By Faith Alone

Romans 4:13–25 ESV

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

During Lent, we are examining what it means to live out the Christian life in the real world truly. We all face challenges at work, home, school, or even Wal-Mart. We have discussed how the sinner’s prayer is just the beginning of our life in Christ. There is an ethic by which we must live that displays the holiness and righteousness of Christ that is alive within us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

‌Today, we turn to Romans 4, where Paul uses Abraham as an example of what this life looks like. He pulls from Genesis 15, where God continues to flesh out his covenant with Abraham. Genesis 12 was a promise about the land where he would go. Abraham follows where God leads him. In chapter 15, we hear more about the promise when the Lord tells him that he will have a son to be his heir even though he was old and his body good as dead. Genesis 15:6 says that Abraham believed in the Lord, which he counted as righteousness or right standing with God.

‌It was by faith in the promise of God that Abraham was declared righteous. Paul uses this example to argue that the fulfillment of this promise only began with Isaac. The fruition of this promise is opened to all the world, Jew and Gentile, through Jesus Christ. Abraham did not fully understand this. But it was through Abraham’s faith that we have the example of how we must live by faith alone when it comes to walking in obedience to Christ and living the Christian ethic for the world to see.

1. By faith, we inherit new life. (vs. 13-15)

The promise given to Abraham embraces not only the land of Canaan but also the whole world. “Inheritance” is another term used for salvation. It will be given to Abraham and all believers in the world to come.

‌If the inheritance is gained by observing the law, salvation is by works, not faith. Our works are done in response to what Christ has done for us.

‌Earlier in Romans 4, Paul rejected salvation by birthright or ceremonial practices. Abraham predates the Mosaic law by centuries. The minute details of the Law, which fascinated the minds of the scribes and Pharisees, meant nothing to him. His relationship with God was defined by faith only - and the gift of grace that a merciful Father gives.

‌The purpose of the law is to reveal human sinfulness. Knowledge of God’s holy standard leads to guilt and condemnation, not self-confidence and pride. Why is this important, especially when we have inherited a new life in Christ? For Paul, there is the benefit of the awareness of one’s sin, which points us in the direction of God’s grace. Knowing that we are sinful causes us to run toward Christ because he is the only one who can save us from our sin.

‌Paul says that our inheritance of new life is given to us by faith. Galatians 3:18 says, “For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.”

‌When we trust in Christ in the way Abraham did when he followed God’s call, we have this inheritance of a new life that will be fully revealed in the new heaven and earth.

We do not receive this based on our ability to follow the law because we would fail. Peter mentions this in his speech at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:10–11, “Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” There are those in the early church who believed that new converts must become Jewish before they were Christians. Peter says they are asking the Gentiles to do something they could not do. Instead, salvation comes by grace through Christ. It is a gift that a merciful Father gives.

2. By faith, we are given righteousness. (vs. 16-22)

If we were only given the law, we would be hopeless and helpless. We cannot measure up to the holiness that God requires. Paul illustrates Abraham’s physical problem to show the spiritual problem that plagues humanity. We are hopeless and dead in our sin.

‌The Genesis account that Paul is highlighting (Genesis 15:1-6) tells us that Abraham was fully aware of his problem and raised the issue with God. The underlying question for Abraham was not the social concerns or personal desires for heirs but the matter of the divine promise that had accompanied his earlier call in Genesis 12:1-3. The question poses the paradox of faith and doubt. Abraham points out the impossibility of the divine promise because of his human inability to bring the promise to reality.

‌This is our spiritual reality. We are spiritually dead in our sin. We are not able to produce holiness and righteousness on our own. The law tells us we fail. Paul tells the Ephesians in Ephesians 2:1, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.” Even in this spiritually dead state, we hear the call of God from 1 Peter 1:16, “since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” This call comes with many promises to achieve right standing with God and become alive to him.

‌We must come to the moment of honest assessment. This is repentance. Wesley emphasized that an awareness of two facts about ourselves - sinfulness and helplessness - is essential to justification. Some refuse to follow God’s call in prevenient grace to face the fact that they are sinners. As such, they continue to live under the condemnation of the law. God remedies the situation when we become aware of our current state and repent of our sin before God.

‌Paul tells us in these verses that Abraham had followed God’s call. He came from paganism and went to a land he did not know. But it wasn’t his actions that made him righteous. It was faith and trust in God’s promises to him.

‌We can do the same thing. We can walk away from a sinful lifestyle and engage in works of piety and mercy. But our right relationship with God and the desire to walk in obedience comes when we respond in faith. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul states, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” It is only by God’s grace that we are made righteous. It is not by our works but Christ’s work that this is possible. This leads us to our final point...

3. Christ alone has done the work for our salvation. (vs. 23-25)

Genesis 15:6 was not written for Abraham alone but also for us. However, all this is possible only because of the work of Christ. When we believe in Christ, salvation becomes a reality who died and was raised again for our justification - being made right with God. The cross is the central point of our salvation. The cross is where our old nature is put to death, and the Resurrection is the source of our new life.

‌Paul relies heavily upon the words found in Isaiah 53:5 here, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Christ places upon himself our sin and takes the punishment for that sin so that we might have peace with God and be healed. Peter makes a similar reference in 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” The healing atonement of Christ is not physical healing in this context (it is in others like Matthew 8:17) but in the forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ death should lead to a profound change in the lives of believers so that we sever all ties to evil and devote ourselves to holiness and righteousness.

‌Only by trusting in Christ's saving work on the cross can justification and sanctification be possible. It is not by our doing. It is by Christ’s doing. Our doing or obedience to Christ is only in response to our faith in Christ alone. He does the work in us of transformation so that his will becomes our will.

‌Paul does not give us details on how this is accomplished. He does that in chapters 5-8. In this section of the letter, he concludes that right standing with God comes through faith in Christ alone, apart from ancestry, rituals, rules, and regulations, or any other efforts by humanity. Here is the great truth of Paul, Luther, Wesley, and all those who take the book of Romans seriously - sola fide! Salvation comes by faith alone!

‌It is only through faith that we can have new life and live with the righteousness of Christ. Only by faith can we be sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit to live a Christ-like life. By faith alone, we can live the Christian ethic set before us and live in obedience to Christ. Otherwise, we continue to sin because we do not have the power within us not to sin. We do not have something outside of ourselves that declares what is holy and righteous in the sight of God. We live based on our feelings and desires rather than on the desires of God. Only by faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior can we truly live the obedient life that God calls us to. The work of Jesus on the cross and the power of the resurrection allows us to submit to the One who has created all things. May we give our hearts and lives to him so that we may live a holy and righteous life.