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which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing
whither he went", and this takes us back to Gen. 12: 1, so why is this passed over? The
answer is found by considering the background of Gen. 15: At this point Abraham had
come to an end of himself. He said "I go childless" (Gen. 15: 2). Yet God assured him
that, in spite of this seeming impossibility, he would nevertheless have a son: "He that
shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir" (Gen. 15: 4). Abraham was
then told to look towards heaven and attempt to number the stars. This command was
followed by the promise, "so shall thy seed be" (Gen. 15: 5). Next we have the statement
of the sixth verse "And he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for
righteousness". The remaining verses in Rom. 4: stresses that Abraham did not believe
God in a general way, but that he believed the God of resurrection. He was the "God
Who quickeneth the dead" (Rom. 4: 17). This aspect of Abraham's faith is seen further
in connection with the offering of Isaac "Accounting that God was able to raise him up,
even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure" (Heb. 11: 19). That
the great basic doctrine of resurrection is linked with justification is clear from the
conclusion of Rom. 4::
"Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also,
to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the
dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for (because of) our
justification" (4: 23, 25).
The debt incurred by our sins was paid by the Lord's death. Our acquittal was
received in resurrection and it is for this reason that Gen. 15: 6 is the place where
Abraham's justification is revealed. He most assuredly believed in a God Who was able
to give life to dead people when he believed the promise of a literal seed, at a time when
both he and his wife were physically unable to have children owing to their old age
(Rom. 4: 17-22).
Looking more closely at the section of the epistle before us we find the Apostle Paul
commenting on the fact that Abraham's works were not the basis of his justification:
"Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an
obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God Who justifies the
wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness" (4: 4, 5, N.I.V.).
The argument is obvious; a workman earns his wages by his works. His pay is not a
gracious gift! If Abraham could earn his justification before God by his own efforts then
faith was not necessary. But it has been made abundantly clear that neither Abraham nor
any other human being has the capability of doing this (though alas, thousands imagine
that they have). Justification or acquittal must come from God Himself. All human
sources or attempts are useless. It is God alone Who can justify the sinner! The phrase
that God "justifies the ungodly" is surely startling, for it is in direct contradiction to the
O.T. Scriptures:
". . . . . I (God) will not justify the wicked" (Exod. 23: 7).
"He that justifieth the wicked and he that condemneth the righteous, both of them
alike are an abomination unto the Lord" (Prov. 17: 15, R.S.V.).