I. Articulating Why “Faith is Counted as Righteousness”

Refer to our simplified outline of Romans 1-8

Chapter 1 – The world has a sin problem

Chapter 2 – So do we

Chapter 3 –We are never going to solve this sin problem on your own, you need help: faith is counted to you as right-ness before God. Sin problem is solved.

Chapter 4 – Example: Abraham

Chapter 5—Just as sin and death came through Adam, Right-ness and life comes through Jesus

Chapter 6—That is what baptism is all about: death to sin, resurrection to new life

Chapter 7—But there is still a “civil war” with sin going on inside me

Chapter 8—Don’t worry about it: the Holy Spirit is working it out.

II. Terms used in Romans 3-5 (from the same verb in Greek, dikaioo)

Righteousness = right-ness before God

Justification = to be made right with God

Justified = to have been made right with God

The word that is translated as “to be made right” is a legal term which means to be completely “acquitted of doing wrong”. Therefore, the idea of being made right with God (or justified, to be in right relationship with God) has to do with be acquitted of wrong so that there is no debt owed.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

Therefore, our “sin problem” (as we discussed in Lesson 2) results in “guilt” – which is the impending fear of punishment. Our sin problem is taken care of by the gift of God making us right with him. God makes us right with him, through faith in Jesus.

III. Key Concepts About Being Made Right With God

a. God way of making us right is through faith in Jesus for all who believe (Romans 3:22, also see 1:16-17)

b. Jesus’ blood is the substitute sacrifice for our sin (Romans 3:25)

c. God shows that he is just by providing the way to be acquitted of the guilt we have accumulated—we are made right by faith, not works, not by obeying law.

d. God is the God of Jew and Gentiles (Romans 3:26-30). Faith justifies all who believe: both Jew and Gentile (or all people for us today).

Articulating Our Faith

Lesson 3

Justification by Faith

Romans 3:21 – 5:1

IV. Example of Abraham: Faith is Counted As Right-Ness Before God

a. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Romans 4:1-3)

i. See Genesis 15:1-7

ii. Abraham believed what God has said, before he did anything—he simply believed the promise of God.

b. The distinction of being saved by faith apart from works (Romans 4:4-8)

i. Saved by works means that salvation is not a gift, but what is due us

ii. We are credited as right before God when we trust God, not when we work.

iii. We are blessed when God credits right ness to us: This means that God does not count sin against us.

iv. We sin, but it is not counted. We are not right, we do not work, but by faith God counts us as right, and does not count our sin.

c. Faith counted as righteousness shown to be apart from works (Romans 4:9-12)

i. Specifically, Paul points out that Abraham was counted as right before God before he was circumcised, meaning before he acted in obedience to the covenant (Genesis 17:1-14).

ii. Paul says that Abraham received circumcision as the seal of the righteousness he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. (Romans 4:11)

iii. Therefore, God is the father of all who walk in faith, not works.

d. The promise that Abraham would be “heir of the world” comes by faith, not law (Romans 4:13-17): if the promise comes by law, then faith has no value.

e. Understanding the effects of law:

i. Law brings wrath, because law brings the awareness and conviction of sin

ii. Where there is no law, there is no transgression

iii. Therefore, the operative system on which the promise comes cannot be through law (for that would mean wrath would come on account of transgressions). The operative system through which God makes us right—where sins cannot be counted—is faith.

f. Understanding the faith of Abraham (Romans 4:18-25)

i. Saving faith is not just mental assent, but trusting God

ii. Abraham expressed this trust by “hoping against hope” (reference the promise to have a son when he and Sarah having children)

iii. Abraham trusted God to have the power to do what God said he would do. To trust God to do what he says is the faith whereby right-ness is credited to us. This is the value of faith.

iv. Saving faith, whereby we are counted as right with God = believing that God raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 4:25 – 5:1)