Romans Reveation
The one continuous Letter to the Romans

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Do we make void the Law [Ten Commandments] through faith? God forbid! We establish the Law [that reveals sin and death].

4th Chapter of Romans

Verse 1 Then what shall we say of Abraham, being our father, that is found as to pertaining to the flesh?

2 If Abram was justified by the works of his flesh, he would be able to exalt himself, but not before Yahweh God. 

3 But what does the Scripture say? (click on) Abram believed God, and [Yahweh] God imputed Abram's Faith to Abram as righteousness. (See Genesis 15 verse 1 thru 6.)

4 Now to him that works, then the reward is not reckoned of grace but of debt.

Our Creator God is not in debt to any of His creatures of His creation.

Through out the previous passages in Romans, and now as we consider the Scriptures in the 4th chapter of Romans, we will come to a greater understanding that through God's Spirit of TRUTH, that Paul has 2 primary arguments that solidify his premise. The first promotes the Righteousness of Faith IN Yahweh God, verses the righteousness of man's self justifying works of the flesh that impossible to attain through the Law that reveals sin and death. The second argument speaks of  Yahweh God's justifying Grace IN Christ Jesus that Yahweh extends to all believing Jews and Gentiles alike, that is, if they have Faith IN the Almighty's Word of TRUTH that is Jesus/Yeshua, the Lord our Righteousness.  Paul will utilize Abram's Faith IN the Word of His Creator as his primary illustration.

Paul begins His apologetics by addressing Abraham's Justification without any effort from his flesh. (See Romans 4 verse 1 thru 2.) Because of the existence of sin, in the flesh of all of mankind, it is impossible for Abraham to justify himself with his own self efforts in his sullied flesh.  Abraham's works in his sinful flesh can never be a justifying standard of righteous for mankind for he is already dead because of his rebellious flesh, and any effort on his part, falls far short of the Glory of Holy Yahweh Lord God Almighty.  However, Yahweh God gives His Gift of Faith to Abram, and Abram believes that what God had said, then Yahweh God would perform His Word.

 So then:

What does the Scripture say: [for expanded information click on] Abram believed God, and Abram's belief [IN the Word of his Lord] was counted to Abram for righteousness. (See Genesis 15 verse 5 thru 6.).

For the free Gift of Grace that Yahweh God extended to Abram, Yahweh God will also give to all believers, for their faith is founded upon Rock of the Righteous Man Jesus Christ. For the righteous believer IN Christ Jesus, death has passed into Life, for in Christ's death for our sin, His Resurrection into the LIFE of His Father has brought forth our resurrection of LIFE IN the Messiah.  Now the Faith of the Righteousness of Jesus Christ has been imputed as righteousness to all faithful believers through their ongoing belief IN their Lord and Savior Jesus, Yeshua haMashiach.

Abram was without a natural male child to be his heir, for his wife Sarai had been barren in their marriage. Nevertheless, the Word God, will not fail in the very least of the matter of which He has Spoken.  When Abram was 99 years old, his name of Abram was changed by God to his New Covenant name of Abraham:  For the Eternal God knew that Abraham would be faithful in rearing his children and become the Father of many nations. God's Promised Covenant Seed to Abram, would indeed come through the womb of his wife Sarai, who was the renamed by God to Sarah, who at that time was 90 years of age. 

 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I will do;  Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that Abraham will command his children and his household after him, for they shall keep the WAY of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; so that the Lord God Almighty may bring upon Abraham that which He has Spoken of him.

The Law [in Commandments] is never mentioned in the beginnings of the 4th chapter passages of Romans, because sin already existed in the flesh of earthly man in Adam's rebellion, including the flesh of Abraham.  That being the case, sin already existed in mankind even before God's warning Laws in the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai so as to reveal sin. The so called 'works' of the Law, is a misnomer.   A little later we will compare the transliterated English versions of Scripture to the convicting TRUTH of the Word of God.  The TRUTH has already condemned Abram's good works of his flesh, and all of mankind are dead in their sinful flesh. However, the natural man would reason that his self appraised good works would offset and justify him in spite of his sinfulness.  Some of the heretical construction in the English transliterated Scripture takes away Elohim's Torah Instructions, that if used Rightly, gives guidance to the followers of the WAY of Jesus Christ. The Wisdom of Yahweh God does not pass away, for His Wisdom is from Eternity, and the Eternal remains constant throughout Eternity.

Now, to be clear, Abraham is already dead in his sin and trespasses, so what can he do as reparation for his death that separates him from his Holy Creator God.  Nothing.  The flesh of all mankind, including Abraham, is already fixed in death, and any further idolatry of the flesh of man is dead set against the authoritative rule of the One God of Creation. Holy Yahweh God Almighty cannot accept any form of payment from the dead flesh of mankind, for it is dead already, but in His Mercy, God can extend His Grace to a repentant person, who believes in God's Salvation Gift IN Christ. 

5 So then, for him that has no ability to pay for his sin and death, then his faith in the One [Yahweh God] that justifies the ungodly, is counted to the person to be for righteousness.

6 Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom [Yahweh] God imputes righteousness without the [attempted self justifying] works [of carnal flesh],
saying: Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.  

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

9 Does this blessedness come only upon the circumcision [the Jew], or  also upon the uncircumcision [that is the Gentile]? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

10 How then was faith reckoned? Was faith reckoned when Abram was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but when Abram was uncircumcised.

11 For Abraham received the sign of circumcision, as a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had [IN Yahweh God] even before he was circumcised, so that he might be the father of all of mankind that would believe [in the goodness of Yahweh God], although they are not circumcised.  Now the righteousness of Faith might also be imputed unto them.

12 And Abraham would be the father of circumcision to them who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the steps of the same faith of our father Abraham, which faith he had [IN Yahweh God at the age of 90] before he was circumcised [at the age of 99].

For the Lord God said of Abraham: I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has Spoken of him. (Genesis 18 verse 19.)

13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise [of LIFE] made of none effect:

15 Because the law works wrath: But where no law is, there is no transgression.

Now please fully understand, that there was no law written at the time of Abraham to reveal sin and to condemn mankind of their transgression. Abram was justified because of his Faith in Yahweh God Who had Promised, and Abraham entered Covenant with the Almighty with his own circumcision of his flesh. (See Psalm 105 verse 6 thru 11,)

The Law of God which came 400 years later, was never taken away, and any one who perpetuates this heresy, makes Yahweh God a liar, and will be judged in the darkness of their sin and death. Woe unto these darkened souls for they are party to all those who call good, evil and evil, good.  Their root shall be rotten, because they have cast away the Law of the Lord of Host, and despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel. (Read Isaiah 5 verse 20 thru 24.)

Galatians 3:

Therefore know that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

Abram was justified because of his Faith in Yahweh God Who had Promised LIFE, and our faith is specific to the Faith of Abraham who believed in the Word of God.

And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached  unto Abraham, even before the gospel was given, saying: In thee shall all nations be blessed.

So then they which be of Faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

10 For as many as are of the works of the law [Ten Commandments] are under the curse [which is death]: for it is written: Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them. (Deuteronomy 27 verse 26.) Cursed be he that confirms not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

The other 11 curses written in Deuteronomy 27 verse 15 thru 26 are all warnings addressing the symptomatic curses that are each of unseen sin resulting in death. Unseen sin gives birth to the one curse that is death. It is the Law in the 10 Commandments that reveal the curse of sin working death in the sinful flesh of all of humanity.

11 So then no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, for it is evident: The just shall live by faith.

12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that does them shall live in them.

13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, [death]  being made a curse [of death] for us: For it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree:

Again, the curse of the Law of God is death, and death is revealed by the warnings given in the 10 Commandments that if you go against the 10 Commandments and break any one of them then you are in the clutches of death.  The Law justifies no one, but reveals sin that in spiritual reality is the curse of death, for death is inevitable in all of sinful mankind. But, Thanks be to the Grace of God IN Christ Jesus that a person's Faith in the Resurrection of Christ Jesus has redeemed the faithful person from the curse of sin whose fruit is death.

14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ that we might receive the Promise of the Spirit [of LIFE] through Faith.

15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet IF it be confirmed, [then] no man can disannul, or add to it.

God's Covenant was in the crucifixion death of God's Lamb, Jesus Christ, even before the foundation of the world, and Jesus' Resurrection IN the Power of the Giver of LIFE, His Father Holy Yahweh Lord God Almighty, confirmed God's Promise of Life by Faith.

16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the Promises made. He said not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of One, and to your [One] Seed, Which is Christ.

17 And this I say, that the Covenant, [of Faith] was confirmed before of God IN the HOLY One, even before the Law [in Commandments] came into existence, which came four hundred and thirty years after the Promise to Abraham: The Law cannot disannul, that it should make the Promise [by Faith] of none effect.

18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by Promise.
19 
How then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the Promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Yahweh God brought the Ten Commandments into affect to reveal the knowledge of sin and death to the Hebrew Nation, and to quarantine the Jew from from the contamination of sin's destructive power to their person.  The Promised Genetic seed from the Last Adam, the Messiah Yeshua, must be unadulterated for the TRUTH and Righteousness of God to be born as the Savior of Mankind. The Almighty God of TRUTH, throughout time protected the XX Chromosome that was to come from Ishshah, taken as Woman from the side Adam, and would be conceived in an ovum of a Hebrew virgin with the Word of Yahweh Father, and would be born in the flesh  of Man as Yeshua haMashiach, Jesus the Christ.  Abraham was of the pure genetics of the first Adam, and the Seed that was to come had to be of the same genetics as that of the Hebrew Abraham. The fore ordained Lamb of God would be of the same exact genetic pool of the first Man Adam, and would come into the world as the Last Adam, the son of Man.  So it was ordained by the Eternal Yahweh God, and so the Eternal WORD of God came to pass as the Man of Adam's genetics.

20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is One.

21 Is the law then against the Promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given Life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

But the Law, in the Ten Commandments, is not a hammer, but was designed by God to give warnings to the hearer, and thereby prevent mankind's venture into the unseen law of sin and death. Nothing in the design of the Law of God, written in stone could give life to those who were already the dead in Sin.

22 But the scripture has concluded that all are under the power of sin, that the Promise by Faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

By the one unrighteous rebellious act of one Man came death to all of mankind, but by the absolute Righteousness of One Man came Life to all that believe IN Jesus, the Lord our Righteousness.

23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law [in the ten Commandments that revealed death], shut up  unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Again, the principle reason for the law in Commandments that were given on Mt Sinai was to protect the chosen Hebrew race from themselves, and prevent the continuing spread of  sin and death in the dead flesh of their humanity.  The Flesh of the Last Adam, could not be defiled in the least way. In spite of the containment law that they broke, the Almighty God would see to it that the Promised Seed of Abraham would come Perfectly in Yahweh's God's order of LIFE, and give birth to LIFE though the Messiah's crucifixion death and His Resurrection to the LIFE of His His Father Yahweh Lord God Almighty.

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by Faith [and Live LIFE IN Him].

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Understanding that the Law was our schoolmaster, to bring us to our Savior Jesus Christ, and now that He has come and we believe in His Word, then do we cease to learn the WAY of the Lord.  From the beginning, Yahweh Lord God Almighty desired to have children that would believe IN Him and would willing be led by His One Spirit of Holiness IN Him and His Only Begotten Son, and daily follow the WAY of Jesus Christ  denying the willful desires within our selves.  For God's Spirit of Holiness is the Teacher of His WAY of TRUTH that is One IN the LIFE of Christ Jesus. The Lord is well pleased for His Righteousness' Sake; He will magnify the, Law Torah and make it honorable. (Isaiah 42:6.)  The Wisdom of the Eternal God does not pass away.

So then, are we now to forget what the Torah would teach to the beginners of faith in Christ Jesus.  Are we to return to our wallowing in the ignorance of sin and death.

26 For you are all the children of God by Faith IN Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, you have put on Christ.

Has the believer put on the Righteousness of Christ or has your idolatrous sin circumvented your continued Love of God  that is IN the LIFE of Christ Jesus?

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if you be Christ's, then you are Abraham's Seed, and heirs according to the Promise.

Continuation of Romans 4:

16 Therefore it is of Faith, that it might be by Grace; to the end the Promise [of LIFE] might be sure to all the seed; not only to those which are of the law [the circumcised Jew], but to that also which is of the Faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

17 (As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations,) before Him whom he believed, even God, who quickened the dead, and called those things which be not as though they were.

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall your seed be.

19 And being not weak in faith, (he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:)

In the above numbered verse 19, we set parentheses about a portion of the sentence as such (he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:). Although it is not marked with parentheses in the written text, it is very likely an English insertion by any one of the 50 scribes of the 15th century when the child bearing age would have had far lesser limits.  The insertion certainly has no logic for after Sarah died at the age of 123, Abraham took to be his wife the woman Keturah, and she bore Abraham 6 children, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. (See Genesis 25 verse 1 thru 6.)

We have set the proper order of thought in highlighted bold even as you would recognize it to be true.

19 And being not weak in faith,

20 He [Abraham] staggered not at the Promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in Faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that what He [Yahweh] had Promised, He also was able to Perform.

22 And therefore it [the Faith of Abraham] was imputed to him [Abraham] for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake [Abraham] alone, that righteousness was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom righteousness shall be imputed, if we believe on Him [Yahweh God] that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

The Lord Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God, gave His sinless Self as a Presentation Offering to His Father Yahweh God in reparation for the rebellion of the first Man/Adam a created son of the Creator.  Adam's rebellion, in his flesh, fomented sin and death in all of his genetic offspring.

25 Who [Jesus/Yeshua]was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

The Lord Jesus, in his death, delivered Himself into the Hands of God for the offences of all of humanity that are naturally born of the seed from the loins of Adam. In that Holy God Almighty was well pleased with the son of Man's sinless Offering in reparation for all of sinning Mankind, Yahweh raised Christ Jesus from the dead for the justification of all that believe in Him. We will look further into what is know as the Presentation Offering in our chapter 10 of Romans.

 

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Robert Glenn Pratten