Lessons # 121 and 122
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ HCSB = Holman Christian Standard Bible +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blessedness of Faith Righteousness (Romans 4:4-8)
4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never rricount against him.”
In our introduction of this subsection of Romans 4:4-8, we indicated the apostle argued that faith, and not works, is what is credited to anyone as righteousness. We also stated that although this is true, the section is equally concerned with blessedness of faith righteousness as part of the larger argument of the apostle that justification is by faith and not by works. In effect, the apostle tells us that it is not only that justification is by faith without works but that it is a great blessing of God to those who are the recipients of faith righteousness. Consequently, we stated the message of the passage we are considering is that You are blessed by God if you are the recipient of faith righteous that includes proper handling of your sins. Our last study focused on the concept that it is through faith that a person is justified and not by works. We also considered the principle the apostle stated in verse 4 which is that wages paid to a worker are not a favor to such an individual but something due to them for their work. This principle helps to state that God justifies a sinner purely based on His favor since the whole process from start to finish is from Him. He grants faith and He justifies. The principle we stated and the issue of God’s favor in justifying a sinner were derived from verses 4 and 5 we examined in our last study. So, we proceed to consider the issue of blessedness of faith righteousness that is given in verses 6 to 8.
Apostle Paul continued with the concept of faith righteousness that he referenced in Genesis 15 as it pertains to Abraham by making a comparison to what David asserted as we read in the sentence of Romans 4:6 David says the same thing when he speaks of. The translators of the NIV were interpretative in their translation since they added words in this sentence that are not in the Greek text such as the word “says” and “thing”. Literally, the Greek reads just as David also speaks of. This is because the Greek text begins with a Greek conjunction or adverb (kathaper) that is used for comparison and so may mean “just as, even as” as Apostle Paul used it to compare his longing to see the Thessalonians as they longed to see him and members of his apostolic team as stated in 1 Thessalonians 3:6:
But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.
In our passage of Romans 4:6, the apostle used it to introduce a comparison to what David wrote that supports the concept of faith righteousness or that a person is justified by faith. Thus, as we have indicated, literally the Greek begins just as David also speaks of. The word “also” is translated from a Greek particle (kai) that is often translated “and” in our English versions as a marker of connection between single words or clauses, but the particle has several usages. It may be used as a marker of introduction of a result that comes from what precedes and so may be translated “and then, and so.” It may be used to emphasize a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy, leading to the translation “and yet, and in spite of that, nevertheless.” It may be used as a marker of emphasis where there is a stress on what is said and hence means “indeed, certainly.” It may be used as a marker to indicate an additive relation that is not of equal rank and significance to another clause, in which case, it means “also, likewise.” Still the word may be used as a marker of contrast so that it means “but.” In our passage, however, it is used as a marker of emphasis and so may be translated “also” or “too.” Anyway, the apostle introduced in an emphatic way what David declared since he wrote literally just as David also speaks of.
David refers to the youngest son of Jesse that became Israel’s greatest king, being called and favored by God as Apostle Paul mentioned in his sermon in Pisidian Antioch as stated in Acts 13:22:
After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’
David was certainly a man that was highly favored by God since he was the youngest of his father’s sons, implying he should not be king, but he was anointed king of Israel by Samuel as recorded in the sixteenth chapter of First Samuel, but consider what is narrated in 1 Samuel 16:8–13:
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered, “but he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” 12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.
David was a man of faith in that it was because of his faith in Yahweh that he faced and killed Goliath as recorded in 1 Samuel 17:50–51:
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
David, before killing Goliath, demonstrated his faith in what he said about the battle belonging to Yahweh as narrated in 1 Samuel 17:46–47:
46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
As great a believer as David was, he failed in his infamous sins of murder and adultery that Prophet Nathan rebuked him about followed by the announcement of Yahweh’s punishment on him as described in 2 Samuel 12:9–11:
9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 “This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.
David confessed his sins and was forgiven but that did not change the punishment Yahweh announced through his prophet as we may gather beginning with the death of the son that was the result of his adulterous affairs as we read in 2 Samuel 12:13–18:
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.” 15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”
The failure of David did not change the promise of an everlasting kingdom Yahweh made him as recorded in 2 Samuel 7:11–16:
11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “‘The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”
That this promise of everlasting kingdom was fulfilled through the Messiah is confirmed by the fact that the Holy Spirit guided Matthew so that in his genealogical record of Jesus he related Him immediately to David as we read in Matthew 1:1:
A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
There is much we could say about David, but we limit our comments and focus on the thing about him that is relevant to our study. David was a man inspired by the Holy Spirit to sing psalms as he testified in the record of 2 Samuel 23:1:
These are the last words of David: “The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel’s singer of songs:
The Lord Jesus confirmed that David was inspired since He described him as one who spoke by the Holy Spirit in writing what he did in psalm as we may gather from Mark 12:36:
David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
Thus, it is David as one that was inspired to write the psalm or Scripture that is the concern in our passage of Romans 4:6. This means that when the apostle mentioned what David said that he indeed quoted the Scripture in support of what he was teaching. Anyway, the apostle wrote in Romans 4:6 David says the same thing when he speaks of or literally just as David also speaks.
The word “speaks” is translated from a Greek verb (legō) that may mean “to express oneself orally or in written form” and so may mean to “tell” as Apostle Paul used it to communicate to the Thessalonians regarding the implied order of resurrection of believers in Christ in Christ’s second coming as stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:15:
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
The word may mean “to inform about/tell of something so that it may mean “to mention” as Apostle Paul used it to assert regarding the nature of things unbelievers do in secret as recorded in Ephesians 5:12:
For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
The word may mean “to express oneself in a specific way” and so, for example, it may mean “to declare as in what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman in His interaction with her as recorded in John 4:21:
Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
In our passage of Romans 4:6, the word is used with the sense of “to say,” that is, “to declare.” In effect, Apostle Paul refers not only to the oral communication coming from David, but what was written down by him.
The thing the apostle stated that David wrote concerned blessedness of a certain kind of person as in Romans 4:6 of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works. The word “blessedness” is translated from a Greek noun (makarismos) that here means “blessing,” that is, “pronouncement of being in receipt of special favor.” This word is used only three times in the NT, twice in Romans 4, that is, in verses 6 and 9 and once in Galatians 4:15:
What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.
The translators of the NIV84 translated the Greek word with “joy” here in Galatians 4:15 whereas the NIV2011 translated it “blessing.” The NET used the meaning “happiness.” In our passage of Romans 4:6, the word means “pronouncing as happy or blessed” so the sense is “a declaration that a person has favored status (with God); especially one that results in a happy estate.”
This happy estate or blessedness is associated with one that is described in the clause of Romans 4:6 the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works. The word “man” of NIV84 or “one” of NIV2011 is translated from a Greek noun (anthrōpos) that means “a human being” without regard to gender, as Apostle Paul used it to describe the fate of evil doers as stated in Romans 2:9:
There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; …
The word may mean “man” as male person as the apostle used it to describe Jesus Christ in His humanity in Romans 5:15:
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
The word may mean “person” as that is the way the word is used when the concern is to be inclusive of men and women, as in the doctrine of justification by faith Apostle Paul stated in Galatians 2:16:
know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Justification is for both men and women so that the phrase a man is to be understood as “a person,” hence the NRSV simply used the phrase a person. In our passage of Romans 4:6, the word is used in the sense of “person,” that is, “a human being.”
The person in view as we have stated is associated with blessedness or happiness and this individual is further described in the clause of Romans 4:6 the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works. The word “credits” is translated from the same Greek word (logizomai) we considered in Romans 4:4 where we indicated that it had the sense of “to be credited,” that is, “to be or become attributed or reckoned as an asset in someone’s (financial) account.” The sense is the same here except that the asset reckoned to a person is not money but righteousness. The apostle used the present tense in the Greek not because such an action is something that continues to occur as may be required by an interpretation of the present tense but to simply acknowledge as a fact that God credits righteousness to the one that is blessed or favored by Him.
The word “righteousness” is translated from the same Greek noun (dikaiosynē) that we considered in Romans 4:5 where we stated that it had the sense of “righteousness,” that is, “a status of legal rectitude that satisfies the moral requirements of God’s character.” This same meaning is applicable in our passage of Romans 4:6. The important thing the apostle wants us to pay attention is that this righteousness is in no way merited as that is what is meant in the phrase of Romans 4:6 apart from works. The word “works” is translated from a Greek noun (ergon) that may mean “work” in the sense of that which one does as regular activity as Apostle Paul used it to describe the activity of Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:30:
because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
The word may mean “deed” as that which displays itself in activity of any kind as Apostle Paul used it to describe sinful activities that believers should reject in Ephesians 5:11:
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
In our passage of Romans 4:6, the word has the sense of “deeds,” that is, “work that a person is obliged to perform for moral reasons.” Hence, the blessing of righteousness Apostle Paul declared that is associated with a person is not related to keeping the law.
All the same, the apostle did not act like so many preachers of God’s word that make pronouncements they purport to be true without supporting them from the Scripture. Consequently, after declaring the blessedness of being considered righteous without reference to carrying out the requirements of the law, proceeded to quote from the Scripture ascribe to David in that he quoted from Psalm 32. The first quotation is given in Romans 4:7 Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. This is quoted from Psalm 32:1:
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Apostle Paul, of course, quoted from the Septuagint, that is, Psalm 31:1:
Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven and whose sins were covered up.
The word “blessed” of Romans 4:7 is translated from a Greek adjective (makarios) that may mean “fortunate” as Apostle Paul used it to describe his privilege to appear before Agrippa in Acts 26:2:
“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,
The word may mean “blessed” as it is used to describe a person who remains faithful in time of testing as we read in James 1:12:
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
In our passage of Romans 4:7, the word means “blessed” in the sense of being characterized by happiness and being highly favored by God.
This state of blessedness or happiness characterizes those described in the sentence of Romans 4:7 they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. A literal translation reads of whom the lawlessnesses have been forgiven and of whom the sins have been covered. This is in part because the word “transgressions” is translated from a Greek noun (anomia) that may refer to a state or condition of being disposed to what is lawless hence means “lawlessness” as opposite of righteousness, as the word is used in describing the state of believers before they became saved in Romans 6:19:
I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
The phrase in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness is more literally as slaves to immorality and lawlessness, leading to lawlessness. Although the translators of the NIV sometimes used the meaning “wickedness” to translate our Greek word, but they certainly used the meaning of “lawlessness” for our word when it is used the explanation about sin in 1 John 3:4:
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
The Greek word may refer to the product of a lawless disposition hence means “a lawless deed,” or in the plural means “transgressions.” In our passage of Romans 4:7, the word is used in the sense of “lawlessness,” that is, “the state of being or behaving in open defiance to the law.” So, David asserted how blessed or how happy people are whose lawlessnesses are forgiven.
The word “forgiven” is translated from a Greek verb (aphiēmi) that may mean “to cancel” a debt as it is used in the parable of the Lord Jesus regarding the unfaithful servant in Matthew 18:32:
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
The word may mean “to forgive” as it is used in the prayer of the Lord Jesus on the cross regarding those who crucified Him as narrated in Luke 23:34:
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The word may mean “to leave” in the sense of abandoning a person as the word is used to describe what the Lord Jesus said to His disciples regarding how they would desert Him when He is arrested, as recorded in John 16:32:
“But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
The word may mean “to abandon” as it is used to describe those who have unnatural practices in sexual relationship in Romans 1:27:
In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
The word may mean “to divorce,” that is, to send away, as it is used only in the seventh chapter of 1 Corinthians in instructing about how a believer should deal with an unbelieving spouse that does not want to divorce as, for example, in 1 Corinthians 7:13:
And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
In our passage of Romans 4:7, the word has the sense of “to be forgiven,” that is, “to be or become pardoned or exempt from legal or personal consequences for an offense.”
There is the question as to whether the person who is blessed is described in terms of one or two actions of God because of the clause of Romans 4:7 whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. A literal translation reads of whom the lawlessnesses have been forgiven and of whom the sins have been covered. It is my interpretation that David was concerned with one action of God with respect to sin and forgiveness. He stated the fact of forgiveness of sin in the first clause they whose transgressions are forgiven and then he restated it or explained further what he stated in the first part. This is because of similarity in the Hebrew words used in the psalm the apostle quoted and consequently the Greek words used in both parts of the clauses. The word “transgression” used in Psalm 32:1 is translated from a Hebrew word (pěšǎʿ) that may mean “rebellion” as it is used in describing what God forgives as part of His character in Exodus 34:7:
maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”
The word may mean “wrong” as it is used to describe the person who does not see that it is wrong to steal from a parent as stated in Proverbs 28:24:
He who robs his father or mother and says, “It’s not wrong”— he is partner to him who destroys.
In Psalm 32:1, it has the sense of “evildoing, the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle.” The word “sins” in the second clause whose sins are covered of the same psalm is translated from a Hebrew word (ḥǎṭāʾāh) that could mean “sin offering” but in Psalm 32:1, the sense of the word is “sin,” that is, “an act or feeling that transgresses something forbidden or ignores something required by God’s law or character; whether in thought, feeling, speech, or action.” Thus, there is not much difference between the word translated “sin” and that translated “transgression. The word “forgiven” in Psalm 32:1 is translated from a Hebrew verb (nāśāʾ) that may mean “to lift” but in Psalm 32:1, the word has the sense of “to be forgiven.” The word “covered” in Psalm 32:1 is translated from a Hebrew word (kāsāh) that means “keeps hidden; be covered” but in the verse we cited, it has the sense of “to be forgiven, i.e., remove guilt of a wrongdoing, as an extension of hiding or covering an object.” Thus, the wo Hebrew verbs used in Psalm 32:1 say essential the same thing so we can assert that the last clause whose sins are covered emphasizes or explains the first clause whose transgressions are forgiven.
Turning to the Greek text, we read the second clause whose sins are covered. The word “sin” is translated from a Greek noun (hamartia) that refers to departure from either human or divine standards of uprightness and so means “sin,” the action itself as well as its results. Thus, the word is used by Apostle Paul to describe to the Corinthians what would be the state of those who believe in Christ if there is no resurrection as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:17:
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
The word may mean “a state of sinfulness” as the word is used by those who rebuked the man born blind that Jesus healed to describe him for his reply to them as recorded in John 9:34:
To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
The word may mean “guilt,” that is, the moral consequence of having sinned as that is the sense of the word in John 9:41:
Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
The sentence your guilt remains is literally your sin remains. It is not the actual event of sinning that is in view but the consequence of sinning hence the meaning is “guilt” in John 9:41. In our passage of Romans 4:7, the word means “sin” in the sense of “offense against God with a stress on guilt.” The word has the same sense as the Greek word translated “transgression” in the first clause that is from a Greek word (anomia) that we previously stated has the sense of “lawlessness,” that is, “the state of being or behaving in open defiance to the law.” Thus, there is no significant difference between the two Greek nouns translated “transgression” and “sin” in the NIV. The word “covered” in the clause of Romans 4:7 whose sins are covered” is translated from a Greek verb (epikalyptō) that appears only here in the Greek NT that originally meant “to hide from view by covering”, then by figurative extension is used as synonym for “forgive” although the word simply means “to cover up.” Thus, in the Septuagint it is used to describe the water that covered the earth during the flood judgment as narrated in Genesis 7:20:
The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet.
Nonetheless, in Romans 4:7, the word has the sense of “to be forgiven,” that is, “to be or become forgiven, conceived of as one’s sins being or becoming covered up.” Hence, the Greek word translated “covered” has essentially the same sense as the Greek verb (aphiēmi) in the first clause translated “forgiven.” So, by considering both the Hebrew words used in Psalm 32:1 and the Greek words used in the Greek quotation in Romans 4:7, we can confidently assert that both David and the apostle that quoted him conceived of one concept that is concerned with the blessedness of a person whose sins are forgiven by God.
Be that as it may, the apostle continued to support the blessedness of those credited with righteousness by quoting the second sentence of Psalm 31:2 in the Septuagint that is given in Romans 4:8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” This time the word “man” or “one” in NIV2011 is translated from a different Greek word than the one used in verse 7 since we have a Greek noun (anēr) that may mean “an adult male” in contrast to a woman as in the description of believers of both genders that were persecuted by Apostle Paul before his conversion, as we read in Acts 8:3:
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
In some context, the word means “husband” as in describing the status of a woman when her husband dies, according to Romans 7:2:
For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
In our passage of Romans 4:8, the word has the sense of “person,” that is, “a human being without regard to gender.”
The word “Lord” in the sentence of Romans 4:8 the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him is translated from a Greek noun (kyrios) that may mean “owner” as it is used to describe the owners of the colt that Jesus requested to be brought to Him for His entrance into Jerusalem, as recorded in Luke 19:33:
As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
The word may mean “lord, master” as a person in a position of authority. It is in this sense that the word is used to describe Abraham in relationship to his wife Sarah as one with authority hence Sarah described Abraham as her master, meaning that he has authority over her, in 1 Peter 3:6:
like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
The word may be used to describe God in a general sense without distinction to the person of the Godhead in view as in Matthew 4:7:
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
The phrase Lord your God implies that Lord refers to God without distinction of the persons of the Godhead. It is in the sense of God the Father that the word is used in Matthew 11:25:
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
The word “Lord” may refer to the Lord Jesus Christ. This may be the case with some quotations from the OT Scripture. Take for example, in Jesus’ quotation from Psalms in the question He posed to the Pharisees regarding the relationship of Christ to David as reported in Matthew 22:43–45:
43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, 44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ 45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”
The Lord Jesus quoted from Psalm 110:1 where we have the sentence The LORD said to my Lord. In this psalm “LORD” refers to God in a general sense of the supreme creator whereas the phrase my Lord refers to the promised Messiah who is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, the second “Lord” refers to Jesus Christ. The word “Lord” is applied to Jesus even when there is no quotation from the OT. Thus, the word was applied to Him when He had ordered His disciples to get Him the colt, He would ride into Jerusalem as narrated in Luke 19:31:
If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
The word is applied more often to the Lord Jesus Christ in the epistles of Apostle Paul, as for example, in Ephesians 3:11:
according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The apostle’s use of the word to refer to Jesus Christ implies that he recognized Him as God as, for example, in Romans 12:11:
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
As we have indicated, the apostle uses the word “Lord” to refer to Jesus Christ so if he encouraged serving the Lord, he must mean serving and worshipping the Lord. The apostle would not have in any form advocated for worship of any person other than God so even in this passage in Romans 12, he implied that Jesus Christ is God. As we have stated, Apostle Paul, when he is not quoting from the OT uses the word “Lord” often to describe Jesus Christ although in some passages it is difficult to be certain whether the apostle means Jesus Christ or God in a general sense, as for example, in 1 Thessalonians 4:6:
and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.
In our passage of Romans 4:8, since the passage is a quotation from OT, the Greek word translated “Lord” refers to Yahweh in the OT that refers to Jesus Christ. The name, of course, is the name of the God of Israel gave to the Israelites through Moses by which He identified Himself. That aside, since the apostle quoted from OT, his use of the word “Lord” ultimately refers to God without distinction in persons of Godhead.
In any case, what David stated, and Apostle Paul quoted is what God will never do. Again, the apostle wrote whose sin the Lord will never count against him”. The expression against him or against them of NIV2011 is not in the Greek text but added by the translators of the NIV to help the English reader to understand the quotation since literally the Greek reads blessed (is the) man whose sin (the) Lord by no means will reckon.
The word “never” is the translation of two Greek negative particles. The first is a Greek particle (ou) that is an objective negative, denying the reality of alleged fact fully and absolutely. The second is a negative Greek particle (mē) that is a subjective negative, implying a conditional and hypothetical negation. When the two Greek particles are used together, as in Romans 4:8, the resultant phrase may mean “not at all, by no means, surely not, in no wise.” So, in our passage, the translation “never” is a good way to indicate something God will certainly not do to the blessed individual who is credited with righteousness as stated in Romans 4:8 whose sin the Lord will never count against him.
The word “count” in the NIV or “reckon” in the literal translation is translated from the same Greek verb (logizomai) that we considered in Romans 4:4, where we indicated that it had the sense of “to be credited,” that is, “to be or become attributed or reckoned as an asset in someone’s (financial) account.” The sense is the same here except that the asset reckoned to a person is not money but sin. Of course, in verse 8, the fact conveyed is that the sins of the person that is blessed would not be counted to the person or the person would not be held accountable to sins. In a sense, we have another way of saying that a person’s sins are forgiven.
Be that as it may, we should ask: What does it really mean that a person is blessed or happy because the individual’s sins are forgiven? To answer this question, we should remember that once a person sins that individual become guilty before God. Guilt is a state that results from sin that, no doubt, involves liability to punishment for sin. David, in the Psalm Apostle Paul quoted, associated guilt with sin as we read in Psalm 32:5:
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
Furthermore, once a person sins, there is a separation between the individual and God, both in this life and in eternal state unless God forgives it. This separation due to sin is mentioned by Prophet Isaiah as he denounced Israel for their sins in Isaiah 59:2:
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
When David spoke of the blessedness of the one whose sins are forgiven or whose sins God does not hold the person accountable, he meant that such a person’s guilt is removed. The implication is that such a person has peace with God as Apostle Paul later stated in Romans 5:1:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The blessed individual has access to God the Father as the Holy Spirit asserted through Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:18:
For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Hence, a blessed or happy person is one to whom these results of forgiveness of sins apply. A person becomes happy if the individual realizes the truth of the forgiveness of sins. Anyway, although the apostle conveyed the blessedness of faith righteousness, by quoting David he supported the concept of faith righteousness as Abraham had. With this comment, we end our consideration of Romans 4:4-8 and so let me remind you of its message which is You are blessed by God if you are the recipient of faith righteous that includes proper handling of your sins.
06/05/26