Romans 4

Abraham had faith while he was still uncircumcised, and it was this faith that made him acceptable in God’s sight. Therefore, Paul says, Abraham is also the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised—that is, he is the spiritual “father” of all believing Gentiles.

12 In verse 11, Paul wrote that Abraham was the father of all who believe. Here in verse 12, Paul writes that Abraham is also the father of the circumcised (the Jews). Yes, Abraham is the father of the Jews according to the flesh. But those Jews who do not truly believe in God (and Christ) are not true spiritual Jews; they are not Abraham’s true spiritual descendants. The true Jews are those who walk in the footsteps of the faith that … Abraham had. Likewise, true Christians are those who walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. It is not enough simply to say, “I believe.” We must walk in the footsteps of … faith.

13-14 When Paul writes the word law in verse 13, he means “works of the law.” In verse 14, the expression those who live by the law means “those who live by the works of the law.”

The Jewish law was given by God to the Jews more than four hundred years after Abraham’s time. Therefore, it couldn’t have been by works of the law that Abraham received the promise that he would become heir of the world (verse 13), since the law hadn’t even been given then.

In verse 14, Paul says: if we could become heirs through works of the law, then there would be no need for faith; faith would have no value. But the fact is that only through faith can we become heirs, that is, true spiritual heirs of Abraham (see Gal-atians 3:18 and comment).

In fact, it is completely impossible to become heirs through works of the law, because no one can fully obey the whole law all the time. If the promise could be received only by doing the works of the law, no one would ever receive the promise; the promise would then be worthless (verse 14).

15 The law brings wrath, that is, punishment. The law brings wrath because men can’t obey it entirely and thus God must punish them. If there were no law, there would, of course, be no opportunity for disobedience and, hence, no punishment. But there is a law—and along with it, therefore, there must be punishment.

16 Therefore, the promise of being an heir of the world (verse 13) did not come to Abraham by the law, which leads only to wrath. Rather, the promise came by faith and by grace. And that promise of being heirs comes to us also by faith and by grace. Paul says here that the promise is guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law (that is, the Jews), but also to all those who are of the faith of Abraham (that is, those who have the same kind of faith Abraham had). Abraham is the father of us all—that is, all who have faith. All believers are Abraham’s true spiritual heirs, not according to the flesh but according to faith. Only through faith can the promise of becoming an heir be guaranteed (see Galatians 3:29 and comment).

17 God made Abraham the father of many nations (Genesis 17:5)—not only of the Jewish nation, but also, in a spiritual sense, of the Gentile nations.

Paul here calls God the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Abraham and his wife were virtually dead, as far as their ability to have a child was concerned; they were very old. But from them God gave life in the form of a son; that is, from a situation of “death,” God brought forth new life. God transformed things that are not—things that couldn’t happen—into things that did happen! (Hebrews 11:11-12).

Also in Paul’s mind here is the fact that two thousand years after God raised up Isaac from his “dead” parents, God also raised up His own Son Jesus Christ from the dead. But not only that; God raises us up too—we who were dead in [our] transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1,4-5).

18 Paul here quotes part of the promise God gave to Abraham in Genesis 15:5.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. To have a son at the age of one hundred was surely a hopeless thing, an impossible thing. Nevertheless, Abraham believed.

19-21 Having trusted in God, Abraham gave God all the glory (verse 20). A believing man always gives God the glory, and God will always glorify the believing man.

Let us ourselves take Abraham’s example. God has given to us also, as to Abraham, marvelous promises—promises of things such as salvation, the filling of the Holy Spirit, all the power and fullness of God Himself! Do we waver through unbelief regarding these promises? The root sin man commits against God is the sin of unbelief (see Romans 1:18 and comment). Unbelief dishonors God. Unbelief says: God can’t fulfill the promises He has made. Unbelief is the root of all sin. This is why faith is so important and necessary in God’s sight. This is why man is declared righteous by faith alone.

22 Paul here quotes again from Genesis 15:6 (see verse 3).

23-24 Here Paul says that, according to Abraham’s example, God will also credit righteousness to us because of our faith. Having, like Abraham, been declared righteous, we too will becomes heirs, heirs not only of Abraham but also of the kingdom of God. And we shall not only be heirs of Abraham; we shall be fellow heirs with Christ Himself! (see Romans 8:17).

25 In Chapter 4, Paul has described two great blessings or gifts given by God: first forgiveness (verses 7-8); and second, righteousness, or justification (verses 3,6,9,11,22,24-25). These two blessings always go together. In fact, being forgiven and being declared righteous are two of the greatest blessings of all; they are two major parts of man’s salvation. And Paul says that these two blessings, forgiveness and righteousness, are obtained not through works of the law but only through faith in Christ.

But here we want to ask a question: What exactly did Christ do for us? Why put faith in Him? Here in verse 25, Paul gives the answer. The reason for putting faith in Christ is this: It is through Him that we receive these two great blessings, forgiveness and righteousness (or justification).

First, it is Christ who was delivered over to death on the cross in order that we ourselves might not have to bear the punishment for our sins. He died in order that we might receive forgiveness and cleansing from our sins and be able to stand guiltless before God. He did this by taking our sins upon Himself and by bearing our punishment (see Mark 10:45 and comment).

Second, Christ was raised to life for our justification. He rose from the dead in order that we might be declared righteous (justified) before God. And having been declared righteous, we receive salvation, acceptance into the kingdom of God, and eternal life. This, then, is the glorious work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This, then, is the amazing and joyful Gospel of Christ. Why should we hesitate to put faith in such a Savior!