Romans 4:13-25
13For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 16For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,
17as 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. 18Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” 19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.”
23Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
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Paul is writing to the Romans who didn’t necessarily have a background in Jewish history or Jewish Law. Old Testament Judaism was very much law based, founded on the 10 commandments and expanded with additional laws that governed how the Jews dressed, ate, prayed and interacted with each other and non-Jews. I believe Paul is providing the context of the gospel here in Roman 4.
The passage starts with the founder of the Jewish race, Abraham, who has a big problem. Abraham was given a promise of being the father of many nations and numerous descendants. From a physical perspective, he and Sarah were well beyond the childbearing age and there were no children. Abraham believed God’s promise despite all indications of the contrary. It was this faith that made Abraham righteous in God’s eyes, not the act of following Jewish law. Paul then makes the case that the heirs of the promise of Abraham go beyond the Jews and includes you and me as part of the many nations. What ties us to the promise of Abraham is not the bloodline in ancestry but faith in God.
Paul writes, “Therefore his (Abraham) faith was reckoned to him righteousness.” Then the real gem of this passage Paul writes, it will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead and in that faith, we too are reconciled.
Prayer: Dear Lord, we claim the inheritance of justification by faith, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Help us to live out our faith in our community and world. Amen.
—Mark Pladson