Romans 4, According To The Flesh takes us back to Abraham and asks a powerful question: Was Abraham made righteous because of what he did, or because he believed God? Paul shows that faith came before circumcision and before the Law. Abraham trusted God’s promise when circumstances seemed impossible. His faith points forward to Jesus Christ, who was delivered over to death for our sins and raised from the dead for our justification.
Obedience, God’s Covenant, Grace, Faith, Judgment, Law, Eternity, Temporary, Redemption Plan, Jesus Christ
📖 Romans  4:1 (NIV)
“4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? “
Abraham is one of the most important examples of faith in Scripture because his story demonstrates that God’s promises do not depend upon human strength.
Abraham did not earn righteousness as a reward for his accomplishments.
Scripture says that he believed God, and his faith was credited to him as righteousness.
Paul then connects Abraham’s faith to David’s message about forgiveness.
Blessed is the person whose sins are forgiven and whose sin the Lord does not count against them.
The timing of Abraham’s circumcision is important.
His faith was credited before he was circumcised.
Circumcision became a sign and seal of the righteousness he already had through faith.
This means Abraham became father not only to those who were circumcised, but also to those who believe.
The promise came through faith so that it could come by grace and be available to all who share Abraham’s faith.
Abraham believed God could accomplish what He had promised even when his circumstances seemed impossible.
That faith points us toward the greatest promise of all: Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and was raised from the dead for our justification.
📖 Romans  4:1-4 (NIV)
“4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a]”
“4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. “
Abraham’s story begins with belief.
Paul reminds us that Abraham was not declared righteous because he had something to boast about.
His righteousness was credited because he believed God.
This changes how we understand faith.
Faith is not pretending that circumstances do not exist.
Abraham understood the circumstances.
He knew his body was old, and he knew Sarah’s ability to have a child seemed impossible.
Yet he believed God’s promise was greater than the circumstances.
Abraham teaches us that faith begins when we trust God’s Word even when we cannot yet see how His promise will be fulfilled.
📖 Romans  4:5-8 (NIV)
“5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. 6Â David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:”
“7Â
“Blessed are those
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
“8Â
Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”[b]”
Paul brings David into the discussion to show that God’s blessing is connected with forgiveness.
The blessed person is not described as someone who never made a mistake.
The blessing belongs to the person whose sins are forgiven and whose sin God does not count against them.
It connects Romans 4 with the larger message of Scripture.
Humanity has a sin problem.
God provides a redemption answer.
Forgiveness is not something we can purchase through human achievement.
It is part of God’s grace.
The temporary life we experience is filled with mistakes and failures, but God’s plan points beyond those failures toward eternal life through Jesus Christ.
📖 Romans  4:9-12 (NIV)
“9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.”
One of the most important details in Romans 4 is the timing of Abraham’s circumcision.
Abraham believed God before he was circumcised.
Circumcision came afterward as a sign and seal of the righteousness he already had through faith.
This matters because it shows that the outward sign did not create the faith.
The faith came first.
Paul uses this to show that Abraham could become the father of all who believe—not only those who carried the physical sign of circumcision, but also those who believe without it.
God was already showing that His Redemption Plan would reach beyond one group of people.
📖 Romans  4:13-16 (NIV)
“13 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14Â For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, 15Â because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.”
“16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.”
Paul explains that the promise did not come through the Law.
It came through the righteousness that comes by faith.
If the promise depended completely upon the Law, faith would lose its purpose and the promise would no longer rest upon grace.
Instead, God made the promise depend upon faith so that it could be guaranteed to Abraham’s offspring.
This is a powerful connection to God’s Covenant.
God makes the promise.
God provides the grace.
Faith receives the promise.
The story is not about humanity earning God’s blessing.
It is about trusting the God who keeps His Word.
📖 Romans  4:17-20 (NIV)
“17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”[c] He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.”
“18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[d] 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
Abraham believed against all hope.
He faced circumstances that appeared impossible, yet he did not allow those circumstances to become greater than God’s promise.
His faith became stronger as he gave glory to God, because he was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised.
This does not mean Abraham ignored reality.
He faced reality.
He simply believed that God’s power was greater than reality’s limitations.
That distinction matters today.
Faith does not require us to deny what we see.
Faith asks whether we believe God is capable of doing what He has promised.
Abraham’s temporary circumstances could not cancel God’s Covenant.
📖 Romans  4:22-25 (NIV)
” 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”
Paul makes the connection directly to us.
The words about Abraham’s faith were not written only for Abraham.
They were written for those who believe in God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
This is where Abraham’s story reaches forward into the Gospel.
Abraham believed God could bring life where there appeared to be no possibility of life.
The Gospel declares that God raised Jesus from the dead.
Jesus was delivered over to death because of our sins and raised to life for our justification.
The temporary world brought death.
God brought resurrection.
Humanity faced sin.
God provided redemption through Jesus Christ.
The promise given through faith to Abraham ultimately points toward the risen Lord.
God’s Covenant stands because the promise rests upon God’s faithfulness rather than human perfection.
Abraham believed before circumcision, before the Law, and before he could see the fulfillment of God’s promise.
His story demonstrates that God’s Covenant was always bigger than outward signs or human achievement.
The promise was given through faith and grace so that it could reach Abraham’s offspring from many nations.
God remained faithful to His promise, and His Redemption Plan continued forward until Jesus Christ came.
Romans 4 teaches us that faith is more than believing something might happen.
Abraham trusted the character and power of God.
He knew his circumstances, but he also knew God’s promise.
That gives us an important lesson about the temporary life we live.
Circumstances change.
Human strength has limits.
Our bodies grow old.
People fail. Plans change.
But God remains faithful.
Faith allows us to place our confidence in the One who sees beyond what we can see.
Abraham’s story reminds us that God’s promises are not limited by human circumstances.
Abraham’s faith points forward to Jesus Christ.
The promise of a son, the Covenant with Abraham, the blessing of many nations, forgiveness, faith, grace, and righteousness all become part of the larger Redemption Plan.
Paul does not leave Abraham’s story in the past. He brings it directly to us.
We are called to believe in the God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins.
Jesus was raised to life for our justification.
Abraham believed God when the promise seemed impossible.
The Gospel asks us to believe what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ.
The God who gives life to the dead is the God who keeps His promises.
