Romans / Abraham: Justification by Faith

Abraham: Justification by Faith

Romans 4:1-25

Chapter 4

¹ What then shall we say? Has Abraham our forefather found according to the flesh? ² For if Abraham was justified by works, he has a boast, but not toward God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. ⁴ Now to the one working, the reward is not reckoned according to grace but according to debt. ⁵ But to the one not working but believing on the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. ⁶ just as David also says, "The blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness without works." ⁷ Blessed are those whose lawlessnesses were forgiven and whose sins were covered over, ⁸ Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will by no means reckon sin. ⁹ Is this blessing then upon the circumcision or also upon the uncircumcision? For we say: Faith was credited to Abraham unto righteousness. ¹⁰ How then was it reckoned? While being in circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. ¹¹ and he received a sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith in uncircumcision, in order for him to be father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for righteousness to be credited to them, ¹² and father of Circumcision to those not from Circumcision only but also to those walking in the footsteps of the faith in uncircumcision of our father Abraham. ¹³ For the promise to Abraham or to his seed was not through law—that he would be heir of the world—but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if those of the law are heirs, faith has been emptied and the promise has been nullified. ¹⁵ For the law works wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there transgression. ¹⁶ For this reason it is from faith, so that it is according to grace, for the promise to be firm to all the seed, not to those from the law only but also to those from the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, ¹⁷ just as it is written that "Father of many nations I have made you," before whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls the things that are not as being— ¹⁸ who against hope believed in hope, so that he would become the father of many nations, according to what was said, “Thus will your seed be.” ¹⁹ and not weakening in faith, he considered his own body rendered dead, being about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's reproductive organ, ²⁰ But with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver through unbelief, but was strengthened by faith, giving glory to God. ²¹ and being fully convinced that the one who promises is able also to do it ²² Therefore it was credited to him as righteousness. ²³ It was not written for his sake alone, but that it was credited to him. ²⁴ but also for us, to whom it is about to be credited—those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ who was handed over because of our trespasses and was raised because of our justification.