Intro
A major theme in Romans 4 is faith. Paul is aggressively contending for justification by faith alone. The issue we are currently addressing is the kind of faith Paul has in mind when he uses the word. We know from James 2 that some forms of faith are dead and worthless. We know from Jesus’s words in Matthew 7 that on judgment day some people who said, “Lord, Lord” will discover that their faith was not saving faith. To understand Romans 4, it is essential to understand what kind of faith results in justification.
Last week we began addressing that subject. We discussed four characteristics of biblical, authentic faith which I am referring to as saving faith.
I. Saving faith acknowledges God for who he is. In Romans 4:17, Paul talks about the nature of the God that Abraham believed in. “As it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’), in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.”i Abraham’s faith was valid because it rested on an accurate revelation of who God is.ii
II. Saving faith takes God at his word. Abraham was not believing for something he created in his own imagination. His faith rested on the word of the Lord, the promise God made to him. We see this in Romans 4:18: “Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations,’ according to what was said, ‘So shall your descendants be’” (emphasis mine). God said it, so he believed it. Biblical faith has a reliable object. It trusts in what God says. It takes God at his word.
III. Saving faith obeys God. This is implied in the Romans 4 text. For example, verse 20 says, “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.” Disobedience does not give glory to God. Abrahan’s faith was evidenced by his unwavering commitment to the Lord and the promise God had given him. Abraham’s obedience is an important part of the Genesis narrative, and it is explicitly stated in Hebrews 11:8: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (emphasis mine). Obedience was part of Abraham’s faith response.
IV. Saving faith hopes in the fulfillment of the promise regardless of natural impossibilities. Verse 18 begins by saying, “Hoping against hope, he believed. . . .” Naturally speaking, there was no hope for the fulfillment of the promise. But authentic faith looks beyond the natural circumstances to God “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (v. 17). Authentic faith cannot be destroyed by natural impossibilities.
Those are the four characteristics of saving faith that we discussed in our last message.
Today we find four more in Romans 4:19-22. Throughout this chapter, Paul is using Abraham to teach justification by faith. And in verses 16-22 he uses Abraham to teach us what kind of faith results in justification and salvation. Six additional qualities of authentic, saving faith:
I. SAVING FAITH FACES REALITY BUT INCLUDES GOD AS THE GREATEST REALITY (V. 19).
“He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), and the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.”
Some versions say Abraham did not consider his own body. The NKJV says, “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body.” The NIV says, “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead.” So, which is it? Did Abraham consider his own body as the NIV has it, or did he not consider his own body as the NKJV translates it? It depends on which manuscripts you are using. The Greco-Latin and Byzantine manuscripts include the negative ou (not) before katenoesen (considered). The Alexandrian family of manuscripts do not include ou.iii Textual variances like this occur because we do not have Paul’s original document. If that is the case, why can we rely on the authority of Scripture? There are hundreds of meticulous copies of Paul’s letters.iv With relatively few exceptions these say exactly the same thing. Therefore, by analyzing and comparing these copes we can know with much assurance what the original document said.
But what about these textual variances? Most of the time the difference is rather inconsequential. At first it might appear that the presence of ou in the statement would be highly significant. But if the reader interprets the statement in context, either reading renders a similar understanding. If the ou is included, in context it simply means he did not focus on the problem but set his mind on the promise. If the ou is excluded, the meaning is that “he faced the fact” (NIV) but did not allow that to undermine his faith.v Bruce Metzger wisely concluded that the absence of the ou fits the context better and should be accepted.vi He wrote, “Here Paul does not wish to imply that faith means closing one’s eyes to reality, but that Abraham was so strong in faith as to be undaunted by every consideration.”vii
Unfortunately, some groups using the KJV, have concluded that faith is exercised by closing one’s eyes to the negative factors and thinking and speaking only of the positive. But these mind games are a superficial understanding of faith. When our confidence is in God who is greater than all other factors, we can face all the facts and continue to believe all God’s promises. Like Abraham, we can hope against hope. Natural circumstances do not destroy our faith in God and his abilities.
Denial of reality is not faith. During my years of pastoring, I have had to help people see the difference. Sometimes when natural circumstances are extremely negative, psychologically we tend to simply deny their existence. But psychological health is found in coming to terms with natural realities by the grace of God.viii When we see God in the reality (as a whole), we can know that he is working all things together for our good (Rom. 8:28) and that nothing can defeat us as we keep our faith in him (Rom. 8:31-39).
When David faced Goliath, his faith was not exercised by denying the giant that was challenging him. He did not play a mind game of imagining Goliath as only three foot tall rather than nine foot tall. He sized up the problem for exactly what it was. But in addition to that, he trusted God to be bigger than any obstacle. He told King Saus, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Sam. 17:37). David’s reality included a big, loving God who could do exceedingly, abundantly above all that he could ask or think.ix
Keeping God in view is essential. When Moses sent the spies into the promise land, ten of those spies faced the negative circumstances. They correctly reported “the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large, and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there” (Num. 13:38). They were facing the reality of the negative circumstance. Their mistake was leaving God out of the equation. They comparted themselves with the problem, decided they were not up for the task, and turn away in unbelief. In contrast, Caleb and Joshua faced the same negative circumstances. Because they included God in their reality, they came to the opposite conclusion. Caleb said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it” (Num. 13:30). Numbers 14:8 reveals the key difference between Caleb and Joshua versus the other ten spies. In that verse, Caleb and Joshua state their source of confidence: “If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us.”
So, when you face daunting circumstances, keep this principle in mind. Saving faith faces reality but includes God as the greatest reality.x
II. SAVING FAITH PERSEVERES IN ITS TRUST IN GOD WITHOUT WAVERING (V. 20).
Romans 4:20 says, “No distrust [unbelief] made him waver concerning the promise of God. . . .”
How can Paul say that in light of Abraham’s failures that are recorded in Genesis? He lied about Sarah being his wife (Gen. 12:10-20).xi He and Sarah tried to fulfill the promise in their own strength through Hagar (Gen. 16). When God confirmed his promise, Genesis 17:17 records: “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, ‘Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’”xii
Abraham did not perform perfectly. As Schreiner points out, there were “ups and downs of faith in the life of Abraham.” Schreiner answers the inquiry this way: “The words ‘he did not doubt’ (ou diekrithe) characterize the basic pattern and direction of Abraham’s life, which was ultimately typified by trust in God, not by doubt. He did not waver in the sense that he persevered and persisted in faith.”xiii Deep in his heart, Abraham maintained a faith in God and his ability to fulfill the promise. Through all his trials, he did not harden in unbelief.xiv
The “verb diakrino, which is in the deponent form means ‘to be divided’ or ‘to waver’. . . .”xv Commenting on ou diekrithe, Büchsel writes, “one might almost translate: “He was not inwardly divided. . . .”xvi This stands in contrast to the double-minded (dipsuchos) man that James talks about in chapter 1 of his epistle. As a general statement, Abraham was single-minded in his commitment to trust God.xvii Abraham set out on a faith journey, and he stayed on that path, notwithstanding some ups and downs along the way.
I suspect your life of faith has had some ups and downs as well. It is certainly true of my life. David had his ups and downs.xviii Peter had his. I am very glad God grades on the curve. While there is accountability for the people of God (Gal. 6:7), there is a grace factor as well. “The just shall live by faith.”xix That statement not only addresses our initial experience, it characterizes the overall lifestyle of genuine followers of Christ.xx Spurgeon commented: “They not only begin to live by faith, but continue to live in the same manner.”xxi Romans 4:20 in the NLT says, “Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.” Saving faith perseveres in its trust in God without wavering.
III. SAVING FAITH GROWS STRONGER DURING THE JOURNEY (V. 20).
Verse 20 says, “but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.” The NIV says he “was strengthened in his faith.”
Faith is not a stagnant commodity. It can grow and it can weaken. Abraham’s faith was exercised, and it grew. When God told him to leave Ur of Chaldees in Genesis 12, he exercised faith and obeyed. Believing for the conception of Isaac was more challenging, but he grew in faith and passed that test. So, Isaac was born in in Genesis 21. In Genesis 22, Abraham demonstrated even greater faith when God told him to offer Isaac on the altar. Abraham’s faith was a growing faith. I pray the same for you and me. Paul hoped for the Corintian’s faith to be increased (2 Cor. 10:15).xxii
Douglas Moo asked the question, “In what way did Abraham’s faith ‘grow strong’?” He answers the inquiry: “In the sense that anything gains strength in meeting and overcoming opposition—Muscles when weights are raised; holiness when temptation is successfully resisted. So Abraham’s faith gained strength from its victory over the hindrance created by the conflict between God’s promise and the physical evidence.”xxiii “So faith grows and faith glorifies.”xxiv
IV. SAVING FAITH GIVES GLORY TO GOD (V. 20).
The NRSVUE translates the latter half of verse 20: “he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.” The NIV says, “was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.”xxv While these are acceptable translations, the reader might conclude that giving glory to God was an action in addition to his faith response. But Paul is indicating that Abraham’s trust in God glorified the Lord. In his trustful dependence on God, he was honoring the Lord. The NKJV conveys this more clearly: “was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.” Nygren explained: “By believing in God, Abraham gave Him the honor that was due to Him.”xxvi No doubt, Abraham lived a life of thanksgiving. But it was his whole lifestyle of trustful dependence that was glorifying to God.xxvii
This contrasts with the pagan’s failure to glorify God as explained in the first chapter of this epistle: “for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him” (Rom. 1:21). As they honored the creature more than the Creator, they in fact dishonored God.xxviii Moo comments, “In his faithful response to God’s word, Abraham therefore accomplished what the idolaters of 1:21 failed to do.”xxix Saving faith gives glory to God.
V. SAVING FAITH IS FULLY CONVINCED OF GOD’S RELIABILITY (V. 21).
Romans 4:21 describes Abraham as “being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”
The whole person is involved in saving faith.xxx It is not just an intellectual embracing of doctrines.xxxi It is not just an emotional response in a moment of crisis or at an exciting event. Intellect and emotion are involved. But saving faith also engages the will.xxxii Saving faith is more than mental assent to truths. It is more than emotional response. It is a choice made deep in the will of the person.xxxiii I have decided to follow Jesus!
“Faith as defined in Abraham’s experience is not passive assent to what God says; it is an enduring dependence on God’s promise, on which one stakes one’s life and lives accordingly.”xxxiv We must keep in mind that in Romans 4, Paul is using Abraham’s faith as an example of justifying faith, and in verses 16-22, Paul is describing Abraham’s faith so that we can make sure our faith is the same.xxxv The promise is “to those who share the faith of Abraham” (Rom. 4:16). Substituting a different kind of faith is not acceptable.xxxvi
The word plerophoreo (“being fully convinced”) means “to fill completely, to convince fully.” As a passive participle in verse 21, it means “to be fully convinced, assured,”xxxvii or as the KJV has it: “fully persuaded.” Saving faith is not a “hope so” expectation. It is not “I hope I go to heaven when I die.” It is closer to “I know so.”xxxviii If you do not have an internal affirmation of salvation in your spirit, seek God until that affirmation comes (Rom. 8:16). You do not want to step into eternity without it.
My friend, Loren Houltberg, wrote: “Plerophereo is the compound of two words—one means to fill up, completely covered, lacking nothing; the other refers to bearing constantly or wearing, as in clothing, garments, or armor. Abraham became fully persuaded by bearing and wearing the garment of God’s promise as a constant accompaniment, reminding himself that God is all-powerful, and He is both able and faithful to perform His promises.”xxxix Like our father Abraham, our faith is strengthened as we set our minds and hearts on God’s promises, allowing God’s word to remind us of his love, faithfulness, and ability to bring victory in every circumstance of life (Rom. 8:31-39). Saving faith is fully persuaded of God’s reliability.
VI. SAVING FAITH IS AFFIRMED BY GOD’S GRACIOUS GIFT OF SALVATION (V. 22).
Paul completes his analysis of Abraham’s faith with this statement in verse 22: “Therefore ‘it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’” God honored Abraham’s faith by declaring him righteous. It was not something earned by Abraham, but Abraham received righteousness on God’s terms through faith. MacArthur wrote, “It is not that faith merits salvation but that faith accepts salvation from God’s gracious hand.”xl
This instruction began with a quotation from Genesis 15:6 in Romans 4:3, and now it concludes by quoting the Genesis text again. Everything in between is an explanation of how Abraham’s justification came about.
In this message, we have focused on the characteristics of Abraham’s faith.xli
To summarize these last two messages, Abraham’s faith was a saving faith with the following ten qualities:
1. SAVING FAITH ACKNOWLEDGES GOD FOR WHO HE IS (v. 17).
2. SAVING FAITH TAKES GOD AT HIS WORD (V. 18).
3. SAVING FAITH OBEYS GOD (V. 18).
4. SAVING FAITH HOPES IN THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROMISE REGARDLESS OF NATURAL IMPOSSIBILITIES (V. 18).
5. SAVING FAITH FACES REALITY BUT INCLUDES GOD AS THE GREATEST REALITY (V. 19).
6. SAVING FAITH PERSEVERES IN ITS TRUST IN GOD WITHOUT WAVERING (V. 20).
7. SAVING FAITH GROWS STRONGER DURING THE JOURNEY (V. 20).
8. SAVING FAITH GIVES GLORY TO GOD (V. 20).
9. SAVING FAITH IS FULLY CONVINCED OF GOD’S RELIABILITY (V. 21).
10. SAVING FAITH IS AFFIRMED BY GOD’S GRACIOUS GIFT OF SALVATION (V. 22).
ENDNOTES:
Does that describe your faith? If so, you have the same kind of faith Abraham had. And that is saving faith!xlii
i All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE) unless indicated otherwise.
ii A Muslim faith or Buddhist faith cannot be saving faith because it is not based on truth. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Cf. 1 John 5:12; Tow, Authentic Christianity, 354-366.
iii Fredric Louis Godet, Commentary on Romans, 181.
iv See David Trobisch, “The Oldest Extant Editions of the Letters of Paul,” Religion Online. Accessed at https://www.religion-online.org/article/the-oldest-extant-editions-of-the-letters-of-paul/#_Toc439066006.
v Cf. John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, 149-150; James Montgomery Boice, Romans: Volume 1 Justification by Faith Romans 1-4 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2004), 481.
vi Furthermore, the omission of ou is the more difficult reading and should be accepted.
vii Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed. (New York: American Bible Society, 1998), 451. Bruce wrote, “Yet, having taken account of all these factors, he concluded that the certainty of the divine promise outweighed every natural improbability.” F. F. Bruce, Romans: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Leon Morris, ed., 2nd ed., 1963 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 123.
viii Although not explicitly taught in Scripture, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief provides helpful insight on how people process loss (On Death and Dying, 1969). Denial, the first step, “is a defense mechanism that helps us protect ourselves from the shock of the upsetting hardship.” This initial response is understandable. However, for a person to be psychologically healthy, that must eventually move into the last stage, acceptance, in which the individual comes to terms with the reality. Rather than staying in a state of denial, the person needs to process the loss in a way that reality is accepted. Jennifer Fisher, “5 stages of grief: Coping with the loss of a loved one,” Dec. 12, 2023, Harvard Health Publishing. Accessed at https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/5-stages-of-grief-coping-with-the-loss-of-a-loved-one.
ix Eph. 3:20.
x Calvin provided practical advice when he wrote, “Paul meant to say, that Abraham, when many temptations were drawing him to despair, that he might not fail, turned his thoughts to what had bee promised to him. . . .” John Calvin, Calvin’s Bible Commentaries: Romans, 129.
xi The same mistake was repeated in Genesis 20.
xii Rather than focusing on Abraham’s initial response, “Paul preferred to highlight only Abraham’s more thoughtful and settled response to God and God’s promise, which he evidently felt characterized Abraham’s life much more than his initial response.” Longenecker, The Epistle to the Romans, 520-521.
xiii Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, 2nd ed., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, R. W. Yarbrough and J. W. Jipp, eds., 1998 (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing, 2018), 245.
xiv Cf. Heb. 3:12. “Michel rightly makes the point that apistia denotes more than just the absence of faith; it denotes the active rejection of faith, the positive refusal to give credence to God’s offered promise.” O. Michel, Der Brief an die Romer, 126 as quoted by Cranfield, Romans 1-8, 248. Cf. Matt. 13:5-6; Heb. 3:12-14. There is such a thing as weak faith which is not apistia. Cf. Lloyd-Jones, Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 3.20-4.25 Atonement and Justification, 226-228.
xv Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, 285.
xvi Gerhard Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), s.v. “diakrino” by Fredrich Büchsel, 947.
xvii Cf. Matt. 6:21-24; Richard W. Tow, Beatitudes of Christ: Pathway of Blessing (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2024), 191-195.
xviii In spite of significant failures, David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). No matter what was going on in his life, he kept coming to God. In victory, he came to God and gave him the glory and praise. If failure, he came to God in humility and repentance. Follow David’s example. No matter what is going on in your life, keep coming to God—keep coming to God (John 6:67-68).
xix Rom. 1:17 KJV.
xx Cf. John 8:31.
xxi Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Growth of Faith” in Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia, Vol. VII (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978), 168.
xxii Faith grows through relationship with God in which we discover his reliability experientially. Faith also grows as we embrace the revelation of truth in Scripture (Rom. 10:17). Cf. Ps. 84:7; Tow, Beatitudes of Christ, 423-425.
xxiii Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, 285-286. The words te pistei could be understood as a dative of cause or means indicating Abraham’s faith strengthened. Taking this view Godet understands eneounamothe to “be taken in the middle and reflective sense: he strengthened himself . . .” (emphasis Godet’s). Godet, Commentary on Romans, 182. However, Cranfield is correct in taking te pistei as a dative of respect and eneounamothe as passive, so that the meaning is that Abraham’s faith was strengthened by God. The NIV translates it this way: “was strengthened in his faith.” Cranfield, Romans 1—8, 248-249.
xxiv Ray C. Stedman, Expository Studies in Romans 1-8: From Guilt to Glory Volume I (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1978), 101.
xxv Longenecker contends for the NIV translation. Longenecker, The Epistle to the Romans, 521.
xxvi Andrew Nygren, Commentary on Romans, Carl Rasmussen, trans., 1944 (Philadelphia:PA: Fortress Press, 1974), 182. Fitzmyer puts too much emphasis on Abraham’s gratefulness, whereas Paul’s emphasis in the context is faith. Fitzmyer, Romans, 388. Nevertheless, thankfulness parallels faith as we see in Romans 1:21.
xxvii “A man gives glory to God when he acknowledges God’s truthfulness and goodness and submits to his authority.” Cranfield, Romans 1-8, 249.
xxviii Cf. 1 John 5:10.
xxix Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, 286.
xxx Tozer said, “receiving Christ savingly is an act of the total personality. It is an act of the mind and of the will and of the affections, and it is thus not only an act of the total personality—it is an aggressive act of the total personality.” A. W. Tozer, Ten Sermons from the Gospel of John, G. B. Smith, ed., The Tozer Pulpit, Vol. 1, Book 3 (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1994), 33.
xxxi “I learned that God’s testimony concerning Christ was designed to lead me to trust Christ, to confide in his person as my Savior, and that to stop short in merely believing about Christ was a fatal mistake that inevitably left me in my sins.” Charles Finney, Power from on High (New Kensington, PA: Whitker House, 1996), 135.
xxxii For a discussion of the heart as the “seat of faith,” see Tow, Beatitudes of Christ, 177-180.
xxxiii “Since the Bible uniformly represents saving or evangelical faith as a virtue, we know that it must be a phenomenon of the will.” Charles Finney, Finney’s Systematic Theology, J. H. Fairchild, ed., 1851 (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1976), 310. Of course, God by his grace must work in us to will his good pleasure (Phil. 2:13), but the point I am making is that saving faith must include a decision of the will.
xxxiv Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 423. See also Talbert, Romans, 127.
xxxv “Because the faith of Abraham in R. 4 is a model for the faith of Christians, justifying faith, based on confidence in God’s promise and creative power, is a faith which is ‘fully certain’ of God’s act, a faith in the new life which is given to the Christian in justification.” Gerhard Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968), s.v. “plerophoreo” by Gerhard Delling, 310.
xxxvi In the parable of the sower, Jesus taught that only some of those who hear the word of the kingdom will endure and bear fruit. He then followed that parable up with the parable of the wheat and tares which shows us that unbelievers will be mixed in with believers until the final judgment (Matt. 13:13-30).
xxxvii Cleon Rogers, Jr. and Cleon Rogers III, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998), 324. Godet says that plerophorein means “to fill a vessel to the brim.” Godet, Commentary on Romans, 183.
xxxviii First John 5:19: “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (NIV). For further explanation see Tow, Authentic Christianity, 403-408.
xxxix Loren Houltberg, Reigning in Life: A Pastoral Devotional Commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Salina, KS: Self-Published, n.d.),48.
xl John MacArthur, Romans 1-8, 267.
xli “Therefore” (dio) in verse 22 points back to what has been said, and particularly the kind of faith Abraham had (vvs. 16-21). As a result of that kind of faith, Abraham was declared righteous by God.
xlii Second Corinthians 13:5 exhorts: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves.” Easy Believism that is popular in the modern church looks very different from Abraham’s faith. People are staking their eternity on something that may culminate in hearing the Lord say, “I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly” (Matt. 7:23). As a response to Jesus’s warning, make sure your faith is the real thing!
