BIBLE STUDY MANUALS: ABRAHAM'S SALVATION, HOW WAS HE SAVED

ABRAHAM'S SALVATION DEFINED

I) GOD PROMISES THAT ABRAM WILL BE FATHER OF A GREAT NATION LEADING TO BLESSINGS TO ABRAM & ALL PEOPLE THROUGH ABRAM

A) [Gen 12:1-7]:

(v. 1) '''The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave you country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.'

(v. 2) 'I [God] will make you [Abram] into a great nation and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

[Notice that the LORD does not say 'I will make you ruler over a great nation, but "I will make you into a great nation." For an individual to be made into a great nation he must have a great number of physical descendants and be alive to see that]

(v. 3) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'

[Notice that the LORD told Abram (Abraham) to leave his country and go to the land He will show him. He promised Abram that He would make him into a great nation which implies that Abraham will be physically alive and have a nation of physical descendants. The LORD also promised that Abraham will be blessed, that He would make his name great, that Abraham would be a blessing [to others], that whoever curses him will be cursed by the LORD, and that all peoples on earth will be blessed through him. The extent of this universal blessing to all mankind is not stipulated, but the implication of all the promises, adds up to Abraham having a rulership on the earth in the future. Since God's promise to Abraham to make him into a great nation and to be a blessing was a promise which was not fulfilled in Abraham's physical lifetime. It could only be fulfilled in the future if Abraham is resurrected and permitted into the kingdom of God living eternally so as to continue to experience seeing his uncountable offspring and actually be a ruler and a blessing to people of all nations]:

(v. 4) So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

(v. 5) He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

(v. 6) Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

(v. 7) The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your seed I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.'''

Notice that an eternal possession of the land is implied as well as an eternal existence by Abraham to make the possession to make the possession of godly value.

1) THE SEED IS CHRIST

"To your Seed I will give this land." =

Paul further defines the meaning of the word "Seed" in Gen 12:7, 13:15 & 24:7 as Jesus Christ Himself:

a) [Gal 3:16]:

"The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his Seed. The Scripture does not say 'and to seeds,' meaning many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one person, who is Christ."

2) GOD PROMISES ETERNAL LIFE TO ABRAM

(Gen 12:3) "and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." =

God is promising Abram that even after he dies, all peoples - all nations - from now on will be blessed "through" him. This is saying that through Abram's procreation - which he had not had one child born to him yet - the nations of the world will be forever blessed. Abram understood this as the ultimate blessing - eternal life in the kingdom of God through his seed, a Savior, (Who is Jesus Christ):

a) [Compare John 8:56]:

[Jesus said]:"Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day; he saw it and was glad."

Abram could not be a blessing to the nations of the world unless God was going to bring a Savior from Abram's line to provide for the sins of the world, so when Abram followed God's instructions indicated in Gen 12:1 by leaving his home, his business, the highly developed civilization in Ur and even his people including his family and set out to an unknown, wilderness land, [remember that Abraham was a wealthy man, (v 5)], this was tantamount to expressing his faith in God's promises of future blessing for himself and the nations of the world through a coming Savior. Therefore, Abram's believing in God's promises of the future would include his personal salvation. Abram would be justified, i.e., become a born again man upon his trusting in God's provision of a future Savior through his line which Scripture records occurred later on when God reiterated His promise to Abram in Gen 15:1-6.

At that time Abram would trust in God's promises, which is tantamount to trusting in God's promise of the blessing of salvation through a coming Man, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. God then would credit Abraham with His divine righteousness unto eternal life. For God promised that Abraham would find that the number of his offspring would be beyond counting and only through Abraham's seeing the kingdom of God, i.e., having eternal life, could God fulfill this promise to bless Abram by seeing his countless offspring in the kingdom.

II) GOD REPEATS HIS PROMISE TO ABRAM

A) [Compare Gen 13:14-15]:

(v. 14) "And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, 'Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

(v. 15) for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your Seed [Jesus Christ, (Gal 3:16)] forever."

III) ABRAM BELIEVES IN GOD'S PROMISE AND GOD CREDITS IT TO ABRAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTO ETERNAL LIFE

A) [Compare Gen 15:1-6]:

1) [Gen 15:1]:

(v. 15:1 NIV) "After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, [making] your very great reward'

(v. 15:2 NKJV) But Abram said, 'LORD GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?

(v. 15:3 NKJV) Then Abram said, 'Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!' "

a) BY THE GRACE OF THE LORD, ABRAM HAD:

WON THE BATTLE AGAINST CHEDALAOMER AND HIS ALLIES,

RESCUED HIS NEPHEW LOT FROM CAPTIVITY,

RECEIVED THE BLESSING AND REVELATION OF KING / PRIEST MELCHIZADEK AN INCARNATE APPEARANCE OF THE LORD,

GIVEN A TENTH OF ALL HE HAD TO MELCHIZADEK AND

TAKEN AN OATH TO THE LORD TO REFUSE ANY SPOILS OF WAR FROM THE KING OF SODOM;

WHEREUPON THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO ABRAM IN A VISION SAYING, 'DO NOT FEAR, ABRAM, I AM A SHIELD TO YOU MAKING VERY GREAT YOUR REWARD'

(v. 12:2 NAS) "[The LORD said to Abram] And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing. (v. 15:1 NIV) After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: 'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, [making] your very great reward' (v. 15:2 NKJV) But Abram said, 'LORD GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? (v. 15:3 NKJV) Then Abram said, 'Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!' " =

(v. 15:1 Hebrew) "'acher haddevarîm hA'elleh .hAyâh .dhevar-yehwAh

............................."after ..the matters the these it was ..the word of Yahweh

'el-'avrAm bammachzeh .lE'mOr 'al-tîrA .......'avrAm ..'AnOkhî

to Abram ..in the vision ..saying ..do not fear .Abram ..I

mAghEn lakh ....sekhArekhA .harbEh ...........meOdh"

shield .....to you .your reward .making great .very"

Note that the Hebrew word "harbEh" literally rendered "making great" is in the hiphil stem conveying causative action on the part of the subject, "Yahweh". So the LORD by being Protector to Abram will cause Abram to receive an exceedingly great reward.

By the grace of the LORD, Abram had:

won the battle against Chedalaomer and his allies,

rescued his nephew Lot from captivity,

received the blessing and revelation of the LORD's hand in it all by King / Priest Melchizadek an incarnate appearance of the LORD,

given a tenth of all he had to Melchizadek, and

taken an oath to the LORD to refuse any spoils of war from the king of Sodom ;

whereupon the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision saying, 'Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you making very great your reward."

The LORD emphasized that Abram should not fear what will happen to him by way of encouraging Abram that He is his Protector, a Shield to Abram; and out of the LORD's persistence, reliability and capacity to fulfill what He has promised, Abram will receive an exceedingly great reward - beginning with possession of the promised land, which the LORD had been promising Abram since he left Ur.

The continued references to the LORD from Gen 12:1 on, corroborate that the phrase "God Most High" spoken of by Melchizadek in Gen 14:19 refers to the LORD, the God of Abram and not to a Canaanite god as some maintain.

2) IN SPITE OF THE LORD'S PERSISTENT ASSURANCE, SUPERNATURAL ENABLEMENT AND PROTECTION, ABRAM CONTINUED TO LACK FAITH IN THE PROMISES OF THE LORD

(v. 15:1 NIV) "After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: 'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward' (v. 15:2 NKJV) But Abram said, 'LORD GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? (v. 15:3 NKJV) Then Abram said, 'Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!' " =

Heretofore the LORD had repeatedly communicated His promises to Abram accompanied with protection and supernatural intervention to secure those promises and thus assure Abram of fulfillment. In Gen 15:1, once again, the LORD referred to what He had promised and His capacity and intent to fulfull that promise unilaterally. This time the LORD conveyed his message to Abram in a vision. But in spite of repeated experiences with the LORD's supernatural enablement and protection, the altars Abram built at which he worshipped the LORD, Abram's oath of allegiance to the LORD, the tithe Abram paid to Melchizadek - Priest of God Most High, and now a vision of encouragement from the LORD; Abram continued to lack faith in the LORD. This time Abram posed an agitated question to the LORD, he asked, "LORD GOD, what will You give me seeing I go childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus." On the one hand, Abram began acknowledging the LORD GOD and displayed an understanding that the promises of the LORD were dependent upon having many descendants, (cf. Gen 13:15). Since Abram had no descendants at the time, Abram remarked that the closest thing to a descendant he had was not a son but a member of his household, a servant named Eliezer from Damascus. After this, Abram repeated himself with agitation bordering upon disrespect: "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" as if the LORD had not taken notice. The Hebrew words "hEn" and "wehinnEh" rendered "Look" and "indeed" respectively in the NKJV emphasize Abram's agitation.

B) Gen 15:4-9]:

(v. 4 NKJV) "And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 'This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.'

(v. 5 NKJV) Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants [lit. seed] be.'

(v. 6 NKJV) And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

(v. 7 NAS) And He said to him, 'I am the LORD Who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.'

(v. 8 NAS) He said, 'O LORD GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?'

(v. 9 NAS) So He said to him, 'Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.'

1) ELIEZER WOULD NOT BE ABRAM'S HEIR, A PHYSICAL DESCENDANT WOULD BE. JUST AS THE NIGHT SKY HAS COUNTLESS NUMBERS OF STARS SO SHALL ABRAM'S PHYSICAL DESCENDANTS BE IMPLYING ETERNAL LIFE FOR ABRAM

(v. 4 NKJV) "And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 'This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.' (v. 5 NKJV) Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants [lit. seed] be.' =

The LORD's gracious response to Abram's agitated question, (v. 15:3 NKJV) "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!", absolutely clarifies that Eliezer would not be Abram's heir. Furthermore, the heir was to come from Abram's seed, i.e., his body - a physical descendant. The LORD brought Abram outside into the night to view the countless number of stars to illustrate and expand upon this promise, and declared, 'So shall [the number] of your physical descendants be.' This clearly implies that Abram had been promised eternal life in order for him to have innumerable descendants as a reward to be enjoyed in his experience - otherwise it would not be much of a reward.

So God presented a picture to Abraham to affirm His promise of an actual physical heir who was to come through the loins of Abraham, (Gen 15:4). This picture was 'painted' by God across the star studded night time heavens. An uncountable number of stars were visible to Abraham. God promised that just as the universe contained such an innumerable number of stars, so would be numbered the descendants of Abraham. This picture gave to Abraham the concept of him seeing countless numbers of descendants - a picture of his having eternal life in order for this to be possible. And so, Abraham was promised by God to have an innumerable number of descendants evidently over an indefinitely long lifetime, i.e., eternal life.

2) ABRAM BEGAN BELIEVING IN GOD'S PROMISE OF INNUMERABLE DESCENDANTS RELATIVE TO THE PROMISE OF INHERITING THE LAND IN THE TIME FRAME OF GENESIS 15:4-6 AT WHICH TIME GOD ACCOUNTED IT TO ABRAM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTO ETERNAL LIFE

(Gen 15:6 Hebrew) "wehE'emin .........bayhawAh

.................................."and he believed .in Yahweh

wayyachshevehA ............................lô ........................tsedhAqAh"

and He [the LORD] considered it to him [Abram] .righteousness"

The Hebrew word "wehE'emin" rendered "and he [Abram] believed" in verse 15:6 in the NKJV is in the Hiphil stem in the perfect tense portraying a simple completed action by Abram as an immediate response to the LORD's words in the previous verse: "Then He [the LORD] brought him [Abram] outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He [the LORD] said to him [Abram], 'So shall your descendants [lit. seed] be."

Although the perfect tense of the Hebrew verb "wehE'emin" can depict a past perfect action which points to a completed action begun in the 'past past' which would then portray action begun before the present action of Gen 15:6 so as to portray Abram believing beginning at the time when the LORD first began presenting His promises to Abram in Gen 12:2; the context of Gen 15:6 does not include any connected 'past past' activity. It is limited to the moment when God presented a view of countless stars and declaring "so shall your descendants be," whereupon Abram responded at that time by believing. Heretofore, Abram was not depicted as having believed in the promise of the LORD to inherit the Promised Land and have innumerable physical descendants to the extent that he would have been declared righteous by the LORD unto eternal life.

So when Abram began believing in God's promise of innumerable descendants relative to the promises he had been making to Abram since Ur - it was in the time frame of Gen 15:4-6, whereupon God acounted it to Abraham for righteousness unto eternal life, i.e., the perfect righteousness of God. Note that if Abram had believed in God's promise of eternal life beforehand then he would have been accounted for righteousness by God at that time and it would have been so noted in Scripture. So Abraham was credited with God's perfect righteousness in conjunction with God's promise to Abraham and innumerable descendants of receiving the promised land forever which God's righteousness is evidently required in order to have eternal life in order to inherit the promised land forever. Note that it was received by a moment of faith alone in the LORD's promise alone. This cannot be misconstrued to mean that Abraham was expected to do anything in order to be perfectly righteous in his lifestyle in order to receive eternal life from God. There is no stipulation to that effect in the passage.

So Gen 15:5-6 is not just a picture of Abraham's countless descendants living long after he died with him having gone into the Lake of Fire. There would be no purpose if Abraham would never see them in person, i.e., have eternal life and instead be condemned to the Lake of Fire? So this indeed was a picture of God's promise to Abraham of eternal life - eternal life with countless descendants over an eternity of time.

IV) JESUS CHRIST, THE APOSTLES JOHN AND PAUL AND THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK OF HEBREWS CONFIRM THAT ABRAM WAS SAVED BY FAITH ALONE IN THE SEED, JESUS CHRIST ALONE

A) [Jn 8:56]:

(v. 56) [Jesus said to the Jews]" 'Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day; he saw it and was glad.' "

[Our Lord is saying here that during Abraham's lifetime on earth he rejoiced at the thought of seeing the glory of the Messiah Jesus Christ's triumph over sin - demonstrating that he, Abraham, truly was born again]

[Everett F. Harrison states, (Expositor's Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Vol. 10, 1976, p. 48)]:

"The nature of Abraham's faith was essentially the same as that of the NT believer despite the difference in time. (Abraham looked forward to something God would do, whereas the Christian looks back to what God has provided, in Christ). Can we go further and say that the object of faith is the same, implicit in the promise to Abraham, explicit in the gospel? It does seem that we are warranted in concluding that Abraham trusted in a promise that pointed to Christ (John 8:56; Gal 3:16)..."

B) [Ro 4:1-3]:

(v. 1) "What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?

["this matter" = The matter of how to be justified unto eternal life, i.e., saved. Cp Ro 3:21-31]

(v. 2) If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about - but not before God.

(v. 3) What does the Scripture say?

[And here Paul quotes Gen 15:6]:

'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.'

[Dr John Danish states, (Audio Tape #77 Ro-38 side 2)]:

"...For the Jews, Abraham was the great dividing point of all human history......

Before Abraham there was this stream of humanity and it was all Gentiles. With Abraham, the stream of humanity of Gentiles continued, but God brought off a side stream which today we know as Jews......

Abraham was the turning point of all history....in terms of the fact that God said, 'Now I am going to set in motion a program which is going to bring My authority into operation on this earth. It's going to be recognized and....welcomed. And I'm going to do it through the Jewish people..........

The new stream of humanity known as the Jews [was brought by God] for the explicit purpose of bringing the authority of God on this earth to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth to replace the kingdom of man, in other words, to have human viewpoint replaced by divine viewpoint.

Now this plan of God for establishing His kingdom authority on the earth was presented as a promise to Abraham to become heir of the world. This promise, or this covenant, with Abraham included a Savior for eternal life. This was involved in the promise to Abraham that he would be a blessing to all nations. In Galatians chapter 3 verse 8, Paul explains that to us when he says, "And the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham saying, 'In thee shall all nations be blessed.' "

So here you have this phrase, " 'In thee shall all nations be blessed.' " specifically identified by Paul here in Galatians as being an expression relative to the gospel. While all nations were going to be blessed in Abraham, God meant, 'I'm going to send you a Savior that will resolve the sin problems so that people can have absolute righteousness in order to enter heaven.' So Abraham indeed was given the gospel. Abraham was told how to be born again. And he believed the promise that God gave him, he was born again.......

.....consequently Abraham was justified simply by faith apart from works.

C) [Heb 11:17-19]:

(v. 17) '''By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,

(v. 18) even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."

(v. 19) Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.'''

[Danish, cont.]:

"Hebrews 11:19 indicates that Abraham understood and believed in resurrection after death; and he believed in the gospel of salvation, (Gen 15:6). Abraham believed that God would resurrect him so that he would see his posterity of millions, (Gen 12:1-3; 15:4-6; Heb 11:8-19). This is the justification that God "accounted" to Abraham as "righteousness" unto eternal life, (Gen 15:5).

The Apostle Paul comments on God's covenant with Abraham relative to it including the gospel of salvation unto eternal life for Abraham and all individuals who exercise faith in God's plan:

D) [Gal 3:6-8, 13-16]:

(v. 6) "Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to Him as righteousness.

(v. 7) Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith that are sons of Abraham.

[i.e., the Covenant blessing of eternal life is one which is available by faith alone for all mankind: Jew and Gentile alike. Those who have trusted alone in Christ alone are sons of Abraham - not in a physical sense so as to receive Covenant blessings meant for physical descendants but in a spiritual sense so as to receive the blessing of eternal eternal life - whether Jew or Gentile]

(v. 8) And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'All the nations shall be blessed in you.' "

[Notice that Paul indicates that God's Covenant with Abraham is in essence the gospel of salvation unto eternal life for all mankind. And the central Figure of that plan of salvation is the Seed, singular, of Abraham: the Messiah Savior, Jesus Christ, Himself]:

(v. 13) "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us - for it is written, 'Cursed is every one who hangs on a tree' (Dt 21:23)

(v. 14) in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith...

["so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith".= so that Gentiles too might receive the "the promise of the Spirit", i.e., eternal life and the consequent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit, (Eph 1:13-14), "through faith".. So one of the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant is made available to all mankind, Jews and Gentiles alike: eternal life. And continuing in Galatians chapter 3]:

(v. 16) "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, 'and to seeds,' as referring to many, but rather to one, 'and to your Seed,' that is, Christ."

[So the promise of eternal life which was granted to Abraham as a result of his faith in what God promised through the seed of Abraham would be demonstrated by innumerable descendants through the Seed of Abraham - Who is Christ the Savior Himself.

1) [Compare Isa 9:6-7]:

(v. 6) "For to us a Child is born,

to us a Son is given,

and the government will be on His shoulders.

And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

(v. 7) Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.

He will reign on david's throne

and over His kingdom,

[Note: A throne and a kingdom of the physical seed of David who is a descendant of Abraham]

establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

E) [Compare Ro 4:3-8]:

(v. 3) "For what does the Scripture say? 'And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to Him as righteousness.'

(v. 4) Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor but as what is due.

(v. 5) But to the one who does not work, [for salvation unto eternal life] but believes in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness."

"his wage is not reckoned as a favor" = The word "favor" = "charin" in Ro 4:4 is exactly the same word which is rendered "grace" in Eph 2:8-9 which clearly defines this "charin" as a gift which is not in any way related to what a man does:

1) [Eph 2:8-9]:

(v. 8) "For by grace ["charin"] you have been saved through faith; and that [salvation is] not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

(v. 9) not as a result of works, that no one can boast."

So salvation is solely on the basis of God's grace, His unmerited, i.e., His undeserved favor.

E cont.) [Ro 4:3-8 cont.]:

(v. 3) "For what does the Scripture say? 'And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to Him as righteousness.'

(v. 4) Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor but as what is due.

(v. 5) But to the one who does not work, [for salvation unto eternal life] but believes in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness."

"Now to the one who works [for salvation], his wage is not reckoned as a favor but as what is due." = Now to the one who works to achieve his own salvation, what he receives is not accounted to him as a free gift but as a payment due for his efforts. For salvation is either all of God - all free grace - or it is all by human effort - all by works. Grace and works, therefore, are mutually exclusive.

Verse four establishes God's sovereign inviolable principle: that a benefit cannot be received both, (i.e., partially), as a gift and a wage. It must be received completely as a gift, otherwise completely as wages due.

1) [Compare Ro 11:6]:

"But if [salvation, (v. 5)] is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."

Sad to say that whatever attempts are made toward earning or 'maintaining' one's salvation will be futile attempts because such efforts are inevitably motivated by one's contaminating sin nature which permeates the unbeliever's entire being. Since God cannot pay an individual anything for contaminated deeds, every attempt to please God relative to salvation will fail: Paul has already established this previously in his letter to the Romans:

2) [Ro 3:9-12]:

(v. 9) "What then? Are we [religious Jews, (3:1)] better than they? [the rest of the world, (v. 6)] Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; [i.e., totally depraved and unable to contribute anything toward salvation]

(v. 10) as it is written [in Old Testament Scripture: Ps 14:1-3; 53:1-4]: 'There is none righteous, not even one;

(v. 11) There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God;

(v. 12) all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.' "

So in view of this, if everything a man does to gain favor with God toward one's salvation is viewed by God as filthy rags, (Isa 64:6) - as sin, then instead of accepting eternal life as a free gift the individual must be paid his wages due for his efforts: eternal death in the Lake of Fire.

3) [Compare Ro 6:23]:

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

E cont.) [Ro 4:3-8 cont.]:

(v. 3) "For what does the Scripture say? 'And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to Him as righteousness.'

(v. 4) Now to the one who does not work, [for salvation] his wage is not reckoned as a favor but as what is due.

(v. 5) But to the one who does not work [for salvation] but believes in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness."

"But to the one who does not work" = 'But to the one who does not work for salvation' = The subject of this passage is how to receive salvation unto eternal life.

"But to the one who does not work [for salvation unto eternal life] but believes in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness." = Paul now moves from the one who sadly attempts to earn his way into heaven with failed results to the one who does nothing of that sort at all, but instead relies on God to do it all, i.e., exercises his faith alone in Christ alone unto eternal life with the result of being declared righteous enough to go to heaven.

The word "ungodly" = "asebe" = the irreligious, impious. "Ungodly" is a key word which points out that God's salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ alone extends throughout all of humanity even to the worst element - the irreligious, impious, and ungodly individuals - those who continually perform willful acts of transgression against God.

E cont.) [Ro 4:3-8 cont.]:

(v. 6) "Just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:

(v. 7) 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered.

(v. 8) Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account."

(v. 6) "Just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:" = Paul continues on the same theme with David as he did with Abraham: justification unto eternal life by faith alone - apart from works. This is especially signified by the phrase "Just as" = kathaper" = 'In the same way.'

After Abraham comes David in the esteem of the Jewish people, (Mk 11:10). And recall that David was in the royal line of the Messiah Jesus Christ - the Savior of the world, (Mt 1:1; Jer 23:5-6; II Sam 7:12-16).

Furthermore, David was an individual who lived in Old Testament times under the universally respected Mosaic Law with its circumcision, rituals and numerous statutes governing the conduct of human behavior - a rule of life. And most Jews falsely believed that they could somehow properly observe the Law and thereby receive eternal life. Many even held to the belief that the only way to heaven was through observance of the Law's statutes, not the least of which was to be circumcised as a Jew. So Paul investigates in his letter to the Romans how such a man as King David was saved unto eternal life. Keep in mind that nearest to the heart of Paul is the salvation of his people, (Ro 10:1). But more than that, Paul is not only establishing the means by which a Jew is to be justified, he is at the same time establishing how Gentiles are also to be saved, (vv. 10-12).

So Paul, offers another example of a man being justified by the grace of God through faith apart from works - a man who lived under the Law of Moses with its circumcision and all the other statutes. He refers to the content of David's Psalm (#32) about how David, a believer, received forgiveness and cancellation of the death penalty for his transgressions = willful and deliberate sins of murder and adultery - acts for which the Law of Moses had no provision for except death by being stoned, (Lev 20:10; Num 35:12-31). And not only that, David expounds on the fact that all of his sins and even his very nature, his "sin", i.e., his sin nature which continues to produce acts of sin will not be taken into account. For this there is no provision in the Mosaic Law or any code of behavior either - without penalty. The only way such an accounting could occur is by faith in the once for all time sacrifice for sins of the Messiah/Savior Jesus Christ.

4) [Compare David's words from Ps 32:1-5]:

(v. 1) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered!

(v. 2) How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit there is no deceit!"

[David was including himself in the category of receiving such eternal and temporal blessings, (v. 5). He wrote this Psalm just after he had been forgiven by God of the sins of murder and adultery, (refs 2 Sam 11ff; 12:13), as the next few verses indicate]:

4 cont.) [Ps 32:1-5 cont.]:

(v. 3) "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away

Through my groaning all day long.

(v. 4) For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was drained away as with the fever-heat of summer.

(v. 5) I acknowledged my sin to Thee,

And my iniquity I did not hide;

I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD' ''

And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin." (Compare Ps 51).

E cont.) Ro 4:3-8 cont.]:

(v. 6) "Just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:

(v. 7) 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered.

(v. 8) Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account."

(Ro 4:7a) "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven.=

"lawless deeds" = "Anomiai" = deliberate and willful violations of a law, i.e., of a code of conduct; transgressions.

"forgiven" = "aphethesan" = lit., sent away, i.e., removed. This connotes the blessings received as a result of God's complete removal from His reckoning against an individual of ALL of his deliberate and willful acts which violate God's code of behavior. The picture here is of God not remembering such deliberately lawless deeds. This cannot be accomplished without a sacrifice being made - a penalty being paid. But there was no provision within the Mosaic Law or any code of behavior that provided forgiveness for such heinous acts as murder and adultery. Yet David has received forgiveness for such as stipulated from God through the prophet Nathan:

5) [2 Sam 12:13-14]:

(v. 13) "Then David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.' And Nathan said to David, 'The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not [physically] die [i.e., be executed - via two counts of capital punishment, (Lev 20:10; Num 35:12-31)]

There was only one way for David to receive forgiveness for these heinous transgressions: if Someone Else, (Jesus Christ), would provide a covering for them so that God would not forgive such transgressions without a penalty being paid and thus impugn His own integrity by winking at such sins - permitting them to go unpunished while sending others to the Lake of Fire who sinned even less. And in the rest of verse 7 this is indicated:

a) [Ro 4:7b]:

"and whose sins have been covered" =

"SINS" = plural, "HAMARTIAI" = a missing of the mark of God's standard of righteousness relative to an individual's thoughts, words and deeds. In the context of this passage in Romans chapter 4, it refers to all thoughts, words and deeds that fall short of God's absolute holiness and righteousness - willful and unintentional.

"covered" = "Epekaluphthesan" = lit., to be covered over; accounted for in the sense of being forgiven. In the Mosaic Law sacrificial system, there was a temporary - yearly - covering for sins, (Heb 10:1-4), but never a permanent one. And a permanent condition of forgiveness is what is indicated in Ro 4:6-8, resulting in eternal life. Only through faith in a once for all time sacrifice can lawless deeds be forgiven, sins completely covered and the sin nature never taken into account. And this condition of forgiveness of sins and eternal life is what God bestowed upon David and which David is speaking of in Psalm 32.

E cont.) Ro 4:3-8 cont.]:

(v. 6) "Just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:

(v. 7) 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered.

(v. 8) Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.

6) [Compare Heb 10:4, 10-13, 17-18]:

(v. 4) "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

(v. 10) By this [i.e., the will of God to sacrifice His Son, v. 9)] will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

(v. 11) And every [Levitical] priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;

(v. 12) but He, [Jesus Christ] having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.

(v. 13) For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

(v. 17) 'And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.'

(v. 18) Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin."

7) [Compare 1 Jn 2:2]:

"And He Himself [Jesus Christ, (v. 1)] is the propitiation [the mercy seat: the satisfaction - the satisfactory sacrifice] for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."

8) [Compare Acts 10:43]:

"Of Him [Jesus Christ, (v. 36)] all the prophets [i.e., Old Testament Scriptures] bear witness that through His name every one who believes in Him has received forgiveness of sins."

E cont.) [Ro 4:3-8 cont.]:

(v. 6) "Just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:

(v. 7) 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered.

(v. 8) Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account."

(Ro 4:8) "Blessed is the man whose sin [Sin, singular = Sin nature] the LORD will not take into account" =

"sin" = singular = sin nature = Paul calls this inherant evil nature which permeates every part of an individual and produces acts of sin the "old self", (Ro 6:6; 7:14-25), or the old sin nature.

"will not take into account" =

"ou me logis etai" = Absolutely will not put to the account of. An accounting term which when used here is a picture of an offense not even being written down onto an accounting sheet.

"not" = "ou me" = The word "not" in the Greek Bible is the strong double negative which signifies an emphatic "absolutely not" = God will "absolutely not" take an individual's depraved nature, his old sin nature which produces nothing but sinfully motivated actions into account. Thus, any future wrongful acts coming out of that sin nature could not be taken into account either.

The critical point that Paul is emphasizing in verses 6-8 of Romans chapter 4 is that, as a result of an individual like David's faith in God's plan of eternal life apart from works - just like Abraham - there was a blessedness that was received:

that of the individual's lawless deeds being removed from God's memory,

that of all of his acts of sin, past, present and future being covered,

and that of his sin nature - his inherant capacity/nature to commit sins - being "absolutely not" taken into account. And the emphatic double negative indicates that David was covered, i.e., forgiven, to the extent that he was credited with the absolutely opposite condition: that of the absolute righteousness of God.

For if God declares that absolutely nothing wrong can be held against an individual, then the only other alternative is a declaration of the position of absolute righteousness. And this was arrived at Paul emphasizes "apart from works." - leaving the only other way: faith alone in God's plan alone. So in the case of Abraham, God's absolute righteousness unto eternal life was credited to him apart from works on the basis of faith. And in the case of David, since no good work was involved, but rather grievous sins instead; his transgressions, sins and sin nature were "absolutely not" held against him as a result of his faith in God's plan of salvation unto eternal life. This faith resulted in eternal life as indicated in Psalm 89 of God's eventually fulfilling His covenant with David of an everlasting throne:

9) [Ps 89:3-4]:

(v. 3) "You said, 'I have made a covenant with My chosen one,

I have sworn to David My servant,

(v. 4) I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.' "

Consider that God would never establish His ruling throne on earth "through all generations", i.e., eternity, through a man who was not saved but instead condemned to spend the rest of eternity in the Lake of Fire while his descendant Jesus Christ ruled an everlasting rule on earth on the throne of an unsaved man, (cp. Isa 9:6-7).

Furthermore, because of David's status of eternal life - of having all of his sins covered and accounted for, past, present and future by God's future sacrifice of His Son - the consequence of execution for his sins of adultery and murder, (2 Sam 11), could be and were canceled upon confession to God of those grievous offences, (2 Sam 12:13a). This also resulted in temporal, (daily), forgiveness of all of his unrighteousness up to that point and restoration of his fellowship with God, (2 Sam 12:13b; Pr 28:13; Ps 32:5). Recall, however, that there were grievous consequences of David's sins of adultery and murder from which David was NOT spared:

The sword never departed from David's house. He would always have war and bloodshed in his life, (2 Sam 12:10).

The baby born out of David's adultery was struck by God with a terminal illness and the child died, (2 Sam 12:14-20).

David's son, Amnon raped his sister Tamar, (2 Sam 13:1-22).

David's son, Absalom took revenge for raping his sister by murdering Amnon, (2 Sam 13:20-31).

Absalom organized a vicious revolt against his father David, attempting to usurp David's throne and kill David in the process. And he almost succeeded in both. He even fornicated with David's wives in public in order to shame his father. Absolom was killed in the end and David's grief became nearly unbearable, (2 Sam 12:11; 16:21-22; 15-18).

Just as with David, forgiveness, restoration of fellowship with God and possible cancellation of certain consequences of ones sins is available to believers of all ages:

Upon confession to God and God alone, a believer's sins will be forgiven relative to ones daily or temporal relationship with God. (The eternal relationship has already been settled for the believer: he is heavenbound).

Furthermore, temporal fellowship with God will be restored and certain consequences of ones sins may be canceled depending upon the sovereignty of God:

10) [Compare 1 Jn 1:9, 7]:

First of all comes the confession and temporal, (daily), forgiveness:

(v. 9) "If we [believers, v. 2:1] confess ["homolog omen" = acknowledge] our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us these sins [that we confessed] and [furthermore] to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And then what follows is restored temporal, (daily), fellowship with Almighty God:

(v. 7) "But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light,

[i.e., if we let the light of God's absolute holiness shine on our lives and expose our sins - i.e., acknowledge, (confess) them] we [God and the confessing believer] have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." (Cp. Ps 32:5; Pr 28:13).

Note that before restoration of temporal, (daily), fellowship with God is possible, one must have already appropriated what our Lord did for him on the cross through faith in Him alone just as David and Abraham did. Then "the blood of Jesus" will indeed cleanse him from all sin.