Bible Study with Jairus – Romans 4

Justification by Faith
Bible Study with Jairus – Romans 4
Romans 4 continues the theme of justification by faith, which Paul introduced in Romans 1:17: "The righteous shall live by faith." (ESV) Romans 5 builds on the concepts of justification by faith which are discussed in chapter 4. Romans 5 begins, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1 ESV) Clearly, the theme of Romans 4 is “justification by faith.”
Although the chapter tells the story of Abraham and Sarah’s justification by faith, that will not be the focus of today’s discussion. Since Christians are already familiar with Abraham’s story, we will focus our time on the Psalms Paul quotes to uphold justification by faith.
David’s Words of Faith
In Romans 4:5-8, Paul says, “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.’” (ESV)
In this passage, Paul quotes Psalm 32 and Psalm 51. Both Psalms were written by David after God forgave him of his sin with Bathsheba. Psalm 51 focuses on repentance while Psalm 32 focuses on gratitude.
Both David and Paul wrote both under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. When Paul and other New Testament authors quote Old Testament authors, they use these Old Testament verses to illuminate New Testament themes. Old Testament truths provide a new angle on New Testament truth.
When New Testament authors quote the Old Testament, there are often some small variations between the Old Testament text and the New Testament quote. For example, Psalm 32:1-2 says: “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.” (ESV) Paul's quotation omits the phrase, "in whose spirit there is no deceit.”
In addition, there are some translation differences between the two quotations. For instance, where the Psalm says “LORD (Jehovah),” most translations say, “the Lord.” Only some versions such as the Darby Bible and ASV still translate it as “LORD (Jehovah).”
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