Genesis 15:6 part 2; my answer to Rom. 4:4-5

A Criticism

I intend to respond to Romans 4:4-5, which many take to be counter-evidence to my reading of both Genesis 15:6 and Paul's use of it in Romans and Galatians.

In my last post I claimed that what was reckoned as righteousness in Abraham was faithfulness/trust/belief, and that Paul was not interested in "naked belief" as such.  The standard interpretation takes Paul to mean that by just believing without any good deeds, Abraham was accorded the status of being "righteous.  I guess the standard interpretation takes "righteous" to be a quality about humans that would normally involve good deeds.  However, God reckons Abraham righteous despite any good deeds.  In other words, Abraham is imputed with a righteousness that he does not inherently possess.  It is this standard interpretation with which I find fault.

Paul and Righteousness

I claim that when Paul uses the term "righteous" in the quote from Genesis 15:6, he means the righteousness of God (tsedaqah elohim/dikaiosyne theou), that is, God's righteousness, which I take to be God's justice or his covenant faithfulness.  He does not mean the righteousness of a human being.  Evidence of this comes from the opening statements in Romans which presents the theme for the whole letter.   Paul says that in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed (1:17).  Also, Romans chapter 4 is introduced by another reference to the righteousness of God (3:21, 22).  I have argued on my website that these refer to God's actions in sending Jesus to faithfully carry out God's plan of setting things right in the universe.

Therefore, when Paul says that God reckoned righteousness to Abraham he means that God reckoned to Abraham God's promise to set things right, and in this case this involves the death and resurrection of Jesus, which is the gospel.  Therefore, God's righteousness primarily involves the faithfulness of Jesus.  Jesus' faithfulness is contrasted with the unfaithfulness of Israel.  This is why "works of the law" is contrasted with pistis (which primarily means Jesus' obedient faithfulness but also human trust/faithfulness/belief):

• "Works of law" = those things which primarily identify Israel as Israel (circumcision, food laws, sabbath keeping etc.).  However, since Israel as a whole disobeyed the law, they were under a curse.  Therefore, "works of law" means disobedience.
• Pistis (faith) = the perfect faithfulness of Jesus, who offered the obedience God was looking for from Israel.

So to put it another way, and hence the contrast:

•  "Works of law" = disobedience
• Pistis (faith) = obedience

Romans 4:4-5

4 Now to the one working the reward is not accounted according to grace but according to debt, 5 but to the one not working, but trusting the one justifying the ungodly his faith is accounted for righteousness...

The reference to "working" is not related to "good deeds" but to the "works of the law" (see Rom. 3:28, which is immediately followed by reference to the Jew/Gentile theme in 3:29).  This is strong evidence that "working" is related to being Jewish, being "under the law".  The Jew/Gentile theme is also proven by the claim that Abraham does not have a "boast" because of "works" (4:2).  Elsewhere, Paul uses "boasting" in the context of the Jew/Gentile theme.  Not only in 3:37, but in 2:17 and 2:23.  This is huge because not only are the references in chapter 2 dealing with the Jew/Gentile theme, but they pinpoint what is wrong with "works of the law".  The problem is not that the Jews try to obey the law but can't (legalism), but that they don't obey the law (see the whole of 2:17-29 where Paul makes this crystal clear).  The problem is disobedience, of which Jesus is the answer.

Paul's point in the analogy in 4:4-5 is that the righteousness reckoned to Abraham is grace.  Above I claimed that when Paul refers to "righteousness" here he means God's righteousness and God's righteousness is revealed in the Jesus event.  It should not surprise us then when Paul refers to the Jesus event as a grace (see Rom. 5:15-17; 3:24; 6:14-15).  Abraham did not put God in debt because he was "Jewish" and the righteousness he merited (see Rom. 9:5) for everyone is a grace.  Note, however, that the implication in 4:4-5 is that the righteousness (God's saving activity) Abraham was reckoned is a reward too, and this because Abraham was faithful.

If anything, the Jews in Paul's time were guilty of relying on God's grace and not on legalism!  Paul's argument is that just being Jewish and relying on the covenants is not enough.  One must be obedient.