Romans 4 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

390 391 392say? "So then Abraham placed trust in the God, and it was considered for him389(...continued)in such significant ways that it is in fact inappropriate and unrealistic to describe him as"perfect.”On the other hand, we cannot agree that Abraham (and Jacob for that matter) was nota very good, God-centered person, whose life was lived out in constant dependence upon andobedience to God--the kind of "trust" that involves the whole person, and all of life--asGenesis 26:5 indicates. He was not perfect, but he did live by trust, obeying God’s word.390Paul appeals to scriptural authority--a very "Protestant" procedure. "I have taught youpeople that only through humble trust can human beings be rightly-related to Almighty God--not through earning and deserving that relationship by their good works. Is my teachingcorrect, or is it simply something that I myself have invented? Let us go to the biblical text tosee whether or not my teaching conforms to the Bible. If it does not, then I will gladly admitthat I am mistaken and wrong in my teaching. But if my teaching is in fact what the Bibleteaches, then will this not cause you to reconsider your objections to my teaching?" So Paulseems to argue.What a challenge this kind of appeal should be to modern day Israel and Judaism. It isa confident affirmation that the Good News of Anointed King Jesus is a fulfillment of what theJewish Bible teaches–and is not in any way a denial or perversion of its teachings.There are some in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), as well as in many other ofthe former "Main-Line Churches," who consider this type of appeal to the Bible as out-datedand no longer relevant. But what a powerful transformation it would make for our preachingand teaching if we could once again learn to make the biblical teaching our standard andguide.Whatever our view of the “inspiration” of the biblical writings may be, the historical factis that the Bible is the foundational document of both the Jewish and Christian faiths, andthose who are Jewish or Christian ought to take its teachings with great seriousness, notbrushing that teaching aside as if it did not matter–as too many religious leaders are prone todo when its teaching does not coincide with their views.391Or, “believed.” This is the first occurrence of the word “to trust,” or “to believe,” in theBible. The Hebrew verb is !mI ßa/h,, the hiphil form of the root !ma which means “to confirm,”or “to support.” In the hiphil it means “to trust,” “to believe,” i.e., to place confidence insomething or someone, to undergird the message being heard with one’s confident affirmationthat it is true, or to place confidence in a person, trusting them, supporting them.The hiphil form of the verb occurs some 52 times in the Hebrew Bible, in the followingplaces (Hebrew enumeration): Genesis 15:6 (here); 45:26; Exodus 4:1, 5, 8, 8, 9, 31; 14:31;19:9; Numbers 14:11; 20:12; Deuteronomy 1:32; 9:23; 28:66; Judges 11:20; 1 Samuel27:12; 1 Kings 10:7; 2 Kings 17:14; Isaiah 7:9; 28:16; 30:21; 43:10; 53:1; Jeremiah 12:6;(continued...)211