4:23,24
The Jews knew that the Old Testament, although written hundreds of years before, was intended for them. Paul points out that “it was credited to him” are intended for us. Abraham and the words God spoke to Him showed that righteousness was attained through faith. And God will credit righteousness to all who believe. Abraham shows us the way. And this belief is believing that God raised Christ from the dead. If we believe this then we are believing in God, if we don’t then we are calling God a liar.
4:25
The death and resurrection are intimately linked. One without the other makes no sense at all. You can never place too much emphasis on the cross, and you can never place too much emphasis on the resurrection, but if we emphasise one over the other then we are mistaken. Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins, we needed Jesus to pay the price for our sins and sinfulness. And He was raised from the dead for our justification. If Jesus was not raised we could have no assurance that our sins have been paid for (1 Cor 15:17). Indeed, the evidence would then be that His death was not sufficient to pay for our sins. But Jesus has been raised, and we know our sins have been paid for in full, and that we too will be raised from the dead.
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