Our Lord, when on earth, constantly quoted from the Old Testament; and in the desert, when tempted of Satan, always answered him with, " It is written;" so here it is -" What saith the Scripture?"-an important word for us in these days. It is not "What does this or that man think? " or, What is your opinion or mine? but, " What does God say?" that is the question. Let the Scripture decide everything. This verse is quoted from Gen. 15:66And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:6), and is an unanswerable proof to a Jew, taken from his own Scriptures, that Abraham was justified by faith. " For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God." (v. 2) Now let the Scripture decide the question. " Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." This would be unanswerable, for he was counted righteous, not for any works that he had done, but because he believed God.
It is the same with us as it is brought out further on in the chapter. Verses 4 and 5 seem to be a sort of practical comment upon this truth; and they bring out in a most clear and full way the fact that we are justified, not upon the ground of our works at all, but by faith. And this is very necessary, for it is the natural thought of our hearts that we must do something in order to merit the favor of God, and to be saved. How universal is the answer, when one asks another as to their hope of salvation, "We must do the best we can." Another says, "We must keep the law;" and another, "Believe in Christ and keep the law." The law truly is of works: "Do this and thou shalt live." But the law and the gospel are two distinct things, and are as opposite as the east to the west; and mixing up the two must lead to endless confusion. You cannot be saved half by the works of the law and half by faith in Christ; either you must be saved by Christ, or you must be lost, " for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse." (Gal. 3:1010For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10))
To show how the law and the gospel are confused in the minds of people, a person who was told that if he was to be saved it was not by working for it, said, "Now I can prove to you from Scripture that we must do something to be saved "-he would not have it that a person could be saved without any works of his own-so taking a large Bible down from the shelf, he turned over the leaves, and found Ezek. 18:2727Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. (Ezekiel 18:27), and read exultingly, " When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive." "There!" he said, "is not that works?" He did not see that the whole of the passage was not the gospel at all, but the law, and God's dealings with Israel under law; also, that Gal. 3:1010For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10) says, " As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse;" so, that if a person is on the ground of law-keeping at all before God, he is under the curse, because he is totally unable to keep it. It is astonishing how the mind of man tenaciously sticks to the idea that there must be something to do to be saved. " What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" one said to the Lord when on earth. The jailor at Philippi again, " Sirs, what must I do to be saved? " But let us look at verse 4 of our chapter: " Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. Grace means unmerited love and favor. If a person works or does anything for salvation, he makes God his debtor -he has done this and that, and he thinks that God owes him salvation for it; but this is not the ground of grace at all. In natural things it is the same principle. If a man works hard all the week, he claims his wages as his right; it is no act of favor of his master to give him what he has earned. So with salvation. If we had done the smallest thing to deserve it, it would not be of grace; for grace is favor bestowed upon one who does not deserve it. No; it must be one thing or the other-saved wholly on the principle of works, and thus earning salvation; or wholly on the principle of grace, as we read in Rom. 11:66And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. (Romans 11:6), which is the same principle: " And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." But the Scripture is as plain as possible on the point, and this fifth verse of our chapter is perhaps one of the strongest on the subject, " But to him that worketh not." No one could get over this plain statement of Scripture; and this verse not only clears the ground by telling us it is " to him that worketh not," but unfolds to us in few words-but how full and weighty -the whole plan of justification.
We constantly find this in Scripture, that in one short verse we have contained a whole volume of precious truth; and so it is here. It is, " To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted unto him for righteousness." Here God is the object of faith, as in Abraham's case "Abraham believed God."
First, "It is to him that worketh not, but believeth" (working and believing are here contrasted). And who are we to believe in? The God "that justifies the ungodly." Who but God could do that? A human judge could not do it: he might let the guilty one off; or be merciful to him; but it is not in the power of any human judge to justify a guilty criminal: for to justify him he must clear him from every charge that could be brought against him, which if he was guilty he could not do. But, blessed be His name, God can, and that in a way perfectly consistent with His own perfect righteousness. He justifies the ungodly.
We have seen on what ground He does it in the third chapter how He can say to an ungodly sinner, on the ground of the death of Christ, "I have nothing against you." We have to go back to this blessed truth over and over again, even as Christians, for we are often apt to be disappointed because we do not find some good in us; but we are justified, not upon the ground of being good, but upon the ground of being ungodly. So now, if a soul sees he is utterly ungodly, and owns he can do nothing at all to merit salvation, and believes in the God who justifies him as an ungodly one, on the ground of Christ's death, his faith is counted for righteousness, even as "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
There is a passage in the epistle of James (chap. 2: 14-26), which to some might appear to contradict this "not of works " doctrine: "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?.... Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which said, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness." This might seem to be a contradiction to Rom. 4, but in reality it is not so; it only brings out the perfection of the word of God. In Rom. 4 the question is justification before God (v. 2); in James it is rather before men. And as God alone can read the heart, when it is a question of our fellow-men, we can only judge of what is within by outward actions. If we see this, verse 14 of James 2 becomes clear.; the stress is upon the word " say." It is not said, " What shall it profit if a man has faith;" but " if.a man say he has faith." It is outward profession. What is the use of a man saying he believes, if his outward actions deny it; it shows there is no reality in it. Thus the act of Abraham offering up Isaac on the altar showed he 'believed God who was able to raise him up from the dead, and thus 'he could offer up the one in whom the promises of God were to be fulfilled. (See Heb. 11:17-1917By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. (Hebrews 11:17‑19)) Also the action of Rahab the harlot, in hiding the spies, proved that she believed that the Lord had given them the land, and that Jericho was to be destroyed.
Thus before God we are justified by faith; before men by works. The works before men show that we possess the faith that justifies us before God; just as you -see smoke coming out of a chimney, you say, "There must be a fire inside, for I see the smoke." So you see the, good works, and you say, "That person must be a child of God, because of such and such things that he does;" as in 1 Thess. 1:33Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; (1 Thessalonians 1:3) the apostle saw their "work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope," and therefore he knew their election of God. As to the ground of our justification before God, it is as clear as possible that it is, as we have been seeing in Rom. 4, " to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the 'ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
And now -what David says is cited as another example 'to prove the same thing; for Abraham and David were the two that a Jew would recognize as indisputable authority. " David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying" (quoting Psa. 32), Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." (vv. 6-8) Here it is not a question of works, or of having any righteousness of our own; on the contrary, it supposes a man to be a sinner, and to have no righteousness of his own, and God forgives him on the ground of pure grace, and although the sin is there, does not impute it. Blessed is that man! We see a beautiful illustration of this in Num. 23:2121He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. (Numbers 23:21). Israel was indeed a sinful people, murmuring and rebellious; as Moses said, "Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you." (Deut. 9: 24) Sin was unmistakably there, and yet when the enemy sought to curse them, what was Balaam forced to say? "He [God] hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel." The iniquity was there; but God, said, " I do not behold it." The perverseness was apparent; but God said, " I do not see it." We know on what ground God could say that of Israel, and does say. it of us-the blood, of the Lamb.
We are all sinners by nature, " and in many things we offend all,;" but. God does not impute sin to those who believe in Jesus. This is the only thing that can give us confidence in the presence of God, the knowledge that whatever sin there may be, God will not impute it to us, if we are true believers on His Son. This is indeed blessedness that David describes. But, to renew the thread, of our subject, "cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness." (v. 9) Is this blessedness spoken of (i.e. justification by faith) only for the Jew, or is it for the Gentile as well? for the point we are considering is, that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. Circumcision was the characteristic sign of being a Jew, the token of God's covenant with His earthly people Israel. (Gen. 17:1010This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. (Genesis 17:10)) But when was Abraham reckoned righteous? Before he was circumcised at all, thus showing that the righteousness by faith was not to be confined to God's earthly people Israel alone, but to all who believe, although they are not circumcised. (vv. 10, 11) This would be an unanswerable argument to a Jew, who gloried in circumcision as the distinguishing mark of God's earthly people; that when Abraham was reckoned righteous, he was uncircumcised. And " he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed to them also." (v. 11)
Abraham was reckoned righteous by faith before he was circumcised, so that circumcision has nothing to do with it; therefore he is the father of all them that believe; i.e. he is the first example; the head of the family, so to speak, of those that are justified upon the same principle; by faith -as in Gal. 3:77Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7), "They which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham:" He is also " the father of circumcision " to those " who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised." Here circumcision, is the true spiritual circumcision, not "that which is outward in the flesh," but real separation to God; and Abraham was the first pattern of this. That is the meaning of the expression, "Father of circumcision," in verse 12. F. K.