Study session scripture: Romans 4:1-12

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Study session topics:

• Abraham as Father of Jews and Gentiles

• Paul bolsters his presentation of the Gospel message by arguing that this was always God's plan of salvation, going all the way back to Abraham

• Abraham is a perfect example to use

• Father of the Jewish people, first to be chosen by God

• Lived before the Law was given

• Paul argues that Abraham gained righteousness from God by faith as the Christian does (Gen. 15:6)

• Misconceptions about Abraham's justification

• God justified Abraham due to his own goodness and piety

• God counted Abraham as righteous due to his faith as a substitute for his works

• Paul also briefly brings in the example of David

• Direct ancestor of Jesus

• King whose throne was promised forever by God

• Man after God's own heart

• Paul argues that Psalm 32:1-2 is David professing salvation by faith

• Scripture here and in Gen. 15:6 uses bookkeeping terminology to describe the process of justification

• Paul folds his Gentile audience back in by universalizing the promise of justification by faith

• This promise is not bound to circumcision because it predates circumcision

• Circumcision as a sign and seal of righteousness by faith, not by the law

• Points back to Romans 2:28-29, circumcision is a matter of the heart

• How were the Old Testament saints saved before the life and death of Jesus?

• They believed the Gospel--they looked forward to it while we look back at it (Gal. 3:7-9, John 8:56)

• Abraham and the other OT saints anticipated a future savior who would rescue them from their sins

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 3:27-31

Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Study session topics:

• Righteousness by faith for Jews and gentiles

• The salvation offered by God leaves no room for human pride

• Salvation, from beginning to end, is apart from works

• We cannot claim any credit for any part of our salvation

• Boasting is the most easily identifiable outworking of pride, the first and greatest of all sins

• Satan's pride led him to rebel against God (Isaiah 14:12-15)

• Eve's pride in desiring to be like God, knowing good and evil, led her to take the fruit of the forbidden tree (Genesis 3:1-7)

• Pride is the greatest of all sins because it attempts to place us on the throne that belongs to God--It moves us away from worship of God and toward worship of self

• Pride lies at the root of all sins--We think we know better than God, and therefore our sinful way is better than God's righteous way

• Pride affects us all to one degree or another - western culture, particularly American culture, is very susceptible to pride.

• God, in His wisdom, made a path to salvation that excludes our pride by taking all the work and effort (and thus, all the credit and all the glory) upon Himself

• Justification before God comes by faith, not by our own efforts

• Salvation is a free gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9) (Romans 11:6)

• What is faith? What does faith look like?

• 3 elements of faith: knowledge, belief, and commitment (Romans 10:13-14)

• Knowledge--One must know the truth about God and ourselves to have effective faith

• Belief--Being moved in the heart, accepting the truth as the truth

• Commitment: putting one's complete trust in the object of one's faith

• Since God is God of all, both Jew and Gentile, there is only one way to gain salvation--by faith

• Paul affirms the Shema (Hebrew for "hear") (Deuteronomy 6:4)--"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one," rebuking Gentile polytheism while also chiding the Jewish sense of superiority over being God's chosen people -Paul once again drives home to both audiences that it is not rote ritualistic obedience that saves, but faith

• Paul concludes this section by affirming that even though obedience to the Law cannot save, this does not mean we throw the Law away

• Faith does not mean we can do as we please regardless of the morality of our actions--indeed, true faith inspires us to uphold God's morality

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 3:21-26

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Study session topics:

• The saving righteousness of God

• "But now," a huge turning point in Paul's presentation of the Gospel message

• Paul has exhaustively argued since stating his thesis for the letter that sin is a pernicious, persistent, and pressing problem that affects everyone without exception

• No one is righteous, Jew or Gentile

• The unrighteous will suffer wrath and fury when they are inevitably judged by God

• Now Paul begins to discuss the ultimate solution to sin

• Paul describes a new covenant that God has recently established through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

• Apart from the Law -Without distinction between Jew and Gentile

• Received by faith as a gift, rather than by human efforts at obedience

• Upholds God's justice and wrath against sin (orge) while allowing Him to justify, or declare righteous, the one who trusts in Jesus

• Jesus as propitiation

• Propitiation: to appease or turn aside wrath, an atoning sacrifice to a deity

• Many people are uncomfortable with the idea of God's wrath needing to be satisfied

• God's wrath is not a fit of pique, but principled opposition to something that goes against His very nature

• God's wrath is well established in the Scriptures

• Paul uses severe terms to describe the unrighteousness of all men, and the Scriptures he references include wrathful responses to man's wickedness

• Propitiation in the Christian sense is distinct from other religions in that it is not man who appeases God, but God appeases Himself by providing sacrifices for sins

• Propitiation and reconciliation are two sides of the same coin

• God's provision of Christ's sacrifice shows His righteousness and justice, so that no one can accuse Him of being unjust in His forbearance toward sin

Study session audio: