Friday, July 4 – Romans 4, 5

1. Why can works justify neither Abraham nor us? (Romans 4:2–5)

2. What is circumcision a sign of? (Romans 4:11)

3. How is Abraham the father of both Jews and Gentiles? (Romans 4:11, 12)

4. Why did we need a second Adam? (Romans 5:12–21)

The four Gospels describe Jesus’s life, ministry, and teachings. In this unique Epistle to the Romans, Paul helps us grasp the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Like a skilled attorney, Paul persuades his readers about who Jesus is. Undoubtedly, Romans is the most theological of Paul’s writings. All are guilty before God. The cardinal truth Paul proclaims is that justification comes only by faith in divine grace.

Paul illustrates this in Romans 4, using Abraham as the primary example. Although he was a Chaldean, God called him to bless all of humanity through himself. Verse 3 states,

“For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” (Romans 4:3 NIV)
Paul wants Jews and Gentiles to understand that we are justified by faith, not by works, as was Abraham. He explains,
“If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.” (Romans 4:2 NIV)

Here is the edited version with improved flow and clarity, while preserving your original meaning:

If justification were based on works, it would no longer be by grace, and God would owe us something. Quoting Psalm 32, Paul teaches that when God forgives the sinner through His mercy, the sinner cannot offer his works as a means of acceptance; those works hold no power to erase past sins. Once again, Paul emphasizes that Abraham was justified before his circumcision. Circumcision was merely a sign and seal of the righteousness he had received through faith.

Today, like Abraham, we are justified by faith. Later, the apostle notes that true circumcision is “a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code” (Romans 2:29 NIV). Just as circumcision didn’t justify a person, baptism does not justify; it is merely a sign and seal of faith and justification already received. Likewise, justification comes not through the law, but by the righteousness that comes through faith (Romans 3:21 NIV).

Romans 5 begins by listing nine results of justification by faith (vv. 1–9), which are blessings available to all, Jew and Gentile alike. Ellen G. White offers a balanced perspective:

“It is through grace that we are brought into fellowship with Christ, to be associated with Him in the work of salvation. Faith is the condition upon which God has seen fit to promise pardon to sinners; not that there is any virtue in faith whereby salvation is merited, but because faith can lay hold of the merits of Christ, the remedy provided for sin.” (Faith and Works, p. 100)

She also defines faith as: “Faith is not the ground of our salvation, but the great blessing; the eye that sees, the ear that hears, the feet that run, the hand that lays hold, faith is the means, not the end.” (Testimonies for the Church, 1980, p. 329)
In verses 12–21, Paul draws a striking comparison between the two Adams. The first Adam brought sin and its consequences to all his descendants. However, through the second Adam, Christ, we receive forgiveness, justification, and salvation. For everyone who believes in Jesus, the first death is merely a slumber. Praise God for the work of the Second Adam!

Hope shines in verse 20: “The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” (Romans 5:20 NIV)

Ellen G. White expresses this beautifully:

“Through Christ’s redeeming work the government of God stands justified. The Omnipotent One is made known as the God of love. Satan’s charges are refuted, and his character unveiled. Rebellion can never again arise. Sin can never again enter the universe. Through eternal ages all are secure from apostasy. By love’s self-sacrifice, the inhabitants of earth and heaven are bound to their Creator in bonds of indissoluble union…. In the place where sin abounded, God’s grace much more abounds. The earth itself, the very field that Satan claims as his, is to be not only ransomed but exalted. … Our little world, under the curse of sin the one dark blot in His glorious creation, will be honored above all other worlds in the universe of God.” (Desire of Ages, p. 26)

May God richly bless everyone today!