"Abraham believed God, kept his charge, and commandments."

Romans Chapter - 4.

Abraham believed God, kept his charge, & commandments.

I am a retired pastor of the Church of God (Tennessee).
My name is Isaac Livingston. I am from Neyyoor India.

Email: Pastor True Gospel

Preface

We have seen in chapter 3 that God considers Jews and Gentiles the same, and God is God of all. Both will be saved by and through faith in Jesus Christ for their eternal life and to inherit the kingdom of God. In chapter 4, we will see two points about Abraham and his blessings. (1) God visited Abraham before his circumcision and promised that he will bless him so that both from the circumcised and uncircumcised will inherit his blessings. (2) The blessing of Abraham came to him because he believed God and acted upon it even though both he and Sara were dead in the flesh.

Apostle Paul was a Pharisee before his conversion and he was proud of that, and he was very highly educated under the Jewish scholar Gamaliel. So, his writings were not simple and plain as other apostles, who were not educated as him, but Paul was logical and disputable in style. God uses his style, as stumbling stones for the hypocritical false preachers to fall. We see this through all his letters. Peter wrote about letters of Paul as "2 Peter 3:15 … even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." If we are not careful in studying the letters of Paul, we may be destroyed. So, take caution.

This chapter is about Abraham. Its root is in the old testament. If we do not know the root, the logic of Paul will derail us from proper understanding of the truth. So, let us see the root scripture first. Genesis 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, (please read up to verse 10) they are the promised blessings that are the covenant that God has made with Abraham. Verse 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. We may read to the end of the chapter for more details about circumcision. Please note a very important factor in the whole thing. God told Abraham to walk perfect before him, which is the most important function or work in the covenant. This is the foundation, without which nothing else will stand. Then God gave Abraham the circumcision as a token, or as a sign, to live a perfect life before God. So, in the blessing covenant, there are two parts: 1, to live perfect before God. And 2, take circumcision as a token. If Abraham or others did not live perfect according to God, and took the token of circumcision, then they are fake, and the covenant is broken. This is the key in the covenant, but nobody preach it.

Romans Chapter 4, verse by verse Study.

Romans 4:1&2. 1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. Justified means made just and declared righteous. Justified by works means, by walking perfect before God, but circumcision is just the token. Then, what did our Father Abraham seemed to achieve from his life as a man? If he lived a perfect life, he has substance to glory, yet before God he should humble himself. This is what the verses say. But false preachers teach ignorance, nonsense, and lies from these verses. They did not know how Abraham lived before God. In Genesis 26:5, God says, Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. Most of our preachers do not know that Abraham lived a perfect righteous life.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Here Abraham believed God and obeyed him perfectly, and it had counted him for righteousness. Here, apostle Paul’s writing is a stumbling stone to the false preachers, and they preach errors and nonsense and fall into the pit of hell. They suggest just to believe Jesus, but not to obey him. They are foolish demons; if you believe the Lord Jesus Christ, it is believing what he says, then you will do what he tells you to do; and this is believing him. If not, you are a fake and are of the devil.

Teaching of Grace and the token Circumcision.

God uses scripture for disobedient unrighteous preachers to stumble and fall. But if you are obedient, God will convert you to be holy and royal priesthood. “1 Peter 2: 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” God gives grace to the humble, and resist the ceremonial hypocrites.

Caution: Works are many kinds. Let us see the one God rejects and the one that God requires. God requires the obedient righteous works, and gives grace to them who strive for it, so that they may accomplish it. God rejects them who do the works of token in ceremonies, without doing the works of obedience. Beware of false preachers who confuses you between these two. Works of obedience are required to please God and for eternal life, and God has rejected ceremonial works with no life. In the time of Jesus as a man, scribes, priests, and Pharisees were rejected for ceremonial works, but not obeying God in life. Now, they are pastors, preachers and evangelists with high sounding rhetoric, and theologians, with no obedience to God.

“Romans 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” Please do not forget what grace is, so that you will not fall by the deception of false preachers. Grace is the power that God gives when we are week, having difficulty, staggering to do the righteousness of God in obedience; it is God’s power that lift you up. But, if you can obey without this grace, and by the Spirit of God, it is that you have done it by faith. Abraham laid Isaac on the alter by his faith, not by grace; but apostle Paul needed grace to overcome Satan as in 2 Corinthians 12:9. Abraham will receive reward; if we obey by our work, we will get reward. Grace is that God gives you power, and why should you get reward for receiving power? Please do not listen to the twists of false preachers, but be learners of the truth. God will reward you if you overcome by your work, by his guidance.

“5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Here work refers to ceremony as circumcision, and they are only signs, but not the righteousness of God. But if you do the work in life to make you righteous, it will be counted for a reward to you; you will be counted as a righteous person, you will inherit the kingdom of God, and you will escape hell and the lake of fire.

The one main difference between apostle Paul and other apostles is this: Paul was well educated on the doctrines of the scriptures, whereas the other apostles were ordinary men called by God. So, the writings of Paul are of high standard, it requires knowledge in the scriptures to understand them. Peter writes about Paul in 2 Peter 3:15&16, (the verse is above). It is difficult to understand Paul; and they are for false Christians to stumble.

"6-8. 6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works," That is, God blesses the non-Jew, who did not do the work of circumcision, for his righteous life. And it is understood that God condemns the Jew, who was circumcised, working all religious ceremonies, but was living an unrighteous life. "7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." If any person living a righteous life, of course by the grace of God, God will forgive his past sins, their sins will washed away by the blood of Jesus, as if the person had not ever sinned, and it is in last chapter. "Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;" God is the same in the old testament and in the new, and to Jews and to the Gentiles, since he is the creator of all. God forgive sins in the old and in the new equally, for eternal kingdom. But as Christians we think that we are special because Jesus is Christ.

"9&10. 9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision." Abraham was not in circumcision to begin with. At that time, his faith might have been founded by grace, but not by his perfect walk. Then God called him and told him to walk perfect that Abraham did, probably by the Spirit and power of God, and God found him perfect. At that point, the faith of Abraham was by his works, and he even laid his son Isaac on the alter. The point here is that Abraham was blessed even before circumcision, which was in the similitude that God is blessing all righteous people, who are living by his grace in the world.

"11 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 unto them also:" Abraham believed God, so, he obeyed God and became righteous. Circumcision, which is a sign, which is the name board, was given to him for being righteous. So, righteousness is the real thing, and circumcision is just a name board. Even before Abraham receive circumcision as a sign in the flesh, he had his righteousness in his Soul, which was his person. When Jews receive the sign, it was for their commitment to live a righteous life. But if they do not live a righteous life, then the sign is fake that is not real. God will look at the true real thing which is righteousness, in both Jews and non-Jews. People look at the sign in the flesh, which is not the real thing. The verse says, if anybody, Jew and Gentiles, or Christians and non-Christians, have righteousness, God will impute it unto them for their eternal life; but God will not impute circumcision, or the ceremonial baptism, or ceremonial anything, which are signs.

"12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised." So, what matters to God is our righteous life, but neither being a Jew, nor being a Gentile; that is neither being a Christian, nor being a Non-Christian. To show that Abraham is father to all righteous people, God called him before his circumcision.

"13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:" Here whether is it by law, which is the circumcision, which is the Mosaic law which binds the Jews to obey them, OR, by the obedience of faith that Abraham laid his son on the altar? The promise that the seed will rule the world in the millennium was neither by grace nor by the law of circumcision, tradition, or by just being decent, but it was to Abraham since he laid Isaac on the altar, it was righteousness, and it was by his Seed, Jesus Christ, since he laid himself on the cross.

"15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression." Even from the beginning of the world, God created Adam and Eve and gave them a command. No time man was and is without the law of God. The laws of God is given to everybody by good conscience. Those who do not obey them will face his wrath. Since Paul refers to the Jews in the teaching, he refers only the written law, which was the Mosaic laws.

"16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all," A note: both grace and faith are given by God, but both are not the same. Romans 1:17 says, "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." It mentions about two levels of faith, which we have seen in Abraham also. One faith is enough to receive the grace of God, and the other is live by faith, that is to live the holy life. The first level of faith can be seen in many people in the world, whereas only the chosen will attain the next level in faith. Please know that Paul’s writings also serve to make the false teachers to stumble. What is the end of promise to all the seed? "2 Peter 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:"

"17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were." It is by the foreknowledge of God, God calls the future as present. "Genesis 17:4&5 say, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.” Who quicken the dead and such are in "Hebrews 11:12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable."

"18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be." Always Abraham believed whatever God said, because he had the true unwavering understanding of God. God made him father of many nations.

"19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." Simultaneously two things are here that are imputed for his righteousness. He believed and he obeyed God. Most of us believe God, but we do not believe him enough to obey God.

"23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;" Every Christian believes the resurrection of Jesus! do they obey him? No!

"25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." The first portion of this verse is that Jesus was crucified on the cross even before AD began, for the sins we are committing now in the 21^st century. That is, Jesus was crucified for the sins of the whole world. So, does it mean that all the sins of the world are forgiven, and the entire world is going to heaven? Most preachers preach this, or bluff about this, but they do not even know. As a Man, Jesus died according to the will of God the Father. God the Father and the Holy Ghost raised him from the death, anointed him as he was God in the Omnipotent Spirit as he was before, and send him back to the world, to make us righteous, that is to make us just, and it is called justification. The Omnipotent Jesus Christ is here with us, and it is in "Acts 3:26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." He is turning away his people from their iniquities, and sin is included in iniquities. Did the Resurrected Spirit Jesus Christ turned you away from your iniquities that are sins? By the way, do you know the Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, who is in the Spirit? At least do you know about him? Most Christians know about the Lord Jesus Christ when he was a Man. If you know him as a Man, he was not living as God, and he died as a man. The one who is God is the Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. He saves.

Note: If any point needs explanation, OR, if you find an error according to scripture,
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