The First Jew
Part of Romans
August 25, 2024

Hebrews 3:27- 4:15

Introduction

Last week, we learned about justification, the act by which God moves a willing person from the state of sin (injustice) to the state of grace (justice). This gift of unrivaled love is given to those who receive it by faith, and faith is a choice. In this week’s passage Paul points to Abraham so that we can continue exploring what happens in a person when they put their faith in God. Abraham had listened to God and done many things God had asked Him to do. He had moved his family to a strange land when God told him to go. Yet, it would be years later that God would credit Abraham with righteousness. If Abraham had already listened to God’s instruction, what changed? It’s quite simple, really. Abraham believed in his heart. Righteousness can only be credited to us through faith. The Law comes after salvation, not before. Abraham did not become the first Jew because he was following God’s Law or because he was circumcised; neither existed then. He became the first Jew when he believed in God’s promises. We are credited with righteousness when we believe in Jesus, just like Abraham.

Unrighteous (Romans 3:27- 4:2)

• Paul tells us we should not boast in our own merit because we are saved by grace. The Law doesn’t save us. Our own discipline cannot save us.
• It isn’t that we are justified by faith plus whatever deeds of the law we can do. We are justified by faith alone, apart from the deeds of the law.
• It is a big mistake to think anyone deserves God’s patience because they have successfully kept the Law.
• The only law we should boast in is that God gives mercy to those who have faith (Ro.5:5).
• We must continuously establish in our thinking that people become pleasing to God because of faith, not because they earned it in His favor.
• We must transfer our faith from trusting ourselves to trusting in His mercy.
• Though God loves Israel and gave them special care and revelation, He also cares and loves Gentiles (Ro. 2:11).
• The Law perfectly accomplished what God wanted it to achieve: to reveal human sin so we could discover just how much we needed His mercy.
• There was never any point in which God expected His Law to save people.
• It is about this point in the passage that Paul directs our attention to Abraham. His purpose is to show us that there is only one way to be saved (Ro. 4:1).
• Abraham was essentially the first Jew.
• Abraham was raised in an idol-worshipping family (Josh 24:2) in “Ur of the Chaldean” (Ge. 11:27-31). He grew up in a very religious, pagan city located around 220 miles southeast of modern-day Baghdad, Iraq.
• In Genesis 12, God talks to Abraham. Abraham was 75 years old, and as far as we know, this was his first interaction with God.
• Abraham was an unrighteous man. He was a man who came from a family of idol worshippers (sinners). He was not circumcised, and he did not have the Law.
• Abraham had to come to God the same way we all do. He had to believe.

Credited as Righteous (Romans 4:3-5)

• Abraham is one of the many biblical accounts of people who chose to follow God.
• During the course of Abraham’s life, he became righteous. Paul points us to examine Abraham’s life in the book of Genesis, which records both his failures and successes. So, this tells us he wasn’t a perfect man.
• Even if someone wanted to say Abraham was perfect, Paul takes us to Genesis 15:6, which says, “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”
• This statement only makes sense if God saw Abraham as unrighteous until then.
• His response of faith made him righteous in God’s eyes, not his holy life.
• This was the moment Abraham was saved. We are saved by faith in Jesus. Abraham was saved by believing God’s promises (Ge 15:4-5).
• Abraham was a Gentile until faith arose in His heart.
• The law of circumcision was not given to him until after he was saved. Then, circumcision became a mark of someone who was a descendant of Abraham.
• We cannot earn our way to heaven. We must rely on the merciful character of God, and because of His great love, he is more than willing to declare those who put their faith in Him righteous.

A Circumcised Heart (Romans 4:6-15)

• Circumcision did not save Abraham, as we know that came later.
• The Law didn’t save Abraham.
• Abraham was saved through faith, just like us. It is a circumcision of the heart.
• Paul points us to another person in the bible, David.
• Paul quotes Psalms 32. Let’s read some of that now. (read Psalms 32:1-7 and then finish with Psalms 32:10-11).
• David opens the Psalm with, “Blessed is the man to whom God reckons righteousness without works.” David knew he was a sinner, and he knew God forgave him.
• David expresses gratitude that God considered him righteous because he repented and had faith, not because he earned it.
• Faith is the circumcision of the heart. It is the very thing we need to be saved. Abraham would wait 14 years after his salvation to become circumcised (Ge. 17:1-14).
• His physical circumcision was an outward expression of an inward work.
• The same should be true of us. By faith in Jesus, we are made righteous and works result from an inward work (Eph 2:8-10).
• Works are an outward sign of an inward work, just like Abraham.
• Abraham had a circumcised heart, and this is what made him the first Jew (Ro. 2:29).

Conclusion

Righteousness can only be credited to us through faith. The Law comes after salvation. It is the result of an inward work. From the moment we believe God’s promises (the work of Jesus), the Lord begins a new work inside each of us, and that inward work begins to show signs of new life in the way we live, the way we work, and the way we care for our important relationships. God promised Abraham that through him, God’s spiritual blessing would come to “all nations” (Ge.12:3;18:18; 22:18). We are part of that promise. God gives His promises to those who have faith, not those who simply know the Law or try to their hardest to obey it. We are credited with righteousness when we believe in Jesus, just like Abraham.

Discussion Questions

  1. When and how did you realize you were unrighteous?
  2. What does it mean to you to be credited as righteous?
  3. How has your life reflected the inward work of Jesus?