4:1
Remember that there were no chapter or verses in the original. This chapter is a continuation of Paul’s argument. At the end of the previous chapter he has just said that in the gospel we uphold the law. Now he is going to demonstrate how this is the case. He uses two examples: Abraham and David. The most important is Abraham. The nation of Israel was started with Abraham, indeed God’s plan of redemption began with him (Gen 12:2,3). Moreover, the Jews were very proud of their Abrahamic heritage (eg John 8:39). Moreover, Abraham was a Gentile who became a Jew, the first Jew infact, and Rabbinic teaching saw him as a model for Gentile converts. So how did things work out with Abraham? This would be very important.
4:2
If Abraham was justified by works, then the Jews would have a good argument against the gospel, against what Paul was preaching. And indeed much Jewish teaching said that Abraham was indeed justified by works, and his faith was seen as a work. If this was true then Abraham could boast, but no one can boast before God. A Jew may be proud of his heritage and law keeping, but ask him if he would boast of this before God, would he give the same answer? Atheists and sceptics sometimes make proud statements against God, but they would do well to ask themselves. Would they say the same things if they were really standing before God? And as Christians it is good to imagine how we would react standing before God. Convincing or persuading men is a whole different ball game than convincing God!
If we look at Abraham’s life we also see that boasting was not one the things that he did.
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