Romans 4:4-12 - Sin and Justification

Jay Carper discusses Romans 4:4–12, focusing on how faith is “counted” as righteousness, using the Greek idea of accounting and God’s book of life. He explains justification as God declaring a sinner righteous apart from earned wages or works, wiping sin from the record and granting righteousness by divine decree. He compares Abraham’s potential heirs--Eliezer (by legal custom), Ishmael (by natural biology), and Isaac (by divine intervention)--to show salvation cannot be achieved by human systems, law-keeping, or restitution, since God’s infinite righteousness cannot be reached by finite effort. He connects Romans to Psalm 32, emphasizing confession and repentance: unconfessed sin weighs on a person, but God forgives and does not count iniquity against those who trust him. He argues obedience follows genuine belief, but does not earn salvation. He then addresses circumcision, stressing Abraham was counted righteous before circumcision, making him the father of believing uncircumcised and circumcised alike, and cites John the Baptist’s warning that ancestry or ritual is insufficient without repentance and fruit.

From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).

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