Sermon Notes
Introduction
Paul focused his attention on Abraham. Abraham wasn't declared righteous by his works. If he were, he could boast, but Scripture says his faith was credited to him as righteousness (4:3). David says the same: the truly blessed person is the one whose sins God does not count against him, apart from works (4:6-8). And crucially, this verdict came before Abraham was circumcised (4:9-12), so he is the father of all who believe, circumcised or not. Now Paul presses one step further: why did God arrange salvation this way? Because a promise received by faith rests on grace, and only grace can guarantee it for everyone. So he unfolds the promise, the people, and the power behind it.
1. The Promise Through Faith
God's promise to Abraham was never attached to keeping the law. The law came 430 years later and could not add conditions to what grace had already given. In fact, law “brings wrath.” It names our failures and fixes their penalty. If the promise depended on obeying it, the promise would collapse, because none of us keeps it. Grace and law belong to different worlds.
Romans 4:13-15: 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. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
2. The Promise Rests on His Grace
The reason why it is by faith is that righteousness depends on His grace. Because it rests on grace, the promise is secured. Abraham is “the father of a multitude of nations,” not merely of his natural children, but of all who follow the pattern of his faith, Jew and Gentile alike.
Romans 4:16-17: 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, 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.
3. Faith, Fully Convinced
Consider the confidence of Abraham's faith. He was old, Sarah was barren, and every circumstance said: “impossible.” He didn't ignore the facts; he weighed them against God's promise and found God heavier. Abraham was fully convinced that God would keep His promise despite the impossibilities.
Romans 4:18-25: 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.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead
Application
- Stop trying to earn what God gives freely. When you make your standing with God depend on your performance, you don't strengthen the promise; you disrespect it. Rest instead on grace, which is the only ground that can actually hold you.
- Your place in God's family doesn't depend on background, heritage, or track record. If you share Abraham's faith, you share Abraham's blessing. And since it rests on God's grace, not your grip, your inheritance is as certain as God himself.
- Faith isn't pretending the obstacles aren't real; it's setting them beside God's word and trusting his power to be greater. The same God who gave life to Abraham's dead hopes raised Jesus — and that is the God who justifies you today.
Study Guide
- The promise to Abraham: why not through the law and why through faith? (Ro 4:13-15)
- Why should the promise of righteousness depend on faith? (Ro 4:16-17)
- Explain the quality of Abraham’s faith as Paul explained. (Ro 4:18-25)