This chapter of Romans serves as a pivot point in the letter, as Paul shifts away from just how deeply we are engrained in sin (What a mess!) to show us that sin is not the ultimate answer in our relationship with God. What stands out in this chapter, as throughout all of Romans, is the manner in which Paul beautifully intermingles references to the Old Testament, which would have reached the members of the church who were of Jewish descent, with an understanding of rhetoric that was common in the Roman Empire, which would have spoken to the Gentile converts. It’s important for us to remember that the Roman church was made up of both those who had spent their early lives as followers of the 613 Laws of Moses and those who had worshipped in the Imperial Cult, which venerated the Emperor as a god, alongside gods from Roman mythology.
Paul begins by using the example of Abraham, showing his faith in God during a time before the works righteousness of following the Law was possible, as Abraham lived before the Law had been given. His faith was “counted to him” (other translations say “reckoned to him”) as righteousness. The Greek word translated as “counted” or “reckoned” appears in the New Testament nine times, four of which are in this chapter. Even Abraham entering into the covenant of circumcision was only done as an outward sign of his faith in God, occurring after he had already taken the plunge of moving his family seven hundred miles to the land of Cannan.
Paul continues by using a rhetorical form that would have been more at home among the symposia of the Greeks by showing how the reckoning of righteousness was not simply for Abraham or those who would later enter into the covenant of circumcision but for all people. It is faith that is reckoned to us, not our works. It is belief in something that should seem completely outside of possibility that is counted toward us as righteousness, not what we have done.