Navigating Tough Texts: A Guide to Problem Passages in the New Testament by Murray James Harris

Author:Murray James Harris [Harris, Murray James]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Bible. N.T.--Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Publisher: Lexham Press
Published: 2020-08-11T16:00:00+00:00

4: “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD” (Rom 4:3)

In three NT passages (Rom 4:3; Gal 3:6; Jas 2:23) Genesis 15:6 is quoted in the Greek OT form: “And Abram believed God, and it (Abram’s faith) was credited to his account (by God) as righteousness.” Abraham believed God in four areas:

•in his departure from Ur (Gen 13:1; Heb 11:8);

•that Sarah would bear a son (although he was childless when the promise was given and was beyond the age of fatherhood, just as Sarah was beyond the age of motherhood—Rom 4:18–19);

•that he would have innumerable descendants (Gen 15:5); and

•in the surrender of Isaac (Gen 22:1–18; Heb 11:17–19).

In the crucial phrase eis dikaiosynēn (literally “to/for/as righteousness”), the preposition eis may legitimately be expanded in various ways: “as equivalent to righteousness”; “as a substitute for (law-based) righteousness”; “as giving a status of righteousness”; or “as bringing righteousness” (= a right standing before God).

Paul cites Genesis 15:6 in Romans 4:3 as providing in the case of Abraham an OT precedent for the principle of “justification on the basis of faith apart from works of the law” (Rom 3:28; see also 4:6). Abraham was justified, Paul argues, (1) apart from works (Rom 4:4–8); (2) apart from circumcision (vv. 9–12); and (3) apart from the law (vv. 13–17). The apostle can say both that “faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness” (4:9; cf. 4:3, 5, 22) and that righteousness was reckoned to the account of Abraham on the basis of faith (4:6, 11, 13, 23; cf. 9:20; Phil 3:9) because he regarded faith and righteousness as correlatives. Verses 18–19 describe the outworking of Abraham’s faith, which is a model for all his spiritual children to follow (vv. 23–25).

In Galatians 3:6, Paul appeals to this OT verse (1) to validate the implied answer to the question he posed in verses 2 and 5—in effect, “Did God give you the Spirit because of your law-observance or because of your faith in the gospel?”; and (2) to preface his demonstration in verses 6–14 that those who believe are children of Abraham (v. 7) and that “the righteous will live by faith” (v. 11) and receive the promised Spirit (v. 14).

In James 2:14–26, the author is seeking to establish the inseparability of faith and actions. Abraham’s example (Jas 2:23) shows that the two are complementary (v. 22), since Abraham “offered his son Isaac on the altar” (v. 21; cf. Gen 22:1–18) in what Paul calls an “obedience inspired by faith” (Rom 16:26). He had already acted on the basis of faith in departing from Ur and traveling to Canaan in obedience to God’s call (Gen 12:1–3; 13:1). See also part 2, ch. 56.

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