Chapter 4 is a vital link chapter which introduces the main ideas of the book of Romans. Abraham (Romans 4:1-5) and David (Romans 4:6-8) illustrates the truth that salvation is not by works. All man can do is believe the humanly impossible but divinely credible miracle of grace (Romans 4:16-25).
Chapter 5 shows us that we need to be pardoned by God and indeed, God is willing to offer this pardon that we need. We have all sinned in Adam but through Christ Jesus, man has been justified. Learning about the Law makes one aware of sin and faith upholds the Law. Just take a look at Adam. He didn’t do anything on his own that he could boast about.
Even before God gave him instructions about circumcision to certify the gift of righteousness by faith, God approached Adam, a sinner, promising that he would be the father of many nations. “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3).
Against all hopes, Abraham believed and hence he became the father of many nations. (Romans 4:18a). Past the age of being able to have children, Abraham and Sarah had their only child. God made Sarah able to have a child when she was unable to. Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully assured that God had the power to do what God has indeed promised Abraham that He would do (Roman 4:20-21).
This relationship between God and Abraham is also available for us who believe in Him who resurrected Jesus after Jesus died for our sins. There is justification through faith, and this justification brings peace with God. Just as Abraham has believed, we must also believe that “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not though they were” (Romans 4:17b).
Just as Adam’s disobedience led to the condemnation of many, Christ’s obedience led to the justification of many. Christ’s death was God’s plan for gifting faith and righteousness, and reconciling us back to Him. Christ’s death offers a reversal of the Adam’s process of death to all. Sin was in the world before the Law, but isn’t taken into account until there is a Law, which is added so that trespasses are documented. Sin increases from there, but so does God’s grace which reigns through righteousness whereas sin reigned in death.
All of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death. This means that we are buried with him through baptism into death, just as Christ has risen from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:3-4).
In Chapter 5, Christ is crucified for us. In Chapter 6 we are crucified with him (Romans 6:6). The same power which raised Christ from the dead is at work in us to make our deliverance from sin possible (Romans 6:4). When we are baptised in water, and like Jesus, we go down, buried, and back up, resurrected. The old life is finished, dead and a new life begins. When Jesus was on Earth, only a limited number of people could hear, see and touch him. But now our Heavenly Father has made it possible for us to consider ourselves “dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus”. Our evidence for this is faith. Our invitation is to consciously offer ourselves and the members of our body to God daily for His use. We are no longer obligated to offer ourselves to sin – we aren’t under the Law but under grace. But that doesn’t mean we are free to keep on sinning. This means we are free to follow God into righteousness, holiness and eternal life.
But this deliverance seems to involve conflict as well. Paul shares his own experience of the struggle (Romans 7:14-25). There is a battle going on inside of us – “In my inner being, I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body” (7:22-23). And thank God, this is exactly what Jesus Christ has rescued us from.
What are your thoughts after reading these chapters? Consider these points:
• Recognise that we have died to sin. There is no reason for us to sin any longer. When we are baptised into Jesus, we went under, buried our old selves, and rise up again, being resurrected into a new life.
• Recognise that our old selves were crucified with him so that our old body of sin could be done away with. This is Christ’s solution to our sin. We can stop being a slave to sin and quit doing the things we now know we shouldn’t be doing. Anyone who has died and risen again with Christ has been freed from sin. Through believing in Christ’s death and resurrection, we have died and come back to life.
