Romans 4:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

NIV: He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

NASB: He who was delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was raised because of our justification.

CSB: He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

NLT: He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.

KJV: Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

NKJV: who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Paul has described the amazing faith of Abraham, who believed God would keep His promises as the years made it seem more and more unlikely in human terms. Abraham always remained fully convinced God was able to keep His promise.

The same can happen for us, Paul has written. Our faith in God can be credited to us as righteousness. God will justify us and welcome us into His family for believing Him, as well. What, though, does God ask us to believe?

In the previous verse, Paul showed that God welcomes those who believe in Him as the one who raised Jesus from the dead. Now Paul continues that Jesus was "delivered up" or handed over by God as the sacrifice to pay for our trespasses or sins. In other words, Jesus' suffered and died on the cross in our place, to receive the penalty of God's wrathful judgment on our sin.

After that, God raised Jesus from the dead for our justification. The fact that Jesus was raised after He died showed that God's justice had been satisfied. Jesus had paid the full price for our sin and had been released from death. His resurrection also makes it possible for Christ's righteousness to be credited to our account, as well. It is only through Christ that we can be justified, made right with God.

It is our faith in the God who provided for our forgiveness and justification through Christ that allows us to be "counted as righteous" before God, just as the faith of Abraham was the path through which God called Him righteous, as well.

Romans 4:13–25 continues to focus on the faith of Abraham. God made promises to Abraham and his descendants, promises which Abraham believed. Those promises can't be received by keeping the law, but only by faith. God promised Abraham a son with Sarah, and Abraham continued to believe that promise would be kept even as it became less and less likely in human terms. We, too, can be counted as righteous by faith in Jesus' death for our sins and God's resurrection of Him for our justification.

Romans 4 is all about the faith of Abraham. God declared Abraham righteous because of his faith, not because of his works. A declaration of righteousness was God's gift, not a payment. This righteousness is available to everyone, circumcised or not. God declared Abraham righteous many years before he was circumcised, making him the spiritual father of all who believe, whether circumcised or not, whether Jew or Gentile. God's promises to Abraham and his offspring can't be received by keeping the law, only by faith. Abraham's faith in God's promise of a son with Sarah did not waver even as he grew older. God will declare us righteous, as well, if by faith we believe in the God who delivered Jesus to die for our sins and raised Him back to life for our justification.

So far, this letter has established that every single person is guilty of sin and does not deserve God's forgiveness. Whether we know God's law explicitly, or not, we still fail to obey. Only faith in Christ can rescue us from the penalty we deserve for that sin. Romans 4 explores the example of Abraham, and God's amazing gift of declaring Abraham righteous solely on the basis of his faith. This declaration was given many years before Abraham was circumcised, causing Abraham to become the father of all who believe God by faith. Abraham's continued faith in God is a model for us. Romans will continue by exploring how Christ brings us peace with God.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.