Justification by faith

Warm-up: How do you react when you see people in your line of work or study bragging (verbally or non-verbally) about their accomplishments?

• Hint: Why can‘t we boast of anything that we didn‘t produce by our own effort?
• Most translations of v3 say that Abraham‘s faith was credited to him as righteousness  (lat. imputare, =esteem, consider as belonging to): What was going on there?
  • i.e. was his faith counted as an especially good work? Why not? v5 […God justifies the ungodly]
  • Does imputed righteousness impart virtue? (Lk 11:4; 19:1-10)
  • What does the story of Abraham say about it, Ja 2:20-26?
    • How do you resolve the apparent contradiction between Ja 2:24 [faith+works] and Ro 3:28 (cf Gal 2:16) [faith apart from works]?

•  v8: What does it mean “to count sins against someone”?
  • Is the blessing this that you can forgive yourself? Why not? Hint: Does anyone count their sins against themselves, really? [The offender must humble himself to ask for forgiveness and accept it when it is offered, but only the offended party has the authority to forgive]
• Does Ps 32:1-2 teach that everyone’s sins are forgiven?
  • Or is man‘s problem that his sins are held against him by God, unless we repent? Ro 1:18; 2:5; 2:8; Jn 3:36

• How do vv9-12 refute this idea?
• A so-called ‘New Perspective on Paul’ claims that “…Paul’s references to the impossibility of fulfilling the Law is part of a theological and theoretical scriptural argument about the relation between Jews and Gentiles. Judging from Paul’s own writings, there is no indication that he had experienced it (i.e. this impossibility) in his own conscience during his time as a Pharisee. It is also striking to note that Paul never urges Jews to find in Christ the answer to the anguish of a plagued conscience.” (Krister Stendahl, 1963; emphasis added). => Read again Ro 3:19. How does this debunk the ‘New Perspective’? [Paul’s point was to prove that the law condemns those under the law = the Jews, incl. Paul; cf Ro 2:9; 3:9; Gal 2:16]

• v14 says that if the promise could be realized by obeying the law, this would nullify both the promise and faith in the promise. Why? cf Gal 3:21
• v16: Another proof that the law is weak is that only grace can guarantee the promise. Why is it that compliance with the law can never guarantee our eternal inheritance of salvation?
  • If needed: Read Heb 3:18. How many people under Moses (i.e. the law) succeeded in inheriting salvation (symbolized by the promised land)? => Why so few (zero)?

• Did he more than others believe in God? Or is it because he believed God? What distinguishes the latter from the former? [he believed what God told him]

• v25: Why does justification depend on the resurrection of Jesus? cf 1Cor 15:17
  • Why was even the death of Jesus not sufficient to justify anyone? [Righteousness is not only imputed, but also imparted through faith in the life of the risen Christ in us, cf Jn 15:5]

• How do you connect the story of Abraham with your own?
• How did you come to appreciate the first time that works cannot justify anyone, whereas faith in Jesus does?
• Do you think it matters what you believe whether righteousness is only imputed or also imparted by faith? Why or why not?