In the 1980’s, a debate erupted in the evangelical church concerning the essence of the gospel and the nature of true belief. As participants and observers have analyzed it, this on-going controversy over “lordship salvation” ultimately reduces to a debate over the nature of saving faith. 1 Yet, a survey of some of the most influential books written on this subject reveals a lack of meaningful attention given to Romans 4, the one chapter of Scripture that seems to explicitly explain the character of true belief. 2No doubt, as many have hastened to point out, Scripture gives numerous narrative and allegorical examples which help illustrate the dynamics of the gospel and man’s interaction with it. 3 But the Scriptures seem to provide only one example that could be considered paradigmatic for understanding true belief. The model believer, according to the Bible, is the patriarch Abraham (Rom. 4:11-12, 16, 23; Gal. 3:7-9) . Our soteriology, therefore, especially our understanding of saving faith, should ultimately be rooted in a clear understanding of the Abrahamic model expounded by the Apostle Paul in Romans 4.
One could summarize the overall argument of Romans 1 – 3 with these three fundamental truths: (1) man is universally and hopelessly lost in sinful depravity; (2) even given the highest ethical standards by which to govern his life, man is helpless to do anything about his depravity; and (3) man can be made righteous before God only by exercising faith in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul, having provided in chapters 1 – 3 an exposition of man’s hopelessness and helplessness from the perspectives of both Jew and Gentile, goes on in chapter 4 to present Abraham’s faith as the ultimate model of justifying faith (Rom. 4:3). Furthermore, Paul argues that Abraham’s faith “was credited to him as righteousness” not for his sake alone, “but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom. 4:23-24). In sum, the content of the gospel includes the fact that sinful man will not be justified by the works of the Law, but only by exercising Abrahamic-type faith in God who has provided for our redemption in Christ, “who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification” (Rom. 4:25).
Hopelessness. In order to understand the character of Abraham’s faith, it should first be noted how the conditions of Abraham’s life are typical of the hopelessness and helplessness of mankind in general. Paul’s argument in Romans 1 – 3 that both Jew and Gentile are hopelessly lost in sin climaxes in 3:10-12: “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.” The hopelessness of man’s depravity is universal, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23). Abraham, while also included within the “all” who have fallen short of the glory of God, also serves as a type of the hopeless condition of man inasmuch as he was given a promise by God that he could never himself fulfill (Gen. 12:1-3, 15:1-6, 17:15-19, 18:1-15). Being without an heir and, along with his wife Sarah, being beyond the age of childbearing, Abraham had no hope that he would ever be the great nation that God had promised. Paul observes how Abraham’s faith was exercised in this context: “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be’” (Rom. 4:18).
Helplessness. Paul also contends that not only is man hopeless, but he is helpless to fix his sin problem: “For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law” (Rom. 2:12). Paul wrote elsewhere that “if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law” (Gal. 3:21). The law, though itself holy and just, is impotent to reconcile estranged man to God as it is “weak through the flesh” (Rom. 7:12; 8:3). Indeed, the law can only reveal the depth of man’s depravity and despair. Thus, “by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20) No amount of self-effort will ever transform a man out of his sinful condition. Likewise, Abraham also was helpless to fix his problem (though, like man universal, that did not stop him from trying). Despite being given the promise by God that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed, Abraham was acutely and painfully aware that his body and Sarah’s womb were both as good as dead (Rom. 4:19; Heb. 11:12). Like sinful man who lacks the resources with which to satisfy the wrath of God, Abraham was impotent to bring the child of promise into the world.
According to the Apostle Paul’s argument in Romans 4 it is in the context of Abraham’s personal hopelessness and helplessness, typical of humanity in general, that he exercised faith in God unto righteousness. Furthermore, drawing from this context, Paul provides us with specific content to understand exactly what qualifies as true, saving faith. In 4:3, Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 that “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” After describing in 4:4 – 4:20 the circumstances of Abraham’s life which are relevant to his present argument, Paul once again writes in 4:22 that the consequence of Abraham’s faith was that “it was also credited to him as righteousness.” Notice, however, that in 4:21 Paul replaces the phrase “Abraham believed God” with an amplification: “[Abraham was] fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.” Thus, as the chart illustrates, to believe in God as Abraham did is to be “fully convinced that what God has promised He is also able to perform. ”
| Romans 4:3 | Abraham | “believed God” | and it was accounted to him for righteousness |
| Romans 4:21-22 | Abraham | “was fully convinced that what God had promised He was also able to perform” | and it was accounted to him for righteousness |
This in turn raises at least three more questions: (1) Who did Abraham believe? (2) What did Abraham believe; and (3) What is the meaning of “fully convinced”?
Who did Abraham believe? Since the text explicitly says that Abraham believed God , it might at first seem peculiar to ask such a question. However, because Abraham came from an pagan background (Josh. 24:2), his understanding of the nature of the One making such extraordinary promises is quite relevant. Without even taking into consideration the fuller context of the Genesis narrative, 4 it seems to follow just from Paul’s choice of words in 4:21 that Abraham believed both that God (1) would and (2) could fulfill the promise that He had made to him. At a minimum then, Abraham understood that the God “who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist (Rom. 4:17),” was (1) faithful and (2) able to do what He said that He would do. Thus, in light of the entire context of Romans 4, to say that Abraham was “fully convinced” would mean that despite every human reason for not expecting to receive the blessings, Abraham entrusted himself to the ultimate realization of the promise solely on the basis of the “would-ness” and the “could-ness” of God.
What did Abraham believe? According to the account in Genesis 15:1-6 as well as Paul’s exposition in Romans 4, Abraham’s faith was exercised in light of the promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the heavens (Gen. 15:5; Rom. 4:18). This glorious promise only began to be fulfilled in the miraculous conception and birth of Isaac. But the birth of Isaac was not intended to be the total fulfillment of the “gospel” that had been preached to Abraham (Gal. 3:8). Indeed, the good news promised to Abraham far exceeded the birth of just one son. Instead, God’s promises referred to blessings so far-reaching that Abraham would never actually see their fulfillment during his earthly life. The promises related to the ultimate end that God desired for Abraham, not just the immediate situation. In other words, even though the result of Abraham’s belief in God was justification, the content of the gospel preached to Abraham is more analogous to the New Testament idea of glorification. Thus, by believing the promise of glorification, Abraham received the additional gift of justification.
What is the meaning of “fully convinced?” A clue to the answer is found in Hebrews 11:17-19: “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead , from which he also received him in a figurative sense.” To put it another way, God told Abraham he was going to make him a great nation and that it would begin with Isaac, the promised son. But the promises ultimately related to a glorious end, not just a miraculous beginning. So when Paul writes that Abraham was “fully convinced,” it seems to indicate that, based upon the nature of God (His “would-ness” and “could-ness”), he was entirely persuaded that there was nothing that could ever alter that reality. Thus, if God told Abraham to offer up Isaac, to Abraham that just meant that God would simply resurrect Isaac if need be. In Abraham’s mind, not even the death of the promised son could ultimately extinguish the reality of the promised glory. So when God told him, “So shall your descendants be,” Abraham unequivocally embraced that glorious reality based solely upon the nature of the One who had guaranteed it.
Considering the admission noted above that the “lordship salvation” controversy reduces to a debate over the nature of saving faith and, in light of the foregoing discussion of Romans 4, the following definition of saving faith is thus proposed:
| Romans 4:3 | Abraham | “believed God” | and it was accounted to him for righteousness |
| Romans 4:21-22 | Abraham | “was fully convinced that what God had promised He was also able to perform” | and it was accounted to him for righteousness |
| Romans 1 – 4 | NT believer | Being fully convinced , despite the hopelessness of our depraved condition and our helplessness to effect an escape from that condition, that what the all-powerful, life-giving God has promised , namely, full and final deliverance from sin (glorification) wholly apart from any human effort, He is also able to perform because of and through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. | And it will be accounted to him for righteousness |
Granted, even if this definition is found to be reasonably accurate, then it still serves as no more than a starting point in helping to construct an application of the Abrahamic model to the issues related to the “lordship salvation” controversy. Much more would have to be said to even begin to understand how this definition should be applied to soteriology in general and the presentation of the gospel in particular. But if the “lordship” controversy is truly a debate over the nature of saving faith, then it seems that such a starting point, however meager, is nonetheless a potentially helpful contribution.
Eaton, Michael. No Condemnation: A New Theology of Assurance . Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1995.
Geisler, Norman. Chosen But Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election, Second Edition. Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 2001.
Hodges, Zane C. Absolutely Free! A Biblical Reply to Lordship Salvation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989.
________. Grace in Eclipse: A Study on Eternal Rewards. Dallas: Redencion Viva, 1987.
Horton, Michael, ed. Christ the Lord: The Reformation and Lordship Salvation. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992.
Lightner, Robert P. Sin, the Savior, and Salvation: The Theology of Everlasting Life. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991.
MacArthur, John F. Jr. The Gospel According to Jesus, Revised and Expanded Edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
________. The Gospel According to the Apostles. Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000.
Ryrie, Charles C. So Great Salvation: What it Means to Believe in Jesus Christ. Chicago: Moody Press, 1997.
1:See John MacArthur, The Gospel According to the Apostles: The Role of Works in the Life of Faith (Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000), 29-30. Michael S. Horton, ed., Christ the Lord: The Reformation and Lordship Salvation (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992), 16. Robert P. Lightner, Sin, the Savior, and Salvation: The Theology of Everlasting Life (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), 200.
2:The absence of any argument based in Romans 4 is especially noteworthy in John F. MacArthur Jr., The Gospel According to Jesus: What Does Jesus Mean When He Says “Follow Me?”, rev. ed., (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994); Zane C. Hodges, Absolutely Free: A Biblical Reply to Lordship Salvation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989); and Charles C. Ryrie, So Great Salvation: What it Means to Believe in Jesus Christ (Chicago: Moody Press, 1997).
3:Examples offered by MacArthur and Hodges include Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, the rich young ruler, Zaccheus, Judas, the parables of Matthew 13, the parables of Luke 15, the Vine and the Branches, Mary, Martha, Cornelius, the Philippian jailor and many more. Turning to the Scripture index in The Gospel According to Jesus and Absolutely Free! reveals no specific references in either book to Romans 4:21, very few references to Romans 4 in general, and the complete absence of any rigorous argument rooted in Romans 4.
4:It can be asserted that just considering his knowledge of God up to the time of Genesis 15:6, Abraham at a minimum understood God to be (1) good (Gen 12:2-3; “blessing”); (2) sovereign (Gen. 14:22); (3) glorious (Acts 7:2); (4) the Creator (Rom. 4:17); and (5) the Life-giver (Rom. 4:17).