Up to the fourth chapter in the book of Romans, all content clearly points to only one premise:
“The Gentiles, like the Jews, have always been and still continue to be part of Gods plan to provide salvific righteousness to all people groups of the world; both Jews and Gentiles have always been and are now guilty of sin and in need of justification by faith.”
We’ve seen in previous blogs that Paul describes himself in Romans as the servant of the Messiah Jesus, the apostle, specifically called for the sake of honoring the Messiah’s name among the Gentiles (1:1-6). We’ve seen that Paul is not ashamed of salvific righteousness that is revealed through the gospel. We’ve seen that God provides salvific righteousness for both the Jew, first and also to the Greek, because he understands that it has always been God’s plan to provide salvific righteousness to both by faith (1:7-16). We’ve seen that the wrath of God rests on both the Jews and the Gentiles for their behavior that is not in keeping with their repentance as believers in Jesus, (1:18-31), and as a result are without excuse in regards to God judging the secrets of men, as God will render to each one according to his works because He shows no partiality (2:1-16). We’ve seen that the Jewish Christians behavior has caused the Messiah’s name not to be honored among the Gentiles but instead it is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of them (2:17-29). Therefore, the Jew really has no advantage in their standing before God. Though the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God, they still are just as guilty as Gentiles and just as much in need of salvific righteousness as the Gentiles; God is God not only of Jews. He is God of Gentiles also. Yes, that is true since God is the one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith (3:1-31).
Clearly in the first three chapters of Romans Paul emphasizes his premise that it has always
been God’s plan to justify the Gentiles by faith. However, that fact seems to be a surprise to the Jews of the New Testament times. It also seems to be the main point that the apostle Paul presents to his Jewish readers in the entirety f his letter to the Romans. In Romans Paul presents an historical timeline of God’s plan to justify the Gentiles. He has already told us in 1:16-17 that salvation is for everyone to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. He emphasizes this main point two other times, for a total of three times before the second chapter ends (2:9 & 2:10). Also, Paul repeats this main point numerous other times throughout his letter (3:9, 9:22-24, 9:25, 9:30, 10:20, 11:11, 11:25, 15:8-9, 15:11, 15:12, 15:16, 15:21, 15:27, 16:26).
Paul has also told us that all have sinned, both Jews and Gentiles and that both Jews and Gentiles will be justified by faith 3:23-24. In fact, Paul takes his readers all the way back to Genesis 12:3-4 to see that God promised from the beginning that all families of the earth/nations/Gentiles would be blessed through Abraham,
“…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
In the discussion so far in Romans 1-3, regarding the place of the Gentiles in the context of faith, salvation, righteousness, justification, Paul begins the fourth chapter by saying that everyone, including Gentiles who do not work to obey the law, are justified by faith and more specifically that God counts their faith as righteousness. Paul specifically says in 4:6,
“the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness…
Paul then goes on to support his statement by telling his readers that both Abraham and David are in agreement with him; Abraham in the discovery of righteousness by faith, and David in the discovery of the blessing of righteousness.
Paul tells his readers that David echoes basically his own words in describing this blessing of righteousness. In Psalm 32, David refers to the
“blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works.”
David does not use those exact words. He says it a different way, twice in consistent emphatic Hebrew fashion. David says,
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
It is interesting to note that Paul is talking about “righteousness” as a blessing, but nowhere in Psalm 32 does David mention the word “righteousness.”
David never mentions the word righteousness, yet Paul understands the psalm to be all about righteousness.
And to the one who does not work but believes in[a] 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. Romans 4:5-6
By using the comparison phrase, “just as” in Romans 4:6, Paul is comparing what he just said about righteousness with what David said. He indicates to us that he believed the psalm to be a representation of the righteousness that God bestows on a person who acknowledges his sins and confesses them before God. The Psalm is all about forgiveness and the state of a person against whom God does not count his sin. This state of ‘being forgiven’ and ‘having ones sins not counted against him’ Paul refers to as a “blessed.”
Paul is reminding his readers that the “blessing” is ‘forgiveness of sins’ and ‘the state of righteousness by faith.’ Faith counted as righteousness, Sins not counted as unrighteousness.
“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.”
The question to be asked at this point in the middle of a discussion about faith, righteousness, justification, sinning, salvation and gospel, is…’why does Paul introduce and define the term “bless” for his readers in this chapter (4:1-13)?
Verse 9 may give us a hint in answering that question.
“Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?
Could it be that Paul introduces the term “blessing” to provide another support for his premise that all along it has been God’s intention to include the Gentiles in his plan of salvation? Isn’t it clear that Paul wants to demonstrate to his readers that just as Abraham was justified by faith apart from circumcision (4:10), so Gentiles also are justified by faith apart from the law (4:13).
Introducing the word “blessing” here, Paul not only uses the word as a springboard to launch this paragraph to further his premise of salvific righteousness by faith, but also as another support beam to further buttress the biblical reality of that premise. It is that blessing (salvific righteousness by faith) God promised long ago to the Gentiles through Abraham (Genesis 12:3) that Paul reminds us of in 4:11.
“For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.”
Paul’s very point is to communicate to the Roman church the very same thing he communicated to the Galatian church.
“The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Gal 3:8-9).
Therefore, from the very beginning, the message in Genesis, is that believers of all nations are blessed with this salvific righteousness just as Abraham was blessed with salvific righteousness because he believed.
In my next blog, we will see that this hope of righteousness that is revealed in the gospel and for which Paul is unashamed is the very power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and then to the Gentile.
Therefore, this “Hope Does Not Put Us To Shame.”