who walk in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham, which he had while in uncircumcision.
He resolves a naturally arising objection. Someone might perhaps object: if Abraham was justified before circumcision, then why was he circumcised? The Apostle answers: he "received the sign of circumcision" — in place of a seal, confirming that he was justified by faith, which he demonstrated earlier, while being uncircumcised.
So, regarding Abraham, two things are presented: uncircumcision and circumcision. Through uncircumcision he proves to be the father of the uncircumcised. But which ones? Those who, like him, believe, "that righteousness might be imputed to them also," that is, so that they too might be justified. On the other hand, through circumcision Abraham proves to be the father of "the circumcision," that is, of the circumcised. Yet he is the father not only of those who have circumcision, but also of those who walk in the footsteps of the faith that he had while in uncircumcision.
So, the present passage must be read thus: he became the father of the circumcised not for those who resemble him in circumcision alone, but for those who walk in the footsteps of his faith, that is, who like him believe in the resurrection of dead bodies. For in old age and in deadness he believed that God could make his seed fruitful and give him a son.
The complete thought is this: Abraham, being uncircumcised, believed and was justified, so that in this way he might become the father of believing uncircumcised ones.
On the other hand, he received circumcision, a seal and sign of the faith which was in uncircumcision, so as to become the father of the circumcised who walk, of course, in the footsteps of his faith which he had while not yet circumcised. As long as this faith is absent, circumcision boasts in vain, imitating one who shows a purse to which only a seal has been affixed, but in which there is nothing.
So then, the Jew is a purse sealed by circumcision, but not having the faith whose seal is circumcision.
Rom. 4:13. For the promise to Abraham, or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world, was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Rom. 4:14. If those who rely on the law are heirs, then faith is in vain and the promise is of no effect.
The Apostle has already proven that justification comes not by the law, but by faith. Now he proves that Abraham also received the promise not by the law, but by righteous faith. What then is the "promise"? "To be heir of the world," that is, that in him all the nations of the entire world would be blessed. For if the inheritance, he says, is given by the law, then "faith is made void," that is, it turns out to be vain and useless. For who would concern himself with faith if the promise of the inheritance were given by the law? But the state of affairs is not so. Abraham inherited the promise not by the law (for where was the law then?), but by faith, as it is written: "Abraham believed" (Gen. 15:6).
Rom. 4:15. For the law produces wrath; for where there is no law, neither is there transgression.
Now he proves in what way "the promise is made of none effect." With the law, he says, transgression is joined, and transgression of the law produces wrath and subjects one to the curse and punishment. How then, one asks, is the one guilty of transgression worthy to inherit?
Rom. 4:16. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; so that the promise might be sure to all, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of the descendants of Abraham, who is the father of us all:
Rom. 4:17. (as it is written: I have made you a father of many nations) before God, Whom he believed.
Since the law produces wrath, it is said that Abraham was justified and became an heir by faith, so that everything would be by grace. And why is grace necessary? "So that the promise would be firm." For grace, unlike the law, has no transgression, so that what is given would not be uncertain. Since everything comes by grace and the mercy of God, what is given is justly firm "for all of us," that is, for all believers, not only for those who are "of the law," that is, circumcised, but also for those who are uncircumcised, who are the seed of Abraham, born "by faith." Therefore whoever does not have faith is not the seed of Abraham, "who is the father of us all," that is, of believers, as it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations."
The meaning is as follows: Abraham is the father of all "before God," that is, in a manner similar to God. As God is the Father of all, so also is Abraham, not by natural kinship, but by the bond of faith. He added "whom he believed" in order to show that Abraham also received a reward for his faith—to be the father of all. Therefore, if you, O Jew, do not acknowledge that Abraham is the father of all, then you have diminished the honor which he received through faith.
Rom. 4:17. Giving life to the dead and calling the non-existent as existent.
Now he repeats what was said above, that is, that Abraham believed that God could not only revive his deadened flesh, such as his was, but also make it fruitful; which is why he now says: "who gives life to the dead." And the words "who calls those things which do not exist as though they did" he added in order to show that it is not impossible for God to make those who are not children of Abraham into his children. He did not say, however, "who brings into being that which does not exist," but "who calls." How easy it is for us to name something that exists, just as easy it is for God to bring into being that which does not exist.
Rom. 4:18. He, beyond hope, believed with hope, through which he became the father of many nations.
Do not think, he says, that Abraham was honored without merit. For how could this be, when beyond human hope he believed with divine hope that he would become the father of many nations — not those who descended from Ishmael (for they descended from Abraham not by faith, but by nature), but those who are like him in faith?
Rom. 4:18. According to what was said: "so numerous shall your seed be."
Rom. 4:19. And not being weak in faith, he did not consider that his own body was already dead, being about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb;
Rom. 4:20. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.
Rom. 4:21. Being fully convinced that He is able also to fulfill what He has promised.
Having said that Abraham beyond human hope believed with the hope of God, he now proves this, saying that Abraham was told: "I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand" (Gen. 15:5, 22:17); yet he did not weaken in faith, but, remaining firm in it, paid no attention either to his own body, already deadened by time, or to the double deadening of Sarah's womb (for her womb was deadened both by old age and by barrenness), and did not fall into perplexity, that is, he did not doubt in the least, was not shaken in thought, but "remained firm in faith."
Note how he proves that the believer has need of great strength. Many disparaged faith as a matter requiring no labor, while they exalted works as requiring sweat and strength. But the apostle says that the believer has need of a great and mighty soul, so as to repel the suggestions of unbelief, just as Abraham was strong in faith. And how was Abraham strong in faith? "Giving glory to God," that is, not believing through human reasoning, but thinking within himself thoughts worthy of the glory of God, and being fully persuaded that God is able to do the impossible; for in this consists the glory of God. He said "almost a hundred years old" approximately, because at that time Abraham was not yet a full hundred years old.
Rom. 4:22. Therefore it was also imputed to him for righteousness.
Rom. 4:23. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him,
Rom. 4:24. But also with respect to us; it shall be imputed to us as well, who believe in Him Who raised from the dead Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Rom. 4:25. Who was delivered for our sins and rose for our justification.
The Apostle said much in praise of Abraham, but someone might object: what is that to us? Therefore he states that it was written for us as well, that faith will be reckoned as righteousness for us too, if only we have it, believing in Him Who raised Jesus. If you doubt how you can be justified, then picture in your soul Jesus, Who blotted out all your sins, Who died not for His own sin, but for the sin of the world. Since He died without having sin, He justly rose again. For how could He Who had no sin be held in Hades? Thus, He died and rose again precisely so that He might both free us from sins and make us righteous. Therefore, just as Abraham believed that his already deadened body would become fruitful, so you too believe that Jesus died and rose again, and it will be reckoned to you as righteousness, just as it was to your forefather Abraham.