Abraham as the Model of Faith

Chapter 4 is a test case of righteousness by faith. In 3:21–31 Paul presented a position statement on salvation through faith in Christ’s sacrifice of atonement. In chapter 4 he sends the class to the laboratory, as it were, to test that thesis. Here we find the compressed and nuclear thesis of 3:21–31 developed in the discursive style of Jewish midrash. Midrash was the name given to a form of rabbinic exposition in ancient Palestine which sought to penetrate the meaning of Scripture and deduce principles from it.

The thesis under consideration is that of 3:28, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” The crucial terms are “by faith” and “apart from law.” Paul invokes a daring example to verify his thesis—Abraham, the …