Connect Romans 4:2 with Ephesians 2:8-9 on faith and grace. Abraham’s Boast and God’s Verdict Romans 4:2: “If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.” • The verse flatly denies any ground for human boasting; Abraham’s justification did not arise from his performance. • “But not before God” underscores that, in heaven’s courtroom, even the father of faith stands empty-handed apart from divine favor. Grace Alone—No Merit in Me Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not by works, so that no one may boast.” • Paul repeats the Romans 4 principle: salvation is God’s “gift,” never a wage earned. • Both passages tie grace to the elimination of boasting—identical outcome, identical logic. • Salvation flows “by grace” (God’s free, undeserved kindness) and is received “through faith” (trustful reliance), never by self-generated merit. Faith: Empty Hands Reaching Out • Romans 4:3 quotes Genesis 15:6: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” • Faith does not create righteousness; it receives righteousness credited by God. • Titus 3:5 echoes: “He saved us, not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy.” • Picture faith as the beggar’s open hand—nothing offered, everything received. The Excluded Boast: Echo Across Scripture • 1 Corinthians 1:29-31: “so that no flesh may boast before Him… let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” • Galatians 6:14: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” • Every text circles back to one theme: God alone gets the glory because God alone supplies the grace. The Promise Stands by Grace • Romans 4:16: “Therefore the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring.” • Grace secures the promise; faith receives it; guarantee results. The same trilogy appears in Ephesians 2:8-9. Living From Grace, Not For It • Works follow as fruit, never as payment (Ephesians 2:10: “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works”). • Gratitude, worship, and obedience spring from hearts already justified—responding to grace rather than striving to earn it. |
    |