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Righteousness Is a Five-Letter Word, Part 1 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: What if everything you've been taught about earning God's favor
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  Speaker 1: is wrong? What if you've been spinning your wheels in
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  Speaker 1: vain all along? Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll
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  Speaker 1: shatters religious misconceptions with a shocking biblical truth. You see,
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  Speaker 1: righteousness isn't about working harder or becoming better. It's about
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  Speaker 1: a simple five-letter word that changes everything. Can you guess
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  Speaker 1: what it is? Whether you're carrying the burden of religious
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  Speaker 1: performance or wondering if you're good enough for God, this
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  Speaker 1: biblical truth can revolutionize your relationship with the Almighty. Chuck
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  Speaker 1: titled his message, Righteousness is a Five-Letter Word. Righteousness is
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  Speaker 1: a Five-Letter.
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  Speaker 2: Word We're returning to our study in the letter to
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  Speaker 2: the Romans, having arrived now at the fourth chapter. I'd
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  Speaker 2: like to call your attention to the first 13 verses
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  Speaker 2: for our scripture reading today. Romans chapter 4, beginning at
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  Speaker 2: verse 1. Just one verse out of chapter 3 before
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  Speaker 2: reading the 13 in chapter 4. Look at 328. For
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  Speaker 2: we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart
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  Speaker 2: from works of the law. Now Paul is going to
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  Speaker 2: illustrate what he has just stated. Chapter 4, verse 1.
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  Speaker 2: What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, according
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  Speaker 2: to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified
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  Speaker 2: by works, he has something to boast about, but not
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  Speaker 2: before God. Or what does the scripture say? Abraham believed
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  Speaker 2: God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now,
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  Speaker 2: to the one who works, his wage is not credited
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  Speaker 2: as a favor, but as what is due. But to
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  Speaker 2: the one who does not work, but believes in him
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  Speaker 2: who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.
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  Speaker 2: Just as David also speaks of the blessing on the
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  Speaker 2: man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works. Blessed
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  Speaker 2: are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose
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  Speaker 2: sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin
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  Speaker 2: the Lord will not take into account. Is this blessing
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  Speaker 2: then on the circumcised or on the uncircumcised also? For
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  Speaker 2: we say faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. How
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  Speaker 2: then was it credited? While he was circumcised or uncircumcised.
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  Speaker 2: Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he received the
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  Speaker 2: sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the
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  Speaker 2: faith which he had while uncircumcised. so that he might
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  Speaker 2: be the father of all who believe without being circumcised,
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  Speaker 2: that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father
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  Speaker 2: of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision,
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  Speaker 2: but who also follow in the steps of the faith
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  Speaker 2: of our father Abraham, which he had while uncircumcised. For
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  Speaker 2: the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he
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  Speaker 2: would be heir of the world was not through the law,
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  Speaker 2: but through the righteousness of faith.
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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Insight for Living. To dig deeper into
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  Speaker 1: the book of Romans on your own, be sure to
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  Speaker 1: purchase our Searching the Scriptures Bible Study workbook by going
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  Speaker 1: to insight.org. Chuck titled today's message, Righteousness is a Five-Letter Word.
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  Speaker 2: The body of John Milton Gregory lies buried beneath the
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  Speaker 2: sod at the campus of the University of Illinois. The
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  Speaker 2: great old 19th century educator spent his life in higher education.
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  Speaker 2: And 14 years before his death, he left, my opinion,
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  Speaker 2: his finest legacy of all the things he left for
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  Speaker 2: us to enjoy. It is a little book not that
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  Speaker 2: impressive to look at, not that large in size, but
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  Speaker 2: mine is well-worn and often read. It's entitled The Seven
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  Speaker 2: Laws of Teaching, in which John Milton Gregory names those
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  Speaker 2: laws that help the one who teaches connect best with
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  Speaker 2: those who hear or read. the speaker or the writer's words.
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  Speaker 2: These laws are the salient points of good communication, and
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  Speaker 2: sometimes I go back to the old book just to review,
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  Speaker 2: to see if I'm staying on target. I was reminded
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  Speaker 2: again this week of the fourth of the seven laws
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  Speaker 2: that says truth to be taught must be learned through
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  Speaker 2: truth already known. We all learn the new and the
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  Speaker 2: unfamiliar from the old and the familiar. Knowledge is not
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  Speaker 2: a mass of information dumped into the creases of our
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  Speaker 2: brains suddenly by a person who gives us information and
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  Speaker 2: then we have it grasped and now applied. It doesn't
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  Speaker 2: work like that. I think of knowledge as links in
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  Speaker 2: a chain connected by stories, similes. Allegories, analogies, illustrations that
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  Speaker 2: tie us in with the familiar. And based on the familiar,
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  Speaker 2: those links connect and lead us to the less or
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  Speaker 2: not familiar at all information. I think it was Spurgeon
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  Speaker 2: who first described a sermon as a house. And the
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  Speaker 2: illustrations are the windows that let in the light. A
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  Speaker 2: house without windows is a prison. And a message without
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  Speaker 2: illustrations is dull and boring and disconnected because we need
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  Speaker 2: the familiar to tie in so that we can move
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  Speaker 2: toward the unfamiliar. Illustrations, writes John R. W. Stott, transform
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  Speaker 2: the abstract into the concrete. The ancient into the modern.
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  Speaker 2: The unfamiliar into the familiar. The general into the particular.
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  Speaker 2: The vague into the precise. The unreal into the real.
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  Speaker 2: The invisible into the visible. And then he punctuates all
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  Speaker 2: that with this great sentence. The best communicators turn ears
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  Speaker 2: into eyes, enabling the hearer to see what is being spoken.
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  Speaker 2: Isn't that the truth? We listen to someone as they
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  Speaker 2: are teaching and they are connecting with us and we
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  Speaker 2: say to ourselves, I see it. Actually, you only heard it.
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  Speaker 2: But what enabled you to see it was your imagination.
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  Speaker 2: Within your mind, the lights were turned on by the
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  Speaker 2: use of story or example or illustration. Truth to be
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  Speaker 2: taught must be learned through truth already known. Now, what
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  Speaker 2: does this have to do with the letter to the Romans?
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  Speaker 2: In many ways, it has a lot to do with
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  Speaker 2: anything Paul writes. He's a master at connecting the old
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  Speaker 2: with the new, at helping us bridge from that which
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  Speaker 2: we are familiar to that which is unfamiliar to us.
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  Speaker 2: And remember, he wrote in the first century. And remember,
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  Speaker 2: his audience was often Jewish. At least a majority of
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  Speaker 2: people were Jewish who read his works. So as he
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  Speaker 2: writes to people in Rome, he has for what we
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  Speaker 2: call in our Bible, three chapters hammered away at the
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  Speaker 2: depravity of humanity. We are by nature born wrong with God.
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  Speaker 2: We are by nature, by choice, by birth, totally depraved.
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  Speaker 2: That means there's nothing we have, there's nothing we can
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  Speaker 2: do that isn't contaminated by By sin. And a holy
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  Speaker 2: God reaches for a relationship with us but cannot touch
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  Speaker 2: a thing that's sinful and unholy. So we come as
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  Speaker 2: sinners with nothing in ourselves. Not even attempts to keep
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  Speaker 2: the works of the law. Nothing we bring to him
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  Speaker 2: in any way results in his favor. It all begins
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  Speaker 2: with him who reaches to us in grace. Loving us
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  Speaker 2: through his son, Jesus, he offers us a gift that
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  Speaker 2: is apart from works. In believing and taking the gift,
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  Speaker 2: we repent, we change our mind. away from the way
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  Speaker 2: we did live to the way we want to live,
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  Speaker 2: in the way we once viewed Christ to the way
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  Speaker 2: we now desire to know and love and worship Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Changing our minds, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, we
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  Speaker 2: receive the gift apart from works now I realize as
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  Speaker 2: I say this to you who are listening it's theology
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  Speaker 2: 101 you have heard this all through your years in
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  Speaker 2: an evangelical church if you are from a liberal background
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  Speaker 2: or a liberal church or maybe unchurched or perhaps a
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  Speaker 2: church that's taught salvation by works the light goes on
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  Speaker 2: and you think this is a new thought this is
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  Speaker 2: a new let me tell you if you were Jewish
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  Speaker 2: and It is a scandalous thought because the rabbis taught
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  Speaker 2: the law, the law and circumcision. These rights are yours
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  Speaker 2: to fulfill and you will gain God's righteousness. You will
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  Speaker 2: become holy like God is holy by keeping these things.
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  Speaker 2: So when a Jew reads words like Romans 3, 28,
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  Speaker 2: that a person is justified by faith apart from works,
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  Speaker 2: Makes him suck in his breath. That's a new truth.
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  Speaker 2: And since truth to be learned is really learned through
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  Speaker 2: truth already known, let's go back to someone or something
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  Speaker 2: already known. How about Abraham? You see, if I were
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  Speaker 2: speaking just to Americans today and I were attracting you
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  Speaker 2: to truth regarding America, I would go back to George Washington,
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  Speaker 2: who is the father of our country. If you were
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  Speaker 2: Jewish and I would be speaking to you about a
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  Speaker 2: new truth that Abraham would personify for me, I would
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  Speaker 2: latch on to a name you're all familiar with. The
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  Speaker 2: father of our nation. Father of our people. Abraham. So
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  Speaker 2: if it's true that we are justified by faith apart
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  Speaker 2: from works, then Abraham would be an example of it.
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  Speaker 2: After all, he's the father of our race. So let's
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  Speaker 2: take Abraham as an example. Verse 1. chapter 4. What
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  Speaker 2: about Abraham, our forefather, according to the flesh? What has
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  Speaker 2: he found? What's true of him? And now he goes
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  Speaker 2: to a theoretical condition. Let's say if, just if, Abraham
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  Speaker 2: were justified by works, well, he has something to boast about,
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  Speaker 2: but not before God, not even Abraham. He could walk
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  Speaker 2: around saying, I have earned this, I have worked on this,
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  Speaker 2: and I have achieved this, and as a result, I
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  Speaker 2: am somebody. Not before God. Not even Abraham. Well, then
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  Speaker 2: how do I know this is true? How do I
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  Speaker 2: know he wasn't saved by works? Verse 3 begins with
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  Speaker 2: a sentence, I hope you ask for the rest of
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  Speaker 2: your life. What does the scriptures say? Teach yourself to
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  Speaker 2: say that. When you hear a teacher say, whether on radio,
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  Speaker 2: on television, or in person, in a Bible study, or
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  Speaker 2: just in a gathering, ask yourself, what does the Scripture say?
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  Speaker 2: Don't go by his charisma or hers. Don't look at
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  Speaker 2: how large a following or how eloquent that person may
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  Speaker 2: teach or preach. Ask yourself, what does the Scripture teach?
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  Speaker 2: And you'll never be led astray. You'll be led away
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  Speaker 2: from people that you would have otherwise wanted to follow,
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  Speaker 2: quite likely. So even Paul says, don't believe me. Let's
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  Speaker 2: see what the scripture has to say. And if you
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  Speaker 2: carry a Bible that has the change in font at
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  Speaker 2: this third verse, you now know that he's quoting from
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  Speaker 2: an old Testament passage. So let's see if Paul quotes
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  Speaker 2: it correctly.
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  Speaker 1: Okay.
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  Speaker 2: Let's check up on Paul back to Genesis chapter 15.
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  Speaker 2: Hold your place in Romans four. Let's go back and
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  Speaker 2: see if this light he wants to bring into the
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  Speaker 2: house of understanding is a true light, or if it's
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  Speaker 2: something he's just imagining. Now we're going to jump a
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  Speaker 2: little to save time. Abraham in chapter 15 is already
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  Speaker 2: an old man. He is bumping 80. He is getting
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  Speaker 2: up in years. He doesn't have any children. And he
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  Speaker 2: and Sarai, who is only 10 years younger than he,
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  Speaker 2: she's also an older woman. And she's past the age
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  Speaker 2: of childbearing. So we're talking two childless people married for years,
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  Speaker 2: having no children. And now Abraham is listening to God.
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  Speaker 2: Chapter 15, verse 5. God, the capital H is a
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  Speaker 2: reference to God. God took Abraham aside and said, now
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  Speaker 2: look toward the heavens and count the stars if you
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  Speaker 2: are able to count them. And he said to him,
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  Speaker 2: so shall your descendants be. Isn't it interesting that God
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  Speaker 2: kept the fourth law of Gregory? Things to be learned
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  Speaker 2: are to be learned through things that are already known.
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  Speaker 2: You go outside, you look up, you see all the stars,
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  Speaker 2: and you realize right away that's a familiar scene, all
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  Speaker 2: of those stars. But what's not familiar that Abraham is
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  Speaker 2: introduced to is Abraham, someday your descendants will be numberless
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  Speaker 2: around the world. There will be a vast number. Remember,
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  Speaker 2: he has zero children. Verse 6. Now you're going to
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  Speaker 2: see what he did. And Abraham worked hard, he and Sarah, together,
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  Speaker 2: laboring sincerely to have children. Nope. He believed in the Lord.
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  Speaker 2: Stop right there. Lord, without children of our own, Lord,
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  Speaker 2: you have never told me something that isn't true. And
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  Speaker 2: I believe what you have said. I stand on it.
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  Speaker 2: I lean on it. I trust you. All of those
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  Speaker 2: words describe. A five letter word. Faith. I believe you Lord.
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  Speaker 2: I believe you. I don't know how. It's going to happen.
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  Speaker 2: But if you say it. I accept it. See the
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  Speaker 2: end of verse six. Look closely. The H is capitalized.
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  Speaker 2: God reckoned. it to him, little h, Abram. God reckoned
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  Speaker 2: it to Abram as righteousness. Allow me for a moment
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  Speaker 2: to transfer the scene from the ancient days under the
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  Speaker 2: stars to this moment in this place. The Lord Jesus
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  Speaker 2: Christ came to live and to die. And when he died,
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  Speaker 2: he paid the complete penalty for the sins that you
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  Speaker 2: and I have committed. Past, present, and future paid for
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  Speaker 2: them all, paid them in full, so that a holy
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  Speaker 2: God would be satisfied that there had been a payment
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  Speaker 2: for sin. It is only just that that happened. And
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  Speaker 2: now the Lord God says to us, I offer you salvation.
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  Speaker 2: Christ having paid the penalty, I offer you the gift
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  Speaker 2: of salvation.
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  Speaker 1: Believe it.
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  Speaker 2: Accept it. Just like Abram trusted me, you trust me
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  Speaker 2: for this. No works, no effort, no promises, no sacrifices
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  Speaker 2: that we have to pay. Christ paid it all. All
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  Speaker 2: to him we owe. Now, as if that isn't enough,
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  Speaker 2: Paul goes further. He's been known to do that, too.
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  Speaker 2: So he goes back to something else that's familiar, and
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  Speaker 2: that's something altogether different from Abram standing under the stars.
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  Speaker 2: This illustration is an illustration of a paycheck. Verse 4 says,
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  Speaker 2: He goes into that one. Now to the one who works,
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  Speaker 2: his wage is not credited as a favor, but as
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  Speaker 2: what is due. But, verse 5, here's one of those
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  Speaker 2: great big contrasts. But, to the one who does not work,
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  Speaker 2: isn't this great? Paul is so logical. To the one
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  Speaker 2: who works, that's verse 4, but to the one who
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  Speaker 2: does not work, that's verse 5, but does what? Believes
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  Speaker 2: in him. Who justifies the ungodly. His faith is credited
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  Speaker 2: as righteousness. What does that mean? Justification does not mean
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  Speaker 2: just as if I'd never sinned. Please remove that simple
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  Speaker 2: and shallow definition from your mind. It means even though
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  Speaker 2: I have sinned and will keep on sinning. I have
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  Speaker 2: been declared righteous. It's the sovereign act of God whereby
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  Speaker 2: he declares righteous the believing sinner while we're still in
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  Speaker 2: a sinning state. I may sin tomorrow. I may sin
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  Speaker 2: the next day. Still in a sinning state, I'm still righteous. Why?
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  Speaker 2: Because I've been given a gift and I've taken it.
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  Speaker 2: My sinfulness doesn't change the gift. Now, if I were working,
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  Speaker 2: oh my goodness. As one lady said to me between
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  Speaker 2: the services, she said, it's the first time I've ever
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  Speaker 2: heard this. Says, and she named her church, she named
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  Speaker 2: the denomination, and she said, I had tears in her eyes.
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  Speaker 2: She said, I've never been made aware of this. All
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  Speaker 2: my life, I've worked to please God. This is my
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  Speaker 2: first time to hear that the work has all been
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  Speaker 2: done by another person. Not a good way to put it.
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  Speaker 2: Christ paid it all. I'm offered a gift, and when
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  Speaker 2: I take the gift, listen to me, I'm declared righteous.
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  Speaker 2: So there's never a time positionally, theoretically, when God looks
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  Speaker 2: on to me, on my life, and sees me as
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  Speaker 2: anything but righteous in Christ. Now, when I sin, I
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  Speaker 2: break a fellowship with him, and I need to deal
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  Speaker 2: with that regularly. But it doesn't change my relationship with God.
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  Speaker 2: That's sealed as a result of my believing. Christ's death
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  Speaker 2: plus my belief equals eternal life. Now, let's take another example.
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  Speaker 2: Let's go to David, another very familiar name. No more
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  Speaker 2: powerful or popular king in the entire history of Israel
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  Speaker 2: than King David. The flag is named the Star of David.
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  Speaker 2: The city is named the City of David. Sometimes they'll
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  Speaker 2: call it the Land of David. He is the famous king.
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  Speaker 2: Let's see if his life bears this out. And tragically,
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  Speaker 2: as you know, in David's biography, there was a time
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  Speaker 2: when he failed. fell into adultery, and that was followed
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  Speaker 2: by murder, followed by hypocrisy, and all kinds of distance
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  Speaker 2: in his fellowship with God. All of that broken down.
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  Speaker 2: And on the recovery from that, he wrote Psalm 32.
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  Speaker 2: And that's what Paul quotes here in verse 7. But
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  Speaker 2: look at 6. Just as David also speaks of the
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  Speaker 2: blessing on the part of the man to whom God
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  Speaker 2: credits righteousness apart from works. Blessed are those, see the
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  Speaker 2: change in font? This is Psalm 32, verses 1 and 2.
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  Speaker 2: He's quoting from the Old Testament. Blessed are those whom
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  Speaker 2: lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered.
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  Speaker 2: Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not
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  Speaker 2: take into account. That's wonderful news. Not only are we
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  Speaker 2: credited with the righteousness of God, the sinfulness of our
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  Speaker 2: life is removed as far as east is from the west.
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  Speaker 2: How good a thing is that? As far as one
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  Speaker 2: can imagine, the sin is removed so that I'm no
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  Speaker 2: longer separated from God by my sinfulness. I'm now connected
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  Speaker 2: to God by faith. And I have the righteousness of
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  Speaker 2: Christ to boot. That's a magnificent thought. but it isn't
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  Speaker 2: enough for Paul. So let's dig deeper. I know, I know,
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  Speaker 2: you say, I've got it. Let's pronounce the benediction and
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  Speaker 2: go home. No, not if you're Paul. I mean, we've
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  Speaker 2: got chapters to go with this letter before we're through here,
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  Speaker 2: but we're going to quit at verse 13. You have
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  Speaker 2: got to see how he approaches this with the right
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  Speaker 2: of circumcision. I should have said circumcision because I'm talking
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  Speaker 2: to Gentiles and it's one of those unmentionables. You don't
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  Speaker 2: talk about your circumcision unless you're Jewish. If you're Jewish,
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  Speaker 2: it's a part of life. In fact, the rabbi performs
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  Speaker 2: the circumcision. And not only is it talked about, it
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  Speaker 2: is considered one of the rights of righteousness. You must
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  Speaker 2: be circumcised as part of becoming like the Lord. You're
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  Speaker 2: to follow him as he has required you So Paul says, wait, wait, wait, okay.
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  Speaker 2: In light of that, being Jewish, Paul says, let's stay
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  Speaker 2: with Abraham for a moment. He believed God and it
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  Speaker 2: was credited to him for righteousness. Now, was he circumcised
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  Speaker 2: at the time he believed God? Was that a part
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  Speaker 2: of his salvation? Or was it after the fact? Let's
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  Speaker 2: check that out. Now look at verse 9 through those eyes.
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  Speaker 2: Is this blessing then the blessing of being Justified by faith.
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  Speaker 2: Is this blessing then on the circumcised or on the
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  Speaker 2: uncircumcised also? What's he getting at? Is this salvation just
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  Speaker 2: for the Jew or would it include the Gentiles? Is
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  Speaker 2: it an offer just for God's chosen people or would
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  Speaker 2: it include those of us who are not Jewish? For
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: we say faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. How
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  Speaker 2: then was it credited? Let's dig deeper here. Let me ask,
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  Speaker 2: was it while he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised,
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  Speaker 2: but while uncircumcised. That's the answer to his question. He's saying,
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  Speaker 2: before you go check, I want to tell you, Abram
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  Speaker 2: was justified before he was circumcised, not after. So circumcision
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: was not a part of it. It was a follow-up.
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  Speaker 2: It was years afterwards.
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  Speaker 1: We've just begun to mine the treasures in Romans chapter 4,
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: so stay with us. You're listening to Insight for Living.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: Our Bible teacher, Chuck Swindoll, titled today's message, Righteousness is
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: a Five-Letter Word. This month, many in our listening family
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: are devoting extra time to this in-depth study in Paul's
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: letter to the Romans. And to help you make the
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: most of your personal study, we've prepared a special bundle
• 25:20
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• 25:24
  Speaker 1: Study Workbook. The edition for Romans comes in two volumes
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: due to the length and depth of Paul's letter. And
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: the first volume is ready right now. Also, Chuck wrote
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: a full-length commentary on Romans. It's hardbound that it's from
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: the Living Insights commentary series. Anyone who loves the Bible
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: should own this resource from Chuck. In his approachable style,
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: he helps us discover the rich theological treasures found in Romans.
• 25:50
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• 25:52
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• 25:55
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  Speaker 1: at 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org slash offers. Before we
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: wrap up today, I'd like to extend a word of
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• 26:21
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• 27:00
  Speaker 1: at 800-772-8888. Music I'm Bill Meyer. Join us again on
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: Monday when Chuck Swindoll continues his study in the Book
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: of Romans, right here on Insight for Living. The preceding message,
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: Righteousness is a Five-Letter Word, was copyrighted in 2007, 2010,
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: and 2025, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2025
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc., All rights are reserved worldwide.
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.