In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explains what the good news, or gospel really is. He does so by correcting an assumption that the religious Jews had made about Abraham. The religious Jews of Paul’s day attached a special value to Abraham’s believing God as recorded in Genesis 15. Due to Abraham’s belief in what God had promised him, God declared Abraham to be righteous. The Jewish leaders of Paul’s day taught that Abraham’s belief in God’s promise could be considered an action that established his righteousness. This is why they did not consider Abraham to be different from his physical descendants through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob, who received the Mosaic law and were taught to obey it. Even though Abraham never lived under the Mosaic law, nor was circumcised when he was declared righteous, the first century Jews considered him righteous due to his efforts. It was this belief that Paul was correcting in Romans 4, when he demonstrated that if the Jewish teaching were true, then God’s promise to Abraham was empty, and no grace was involved, because in effect Abraham had earned righteousness through believing God.
Paul explained that the Mosaic law, actually any law, establishes legality, transgression as Paul expressed it, because where there is no law, there exists no transgression, no illegality. On the other hand, obeying the law does not establish righteousness, any more than a government rewards it citizens who live legally. In Luke 17:7-10, Jesus shed light on the subject, when he explained to the disciples that a master who returns from a trip does not reward or even thank his servants who prepare his meal and serve him before they eat. There is no added reward for doing what is our responsibility in the first place.
Paul’s point was that being declared righteous was not and is not the result of living obediently or doing good works, but rather the result of believing and trusting God to do what he has promised. In Abraham’s case it was believing God would fulfill his promise to him regarding a son; to us it is believing Jesus will forgive us when we repent from our transgressions. Paul’s explanation in Romans 4 demonstrates how Christianity is unique among religions and is truly based on God’s undeserved grace to those who seek His forgiveness and not upon obeying laws or practicing religious rituals.
David Freitag 