Abraham in the New Testament

Abraham the son of Terah was a man who lived in the days of Genesis. Even though he is a person that comes out in Old Testament, his name was mentioned 69 times in the New Testament. There are many passages about Abraham in the Epistle to the Romans as well. So what can we learn about him from these passages in the New Testament? What is his role in the New Testament?

“When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.”
- Genesis 11:26-27

Abraham and His Justification by Faith

Paul wrote about Abraham especially in chapter 4 in the context about justification. He wrote about Abraham as an example of the justification by faith. Because when Paul wrote this letter, there was a problem between Jews and the Gentiles about justification by faith and justification by works. So Paul had to write in this letter that the Gospel was given to all the people who believe in God no matter if the person was circumcised or not. So he made clear that justification is only by faith by telling the story of Abraham our ancestor.

“What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
- Romans 4:1-3

Abraham as Our Father of Faith

If Abraham our ancestor was justified by his faith, we are also going to be justified by our faith because we are his descendants. But why are we called his descendants even though we are not Jews or Hebrews? As Paul wrote in Romans 9:4-8, we are not his descendants in flesh but we became Abraham’s children in faith by the redemption in Christ. Jesus Christ our Lord fulfilled the promise by his death on the cross and resurrection. So we can call Abraham the father of our faith. Because people will be called “Abraham’s children” by their faith and not by the blood relationship.

“This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”
- Romans 9:8

Why Are We Called the Children of Abraham?

Abraham was justified by his faith. So his children in faith were also justified by faith. In the New Testament, people who were circumcised were not the only Abraham’s children anymore but he became the father of all the people who will be justified by faith. And this is the fulfillment of the promise that God gave to Abraham in Genesis. The promise that all the people who believe in God will receive inheritance from Him is the grace of God that He gave to Abraham and his descendants. Not by law or works but only by faith. We will be part of the promise only by believing in God.

“He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.”
- Romans 4:11-12

The Promised Heir of Abraham

When God gave this promise to Abraham about the promised heir. He had no child. Even when they grew older, they did not have a child. Even though he was called “the father of many nations” he had no child. But not only that he did not doubt the promise but his faith grew stronger and he kept believing in the fulfilment of the promise. This is his faith that justified him and it is an good example for all of us for the justification.

“For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.”
- Romans 4:13

The Father of Faith and His Children

Abraham our father of the faith is the example for our faith. So Paul wrote about him and his justification no only for his sake but for us too. Because we will be justified by faith like Abraham was. And this is why Christ died and resurrected and fulfilled the promise.

“But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord…”
- Romans 4:23-24

“None is righteous, no, not one.”

“None is righteous, no, not one.” Paul quoted this phrase from Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 to describe the sins of human beings. In this section of Romans 3-4. He wrote about the unrighteous and in order to explaine the righteousness. Than what is the righteousness that Paul preached? And what is the unrighteousness? How did the redemption of Christ on the cross changed the fact of “None is righteous, no, not one.”?

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The LORDlooks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”
- Psalm 14:1-3

Righteousness of God in Romans 3 and 4

In chapter 3 verse 21, Paul wrote what the righteousness is very clearly in very few words. That it is something that was witness by Law and the Prophets. Righteousness of God comes from the faith and He promised that it will be manifested to all people who believes in Him. The reason that Paul emphasised the fact that “everyone” who believes in Christ will be shown His righteousness is because in Paul’s days, “Jews and Gentiles” was one of the issues among the Christians. So Paul clearly said that righteousness of God will be given to all people who believes in God.

Why Did God Showed His Righteousness to Sinners?

But why did God showed his righteousness to the sinners? Like Paul said in 3:10, aren’t we all sinners? No matter if you are Jew or Gentile, all people were under the power of sins. And by the Law we were all convicted guilty. Than why did God revealed His righteousness to such people? All people were under the power of sins since Adam sinned. But by God’s grace and the redemption by Christ’s blood we were saved and He revealed His righteousness to those who believe Him.

What is the Righteousness of God?

Righteousness is Christ himself. Which means that Christ saved us in order to reveal Himself who is righteousness. It also means that Christ justified the believers through His death and resurrection. If people believe in Christ the righteous, they will be justified. We were sinners but by grace of God and redemption, we were freed from the power of sins. It means that we who used to be sinners and unrighteouss became “righteous”.

Justification and the Faith

The sin entered the world by Adam’s sin that he disobeyed God’s order and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But by God’s grace, He gave us the promise that He will justified those who believes in Him. Not by keeping the law but by faith alone we will be justified. So Christ’s righteousness was revealed to both Jews and Gentiles, circumcised and uncircumcised. Because as Paul wrote in 3:29, God is not God of Jews only but also God of Gentiles.

“Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also…”
- Romans 3:29

What is Unrighteousness?

As Paul wrote in this section, Laws and Circumcision was not the complete redemption. But God promised us that we will be justified only by believing in Christ. This is the Grace of God that was given to us by death and resurrection of Christ. Christ was put to death for our sins and resurrected so that we might have righteousness (4:25). Before His redemption, we were under the power of sins, like the sins that Paul listed in 3:10-18. The list included, false witness and cursing, the feet that are quick in running after blood. These were the sins that existed since Adam’s days. And they all comes from the heart that does not fear the Lord The false witness by Satan who seduced Adam and Eve, And the false witness by Adam, Eve and Satan after they sinned and Cain’s feet that wee quick in running after blood of his brother Abel. They sinned because they did not fear the Lord.

“But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
- Romans 4:23-25

The Perfect Redemption

By death and resurrection of Christ on the cross, all the sins were forgiven and those who were unrighteous were justified by faith. It is the unconditional grace of God that changed the situation of “None is righteous, no, not one.”

The Letter About the Gospel

The Epistle to the Romans was written by Paul to his brothers in Christ in Rome about “Gospel”. From Romans 1:1-15, it is clear that the main theme of this letter is “Gospel”. What is “Gospel”? And what did “Gospel” mean for the saints in Rome?

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures…”
- Romans 1:1

“So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”
- Romans 1:15

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
- Romans 1:16-17

The Gospel About the Son of God

From Romans 1:2-3, Paul concluded that the gospel is about the “Son of God”. From this passage, we can tell that we first have to understand who is the Son of God in order to understand what the Gospel is. What is written about the Son in the sections of Romans 1:1-5, is that the Son is the seed of David who we God promised us before by the Prophets. He is our Lord Jesus Christ who died and resurrected for our sins. What we have to notice in this passage is that the Son is “our” Lord. Because our duty to spread the Gospel was given to us from our Lord Jesus Christ. We spread the Gospel about Him for we are His.

“… which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh…”
- Romans 1:2-3

The Calling of the Saints

Paul called his brothers in Christ in Rome the people “who were called to be saints”. They were called by Jesus Christ himself for the Gospel. And their mission was to spread their faith by their work for God. And Paul described their work as “the apostleship for obedience to the faith among the nations”. The word “obedience to the fatih” was also used in Romans 16:25-26. And from these verses, it is obevious that Gospel is what brings the obedience to the faith among people.

“Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith–”
- Romans 16:25-26

Encouragement for the Brothers in Christ

Paul sent this letter to encourage his brothers in Rome as a man who also works for the Gospel about Jesus Christ. Because Paul heard about their good faith and that their faith is proclaimed in all the world. So Paul encouraged them as the servant of Christ who also was called by the same God, Jesus Christ. Even though they worked in different places, but their faith and mission was the same.

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.”
- Romans 1:8

The Work of Paul and the Saints

They were also people who worked with Paul to spread the Gospel. In Romans 16:21-27, there is a list of the names of people who were in the same area with Paul for their mission. For example, Timothy, Lucius, Jason, Sosipater and Gaius. Paul encouraged his brothers and greeted them by naming specific people. He also named his brothers in Rome in Romans 16:3-16. He gave out the names of 26 saints and greeted them in the name of Jesus Christ.

“Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you…”
- Romans 16:21-23