Paul explained to us in yesterday's passage that it is faith that makes us right with God. Some of his enemies apparently took this to mean he was speaking against the law, because he asks, "Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law." (Romans 3:31) Paul's detractors are accusing him of saying that the law has no purpose and that men and women shouldn't be concerned with it since they can't perfectly keep it. But what Paul is saying is that faith fulfills the spirit of the law.
We could look at it like this. Suppose a person doesn't really have a heart for the Lord but wants to obtain salvation through keeping the law and through performing good works. This person spends every waking hour working toward these goals. Yet, because he is human, he falls short, and he has no faith to make up for what he lacks. Will he be justified in the sight of God without faith? Paul is saying no. But suppose a person loves the Lord and, because of that love, tries his best to honor the Lord by obeying His laws and commands. Yet, because he is human, he falls short. Unlike the first man, he has faith. He has the kind of faith King David had when he repented of his sins and realized nothing he could do could make up for them, the kind of faith David had when he prayed to the Lord, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me of my sin...Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow...Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity...Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:1-2, 7,9-10) The heart that has faith says, "Lord, do for me what I can't do for myself! Only You can make me clean!" The person who has faith is justified in the eyes of God.
We can perform all the works that are humanly possible, but without faith they are meaningless. There are many unbelievers who perform good works in this world. They do it for various reasons. Some do it because, even though they don't believe in God, they believe in showing mercy to their fellow man. Some do it for recognition. Some do it because it makes them feel better about themselves. But these good works can't justify them in the eyes of a God they refuse to acknowledge and serve. On the other hand, the person who has faith in God will naturally perform good works because of love for his fellow man. The person who has faith has been transformed on the inside and therefore looks more and more like Christ on the outside. The person who has faith isn't trusting in his works to save him but is trusting in the work of Christ to save him and, because he loves Christ, he wants to treat his fellow human beings the way Christ would treat them.
Paul is about to tell us that Abraham is an example of a person who was saved by faith. Abraham lived in a time before the law was given. He could not follow the law because he did not have the law. But he had faith, and his faith justified him in the eyes of God. He had faith, and that faith caused him to believe in and obey the Lord. So even though Abraham did not have the law, he obeyed the law in spirit, for the spirit of the law can be summed up like this, "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40)
So now Paul asks, "What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about---but not before God. What does Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.'" (Romans 4:1-3) He's quoting Genesis 15:6, the passage where God makes His covenant with Abraham. Paul asks his readers, "What does God's holy word say about Abraham's righteousness? Did he obtain it by works or by faith? If Abraham were a perfect man then maybe he could have bragged about his works, but he wasn't a perfect man. He didn't have perfection, but he had faith, and his faith was credited to him as righteousness."
Why does faith give us right standing in the eyes of God? The apostle Paul will later say in his letter to the Hebrews, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) It is impossible to please God without faith. Even if we perfectly performed everything required of us, without faith we would not be pleasing to God. The Lord Jesus agrees, saying that if we did all that we were required to do and nothing else we would be "unprofitable servants". (Luke 17:10) What type of servant is the master of the household most pleased with? Is it the one who performs his duties simply because it's his job? Or is it the one who performs all his duties and more because he loves and honors his master? The Lord is like the master of a household who looks on those who have faith in Him and says, "These are profitable servants! I am pleased with them! I will honor them because they have honored Me!"
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