ACC ~ Romans 4 v1 - 8

OVERVIEW:

Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, was justified by faith. This faith was reckoned to him as righteousness even before he was circumcised. In fact, he was given circumcision as a sign of the righteousness he already had by faith. If a person could only be justified by works, he would be able to claim that he had earned his reward. But faith is a free gift of God’s grace. The prophets of the Old Testament knew this, as David (regarded by the Fathers as a prophet) testifies, calling it a great blessing to be set free from sin. The Fathers used this passage as an opportunity to discourse on the different types and grades of sin, all of which are wiped out in baptism. But it is clear from their remarks that they did not believe that baptism brings immediate spiritual perfection.

4:1 | Our Forefather Abraham

ABRAHAM JUSTIFIED BEFORE BEING CIRCUMCISED. AMBROSIASTER: After showing that no one can be justified before God by the works of the law, Paul goes on to say that Abraham could not merit anything according to the flesh either. In saying “the flesh,” Paul meant circumcision, because Abraham sought nothing on the basis of his circumcision. For he was already justified before he was circumcised. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

FOREFATHER ACCORDING TO THE FLESH. APOLLINARIS OF LAODICEA: Paul shows from the example of Abraham that faith is not given only to those who are under the law and the circumcision, but also to those who are not circumcised. For Abraham was not justified by his works either, nor did he have any reason to boast, for he was imperfect and apart from God he could do nothing. … Abraham our father was justified by faith. Paul calls him the “forefather according to the flesh” of those Israelites who have become sons of God by the Spirit. For Christ was made like them in his birth according to the flesh, and now he has made them like him through his birth by grace in the Spirit. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

FIRST TO BE CIRCUMCISED. CHRYSOSTOM: The Jews kept repeating that Abraham, the friend of God, was the first to be circumcised. Paul wants to show that he was justified by faith. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 8.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: In saying “according to the flesh” Paul reveals that Abraham handed down his flesh but not his soul. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

PELAGIUS: Paul calls the Jews back to the beginning of circumcision, so that what it originally stood for might be fully understood. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

4:2 | Boasting in Works or Faith

JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS AND BY FAITH. ORIGEN: This is a rhetorical argument, which goes like this: Someone who is justified by works has nothing to boast of before God. But Abraham did have something to glory in before God. Therefore he was justified by faith and not by works.

In this whole passage it seems that the apostle wants to show that there are two justifications, one by works and the other by faith. He says that justification by works has its glory but only in and of itself, not before God. Justification by faith, on the other hand, has glory before God, who sees our hearts and knows those who believe in secret and those who do not believe. Thus it is right to say that it has glory only before God, who sees the hidden power of faith. But the one who looks for justification by works may expect honor mainly from other persons who see and approve of them.

Let no one think that someone who has faith enough to be justified and to have glory before God can at the same time have unrighteousness dwelling in him as well. For faith cannot coexist with unbelief, nor can righteousness with wickedness, just as light and darkness cannot live together. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

BEFORE GOD. AMBROSIASTER: This is a rhetorical argument. For Abraham indeed does have glory before God, but because of the faith by which he was justified, because nobody is justified by the works of the law in a way which would give him glory before God. And because those who keep the law are still being justified, Paul adds: “If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.” COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

TWO KINDS OF BOASTING. CHRYSOSTOM: For someone to be justified by faith if he had no works was unusual. But for one who had plenty of good works to delight in being justified not by works but by faith—that was something to cause amazement. It put the power of faith in a new light.

What Paul is saying here is not plain, and so it is necessary to make it clearer. There are two kinds of boasting—one of works and one of faith. … Paul’s great strength is particularly displayed in this, that he turns the objection around and shows that what seemed to favor the idea of salvation by works (viz., boasting) belonged much more truly to salvation by faith. For the man who boasts in his works is boasting about himself, but the man who finds his honor in having faith in God has a much better reason for boasting, because he is boasting about God, not about himself. … To abstain from stealing or murder is a minor accomplishment compared to believing that God can do the impossible. … The believer boasts not only because he sincerely loves God but also because he has received great honor and love from him. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 8.

GLORY BELONGS TO GOD. AUGUSTINE: Since Abraham without the law obtained glory not by the works of the law (as if he could fulfill the law in his own strength), since the law had not yet been given, the glory belongs to God, not to him. For he was justified not by his own merit, as if by works, but by the grace of God through faith. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 20.

CARRYING OUT THE ORDINANCES. PELAGIUS: If Abraham was justified because of his circumcision, then God gave him nothing and he could have gloried in what he did to himself. Or it may mean that if Abraham carried out the ordinances, he had glory in his own eyes but not in God’s. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

BELIEVING ALL THINGS POSSIBLE WITH GOD. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: What can we say to those who insist that Abraham was justified by works because he was ready to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar? Abraham was already an old man when God promised him that he would have a son and that his descendants would be as countless as the stars of the sky. Abraham piously believed that all things are possible with God and so exercised this faith. God reckoned him to be righteous on this account and gave Abraham a reward worthy of such a godly mind, viz., the forgiveness of his previous sins. … So even if Abraham was also justified by his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, this must be regarded as an evident demonstration of a faith which was already very strong. EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

REVEALING THE KINDNESS OF GOD. THEODORET OF CYR: The accomplishment of good works honors those who do them, but it does not reveal the kindness of God. Faith, on the other hand, reveals both the love for God of the one who believes and God’s kindness. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

4:3 | Abraham’s Belief

ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD. IRENAEUS: Abraham believed that God was the maker of heaven and earth, the only true God, and he also believed that God would make his seed as numerous as the stars of heaven. AGAINST HERESIES 4.5.3.

BELIEVING WHOLLY IN GOD. ORIGEN: Was Abraham justified just because he had the faith to believe that he would be given a son? Or was it also because of all the other things which he had believed previously? … Before this point, Abraham had believed in part but not perfectly. Now, however, all the parts of his earlier faith are gathered together to make a perfect whole, by which he is justified. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

HEIRS OF ABRAHAM’S FAITH. AMBROSE: I do not demand a reason from Christ. If I am convinced by reason, I deny faith. Abraham believed God. Let us also believe, so that we who are the heirs of his race may likewise be heirs of his faith. ON THE DEATH OF HIS BROTHER SATYRUS 2.89. THE REWARD OF PRAISE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul revealed that Abraham had glory before God not because he was circumcised nor because he abstained from evil, but because he believed in God. For that reason he was justified, and he would receive the reward of praise in the future. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE POWER OF HIM WHO MADE THE PROMISE. CHRYSOSTOM: The Master proclaimed that Abraham was just because he outran the weakness of his human nature. He strained with his whole mind toward the power of him who had made the promise. BAPTISMAL INSTRUCTIONS 8.7.

FAITH COUNTED AS CREDIT FOR ALL SINS. PELAGIUS: Abraham’s faith was so great that his earlier sins were all forgiven him, and righteousness was counted as credit for every one of them by faith alone. Later he was on fire with such love for God that he piled one good work on top of another. Therefore he has glory in God’s eyes. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

4:4 | Gift and Due

DISTINGUISHING GRACE AND JUSTICE. ORIGEN: Faith relies on the grace of the justifier. Works rely on the justice of the rewarder. When I consider the greatness of Paul’s speech, by which he says that the worker receives what is due to him, I can hardly persuade myself that there is any deed which could claim a reward from God as its due. … Therefore, it seems that Paul is really referring here to evil deeds, of which Scripture frequently says that they get their due reward. CoMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

HE BELIEVES WHAT HE DOES NOT SEE. AMBROSIASTER: No merit is imputed for reward to the man who is subject to the law—either to the law of works, i.e., of Moses, or to the law of nature. For he who is obliged to keep the law is a debtor. A necessity is imposed upon him by the law to keep it whether he wants to or not, so as not to be guilty, as Paul says in another passage: “Those who resist will incur judgment.” On the other hand, to believe or not to believe is a matter of choice. No one can be required to accept something which is offered as a gift. But he is invited to receive it. He is not forced but persuaded. He believes what he does not see but hopes for. This is what glorifies God. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

WAGES RECKONED AS DUE. AUGUSTINE: Paul was speaking here of the way wages are given. But God gave by grace, because he gave to sinners so that by faith they might live justly, that is, do good works. Thus the good works which we do after we have received grace are not to be attributed to us but rather to him who has justified us by his grace. For if God had wanted to give us our due reward, he would have given us the punishment due to sinners. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 21.

PELAGIUS: An employee must do as he is told, and unless he complies he is dismissed. But if he does what he is told, he has no glory, because a servant who does no more than what he has to is still called unprofitable. Or else he is not given righteousness freely but is paid a wage for prior work. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

DISTINGUISHING GIFT AND REWARD. THEODORET OF CYR: The doer of righteousness expects a reward, but justification by faith is the gift of the God of all. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

4:5 | Faith Reckoned as Righteousness

RAIN WATERS THE ROOT AND BEARS FRUIT. ORIGEN: Faith, which believes in the justifier, is the beginning of justification before God. And this faith, when it is justified, is like a root in the soil of the soul, which the rain has watered, so that as it begins to grow by the law of God, branches appear, which bring forth fruit. The root of righteousness does not spring from works; rather, the fruit of works grows from the root of righteousness, viz., by that root of righteousness by which God brings righteousness to the one whom he has accepted apart from works. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

HOW FAITH IS RECKONED AMONG GENTILES. AMBROSIASTER: This refers to somebody who is bound by sin and who therefore does not do what the law commands. Paul says this because to an ungodly person, that is, to a Gentile, who believes in Christ without doing the works of the law, his faith is reckoned for righteousness just as Abraham’s was. How then can the Jews think that they have been justified by the works of the law in the same way as Abraham, when they see that Abraham was not justified by the works of the law but by faith alone? Therefore there is no need of the law when the ungodly is justified before God by faith alone. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

RIGHTEOUSNESS GREATER THAN REWARD. CHRYSOSTOM: Think how great a thing it is to be persuaded and have complete confidence that God is able not only to set an ungodly man free from punishment but also to make him righteous and count him worthy to receive these immortal honors. … This is what makes a believer glorious—the fact that he enjoys so great a grace and displays such great faith. Note too that the recompense is greater. For the one who works receives his reward, but the one who believes is made righteous. Righteousness is much greater than a reward, because it is a recompense which includes many rewards. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 8.

THE UNGODLY MADE GODLY. AUGUSTINE: God makes the ungodly man godly, in order that he might persevere in this godliness and righteousness. For a man is justified in order that he might be just, not so that he might think it is all right to go on sinning. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 22.

THE CONVERSION OF THE UNGODLY. PELAGIUS: When an ungodly person is converted, God justifies him by faith alone, not for good works which he does not have. On that basis he would have been punished for his ungodly works. But note that Paul does not say one who remains in sin is justified by faith but rather the ungodly, i.e., one who has just come to believe. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

4:6 | Righteousness Apart from Works

THE LONGING OF THE RIGHTEOUS. AMBROSIASTER: Paul backs this up by the example of the prophet David, who says that those are blessed of whom God has decreed that, without work or any keeping of the law, they are justified before God by faith alone. Therefore he foretells the blessedness of the time when Christ was born, just as the Lord himself said: “Many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.” COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

UNEARNED HONOR. PELAGIUS: It is a great blessing to obtain the Lord’s grace without the work of the law and penance, as if one were receiving some public honor without having earned it. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

FAITH OLDER THAN LAW. THEODORET OF CYR: After demonstrating by the example of the patriarch Abraham that faith is older than the law, Paul quotes a further witness in support of his position, viz., David the prophet and king. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

4:7 | Iniquities Covered

SINS COVERED. AMBROSIASTER: Obviously they are blessed, whose iniquities are forgiven without labor or work of any kind and whose sins are covered without any work of penitence being required of them, as long as they believe.

How can these words apply to a penitent, when we know that penitents obtain the forgiveness of sin with much struggle and groaning? How can they be applied to a martyr, when we know that the glory of martyrdom is obtained by sufferings and pressures? But the prophet, foreseeing a happy time when the Savior comes, calls them blessed because their sins are forgiven, covered and not reckoned to them, and this without labor or work of any kind. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

IN BAPTISM AND REPENTANCE. [PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: It may be understood that iniquities are forgiven in baptism and that sins are covered by repentance. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

NOT COUNTED. PELAGIUS: What is forgiven is not retained in the mind, and what is covered does not come to light, and for that reason it is not counted against us. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

4:8 | Sins Forgiven

INIQUITY FORGIVEN, SIN COVERED, NOT IMPUTED. ORIGEN: Note the order here. First comes the forgiveness of iniquity, then the covering of sin, then the non-imputation of the sin to the sinner. This is the order: First, the beginning of the soul’s conversion is the renunciation of evil. Second, the soul begins to do good works, which eventually become more numerous than the evil deeds which preceded them, and in this sense those sins may be said to be covered over. Finally, the soul reaches maturity. Every trace of sin is uprooted from it so that not even the smallest trace of wickedness remains The height of perfect blessedness is promised. The Lord will not impute any sin to the soul.

Wickedness is different from sin in that it applies to things which are done without the law. In Greek the word for this is anomía, meaning something which is done without the law. Sin, on the other hand, refers to something which is done against the dictates of conscience and nature. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

THREE CATEGORIES OF SIN. AMBROSIASTER: “Forgive,” “cover,” “not reckon”—all amount to one and the same thing. For all three are given and received in the same way.

Paul has three categories to cover the different types of sin. The first category is that of wickedness or ungodliness, in that the Creator is not acknowledged. The second category is that of the more serious sins, and the third is that of the less serious ones. All of these are wiped out in baptism. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

SINS FORGIVEN IN BAPTISM. PELAGIUS: Some people say that sin is forgiven in baptism, covered by penitential works and through martyrdom not counted against us. But others say that when sins have been forgiven in baptism, love for God is increased, which covers a multitude of sins and keeps them from being counted against us as long as daily good works surpass past misdeeds. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Sinful works are not counted against the faithful. God’s love of humanity is the greatest thing that has happened. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.