The book of Romans: Righteousness Demonstrated (Romans 4:1-25)

Devotional

Day 1: Leaving Ur to Walk Toward Unseen Promises

Abraham left the dust of Mesopotamia at 75, trading the familiar for a God who called him to “go” without a map. Justification begins not with achievements but with trusting obedience to step into the unknown. Faith thrives when we release control, letting God define the destination. Like Abraham, every believer faces a moment of leaving old systems to embrace covenant relationship. True righteousness starts with movement, not merit. [44:25]

The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1, ESV)

Reflection: What “Ur” do you cling to—security, reputation, or self-sufficiency—that God is asking you to leave behind? How might obedience today require stepping toward a promise you cannot yet see?

Day 2: Faith’s Receipt Before Ritual’s Mark

Circumcision came 24 years after God declared Abraham righteous. Rituals confirm faith but never create it. Like a tattoo commemorating a vow already made, baptism or communion testifies to grace already received. The knife marked Abraham’s flesh at 99, but his faith had long been sealed. Righteousness is God’s gift, not a reward for religious performance. [01:01:10]

He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. (Romans 4:11, ESV)

Reflection: Do you ever confuse spiritual habits with holiness? How might you celebrate a ritual this week as a joyful “receipt” of grace rather than a transaction for approval?

Day 3: When the Law Shouts What Faith Whispers

The law is a megaphone exposing our failures; faith is the whisper declaring Christ’s victory. Abraham lived 400 years before Sinai, proving righteousness comes not through rule-keeping but through reliance. Like a speed limit sign revealing our lead foot, the law diagnoses sin but cannot cure it. Faith alone silences condemnation. [01:07:43]

For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith. (Romans 4:15-16, ESV)

Reflection: Where has the law recently exposed your weakness? How can you turn that awareness into gratitude for Christ’s finished work rather than shame?

Day 4: Breathing Again in the Graveyard of Self

Abraham’s dead body and Sarah’s barren womb became theaters for resurrection. Faith breathes life into dry bones, making heirs from the spiritually deceased. Like Ezekiel’s valley, our souls stir when God’s breath replaces self-effort. Justification turns tombs into wombs, birthing new creation where death once ruled. [01:13:10]

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins… But God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ. (Ephesians 2:1,4-5, ESV)

Reflection: What area of your life feels like a graveyard? How might trusting God’s resurrection power there bring unexpected hope?

Day 5: Fatherhood by Footsteps, Not Bloodline

Abraham’s true children inherit his faith, not his DNA. Like tracing a parent’s shoe prints in fresh snow, we become heirs by walking where he walked—trusting, stumbling, believing. The preacher’s childhood prayer on a sunlit porch mattered more than decades of sermons. Salvation’s story always starts with “I believed,” not “I achieved.” [01:17:48]

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7, ESV)

Reflection: When did you first step into Abraham’s story through faith? How does remembering that moment deepen your joy in being God’s child today?

Sermon Summary

Paul sets Abraham before the Romans as a living picture of justification by faith. Romans has already shown that everybody has come short of the glory of God, and the question becomes, “How can anybody be saved?” God answers that question by providing righteousness as a gift, received by faith alone. Abraham could not stand before God and say, “Look what I did,” because no human performance can produce the righteousness humanity needs.

Abraham believed God, and God counted that faith to him as righteousness. Works have their place, just like a paycheck has its place, but wages are owed while salvation is a gift. God is not impressed by looks, intelligence, ability, years of service, or a list of good deeds. Christ alone provides the righteousness that sinners do not have in themselves.

David’s words in Psalm 32 show the blessing of this gift: lawless deeds are forgiven, sins are covered, and the Lord does not count sin against the believer. God’s grace does not mean sin has no earthly consequences, nor does it mean a believer’s life has no accountability for rewards. God’s grace does mean that those who belong to Christ will never face eternal condemnation, because Christ fully satisfied the wrath of God against sin.

Circumcision also cannot make anybody right before God. Abraham was declared righteous long before he received that mark at ninety-nine years old. Religious rituals such as baptism, communion, prayer, offerings, singing, and church attendance matter as worship flowing from faith, but none of them can save. Faith comes first, and the outward act becomes a sign and seal of what God has already done.

The law cannot justify either, because the law brings wrath and exposes guilt. The law shows God’s righteous standard and reveals that every heart is lying, coveting, impure, dishonest, and broken before God. Grace guarantees the promise not merely to those who follow rules or carry out rituals, but to all who share Abraham’s faith.

Abraham believed against hope when his body was as good as dead and Sarah’s womb was barren. God gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that do not exist. Jesus was delivered up for trespasses and raised for justification, so all who repent and believe receive God’s righteousness and walk in newness of life. Abraham becomes the father of all who walk in his footsteps of faith.

##

Key Takeaways

1. Righteousness cannot be earned by performance God’s righteousness is not a reward for being better than somebody else. Good works matter, but they cannot make a sinner more righteous before a holy God. Christ provides what human effort never can. [52:56]
2. Forgiveness removes eternal condemnation David’s confession shows that forgiven sin is truly covered before God. Believers may still face consequences in this life and evaluation regarding reward, but Christ has removed eternal condemnation. God’s grace rests on the finished work of Christ, not on a believer’s ability to maintain a spotless record. [55:32]
3. Rituals should flow from faith Baptism, communion, prayer, worship, and church life are not ladders into salvation. Abraham received circumcision after God had already counted him righteous by faith. Outward obedience has meaning when it seals inward trust, not when it replaces it. [62:32]
4. The law exposes guilt, not salvation The law shows what God’s righteousness looks like, but it also shows how deeply every heart has failed. Its purpose is not to give sinners confidence in themselves, but to bring sinners to see their need for grace. Faith becomes necessary when the law has made guilt plain. [68:02]
5. Faith trusts God against human impossibility Abraham had no natural reason to expect the promised son, yet he became fully convinced that God could do what He promised. God brings life where death seems final, including in those dead in trespasses and sin. Christ’s resurrection guarantees that faith in Him is not empty hope.

## [75:15]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[43:30] - Abraham and Justification by Faith
[47:08] - The Gospel and the Righteous Shall Live by Faith
[48:29] - Justification Does Not Come by Works
[53:12] - Abraham Believed God
[54:37] - David and the Blessing of Forgiveness
[56:43] - Justification Does Not Come by Rituals
[60:17] - Circumcision Came After Faith
[63:14] - Walking in Abraham’s Footsteps
[66:01] - The Law Brings Wrath
[71:20] - Grace Guarantees the Promise
[73:35] - Abraham Believed Against Hope
[76:05] - Christ Raised for Our Justification
[78:14] - Declared Righteous by Faith

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 4:1-25
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherents of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. [43:19]

Genesis 15:6
And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. [53:17]

Psalm 32:1-2
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. [55:32]

Romans 3:23-24
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. [48:01]

Observation questions

In Romans 4, what contrast does Paul make between wages earned by work and righteousness received as a gift? [53:30]
What details in Romans 4 show that Abraham was counted righteous before he was circumcised?
According to Psalm 32:1-2, what three things does God do with the sins of the forgiven person? [55:19]
In Romans 4:19-21, what humanly impossible circumstances did Abraham and Sarah face, and what was Abraham convinced God could do? [01:15:26]

Interpretation questions

Why would boasting be possible if a person could be justified by works, and why does that leave no room for boasting before God? [52:41]
Paul says that God “justifies the ungodly.” How does that phrase change the way a person with a troubled past or present sin might come to God? [54:10]
Circumcision was a sign and seal that followed Abraham’s faith. How does that help explain the proper place of baptism, communion, prayer, giving, and church attendance? [01:02:32]
If the law brings wrath by exposing guilt, how can God’s law still be good and useful without becoming a way for someone to earn salvation? [01:07:31]

Application questions

When you think about standing before God, what are you most tempted to point to—your good behavior, service, church involvement, reputation, or something else? How does Romans 4 call you away from trusting those things? [53:00]
Is there a past sin that still makes you feel as though God must be holding it over you? How do Psalm 32 and Romans 4 speak to the difference between earthly consequences and eternal condemnation? [55:32]
Are there any spiritual practices—such as baptism, communion, giving, prayer, worship, or attendance—that you have sometimes treated like a way to prove yourself to God? What would it look like for those practices to flow from faith and gratitude instead? [01:02:41]
The law can expose lying, coveting, impure thoughts, dishonesty, and unloving attitudes in the heart. Which part of God’s standard has recently made you more aware of your need for grace? [01:08:42]
Abraham believed God when the promise seemed impossible. What situation in your life currently feels beyond your strength, resources, or understanding? What promise or truth about God can you hold onto in that situation? [01:13:43]
Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. How can Christ’s resurrection give you hope not only for the future, but also for walking in newness of life this week? [01:16:51]
Faith in Christ does not remove the value of good works; it changes their source. What is one specific good work, act of worship, or act of love you can do this week as a response to God’s grace rather than an effort to earn His acceptance? [01:20:17]

Sermon Clips

25s

#NoCondemnation

“Now we might have to pay a human price for some of the things that we've done, but God will never condemn us in eternity. Christian, do you know that? You will never be condemned in eternity. The the the sins of yesterday, the sins of today, the ones you're gonna commit a little later after church, the ones of tomorrow are forgiven by God,”

25s

#FaithBeforeRituals

“and we'll never be condemned for them. Now we will be judged as concerns a reward or a lack of reward, but we will never be condemned. Praise God that God has forgiven us and our sins are covered. David says, blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. You see, it is the love of God. It is the grace of God.”

32s

#AtonementComplete

“Similar to what you would do if you're gonna get baptized, why are you walking down into the water? Because I believed. Why are you saying the prayer? Because I believe. Why are you partaking of the communion table? Because I believe. That belief should always proceed those actions. Those rituals are important. They're necessary, but it's not how we're declared righteous before God.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Central Manor Church This sermon · AI assistant

What three things justification does not involve?

How was Abraham declared righteous before circumcision?

Why does the law increase awareness of sin?