Scripture: Romans 4:13–25

¹³ For 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. ¹⁴ 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, neither is there violation.

¹⁶ For 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, 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 Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” ¹⁹ He 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. ²⁰ No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹ being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. ²² Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” ²³ Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, ²⁴ but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

Questions

1. Why is Abraham’s faith highlighted in this passage?
2. What is the reference to wrath and how does the law bring wrath?
3. How is Abraham’s faith being “reckoned to him” a benefit to us?

Background

Related Scriptures: Genesis 12:1–9; Matthew 9:9–13, 18–26

Paul deliberately changes from descendants to heirs showing that inheriting Abraham’s promise isn’t dependent on family heritage.

Chrysostom: Is God here referring to the fact that Abraham was the father of the Ishmaelites, or the Amalekites, or the Hagarenes? No … God is a father not by way of natural relationship but by way of the relation of faith. It is in this sense also that Abraham is the father of us all^[1]

Origen: As always, when the apostle Paul talks about faith, he adds hope as well, and rightly so, for hope and faith are inseparable.… Just as Abraham believed against hope, so all believers do the same, for we all believe in the resurrection of the dead and the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. These appear to go against hope as far as human nature is concerned, but when we take the power of God into consideration, there is no problem.^[2]

Reflection

I love this line from Michael Bird about Romans 4:13-16, “Paul makes his point even clearer in vv. 13–16; if you get the chronology wrong, you’ll get the theology wrong too.”^[3] Because what Paul is highlighting in these verses is that God desires Abraham to enter into a relationship and offers that relationship without Abraham doing anything. In Genesis 12 God says to Abraham journey with me, and later it is trust me for descendants. Each time God is saying to Abraham “Trust me that I want to have a relationship with you and will stay with you.” At times (like Genesis 12) Abraham was able to trust God and follow along. Paul echoes Genesis 15 when he says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3). But what he is saying is that Abraham trusted God and God took this to mean that Abraham also wanted a right relationship. When Abraham hears God asking him for relationship in Genesis 12 this begins a process of trusting God that goes through ups and downs. Throughout Abraham’s life God says trust me and Abraham responds, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively. But throughout all of this where is the relationship between God and Abraham built, in Abraham’s ability to trust God to be with him and bless him. Consider God’s first words to Abraham, “Join in a relationship with me and I will bless you and you will be a blessing to all people. If people accept this blessing and bless you, I will bless them. If people don’t accept this blessing and choose to curse you then leave it to me to curse them.”

Relationship was the first thing God asking of Abraham and it is only later that God creates a covenant with Abraham. But even then when the relationship is formalized that God does not put specific regulations on Abraham, but simply says stay loyal. This is what Paul picks up in Romans, the Law comes later. Because the purpose of the of those books we identify with the law is to help Israel consider what following God really looks like. The instructions are there for us to as a guide to helping us trust God.

Paul wants us to understand that just as Abraham’s journey began when he trusted God and left his homeland so our journey begins when we trust Jesus is the source of life and walk in that light.  This is why Paul transitions from descendants to heirs in Romans. Life with God is not about Abraham trusting and people tracing their ancestry back to him or following rules given to his descendants. Life with God is being Abraham’s heir by living out the kind of trust he did on his best days. Life with God is about recognizing that I, like Abraham, follow God and so I am meant to be a blessing to all people. I as Abraham’s heir, continue to live out the blessing that God told him he was to be. This means I meditate on the instructions God has given so that I can learn how to trust God and be a blessing to others. It also means that I work to not curse others but bless them. If God is the one who is to curse those who curse me then instead of allowing my anger at the wrongs done to me evolve into cursing or even violence, I give my grief to God and work on being a blessing. It means that when I see people struggling, I remember my struggles and I focus on being a blessing.

Paul wants us to see how Abraham exercised his faith throughout his life so that we can have the confidence to put our faith in Jesus. In doing so we become heirs to the same promise that Abraham received, to be the recipient of God’s blessing. But to place our faith in Jesus is to commit ourselves to the kind of relationship that Jesus desires.  And that relationship involves us being a blessing to the world around us even when we are cursed. Our response to God is faith, a faith that considers whether I am being a blessing to the world and trusting God to carry me through the difficult times.

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^[1] Gerald Bray, ed., Romans (Revised), Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture 117.

^[2] Gerald Bray, ed., Romans (Revised), Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture 118.

^[3] Michael F. Bird, Romans, ed. Scot McKnight, The Story of God Bible Commentary 148.