Promise by Faith

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.

Dr. Roy Gustafson had the finest illustration of justification I have ever heard. It seems that there was a man in England who put his Rolls-Royce on a boat and went across to the continent to go on a vacation. While he was driving around Europe, something happened to the motor of his car. He cabled the Rolls-Royce people back in England and asked, "I'm having trouble with my car; what do you suggest I do?" Well, the Rolls-Royce people flew a mechanic over! The mechanic repaired the car and flew back to England and left the man to continue his holiday. As you can imagine, the fellow was wondering, "How much is this going to cost me?" So when he got back to England, he wrote the people a letter and asked how much he owed them. He received a letter from the office that read: "Dear Sir: There is no record anywhere in our files that anything ever went wrong with a Rolls-Royce." That is justification.

Now, if we think of our salvation in this manner. How often do we continue to make mistakes? We know it is continually! Yet, when we accept Jesus as our Savior when we often ask God about our sins only to be told we have no sins anywhere in our files.

In Chapter 4, Paul writes encouragement to the church of Rome and gives this illustration of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. In this example, Paul uses the story of Abraham.

Abraham’s Faith

Romans 4:13–17 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.

Here Paul speaks of Abrahams faith by referencing Genesis 15:6:

Genesis 15:6 ESV

6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

What is faith? How does faith relate to our salvation? Abraham believed the Lord, and the Lord counted this as righteousness. Righteousness is a gift from God to humanity upon believing in the Son of God. It goes beyond moral correctness and is about being right in the eyes of God. Because Abraham believed, God saw him as being perfect - right - in the eyes of God. We can say Abraham aligned perfectly with God.

Paul is giving us an insight into Scriptures always having taught salvation by faith alone. What works did Abraham have to do to be justified in the eyes of God? There was no works, only his faith. Being the father of God’s people, we can say those who came after him have been offered the same opportunity. We are not saved by works, by circumcision, or by keeping the law, but simply by faith alone that one is counted as righteous in Christ.

In these verses, Paul reemphasizes that the law cannot justify us alone. If we think about our previous studies in the OT, we know the law only points to our depraved state. It cannot save us, does not justify us, and simply was used to point out sin. The world depends on faith by faith alone, not the law for salvation.

Paul says that the promise involved being an heir of the world. How did this land become the world? First, it has to do with the global reach of the promise—all the families of the earth will be blessed through him. Second, it has to do with the Messiah—through Abraham’s ultimate offspring, Christ, believers will “inherit the earth”. Christ, the ultimate offspring, will rule over the world in the future, and we will reign with him. Third, it has to do with the culmination of the land promise to Abraham. Canaan was a type of the new creation to come. Often in prophecy there is escalation; the fulfillment is greater than what was originally given.

This promise was given to the whole world, and as an heir…we too can receive the promise of faith. The phrase in verse 14, “those who are of the law,” refers to those who base their standing with God on their doing of the Mosaic law. If people could inherit the blessing by keeping the law, faith and promise would be worthless. So grace, faith, and promise are interlocking concepts; law, transgression, and wrath belong to another system (ibid.). In verse 15 Paul says, “The law produces wrath.” Specific laws make us aware of our sin, and the result of that sin is punishment/wrath.

In verses 16–17 Paul brings together grace and faith, continuing with the same logic. The point is simple: God is gracious, and salvation is a gift of his grace. In God’s grace he makes promises, which we receive by faith. This salvation or promise is one from which both Jew and Gentile can benefit. The gospel of grace through faith unites believers. Thus, Scripture is fulfilled (Gen 17:5): “I have made you the father of many nations” (Rom 4:17). Through Christ, Abraham’s greatest offspring, all believers are part of Abraham’s spiritual family. Only justification by grace alone through faith alone could make this a reality.

Justification by faith is not just a doctrine for individual salvation, it also is a doctrine for the community of faith. Believing leads to belonging which leads the church of the community to be justified.

Believing

Romans 4:18–25 ESV

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.

Abraham and Sarah’s faith in God for a child foreshadows resurrection faith. Isaac’s birth may be seen as a preview of things to come in the resurrection of Jesus. After talking about the character of Abraham’s faith, Paul ends the chapter by bringing together those two foundational beliefs: the resurrection and justification by faith.

Abraham had hope - hope that God would do what He said He would do. Even though the situation of having a child at 100 seemed hopeless, he still had faith God would follow through with the promise of a son. True faith must be linked with hope. Abraham and Sara had been waiting 25 years for God to fulfil the promise. While he realized humanly speaking he could not have a child, he still believed God could grant the promise and kept the faith.

At no time did Abraham grow weak in his faith. Too often, we allow things in the world to get us down and we waver in our faith. We question God, we ask why He would allow or not allow something to happen, expecting an immediate answer. But, what is God asking of us? Maybe it is to have faith like Abraham and keeping our mind focused on the promise God has given for our prosperity in His timing instead of what we think God should give us now. Abraham never allowed his faith to drift into unbelief, and he grew stronger in faith through his relationship with God.

Even when times seem uncertain, Abraham gave glory to God. How do we show the most faith to God? By believing in Him and placing our faith and trust in Him. That is a testimony of His attributes towards us; faith, hope, trust, truth, and most importantly His love. Having faith and glorifying God go hand in hand, just as faith and hope do. All He asks of us is to believe in God, believe in His promises, and live our lives to the glory of God.

How do we do this? We have to believe what God tells us is true and He will do what He promises in scripture. Some times it does not seem feasible - even Abraham laughed at the thought of having a son with Sarah at 100 and 90 years of age. Even though he laughed, though, he never lost faith that God would provide. Oftentimes we fret and worry over what is not going right. We fret and worry over things that are not to our specifications, not to our liking. God, though, tells us that we are to place our faith in Him, and let Him guide, lead, and direct us. If this was only as simple as it seemed. It’s easy to type out what we are to do, but much more complicated to live it out. Even Abraham had human-like faith, just like us. He found God’s promise hard to believe, especially as the years passed, but God continued to reinforce and restate His promise allowing Abraham to be convinced God would do what He said He would do.

Paul then closes with the statement he started with Romans 4:22

Romans 4:22 ESV

22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”

Abrahams unwavering faith is what God counted as righteousness.

Closing

A promise given, faith tested, and the promise fulfilled. Paul reminds us here that our faith is what God counts as righteousness, the same as He counted Abrahams faith as righteousness. It’s not what we do, it’s not what we say, it’s not our works, it’s not following the law, it’s not all the other “things” that can save us. It is simply faith.

Do we have the same type of faith as Abraham? Do we hear God’s promises and stand firm on them? Or, do we instead question whether God really meant what He said? Are we lacking in faith? Do we need to be more firm in our faith? The only way to grow in our faith is to look at what God has done in the lives of the OT and NT saints, how He fulfills the promises He made to them, and know that He will fulfill the promises made to us in the same way. Simply believe.