CTS Journal, vol.

5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 2

SALVATION BY FAITH ALONE
Part 1 of 2
by
George E. Meisinger
INTRODUCTION
Solomon revealed that there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesi-
astes 1:9). Times have not changed! As we enter a third millennium,
contrary currents of theological thought continue as they have since
Christianity burst on the scene in the first century.
This article addresses an essential subject, How does man receive
eternal life? In general, there are three answers given. The first is
that God saves a man according to his good works. Thus, if in the end
ones good works outweigh his bad works, he earns access to heaven.
The second answer is that God saves a man according to his faith cou-
pled with good works. He must believe in J esus Christ (or Buddha, or
Allah, etc.) and do good deeds. The third is that God saves a man by
grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
THE FIRST CENTURY
Controversy raged over this matter in the first century. Paul en-
tered the debate frontally with the Galatians. He marveled that they
turned away so soon from the grace Christians have in Christ (Gala-
tians 1:6). In Titus case, the apostle firmly resisted a ritual, a good
work, that would confuse the issue of true grace
1
refusing to cir-
cumcise him lest grace no longer be grace
2
(Galatians 2:3).
The Galatians alarmed Paul for someone had bewitched them
(Galatians 3:1), leading them to suppose that somehow they must sup-
ply good works along side their faith (Galatians 3:2-6). To the
contrary, we are all sons of God through faith [alone] in Christ J esus

1
Peter exhorts his readers regarding the true grace of God in which you stand
(2 Peter 5:12). The implication is that some promote a grace that is not genu-
ine, which this article addresses.
2
If [Gods election through faith is] by grace, then it is no longer of works;
otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace;
otherwise work is no longer work (Romans 11:6).
Salvation by Faith Alone 3
[alone] (Galatians 3:26). They started out well enough, but someone
hindered them from following the truth as regards the nature of grace
and the nature of works (Galatians 5:7).
Is this matter weighty? Yes, in three ways! (a) Anyone who seeks
justification by good works (the works of the law) is a debtor to
keep the whole lawan impossibility for man whether born-again or
not (Galatians 5:3). (b) He alienates himself from Christ, from all the
benefits His death and resurrection aim to provide (Galatians 5:4a). (c)
He falls from grace (Galatians 5:4b). That is, in keeping with the nau-
tical terminology Paul employs, the one who seeks justification by
works finds himself blown off coursethe one and only grace
courseto God. For the unbeliever, so long as he remains off course,
disoriented to grace, he cannot arrive at the port of imputed righteous-
ness, eternal life, and justification before God. For the believer, so
long as he turns off course, blurring grace and works, he cannot arrive
at the port of abundant life and eternal reward.
Pauls conclusion? Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which
Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of
bondage (Galatians 5:1).
RECENT EXAMPLES
OF THE CONTROVERSY
The Gospel according to the Cults
The J ehovah Witnesses
Compliance with Gods laws, principles, and standards
should move us to repent, expressing godly sorrow
over our past sins. This leads to conversion, that is, to
a turning around and abandoning any wrong course we
followed when we did not have the knowledge of God.
(Acts 3:19) Naturally, if we are still secretly practic-
ing some sin instead of doing what is righteous, we
CTS Journal, vol. 5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 4
have not really turned around, nor have we fooled
God.
3
Although baptism is vitally important, it is not a guar-
antee of salvation. J esus did not say: Everyone
baptized will be saved. Instead, he said: He that has
endured to the end is the one that will be saved.
(Matthew 24:13)
4
We do not read that faith alone in Christ alone results in eternal
life. In light of what the author does say, that could not be said. His
viewpoint is that faith cannot stand-alone, it must be accompanied by
(a) godly sorrow over our past sins, (b) abandonment of any wrong
course we followed, and (c) endurance to the end.
The Mormons
What is it, then, that the Lord asks of us to show our
acceptance of his offer of salvation? [p. 39] . . . repen-
tance, means turning away from a sin and turning
toward righteousness. Forsaking sin involves both an
emotional and a physical break from transgression,
giving rise to sorrow and regret. It also involves trying
to repair the damage done by ones sins, as far as that
is possible. Thus, in many instances, confession is
necessary, as in going to a person one has wronged
and confessing ones wrongdoing. The marvelous
thing about repentance is forgiveness. Not only may
we obtain forgiveness from others, but more impor-
tant, God himself will forgive us.
5
All these glorious gifts, and many more that could be
mentioned, come to us through his grace as free gifts
and not of works, lest any man should boast. (See

3
Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life, Chapter 18, Make It Your Aim
to Serve God Forever (Brooklyn, New York: WatchTower Bible and Tract
Society of New York, Inc., 1995), 173.
4
Knowledge that Leads to Everlasting Life, 178.
5
Rex E. Lee, What Do Mormons Believe? (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book
Company, 1992), 39, 42.
Salvation by Faith Alone 5
Ephesians 2:8-9.) Nevertheless, to obtain these
graces, and the gift of eternal salvation, we must re-
member that this gift is only to all them that obey
him. (Hebrews 5:9.)
6
We are saved by grace through faith. We are also
saved by grace through works, because we know that
where there are no works, there is no faith. J amess
point in his discussion of faith and works is that they
are inseparable. He said, by works was faith made
perfect. (J ames 2:22)
7
In short, it is not a choice of either faith or works. The
two are integral parts of a single whole, and, for rea-
sons stated above, the writings of both Paul and J ames
show this. Faith is the foundation on which we build,
but it is not a foundation that springs into full-blown
existence by pure chance.
8
According to the above quotations, God does not grant eternal life
and forgiveness by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Instead, one receives forgiveness by (a) repentance that is both an
emotional and physical breaking away from sin, (b) sorrow and regret
for ones sin against God and man, and (c) obedience, or resolute con-
formity to all of the laws of God. Furthermore, though Ephesians 2:8-9
say that we are saved not of works, it is maintained that salvation is
by both grace through faith and grace through works.

6
LeGrande Richards, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder (Salt Lake City: De-
seret Book Company, 1976), 266.
7
Lee, 38.
8
Lee, 42.
CTS Journal, vol. 5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 6
The Gospel according to modern Reformers
The message of J esus cannot be made to accommodate
any kind of cheap grace or easy-believism. The king-
dom is not for people who want J esus without any
change in their lives. It is only for those who seek it
with all their hearts.
9
[J esus] is Lord, and those who refuse Him as Lord
cannot use Him as Savior. Everyone who receives
Him must surrender to His authority, for to say we re-
ceive Christ when in fact we reject His right to reign
over us is utter absurdity. It is a futile attempt to hold
onto sin with one hand and take J esus with the other.
What kind of salvation is it if we are left in bondage to
sin?
This then is the gospel we are to proclaim: That J e-
sus Christ, who is God incarnate, humbled Himself to
die on our behalf. Thus He became the sinless sacri-
fice to pay the penalty of our guilt. He rose from the
dead to declare with power that He is Lord over all,
and He offers eternal life freely to sinners who will
surrender to Him in humble, repentant faith. This gos-
pel promises nothing to the haughty rebel, but for
broken, penitent sinners, it graciously offers every-
thing that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
10
According to this author, one does not receive eternal life by faith
alone (contemptuously called easy believism), but (a) by commit-
ment to obey Him as Lord, (b) by seeking it with all of ones heart, and
(c) by surrender to the Lords authority in a humble, emotionally bro-
ken, repentant faith.
Another writer asserts:

9
J ohn F. MacArthur, J r., The Gospel According to Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zon-
dervan, 1988), 207.
10
MacArthur, Faith Works: The Gospel According to the Apostles (Dallas:
Word Publishing, 1993), 211-212, who quotes from his earlier work the Gos-
pel According to Jesus, 210.
Salvation by Faith Alone 7
Even as works must be the fruit of true repentance
(Matt. 3:7-10; Acts 26:20), so also works are the fruit
of true faith (J ames 2:14-26; Eph. 2:10). No person is
ever justified apart from works not as the basis or
reason for, but as the necessary fruit of, justification.
We are justified by faith alone, but the kind of faith
that justifies is never alone; faith is like an acorn that
produces a tree, or like a seed that grows into a melon.
If the seed is good, it will produce good fruit.
11
This writer dismisses the notion of faith alone because (a) good
works must follow the act of faith, (b) justification never happens
apart from works, and (c) works are the necessary result of faith.
To say must and necessary inseparably marries works to faith.
According to this author, God, then, justifies people through their faith
and because He foresees that they will do the required works.
Two additional authors say the following:
Good works may be said to be a condition for obtain-
ing salvation in that they inevitably accompany
genuine faith . . . The question is not whether good
works are necessary. As the inevitable outworking of
saving faith, they are necessary for salvation.
12
Lordship teaching does not add works, as if faith
were not sufficient. The works are part of the defi-
nition of faith.
13
Evangelical obedience is an absolute necessity, a
condition in mans justification.
14

11
Curtis I. Crenshaw, Lordship Salvation: The Only Kind There Is (Memphis,
TN: Footstool Publications, 1994), 67-68.
12
J ohn Gerstner, Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Critique of Dispen-
sationalism (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth and Hyatt, 1991), 210.
13
Gerstner, 225-227.
14
Samuel Logan, The Doctrine of J ustification in the Theology of J onathan
Edwards, Westminster Theological Journal 46 (1984) [Logos CD-ROM].
CTS Journal, vol. 5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 8
TWO OBSERVATIONS
In all the above quotations, we observe two things the authors hold
in common: (1) they indispensably link good works and faith, thus a
faith without works is not a faith that saves eternally. (2) They unit-
edly oppose those who claim that receiving eternal life and forgiveness
is by faith alone, without consideration of future good works.
The authors quoted above are strange bedfellows indeed, but ob-
jectively they teach the same thing: Salvation is by faith plus works,
regardless of how they with dexterity link works to faith. Some front-
load the gospel requiring works with faith from the beginning. Others
back-load the gospel requiring that works follow ones act of faith.
Neither requirement is biblical.
Accordingly, the fundamental issue Paul confronted in the first
century has swung full circle as we make passage into the Third Mil-
lennium: Is a man saved by faith alone, or by a faith that produces
good works? Some attempt to finesse the issue claiming that works are
not the basis, but necessary fruit, of faith. This is sophistry. Whether
one integrates works at the beginning of the act of faith, or following
after, it strips the grace of God of its glory.
If by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise
grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no
longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work (Ro-
mans 11:6).
15
ESSENTIAL PASSAGES
Faith, works, and Abraham (Romans 4)
Paul makes two profound points in Romans 3: (1) that an unbe-
liever's works count for nothing in heaven, so human boasting is out of
the question and (2) that an unbeliever's non-meritorious faith counts
for everything in heaven, giving God the credit.

15
Biblical quotations are from The New King James Version [CD-ROM, Lo-
gos Library System 2.1e] unless otherwise noted.
Salvation by Faith Alone 9
Many J ews in the first century considered that God's relationship to
Abraham was such that if anyone had a reason to boast, surely he did.
Abraham was the first Hebrew and from him God raised up a great na-
tion with covenants that carry-on into eternity. He was a man of
vigorous faith. Moreover, Abraham was a man of great works, keeping
the commandments (Genesis 26:5). In addition, the Lord called Abra-
ham His "friend" (Isaiah 41:8). Here was a man of extraordinary
qualities, faith, and good works, so is it possible he could boast a little
about his eternal salvation? One commentator put it this way: If it is a
man's works that justify him in God's sight, Abraham would have a
better chance than mostand he would be entitled to take some credit
for it.
16
In Romans 4, Paul uses Abraham to show that, according to the
J ewish Scriptures, even Abraham has no right to boast; we should con-
clude that no one has a right to vaunt himself before God.
17
The plan
of God excludes all boasting before the Lord.
Pauls opening question (Romans 4:1)
What then shall we say that Abraham our father has
found according to the flesh?
That is, What shall we say about Abraham who seems to have
human grounds for boasting?" The text reads "Abraham the father of
us," emphasizing that of all the forefathers of Israel, he was the unique
one God chose to originate the nation. An implication one might draw
is that Abraham was special in God's eyes, otherwise the Lord would
not have selected him to be "the" father of the J ews.
Yet, what was it that Abraham "has found," or obtained?
18
The
answer of context is that Abraham obtained nothing by works. He did

16
F. F. Bruce, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1963), 110.
17
C. E. B. Cranfield, The Epistle to the Romans, The International Critical
Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1990), 1:224.
18
William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich [BAG], A Greek-English Lexicon
of the New Testament (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1974), 325,
#3, offer find (for oneself), obtain, giving Mt. 10:39; 11:29; Hebrews 4:16;
12:17, etc. as references.
CTS Journal, vol. 5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 10
not find righteousness before God based on how much good he did,
either before or after the point of regeneration, as the next verse ex-
pands.
Abraham has no boast before God (Romans 4:2)
For if Abraham was justified by works, he has some-
thing of which to boast, but not before God.
To be justified is to have God declare one to be innocent before
heavens tribunal, before the divine standards of right and wrong. J us-
tification is the winning of a favorable verdict . . . the sentence of
acquittal, or the sentence of vindicated right.
19
J ustification is not an
improvement of ones moral condition. Deuteronomy 25:1 talks about
a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may
judge them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked . .
.. The decision of the judges does not alter the character or integrity
of the accused. The judges are not to make the righteous man better.
They are to vindicate his position as satisfactory to the law.
20
In regard of us men and our salvation it stands re-
lated not so much, not so directly, to our need of
spiritual revolution, amendment, purification, holiness,
as to our need of getting, somehowin spite of our
guilt, our liability, our debt, our deserved condemna-
tiona sentence of acquittal, a sentence of acceptance,
at the judgment seat of a holy God.
21
The direct concern of J ustification is with mans need
of a divine deliverance, not from the power of his sin,
but from its guilt.
22
To be justified by works is to have God declare one innocent "by
means of" works. That is, one does enough, or the right kind of, works
to merit a position of acceptance in heaven. It has been the position of

19
H. C. G. Moule, J ustification by Faith, The Fundamentals: A Testimony to
the Truth, volume 3 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1917/1998), 142.
20
Ibid., 143.
21
Ibid., 144.
22
Ibid.
Salvation by Faith Alone 11
many J ews that God justified Abraham because he was outstanding in
good works. Paul does not build a straw man here. For example, listen
to what J ewish rabbis wrote over several centuries:
Thou therefore, O Lord, that art the God of the just,
hast not appointed repentance to the just, as to Abra-
ham, and Isaac, and J acob, which have not sinned
against thee.
23
Abraham was perfect in all of his actions with the Lord
and pleasing through righteousness all the days of his
life.
24
Abraham our father had performed the whole Law be-
fore it was given, as it is said . . . Abraham hearkened
to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments,
My statutes, and My laws.
25
With that exalted view of Abraham, many felt he had grounds to
boast before God. Paul goes on to say that if God justified him by
works, then he has 'something of which' to boast. If the Lord justified
Abraham by works, then in heaven he has a basis for pride, for a sense
of self-achievement and personal accomplishment. Yet, the apostle
quickly adds but not before God, where but is a strong contrasting
conjunction serving to cut off any notion of legitimate boasting. Be-
fore God, Abraham has no grounds for boasting.
Why Abraham cannot boast (Romans 4:3)
For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed
God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 (LXX), which does not say Abraham did
good works that God credited to him for righteousness. Nor does it say

23
The King James Version Apocrypha, Prayer of Manasseh, verse 8 [CD-
ROM] (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2:1e), 1995.
24
The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 2, edited by J ames H. Char-
lesworth, Jubilees 23:10 (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1985), 100.
25
Philip Blackman, Mishnayoth, second edition, vol. 3, Kiddushim 4:14 (New
York: J udaica Press, 1977); 483.
CTS Journal, vol. 5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 12
that Abraham was an outstanding example of a decent person, a good
husband and father, and motivated to serve the true and living God
with good works, thus God imputed righteousness to him. That Scrip-
ture does not say! What the Holy Spirit does say is that Abraham
believed God! "To believe" is to be persuaded of the gospels mes-
sage, placing ones trust in what God says in His Word. It is to believe
God, even as a small child believes in his parent. Belief is not hocus-
pocus, or mystical. It requires no necessary feeling or emotion. Nor is
genuine faith blinda believing in nothing really, just a leap into the
dark.
To believe is to trust an objecta Person, in this case God. Faith
must always have an object. We should not merely equate faith with a
practical confidence.
To have faith in a commander does not mean merely to
entertain a conviction, a belief, however positive, that
he is skillful and competent. We may entertain such a
belief about the commander of the enemywith very
unpleasant impressions on our minds in consequence.
We may be confident that he is a great general in a
sense the very opposite to personal confidence in him.
No, to have faith in a commander implies a view of
him, in which we either actually do, or are quite ready
to, trust ourselves and our cause to his command. And
just the same is true of faith in a divine Promise, faith
in a divine Redeemer. . .. It means a putting of our-
selves and our needs, in personal reliance, into His
hands.
26
Paul sharply contrasts "believed" (vs. 3) with "works" (vs. 2).
Why? Because faith and works are antithetical, or opposites, like wa-
ter and oil that do not mix. To do good works is one thing; to believe
God is another thing. What did Abraham believe according to Genesis
15? He put himself, in personal reliance, into Gods hands, trusting the
Lord who promised I am your shield (Genesis 15:1) and I will give you
descendants as innumerable as the stars (Genesis 15:3-5). How did
the Lord respond to Abrahams act of trust? It was accounted to him

26
Moule, 147.
Salvation by Faith Alone 13
for righteousness. God credited Abraham's faith to his account for
righteousness. The preposition "for" expresses here equivalence.
27
Before he believed, God accounted Abraham to be an unrighteous
man. However, with his first act of faith, God forever declared his
faith non-meritoriously equivalent to righteousness; He accounted him
a righteous man. This does not mean that Abraham was made right-
eous so from that point on he no longer sinned. Yet in the heavenly
bookkeeping system, God took Abraham's act of faith and credited it to
his account as righteousness that forever prepared him to live in
heaven.
Abraham had no righteousness of his own to offer to God, at least
none that God found acceptable. All he had to offer was faith. Thus
God took Abraham's non-meritorious faith and converted it to right-
eousness in heavens books.
Now, what is the fundamental nature of good works and faith?
The next two verses exhort people not to mingle faith and works when
seeking eternal life and forgiveness.
The operating principle that excludes boasting
(Romans 4:4-5)
Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as
grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but
believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
accounted for righteousness.
The negative side of the principle is that a person who works re-
ceives what is due, or owed, which is contrary to grace. Now to him
who works speaks of one who expends energy being motivated to pro-
duce. His employer rewards his efforts with wages that denote a
payment for the work accomplished. The laborer is worthy of his hire.
He deserves to be paid for his efforts.

27
Note the same preposition in Hebrews 1:15, I will be to him as a father. See
also Mark 10:8; Psalm 106:31.
CTS Journal, vol. 5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 14
In addition, since he has earned a wage, one does not count it as
grace. That is, his boss did not give the wage to him out of grace or
good will. Compensation is a matter of what one deserves. A worker
earns what he gets and he does not consider it a favor/grace that his
employer pays him for his work. However, if his boss goes beyond
their contractual agreement, and gives him a turkey for Thanksgiving,
that turkey is an expression of grace. The employee did not earn or
deserve the turkey; it was a token of the employers grace attitude.
However, when an employee puts in a day's labor, his boss owes
him somethinga day's pay, which Paul alludes to next. His pay is
not counted as grace but [counted] as debt, or as what is owed. "It is
considered not as a favor, but as his due."
28
Accordingly, when an employee receives his paycheck, he can
boast that he earned it. The boss owed him for services rendered and,
therefore, that paycheck was rightfully his. In the spiritual realm, if a
man could earn eternal life, he may arrive in heaven and say "Make
room, Lord, I am here to claim my due place in heaven." However,
one does not earn a place in heaven; no man has a due spot behind the
pearly gates. J ustification is an expression of God's grace to believers,
not to workers.
The two ideas of grace and works; of gift and debt; of
undeserved favour and what is merited; of what is to
be referred to the good pleasure of the giver, and what
to the character or state of the receiver, are antithetical.
The one excludes the other.
29
The positive side of the divine operating principle is that an un-
godly person who does not work, but antithetically believes, his faith is
accounted for righteousness (which is God's grace at work). To him
who does not work says that no amount of good deeds, by any one, at
any time, give that person a claim on God. Nor are one's good works a
cause for boasting as though works contribute to his justification, in-
cluding every good work performed after regeneration. To the

28
BAG, 603.
29
Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology [Logos CD-ROM] (Oak Harbor, WA:
Logos research Systems, 2.1e), 1997.
Salvation by Faith Alone 15
contrary, God declares righteous, or innocent, each one who believes
on Him who justifies the ungodly.
The Lord does not justify do-gooders. The decent people! Relig-
ious types and legalists! Or, those who turn-over-a-new-leaf! He
justifies the ungodly who have no merit before God. Their thought-life
and conduct do not measure up to God's standards of righteousness.
Yet, regardless of their absence of personal righteousness, each be-
liever discovers that his faith [not his works] is accounted
30
for
righteousness, which implies forgiveness. Luther said
He who works properly receives a reward; but he re-
ceives the reward of debt, and not of grace. On the
other hand, to him who does not rely on his works nor
regards them as (necessary for salvation), righteous-
ness is given freely by faith, which relies on God.
31
An Old Testament Illustration
(Romans 4:6-8)
Just as David also describes the blessedness of the
man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from
works: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are for-
given, and whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man
to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.
David is an Old Testament illustration of the blessing of receiving
righteousness freely. Just as
32
introduces Old Testament evidence
(Psalm 32:1-2) to show that God does not ground righteousness in
ones works, but makes it a free gift of His grace. Upon a person with
such righteousness, God has conferred a great benefit, thus his blessed-
ness. Imputed righteousness is apart from works, repeating the clause

30
The verb l ogi vzet ai [is accounted] must signify a counting which is not a
rewarding of merit, but a free and unmerited decision of divine grace (Cran-
field 1:233).
31
Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1976), 82.
32
By means of this relative clause Paul gathers up the thought of vv. 4 and 5,
making the connection between the passage he is about to quote and Gen 15:6,
identifying the forgiving of sins with the reckoning of righteousness apart
from works (Cranfield 1:233).
CTS Journal, vol. 5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 16
found in 3:21, 28. Why is it important to repeat that justification is
apart from works? Because if a right standing before God depends on
works, we are hopelessly lost since no one can do enough good works
to satisfy a holy God, including all the works one does following the
new birth.
The next two verses (7-8) are parallel, elaborating on Gods be-
stowal of righteousness apart from works. The bottom line is that
when God imputes righteousness to an individual, it goes hand-in-
glove with forgiveness. Here is a strong platform for the assurance of
ones eternal relationship with God. We could never have assurance of
a righteous standing and forgiveness if our relationship to God required
good works. Why? Because one would never know when he had
done enough good works? Nevertheless, when we are persuaded that
God imputes righteousness to believers, not to workers, genuine happi-
ness is ours.
David is a potent example of the blessing of forgiveness. God for-
gave his lawless deedshis "deliberate and open violation[s] of God's
commandment."
33
Yet, he turned to the Lord, confessed, and found his
sins "forgiven. The Lord graciously "cancelled, pardoned"
34
his
transgressions. God did not cover Davids sin immediately because he
did not immediately confess. The lapse cost him much: Severed fel-
lowship with the Lord. A troubled conscience, or guilt feelings!
Depression! And, finally, severe psychosomatic distress (see Psalm
38)! For nearly a year the king endured this state-of-affairs that
weighed heavily upon him. His soul cried-out for relief from the bur-
den of guilt that was crushing him, destroying his happiness. Then he
confessed and experienced the blessing of God's forgiveness.
Luther says, Blessed are they who by grace are freed from the
burden of iniquity, namely, [liberated] of the actual sins which they
have committed.
35
Accordingly, David illustrates the blessing of a
man whose sin God does not impute (4:8). Bruce says

33
Cranfield 1:233.
34
BAG, 125.
35
Luther, 83.
Salvation by Faith Alone 17
[David is one] of whose sin there could be no question,
who yet has received God's free pardon and who is
pronounced 'not guilty' before the tribunal of heaven.
And if we examine the remainder of the psalm to dis-
cover the ground on which he was acquitted, it appears
that he simply acknowledged his guilt and cast himself
in faith upon the mercy of God.
36
Now do you know what the most terrifying news for people is, es-
pecially for a person without illusions? It is that his works have
something to do with forgiveness and heaven. It may not initially
alarm him, but it will eventually turn his knees to jelly. Any man who
reflects about how many good works he has to do to get into heaven
will emotionally melt down, particularly if he tries to do enough good
works.
If one supposes that good works are necessary, it will compel a
candid person to high anxiety because deep inside he knows that he is
not good enough. His thoughts are too often evil. His attempts to
control his tongue are too often defeated. Moreover, keeping injurious
emotions under control is like trying to press down a balloon: About
the time he gets down part of it, another section pops up again. He
may suppress anger, but covetousness pops up. In addition, these
questions plague a sincere person: "How many good works are
enough! When have I done enough? Do I have to do a 1000? 10,000?
A million? Moreover, are the kind of works I do pleasing to God, or
only to me and someone else? On the other hand, God forbid, have I
committed one sin too many, so that God will not forgive me?
Count on it, people who get into a works-oriented system for eter-
nal life, will either seek to lower the standards of God's Word so that
they measure up, or they build up their self-image to whatever height it
takes to quiet their consciences. They keep murder, adultery, and bank
robbery on their list of standards. However, is it not interesting how
they dismiss pride, fear, short-fused tempers, implacability, and lust
from their lists? Alternatively, if they do not whittle down God's
norms, they build up their estimation of their own goodness, a sure pre-
scription for spiritual disaster.

36
Bruce, 111.
CTS Journal, vol. 5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 18
Now Paul goes head-to-head with the self-righteous and religious
people who claim that works are part of the package of eternal life. He
does not say that those who are born-again should not do good works.
He does not say that good works do not have a place in the Christian
way of life. However, if any suppose that even one good work is nec-
essary to receive Gods justification, then that man terribly
misunderstands Scripture. Such a person does not grasp the signifi-
cance of Abrahams salvation. Thus in Romans 4, Paul illustrates by
the life of Abraham that God justifies a man through faith alone and
never by works.
Abraham's righteousness came by faith before circumcision
(Romans 4:9-10)
Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised
only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that
faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.
How then was it accounted? While he was circum-
cised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but
while uncircumcised.
Another rhetorical question, regarding blessedness, begins this
section. Paul asks Does this blessedness then come upon the circum-
cised only, or upon the uncircumcised also, linking back to 4:6-8
where the author featured blessedness apart from works. It is a mag-
nificent blessing, an inner sense of joy and gratitude, knowing that God
graciously forgives without demanding payment, or a pound of flesh.
It was the position of many rabbis that God only blessed Israel.
For example:
On the day of Atonement God cleanses Israel and
atones for its guilt, as it is written, "For on this day
shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you", Lev.
16.30. And, if you wouldst say, "Another nation too
[he cleanses, know that] it is not so, but it is only Is-
rael; for so spake the prophet Micah (7:18): "Who is a
God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and pas-
seth by the transgression of the remnant of his
Salvation by Faith Alone 19
heritage?" It is only Israel that he forgives. When
David saw how God forgives the sins of the Israelites
and has mercy upon them, he began to pronounce them
blessed and to glorify them: "Blessed is he whose
transgression is forgiven, etc.", Ps 32.1.
37
That is clear enough. They supposed that God forgave only J ews;
the Gentiles were on a free-fall to hell. Yet just a moment Paul says:
"How can we say that God only blesses the J ews with forgiveness and
righteousness?" This, he goes on to show does not line up with one of
the most, if not the most, revered J ew of all.
For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.
For (gavr
38
), or "How can we say that God only blesses circumcised
J ews when Genesis 15 says that faith was accounted to Abraham for
righteousness? This does not make sense when one examines the
facts about Abraham himselffacts Paul spells out in a moment.
The apostle has two more rapid-fire questions: First, how then was
it accounted, or "under what circumstances was righteousness ac-
counted to Abraham?" Second, did it happen while he was
circumcised, or uncircumcised? Paul quickly answers by asserting not
while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. According to the J ewish
chronology of Abraham's life, the Lord ordered his circumcision about
24 years after the promise of Genesis 15:6. Thus, God imputed right-
eousness to his account not after, but well before, the operation. When
Abraham believed God's Word and the Lord imputed righteousness to
his account, Abraham was uncircumcised even as Gentiles are uncir-
cumcised. So if the Lord forgave and credited righteousness to
Abraham while uncircumcised, then it makes sense to conclude that
God may forgive and declare righteous an uncircumcised Gentile.
Accordingly, since Abraham possessed imputed righteousness for
a quarter of a century before God ordered his circumcision, his for-
giveness and righteousness did not depend on the good work or ritual
of circumcision.

37
Cranfield 1:234-35, note 4.
38
Gav r implies an unexpressed answer (and upon the uncircumcision) to the
foregoing question (Cranfield 1:235).
CTS Journal, vol. 5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 20
God's purposes for Abraham's circumcision
(Romans 4:11-12)
And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
righteousness of the faith which he had while still un-
circumcised, that he might be the father of all those
who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that
righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the
father of circumcision to those who not only are of the
circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the
faith which our father Abraham had while still uncir-
cumcised.
Despite justification being by grace through faith, the J ews were
inclined to treat circumcision as a means to merit righteousness before
God. The Lord never intended circumcision to serve such an end.
Therefore, Paul explains that the true purposes of circumcision were to
accomplish certain post-justification benefits.
The first purpose was to grant Abraham a sign and seal. The sign,
according to Genesis 17:11, was a "sign of the covenant" between God
and Abraham where the Lord promised to multiply Abrahams descen-
dants, make him the father of many nations, add kings to his posterity,
and grant him the land of Canaan. The affirming sign of this promise
was circumcision, i.e., "the sign [that] consists in circumcision."
39
Circumcision is an outward sign, a pointer to the reality of that which
it signifies, namely (according to Gen 17:11) the covenant made by
God with Abraham and his seed.
40
Circumcision was not only a sign, but also a seal of the righteous-
ness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised. A "seal" is
something that confirms
41
what God did for Abraham. The seal was
the Lord's visible guarantee to Abraham of the righteousness he ac-

39
Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics (Grand Rapids: Zon-
dervan, 1996), 33; A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament
in Light of Historical Research (Nashville: Broadman, 1934), 498; Cranfield
1:236. Bruce calls it a genitive of definition, 116.
40
Cranfield 1:236.
41
Cranfield 1:236.
Salvation by Faith Alone 21
quired by faith. God granted both the seal and imputed righteousness
to Abraham while he was still uncircumcised,
42
implying circumcision
did not confer a status of righteousness on him, but was valuable as an
outward and visible attestation of the righteous standing he already
possessed.
43
Hence, the seal was not the means of obtaining righteousness, but
an accessory after the fact. Bruce says:
Circumcision is thus treated as a subsequent and exter-
nal seal of that righteous status which Abraham
already possessed as God's gift; it neither created nor
enhanced that righteous status.
44
The first purpose of Abraham's circumcision, then, was to give him
a sign and a seal. Circumcision was a personal blessing to Abraham
for his faitha faith he exercised long before he had an operation.
Purpose #2 of Abraham's circumcision was to make him a "father"
of believers. Looking at the totality of a persons life, we may say that
at phase onewhich is an individuals personal entrance into Gods
familythe Lord made Abraham the father of all those who believe,
though they are uncircumcised.
The next clause, that he might be the father, is a purpose clause
expressing what God's will was.
45
From eternity past God designed
that Abraham would be a special kind of father, in the sense a proto-
type of a category of mankind. For all believers who come after, he
would be the individual who exhibits the essential feature of those in
Gods family: faith in the gospel. Abraham is a "father," in the sense

42
Cranfield 1:236.
43
Cranfield 1:236.
44
Bruce, 116.
45
It was Gods intention in causing Abraham to be circumcised that he
should be the point of union between all who believe, whether circumcised or
uncircumcised, being, on the one hand, by virtue of his having been justified
while still uncircumcised, the father of all those who as uncircumcised be-
lieve, and, on the other hand, by virtue of the fact that he subsequently
received circumcision, the father of all those who, being circumcised are not
only circumcised but are also believers (Cranfield 1:236-37).
CTS Journal, vol. 5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 22
that he is the example, model, or exemplar of what it means to believe.
Emphasis is on what unbelievers should becomebelievers!when
they encounter the gospel. Why? That righteousness might be imputed
to them also, denoting the result
46
of faith, in the same way God im-
puted righteousness to Abraham through faith.
Before a person believes in Christ, and this is true of J ews too,
there is a sense in which Abraham is not their father. He is not their
prototype of faith resulting in imputed righteousness because they have
not yet believed as Abraham believed. Remember that in J ohn 8:39,
the J ews said to J esus Abraham is our father. However, J esus did not
say, Yes, thats right. Instead, He said, You are of your father the
devil (8:44). That was a hard counter-punch! It means that physical
descent and circumcision are not determinative matters for entrance
into heaven.
There must be faith alone, which is persuasion of the gospels
truthfulness and personal applicability. This kind of single-minded
faith in Christ results in the circumcision of the heart, which is what
matters. That is why elsewhere Paul says, we are of the circumcision,
who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no
confidence in the flesh (Philippians 3:3).
Now Abraham is a father or prototype for another group. Not only
is he the father of those who by one initial act of faith become the sons
of God, but he is the father of a certain category of Christians. That is,
he is the father of those believers who continue to believe the exceed-
ingly great and precious promises: the father of circumcision to those
who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of
the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
Those who also walk in the steps of faith are Abraham's natural
descendants who also believe. Why? Because walking in the steps of
the faith is possible only for those who have been born-again and
whom the Holy Spirit enables.
Hebrews 11 reveals that Abraham took three noteworthy steps of
faith:

46
Cranfield 1:237, note 2.
Salvation by Faith Alone 23
First, He left Ur, obeying by faith and going to Canaan, not
knowing where he was going (11:8).
Second, by faith he lived as an alien in Canaan. He was willing
to by-pass the securities and status symbols of life with an eye
toward God's promise of provision (11:9-10).
Third, by faith he committed to offer up Isaac during the major
test of his life (11:17-18).
Now there are those who walk in Abraham's steps of faith. The
term walk is literally to march in line, or file, like soldiers on a drill
field. It speaks of the decisions and steps one takes in life that flow
from obeying God's Word. If Abraham is our father or prototype in
practicein personal experiencewe too will:
Obey God's Word once we grasp its meaning, even if we have
unanswered questions.
We will believe God when He says that He will provide for all
our needs in Christ J esus, and thus not become anxious over
the material things of life.
In addition, when God's will is clear, we will move forward to do
it to the best of ability regardless of dangers, trials, and oppo-
sition.
This obedience is not what saves a person. It is what should hap-
pen in the life of a Christian, but only does happen as he walks in the
light and by means of the Spirit. Now context shows that God declared
Abraham righteous many years before he obediently had himself cir-
cumcised. Thus the rite of circumcisionor any rite for that matter
is not important to a persons right standing before God. It was faith
alone, independent of all works, that justified Abraham: The faith
which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
--To be continued--
George Meisinger is dean of Chafer Theological Seminary and teaches in the Old an
CTS Journal, vol. 5, #2 (April-J une 1999) 24
tament departments. He earned a B.A. from Biola University, a Th.M. in Old Testament Literature
and Exegesis from Dallas Theological Seminary, a D.Min. in Biblical Studies from W
nary, and presently pursues a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology. He also pastors Grace Church in
Orange, California. His email address is: cts@school.com.