Paul says that our faith is credited as righteousness. What exactly does he mean? What kind of faith is credited as righteousness? What must be believe to have our faith credited as righteousness? Find out in this message as Pastor Brian draws Romans 4 to a close.
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Our Faith Is Credited As Righteousness
Romans 4:22-25
Romans chapter 4 is completely taken up with Abraham’s justification through faith. Abraham’s name or pronouns related to him appear 24 times in the chapter. The words “faith” or “believe” appear 15 times in the chapter. And the words “justification” or “righteousness credited” appear 13 times. Paul is using Abraham as an example for us, because he earnestly desires that we understand that we are justified exactly the same way that Abraham was.
We have already seen the human means of justification. It is faith. It is faith, apart from works, apart from circumcision, and apart from the Law.
Then last week we saw the reason why God decided to justify sinners through faith. It was so that justification would be according to grace. But why was that important? It is because God’s grace is the only thing that can guarantee the promise of everlasting life. God decided to justify through faith so that it would be global. He wanted the promise of salvation to spread to every people group on the planet, Jews and Gentiles. And God did this so that it would give God all the glory. Faith glorifies the trustworthiness, power, and faithfulness of God. And I could add another reason God justifies through faith from Romans 3:27 – so that all boasting would be excluded. Pretty good reasons that justification is through faith, hah?!
As Paul comes to the end of chapter 4, he discusses the role of faith in our justification. This morning I want to bring up three questions that our text answers:
- What does it mean for faith to be credited as righteousness?
- What kind of faith is credited as righteousness?
- What must be believed for faith to be credited as righteousness?
1. What Does It Mean For Faith To Be Credited As Righteousness?
Verse 22: “Therefore it was also credited to Him as righteousness.” What does the “it” refer to? Well, let’s just look back to verses 20 and 21, “yet with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT was also credited to Him as righteousness.” Do you see what the “it” refers to now? It refers back to “faith” in verse 20, and the full assurance that God was able to perform what He promised in verse 21. So, essentially Romans 4:22, is saying the same thing that Paul has been saying all along in this chapter.
Romans 4:3, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to Him as righteousness.”
Romans 4:5, “his faith is credited to him as righteousness.”
Romans 4:9, “For we say, ‘Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.”
Now, the huge questions we need to answer this morning is “What does this mean?!” And there are two very different answers that different people give to that question. Some say, “faith is credited as righteousness” means “God recognizes my faith as righteousness.” Because my faith is a form of righteousness, God accepts my faith as being righteous and therefore acquits me of all sin. Does Paul mean our faith is our righteousness? No, I am persuaded he does not mean that, even though we could easily make the mistake of thinking that is what he means. So, if Paul doesn’t mean that our faith is our righteousness, what does he mean?
I believe Paul means our faith unites us to Christ who is our righteousness. Faith is not righteousness. There is no merit in faith. But faith is what connects us to Christ, and Christ Himself is our righteousness. Folks, this is not just semantics. The distinction between those two ways of understanding Paul’s words is crucial. The difference comes down to this – are you trusting in your faith or are you trusting in Christ. Those are two very different things! One leads to Hell, the other to Heaven!
Now, why don’t I believe that Paul is saying that our faith is our righteousness? Let me give you several reasons.
First, notice the immediate context of chapter 4, verses 6 and 11. In both verses Paul says that God credits righteousness. He doesn’t say that God credits faith as righteousness, but God credits righteousness. In these verses, faith is not the thing being credited, but righteousness. What that tells us, is that when Paul says “faith is credited as righteousness” he means God credits righteousness through faith.
Then, look to the larger context in Romans 3:21-22, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.” In this passage, it is God’s righteousness that is given to us through faith. Faith unites us to Christ, who is our righteousness. But faith is not God’s righteousness.
Then, let’s look at 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Notice that there is a double imputation here. First, our sins are imputed to Christ – “He made Him to be sin”. Second His righteousness is imputed to us – “we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” How do we become the righteousness of God? In Him. That is being united to Jesus. This is not talking about our own personal righteousness. It is God’s righteousness. And we don’t get this righteousness because our faith is righteous. We get it because we are in Him.
Finally, let’s look at Philippians 3:9, “and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.” Notice this righteousness is not from ourselves. It is an alien righteousness. It comes down from God on the basis of faith. Faith is the hand that receives this righteousness. But Faith does not earn or deserve this righteousness in any way.
Imputation. Perhaps the truth of Christ being your righteousness will come home by meditating on the word “imputation.” We don’t use that word very much today, but we do use the shortened verb “impute.” We say, “don’t impute evil motives to me!” What do we mean? We mean, “don’t take something that’s not mine, and make me wear it.” That’s exactly what happens when God saves a person. He takes something that is not his, and makes him wear it. He takes His own righteousness, something that is not the sinner’s, and clothes him with it. This is the word the Kings James Version uses in verse 22.
My friends, when you really grasp this, it will bring the deepest sense of comfort and assurance to your soul. Martin Luther said when he grasped this truth, “Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered Paradise itself through open gates.”
John Bunyan, the author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, wrote the following: “One day as I was passing into the field . . . this sentence fell upon my soul. ‘Thy righteousness is in heaven.’ And methought, withal, I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God’s right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, he wants my righteousness, for that was just before him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, “The same yesterday, today and, and forever”. Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed. I was loosed from my afflictions and irons; my temptations also fled away; so that from that time those dreadful scriptures of God left off to trouble me; now went I also home rejoicing for the grace and love of God.” Have you ever experienced something like this?! I truly hope so!
2. What Kind Of Faith Is Credited As Righteousness
If it is faith that unites us to Christ to receive His righteousness, what kind of faith is it? Another way we could ask the question is, “When was Abraham justified by faith?” Now, there are several answers we could give? Hebrews 11:8 says Abraham went out of Ur of the Chaldees by faith into a place which he was to receive for an inheritance, not knowing where he was going. Or we could say it was in Genesis 15 when God told him to look at all of the stars of the sky to see if he could count them, and then said, “so shall your descendants be.” And Abraham believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Or we could say it was Genesis 22 where Abraham by faith offered up Isaac his son on the altar in obedience to the word of the Lord. However, I want you to turn to Romans 4:19-22, “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore, it was also credited to him as righteousness.”
Now, we are told in Genesis 15:6, that Abraham believed God it was reckoned to him as righteousness. But we are told in Romans 4:19-22, that at least 14 years later, when Abraham was 99 years old he believed God’s Word, and it was credited to him as righteousness. So, which is it? What do we make of this? Was Abraham justified in Genesis 15 or was he justified in Genesis 17? Yes! The answer is not either/or, but both/and. When Abraham exercised his first act of saving faith he was perfectly and completely justified by God. And also when he later exercised faith, he was justified. We are justified through our initial act of faith, and we are justified through the ongoing acts of faith. One way to make sense of this is that when God looks on our first act of saving faith, He sees it as containing all the subsequent acts of faith that flow from it. Our first act of faith is like an acorn, out of which the mighty oak tree of our whole life will follow. The long and the short of it is that we are justified by a faith that perseveres, not a faith that lives for a moment and then dies.
Jesus talked about the Sower who sowed on the rocky places. He said that this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away (Mt. 13:20-21). The stony ground hearer did not possess saving faith. He thought he was saved but was deceived. How do we know? He did not persevere in faith to the end. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.” If a person does not hold fast to the word of the gospel, he has believed in vain. He will not be saved.
Listen to Paul’s words in Colossians 1:22-23, “yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach – if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard.”
Hebrews 3:14, “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”
If we know anything, we know that only those who persevere in faith to the end will be saved.
But Abraham’s faith persevered. He believed in Genes 15. He believed 14 years later in Genesis 17, and then he believed again 15 or 20 years later in Genesis 22. His was a persevering faith. That is the kind of faith that justifies. A faith that continues, and grows, and refuses to let go of Christ.
You may be thinking, “Brian, are you saying that my ultimate salvation is all dependent on me? Actually no. I’m saying that you must persevere, but if God has granted you true saving faith, He will make sure you persevere in faith to the end. Your perseverance in faith is not finally dependent on you. How do I know? Romans 8:30 says, “These whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified, and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” All those justified are glorified. But Romans 5:1 says that have been justified by faith. How do we know our faith will continue to the end? Because all who are justified are glorified, and a person is only saved that continues in faith until the end. That must mean that if God has justified you through faith, He will make sure that your faith continues to the end, so that you are glorified. Folks, your perseverance is as sure as your justification!
Brian, do you have any real life Biblical examples to show this? As a matter of fact, I do. In Luke 22, Jesus speaks to Peter. Jesus knows Peter is going to deny Him three times. This is what He says in verses 31-32, “Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Have you ever wondered why Peter made it and didn’t utterly forsake the Lord like Judas. Your answer is right here. The Lord prayed for him! In Jesus’ mind there was never a doubt about Peter not repenting. He says, “and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
As so often happens, one truth balances another. It is gloriously true that God will make sure that all who are justified persevere in faith. It is also soberingly true that your perseverance in faith is evidence of your justification. If you don’t persevere, you are not justified. You must persevere! You must fight the good fight of faith! Don’t ever get the idea that I’m teaching you that you can believe in Christ once, and then walk away from the Lord and live in sin and end up in heaven. Only a true, saving, persevering faith will land you in glory. So, run! Fight! Hold on to Christ until the end!
3. What Must We Believe For Faith To Be Credited As Righteousness?
4:23-25, “Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
Notice that when God had Genesis 15:6 written, He wasn’t having it written just for Abraham’s sake. He was having it written down for your sake too! God had you in mind, when He inspired Genesis 15:6. He knew we would need this great truth thousands of years later.
So, to whom is faith credited as righteousness? To whom does God impute His righteousness? This text says it is those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is crucial if we are ever to be saved. Paul says over in Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Notice that we believe that God raised Jesus our Lord, from the dead. What does that mean? The word for “Lord” in Greek is kurios. When the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew into Greek, this is the Greek word that was used to translate Jehovah. So I take that to mean that for a person to be justified he must believe that Jesus is God, and that God raised God from the dead. Belief in the Deity of Christ is absolutely essential to be saved. There are certain doctrines that must be believed in order to be saved, and the deity of Christ is one of them.
But what does believing that God raised Jesus from the dead include? Two things.
1) It includes believing that Jesus was delivered over because of our transgressions. The phrase “delivered over” implies Divine design. It implies that God was the agent who actively delivered over Christ. It teaches that the suffering and death of Christ was not a tragic accident. It happened because God willed it to happen. Acts 2:23 says that Jesus was delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. The other part of this phrase tells us the reason why God designed the death of Christ. It was “because of our transgressions.” Our transgressions had condemned us. They had provoked the wrath of God. They would cause us to be sent into eternal Hell. But God had compassion upon the human race, and sent Christ to atone for sins, that we might be reconciled to Him. Jesus did not die as a martyr. He did not die to give an example of love. He died to be a sacrifice that turns away God’s wrath. He died to enable God to be just and the justifier of the one who believes in Jesus.
2) It also includes believing that Jesus was raised because of our justification. Now, what in the world does that phrase mean? I understand that phrase to mean that when Jesus died, a full and sufficient payment was made for our justification. Thus, it would have been unjust for God to leave Him in the grave. The resurrection of Christ was God’s stamp of approval on Jesus’ death. It was Him say, “Your work has done everything necessary to perfectly secure the salvation of all who trust You.” It gives us the greatest evidence that Christ’s death did exactly what was necessary to save us from sin. When Christ died, He atoned for the sins that killed Him. Now that those sins are atoned for, there is no reason for Christ to remain dead. The price has been paid, salvation accomplished! It would be unjust for God to keep Him in the grave. He has perfectly paid for sin.
Conclusion
So, brothers and sisters, what would the Holy Spirit have you to take away from this text this morning and apply to your life?
1) The Proud Person: Never trust in your faith as your righteousness. Always and forever, look away from yourself to Christ, who is the only perfect grounds of your right standing with God forever. Not unto us, not unto us, but to Thy name give glory!
2) The Weak Person: Trust God who began this work of faith in your soul, to be faithful to enable you to persevere to the end. Faithful is He who called you. He also will bring it to pass.
3) The Lazy Person: You might feel that if God is going to make sure I persevere in faith, I can just let down my guard, and coast! Just kick back, eat, drink and be merry. No, a thousand times No! You and I must be diligent. Hebrews 10:36, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” Let God’s Word give you a swift kick in the behind, so that you get up and fight and run!
4) The Downcast Person: Look up. See your Savior risen on high! See the One who abolished death, destroyed the power of the devil, and fully paid for sin. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ! See Him. Savor Him. Trust Him!
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