Paul's Epistle to the Romans — page 14

• Works are not the means for a person to be considered righteous before God (vs. 1-8).

• Rites are not the means for a person to be considered righteous before God (vs. 9-12).

• Obedience to the Law is not the means for a person to be considered righteous before God (vs. 13-16).

The God of Resurrection

Chap. 4:17-25 – Paul's immediate objective in this chapter was to show that the principle of faith in the gospel is in accordance with God's ways of blessing men in the Old Testament, and he demonstrated this by pointing us to Abraham and David. He also showed conclusively that being considered righteous by God is by faith and only by faith. But Paul's objective in this chapter 4 is to establish a solid foundation of understanding in the believer, upon which his faith can rest with full assurance regarding his justification. To achieve this, in the last part of the chapter, Paul presents God as the God of resurrection. J. N. Darby observed this and said: “In chapter 4, it is faith in the God of resurrection” (Collected Writings, vol. 21, p. 196).

Resurrection – God's Seal of Approval of the Finished Work of

Christ

In chapter 3, Paul focused on believing in what occurred at the cross, but now in the final part of chapter 4, he emphasizes believing in what God did in the tomb by raising the Lord Jesus from among the dead (vs. 24-25). The resurrection is the climax of the gospel. It is God's acceptance and approval of Christ's finished work – His seal of approval or the “Amen” to what Christ accomplished on the cross (1 Pet. 1:21). God was not only satisfied with Christ's work, He was glorified in what Christ did on the cross. Understanding and believing this fact establishes the basis for solid assurance in the believer's soul. Thus, the certainty of our justification involves not only believing in the Lord Jesus (chap. 3:26), but also believing in God's testimony about Christ's finished work (chap. 4:24-25).

All this blessed work is done, God is satisfied with His Son; He raised Him from among the dead, Placed Him over all as Head.

Hymn The Little Flock No. 121

Life from the Dead Bodies of Abraham and Sarah – The Principle of

Resurrection

Chap. 4:17-22 – To illustrate the need to believe in God's testimony about the great work of Christ, Paul continues to use Abraham as an example. He shows that, just as Abraham believed in the God of resurrection, the Christian must also believe in the God of resurrection. He declares: that “before Him whom [Abraham] believed, namely, God, who gives life to the dead...”. In the case of Abraham and Sarah, it was not that they were physically dead, but that their ability to procreate life was dead in them, because of their advanced age. Even so, God overcame this “deadness”, and gave them life out of that condition of death in their bodies, so that they had a son (Isaac). This illustrates the principle of resurrection.

God called “the things that are not as though they already were”. This refers to Abraham and Sarah having an innumerable posterity, which at that moment did not exist. Abraham knew that he and his wife were dead in this sense, yet he believed in God. Paul says: “Who, in hope, believed against hope” (v. 18). He did not doubt what God said – “And did not weaken in faith” – but believed the Word of God. He believed what God said, and “nor did he consider his own body already dead, since he was almost a hundred years old, nor yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. And he did not doubt the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God” (vs. 19-20). Thus, Abraham's faith gave “glory to God”. This shows that faith honors God and that God honors faith (1 Sam. 2:30; John 3:33). The God in whom Abraham believed is the same God in whom we must believe.

It is important to see that Paul is not emphasizing how much faith we have, but in Whom our faith is placed. It is about the credibility of the Person in whom we place our faith. The practical result that came from Abraham believing in God is that he was “fully convinced” and assured that what God had “promised”, He would “perform” (v. 21). This was the foundation of his certainty.

God's Approval of Christ's Finished Work – The Foundation of the

Believer's Assurance

Chap. 4:23-25 – In the last three verses of chapter 4, Paul makes a powerful application of the principle he had established in Abraham, to those who believe in the gospel today. It is that: if faith in what God said gave Abraham certainty, then faith in what God said regarding His acceptance of Christ's finished work on the cross will also give the believer certainty regarding his justification! Paul says: “Now, it was not only for his sake that it was written that it was imputed to him [considered – JND], but also for us, to whom it will be accounted, who believe in Him who from among the dead

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raised Jesus our Lord” (AIBB). Thus, we should learn from what God recorded in the Scriptures about Abraham's faith and apply it to our case in relation to the gospel. There is a difference; The object of Abraham's faith was a promise of something that was to be fulfilled in the future, but the object of our faith is something that has already been fulfilled. That is, Abraham believed that God would give life to the dead (to his body and his wife's), whereas we believe that God gave life from among the dead and justification by raising Christ, the Savior. The principle involved is the same.

Our certainty, therefore, is based on knowledge and faith. We need to know God's thoughts about the work of Christ on the cross in connection with our sins. Then, we also need to believe what God says about it – that is, His testimony concerning it. This is what gives the believer the certainty of his justification. The foundation of our soul's certainty is not in our acceptance of Christ's finished work – although we gladly accept it – but in the understanding that God has accepted it! The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross was an offering that was not made for us, but for God. He “offered Himself unblemished to God” (Heb. 9:14). It was what satisfied the claims of divine justice against sin. All we have to do is believe that God is well pleased with Christ's payment for our sins. If He is sufficient for God, He must be sufficient for us.

Mr. G. Cutting had an illustration that emphasizes this point. He said that in the case of any debt, the creditor is the only one who has the right to write “PAID” on the account. It would be of no value if the debtor did so, because he has no authority to declare it settled. If the debtor did this, it would not satisfy the creditor, nor would it give peace to the debtor. The debtor's certainty can only come from knowing that the creditor is satisfied. Likewise, regarding the debt of our sins, the only way we will obtain certainty that it has been paid is to see that it has been settled with God. We must see that God is completely satisfied with the payment Christ made for us. Thus, the way to obtain certainty in the depths of our souls is to see that the whole matter has been completely settled before God. This is God's remedy for people who have problems of doubt regarding their salvation.

Furthermore, by calling Christ “Lord” (v. 24), Paul includes His ascension to glory, for it was in His ascension that He was made both “Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). (The term “Jesus Christ our Lord” is used ten times in this epistle. This refers to His coming into the world to accomplish redemption through His death, His resurrection, and His ascension to the right hand of God.) This is significant; it gives the believer one more proof that his sins are gone. If on the cross Christ had our sins upon Him (Isa. 53:6), but now He has been received back into heaven, our sins must have disappeared, because God would never allow sin to enter His glorious courts. What wonderful news this is for the believer! When we see Christ risen and exalted, we also see ourselves justified. J. N. Darby said: “Justification was not completed at the cross, the work by which we are justified was; but I am not sure of it until I see Christ in resurrection” (Collected Writings, vol. 21, p. 196).

Substitution

Chap. 4:25 – Paul adds: “Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification”. This emphasizes the substitutionary aspect of Christ's work, which is the believer's side of what was accomplished on the cross. He took “our” place there under God's judgment and answered for our “offenses” as our great Sin-Bearer (1 Pet. 3:18 – “the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God”). Chapter 3:25 gives God's side of Christ's work on the cross; it emphasizes propitiation. Chapter 4:25 gives the believer's side of Christ's work on the cross; it emphasizes substitution. These are the two parts of the atonement.

Substitution does not apply to everyone in the world; it applies only to the “many” who believe (Isa. 53:11-12; Matt. 20:28, 26:28; John 17:2; Rom. 5:19; Heb. 2:10, 9:28). As a rule, whenever the words “many”, “our”, “us”, and “we” are used in connection with what Christ accomplished in His death, it is referring to the substitutionary side of His work (Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 2:24; Rev. 1:5, etc.). Isaiah 53 mentions Christ's substitutionary work ten times – see verses: 5 (four times), 6, 8, 10, 11, 12 (twice).

Christ Accepted for Us

The last part of verse 25 indicates that Christ's resurrection was “for our justification”. This would include His ascension, for justification not only has to do with the believer being cleared of every charge against him (Acts 13:39), but also implies him being brought into a new position before God where Christ has been exalted. The Scriptures say that we are “justified in Christ” (Gal. 2:17), “In Christ” refers to our new position that was secured for us by Christ's ascension as Man to the right hand of God. J. N. Darby said: “God glorified Him [Christ] in Himself immediately. This is witnessed in His resurrection, and we may add, in His ascension. He is raised for our justification and appears in the presence of God for us” (Collected Writings, vol. 10, p. 143).