Romans 4:9-17. 9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 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. (ESV)
Calling himself a “wretch” who was lost and blind, John Newton recalled leaving school at the age of 11 to begin life as a rough, debauched seaman. Eventually he engaged in the despicable practice of capturing natives from West Africa to be sold as slaves to markets around the world. But one day the grace of God put fear into the heart of this wicked slave trader through a fierce storm. Greatly alarmed and fearful of a shipwreck, God lead him to a genuine conversion and a dramatic change in his way of life. After some time, Newton began to write his own hymns, often assisted by his close friend William Cowper. In 1779 their combined efforts produced the famous Olney Hymns hymnal. “Amazing Grace” was from that collection. Until the time of his death at the age of 82, John Newton never ceased to marvel at the grace of God that transformed him so completely. Shortly before his death he is quoted as proclaiming with a loud voice during a message, “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior!” (Osbeck, K. W. (1996). Amazing grace: 366 inspiring hymn stories for daily devotions (p. 170). Kregel Publications.)
Newton realized that one is forgiven of their sins not because of the works that they do, but in spite of them because of God’s grace. Yet, apart from Christianity, every faith system is a desire to earn merit through human works. The works-centered systems of religion that people create under Satan’s inspiration, seeks to convince people that they can be made right with God and guaranteed a place in heaven by performing certain rites and ceremonies. Some religions are much more sophisticated and humanly attractive than others, but all share the common false belief in works righteousness in some form or the other. The unredeemed person instinctively believes that somehow they can make themselves right with God by their own efforts.
In Romans 4, the Apostle Paul continues his assault against works righteousness and citing the supreme example known to his audience of Abraham, who was the supreme example of a godly man, to show that he was saved by faith rather than by works (Rom. 4:1–8). Paul is now establishing that Abraham was saved through God’s grace and not by being circumcised or by keeping the law. His argument was that if Abraham, the greatest man in the old dispensation, was saved through faith by God’s grace, then every other person must be justified on the same basis. And, contrarily, if Abraham could not be justified by being circumcised or by keeping the law, then neither could any another person.
In Romans 4:9–17 Paul demonstrates three closely related truths showing how Saving Grace is the only way to achieve eternal life. He shows this first by proving that: 1) Abraham’s justifying faith did not come by his circumcision (Romans 4:9–12); it did 2) not come by his keeping the law (vv. 13–15); but rather 3) it came solely by God’s grace (vv. 16–17).
Saving Grace is the only way to achieve eternal life which can be seen in the fact that:
1) Abraham Was Not Justified by Circumcision (Romans 4:9-12)
Romans 4:9-12. 9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. (ESV)
Paul anticipated the question that Jews would be asking at this point in his argument: “If Abraham was justified by his faith alone, why did God demand circumcision of Abraham and all his descendants?” Genesis 17:10–14 makes clear that the act of circumcision was a God-given mark of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants, the Jews. It was on the basis of that passage that the rabbis taught, and most Jews believed, that obedience to that rite was the means of pleasing God and becoming right with Him. But Paul uses that very passage to demonstrate that, to the contrary, Abraham was not made righteous before God by his circumcision but that when he was given the command of circumcision he had already been declared righteous. That is why Paul begins by asking, Is this blessing then only for/upon the circumcised, or also/upon the uncircumcised? For we say, “Faith was counted/reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 How then was it counted/reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? The relevance of this basic truth for our own day is great. Although few people, even Jews, now believe that circumcision brings salvation, countless millions firmly trust in some other form of religious ceremony or activity to make them right with God. That is exactly the kind of power the Jews of Paul’s day attached to circumcision. And because they believed that what was true for Abraham in regard to justification was true of every person, especially every Jew, Paul continues to use that patriarch as his model. Answering his own question about the time of Abraham’s being declared righteous, the apostle declares that it was not after, but before he was circumcised. The obvious chronology of Genesis proves it. When Abraham was circumcised, Ishmael was thirteen years old and Abraham was ninety-nine (see Gen. 17:23–25). But when Abraham was declared righteous by God (Gen. 15:6), Ishmael had not yet been born or even conceived (16:2–4). When Ishmael was born, Abraham was eighty-six (see 16:16). Therefore, Abraham was declared righteous by God at least fourteen years before he was circumcised. Genesis 15:6 shows Abraham to be father of the uncircumcised in their uncircumcision, so long as they share his faith (Dunn, J. D. G. (1988). Romans 1–8 (Vol. 38A, p. 210). Word, Incorporated.)
The natural question to be asked, therefore, would be, “Why circumcision? Why did God make that rite a binding law on all of Abraham’s descendants?” First of all, Paul says in verse 11, circumcision was a sign. Abraham received the sign of circumcision. Circumcision was the physical, racial mark of identity for His people. Even under the New Covenant, Paul had no objection to a Jew being circumcised, as long as the act was seen in this light. In fact Paul personally circumcised Timothy, who was only half Jewish, in order that Timothy might have better opportunity to witness to Jews near his home area who knew him (Acts 16:3). Circumcision was also a mark of God’s covenant, setting Abraham’s descendants apart uniquely His chosen people, the Hebrews, or Jews as they became known during the Babylonian Exile. Circumcision was indeed a “seal,” a sign given to Abraham and his posterity, but a sign given to Abraham as a person of faith (Fitzmyer, J. A., S. J. (2008). Romans: a new translation with introduction and commentary (Vol. 33, p. 381). Yale University Press.)
Second, circumcision was a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith which he, that is, Abraham, while he was still uncircumcised. In other words, every time circumcision was performed God’s people were to be reminded of God’s righteousness that Abraham had, and all other believers have, through faith, completely apart from circumcision. Although they convey similar ideas, a sign points to something, whereas a seal guarantees it. When an official seal was stamped on a letter or decree, for instance, its authenticity was guaranteed. In that sense, circumcision was the authentication that God’s covenant promises would be fulfilled. It pointed to the fact that God wanted to circumcise, that is, place His authenticating seal upon, His people’s hearts, not simply their bodies. By giving Abraham the sign of circumcision, God was providing him with an “outward and visible authentication, ratification and guarantee, of the righteousness by faith which was already his while he was still uncircumcised” (Cranfield, I:236). As such it served as a source of assurance to Abraham that God had truly accepted him and counted him righteous because of his faith. Thus “to Abraham it was a guarantee of the trustworthiness of God’s promise” (Hendriksen, I:150–151 as cited in Cottrell, J. (1996). Romans (Vol. 1, Ro 4:11). College Press Pub. Co.).
Please turn to Jeremiah 9
Moses had declared in Deut. 30:6 “Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live”. God had always wanted first of all to cut away the sin that covered the heart. Before we look at Jeremiah 9, in Jeremiah, 4, the Lord said to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest My wrath go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds” (Jer. 4:3–4). Now in chapter 9, Jeremiah declares:
Jeremiah 9:24-26. 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” 25 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.” (ESV)
• Every male child of Israel was a testimony that people’s hearts need spiritual circumcision, or cleansing. In a similar way, baptism symbolizes a believer’s death and resurrection with Christ. Communion symbolizes His redemptive act on our behalf, which we are to commemorate until He comes again. Neither rite has any merit in itself, and the elements of water, bread, and wine certainly have no merit or power in themselves. Both baptism and communion are outward demonstrations and reminders of the inner reality of salvation through Jesus Christ.
We see back in Romans 4:11 that Abraham received circumcision after he was reckoned righteous. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness might be counted/reckoned to them as well. 12 and to make him the father of circumcised who are not merely circumcised but also walk/follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. Racially, Abraham is the father of all Jews; spiritually, he is the father of both believing Gentiles, who believe without being circumcised, and of believing Jews, who … are circumcised. Both groups of believers are counted/reckoned righteous because of their faith in God through Jesus Christ, and they also walk/follow in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. Everything that God had given the Jews (the Law, circumcision, sacrifices, feasts, etc.) better informed their faith, but never removed their need to respond personally in faith, as Abraham had done. By responding to God in faith, both circumcised and uncircumcised people are literally “keeping in step with Abraham’s footsteps of faith.” The faith that Jews and Gentiles should imitate is the faith that Abraham had before he was circumcised. (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1992). Romans (pp. 87–89). Tyndale House Publishers.)
Illustration: God Moves in a Mysterious Way
The grand old hymn God Moves in a Mysterious Way was written by William Cowper (pronounced Cooper), the English poet, friend of John Newton, who struggled all his life with depression. According to Ernest Emurian in Living Stories of Famous Hymns, William Cowper wrote this hymn following a period of almost suicidal depression. Calling for a carriage, he ordered the driver to take him to the Ouse River, three miles away, where he planned (jump from the bridge into the water). The driver, knowing the state of mind of his passenger, breathed a prayer of thanks when a thick fog enveloped the area. He purposely lost his way in the dense fog, jogging up one road and down another as Cowper fell into a deep sleep. Several hours passed, the driver going in circles, letting his passenger rest. Finally, he returned him to his home. “We’re back home,” said Cowper. “How is that?”“Got lost in the fog, sir. Sorry.” Cowper paid his fare, went inside, and pondered how he had been spared from harming himself by the merciful providence of God. That same evening in 1774, his forty-third year, reflecting on his narrow escape, he wrote this autobiographical hymn: “God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm”. (Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson’s complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed., pp. 652–653). Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Saving Grace is the only way to achieve eternal life which can be seen in the fact that:
2) Abraham Was Not Justified by the Law (Romans 4:13-15)
Romans 4:13-15. 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. (ESV)
Paul’s second point in this passage is that Abraham not only was not justified by the rite of circumcision but also was not justified by keeping the Mosaic law. Again, the chronology of the Jewish Scriptures proves his point. As every Jew well knew, the law was not revealed to Moses until more than five hundred years after Abraham lived, and that patriarch obviously had no way of knowing what the law required. People have never been able to come to God by means of an outward ceremony or standard of conduct. When Abraham was declared right with God, he was neither circumcised nor in possession of the Mosaic law. Circumcision had not yet been required by God and the law had not yet been revealed by God. Therefore, the promise to Abraham or to his offspring/descendants that he would be heir of the world did not come through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. The promise to Abraham was embodied in God’s covenant with Abraham, in which the patriarch was told that his offspring/descendants would be heirs of the world (Gen. 12:3; 15:6; 18:18; 22:18). In analyzing God’s promise to Abraham, four significant factors emerge. First, the promise involved a land (Gen. 15:18–21) in which Abraham would live but that would not be possessed until some five centuries later, when Joshua led the Israelites in their conquest of Canaan. Second, the promise also involved a people, who would be so numerous that they could not be numbered, like the dust of the earth and the stars in the sky (Gen. 13:16; 15:5). Eventually, Abraham would become the “father of many nations” (Gen. 17:5; cf. Rom. 4:17). Third, the promise involved a blessing of the entire world through Abraham’s descendants (Gen. 12:3). Fourth, and finally, the promise would be fulfilled in the giving of a Redeemer, who would be a descendant of Abraham through whom the whole world would be blessed by the provision of salvation. That promise to Abraham was, in essence, a preaching to him of the gospel (Gal. 3:8). Abraham believed that gospel, and even when Isaac, the sole divinely-promised heir, was about to be offered as a sacrifice, Abraham trusted that somehow God would “provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering” (Gen. 22:8). Through the writer of Hebrews, the Lord gives a beautiful revelation of the extent of Abraham’s understanding and faith. “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your descendants shall be called.’ He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead; from which he also received him back as a type” (Heb. 11:17–19). Law-language (‘you shall’) demands our obedience, but promise-language (God saying: ‘I will’) demands our faith. What God said to Abraham was not ‘Obey this law and I will bless you’, but ‘I will bless you; believe my promise’ (Stott, J. R. W. (2001). The message of Romans: God’s good news for the world (p. 131). InterVarsity Press.)
Jesus told the unbelieving Jewish religious leaders in John 8, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). In a way that is not explained, Abraham foresaw the coming of the Messiah, who would be born as one of his promised descendants. It was through that descended Messiah, the Christ, that Abraham would bless the entire world and be heir of the world. Referring to the Hebrew text of Genesis 22:17 and 18, Paul gives God’s exegesis of His own Word in Galatians 3: declaring that “the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ” (Gal. 3:16). Later in that same chapter the apostle says of all believers, Gentile as well as Jew, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (v. 29). In Him they become part of that single spiritual seed, “that is, Christ.” God gave Abraham a promise of a “blessed world”—a world that through Abraham’s innumerable seed would become a heritage of blessing for him (Boa, K., & Kruidenier, W. (2000). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 134). Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
Now we see that the purpose of the Law was to reveal God’s perfect standards of righteousness and to show people that they are unable in their own power to live up to those standards. Awareness of that inability should drive people to God in faith. The law was given as a “tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24). No one can keep the Law, so the Law enhances one’s sense of transgression and failure and the sense of being under God’s wrath. The Law promotes defeat and pessimism, but faith brings joy, assurance of the promise, and thus a life of optimism. (Hughes, R. K. (1991). Romans: righteousness from heaven (p. 94). Crossway Books.).
God has never recognized any righteousness but the righteousness of faith in Him, and that righteousness, like His imparted and imputed righteousness, comes by means of His own gracious provision. Jesus Christ not only is the object of our faith but is also its “author and perfecter” (Heb. 12:2). Abraham was justified because he believed God’s promise, which is faith. As Paul has already declared in this epistle, that belief “was reckoned to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:3; cf. Gen. 15:6). In exactly the same way, when a person believes God’s promise of salvation through trust in His Son Jesus Christ, that act of faith is reckoned to them as Christ’s own righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21). Abraham was justified by faith as a human being, not as a Gentile or a Jew! This establishes faith as the standard for all human beings (Boa, K., & Kruidenier, W. (2000). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 131). Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
Paul continues to explain in verse 14, For if it is the adherents of the Law who are to be heirs, faith is null/made void and the promise is void/nullified. If people are able to keep God’s Law perfectly they would indeed be heirs of God. That, of course, is impossible, but if it were true it would make faith … null/void and would make God’s promise … void/nullified. Faith is able to receive anything God promises. If, on the other hand, God’s promise is only to be received through obedience to a law which neither Abraham nor his children could keep, then faith is canceled. In other words, to base a promise on an impossible condition is to nullify the promise. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones puts it like this: “Law means failure. Therefore, if the promise had been made through the medium of the Law, what God was giving, as it were, with his right hand, he would have been taking back with his left hand. There would have been no promise at all; it would have had no value whatsoever.” (D. M. Lloyd-Jones, Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 3:20–4:25, Atonement and Justification (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970), p. 194.)
Please turn to Romans 7
The law cannot save, as verse 15 notes, because the Law brings wrath. The more a person seeks to justify themselves by keeping God’s Law, the more they prove their inability to do so because of human sinfulness and the more judgment and wrath they bring upon themselves. Just as surely as the law reveals God’s righteousness so it also exposes human sinfulness. If no one defines right and wrong, then no one knows the difference, and no one can sin. Or, in terms of the gospel, if the punishment required by the law is diverted to Christ, then we are judged “not guilty.” (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1992). Romans (p. 90). Tyndale House Publishers.)
As Paul explained in Romans 7
Romans 7:7-11. 7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. (ESV)
• The law was not given to save us but to be “our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24).
Illustration: To illustrate this point, a movie was produced entitled “The Geography of Salvation.” It was based on the fact that in the continental United States both the highest point (Mount Whitney) and the lowest point (Death Valley) are in California. The movie compared the state of California to our lost state as sinners and showed that it is impossible to get out of California by going up. A person who starts in Death Valley and travels up to sea level and then on into the mountains may feel that he has made noticeable progress, and he has in terms of elevation. But he is still in California. Similarly, in regard to salvation, what we need is not a higher moral elevation but a change of state. We need to be moved out of our lost state, in which we are under the wrath of God, into a saved state. That is different from going up and by a different means entirely. To put it another way: Law is man-directed (it points to human abilities), while faith is God-directed (it points to God’s accomplishments). So, if you are approaching salvation by trusting (human works), you cannot be trusting God—and vice versa. (Boice, J. M. (1991–). Romans: Justification by Faith (Vol. 1, p. 472). Baker Book House.)
Finally, we can see that Saving Grace is the only way to achieve eternal life which can be seen in the fact that:
3) Abraham Was Justified by God’s Grace (Romans 4:16-17)
Romans 4:16-17. 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. (ESV)
God reckons the believer’s faith as righteousness in order that salvation may rest on/be in accordance with grace. Were it not for God’s sovereign grace providing a way of salvation, even a person’s faith could not save them. That is why faith is not simply another form of human works, as some theologians throughout the centuries have maintained. The power of salvation, or justification, is in God’s grace, not in human faith. Abraham’s faith was not in itself righteousness but was reckoned to him as righteousness on the basis of the One who would Himself graciously provide for believers, including Abraham, the righteousness they could never attain by themselves. Faith and grace belong together by their very natures, just as works and law belong together… Law tells us what we are to do. It points to deeds, action, conduct, and behavior. You cannot think of law without thinking of requirements. In the same way, though by contrast, as soon as you think of faith you inevitably think of grace (if you understand it), and as soon as you think of grace you think of faith. Grace is the unmerited favor of God apart from human works, and it comes to us by simple acceptance, which is faith (Boice, J. M. (1991–). Romans: Justification by Faith (Vol. 1, p. 474). Baker Book House.).
Grace is the divine power that brings justification in order that the promise may rest/be certain….be guaranteed to all his offspring/descendants. That Paul is here speaking of spiritual, not physical, offspring/descendants, is made clear by his going on to say, not only to the adherent of the law, that is, Jews, but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. When Abraham was called in Ur of the Chaldeans, he was an idolatrous pagan. Before God’s covenant with Abraham, there were no Jews and therefore no Gentiles, strictly speaking. But Paul’s point here is that God reckoned Abraham’s faith as righteousness before any such distinctions were made. It was for that reason that Abraham’s faith was a universal faith that applies to all peoples, not merely to Jews, those who are adherent of the Law. And it was for that reason that Abraham became the father of us all, that is, of all who trust in Jesus Christ, regardless of racial or religious heritage. Abraham was the spiritual prototype of every genuine believer. He was a pagan, idolatrous, ungodly sinner who trusted not in his own efforts but in God’s gracious promise. What sustained Abraham in his faith, then, was a vision of the God who could do the impossible, not a confidence that he himself could faithfully bring the promise to pass (Schreiner, T. R. (1998). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 236). Baker Books.)
Please turn to Hebrews 11
As always, Paul’s defense is scriptural. When he concludes in verse 17: As it is written, it refers to Genesis 17:5, which Paul here renders that God made him “the father of many nations.” The promise to Abraham was fulfilled in the presence/sight of God in whom he believed. Lest there be any doubt about what God was speaking about, Paul gives two qualifications. The first is explained in Hebrews 11 that God is the one who gives life to the dead. Abraham had experienced first-hand that power of God. He was miraculously given Isaac. Notice the explanation here in Hebrews 11, starting in verse 11
Hebrews 11:11-19. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. (ESV)
• Although Sarah initially laughed, in unbelief of the promise of God, she repented of the unbelief and the fulfilment of God’s promise, was named Isaac, who’s name means laughter. Abraham and Sarah died before the ultimate fulfilment of the realization of the promised land. They are described here as heroes of faith because they ultimately did not seek an earthly realization of blessing but a heavenly one, which they received because of their faith. We are their spiritual seed if we likewise trust God even when it seems that in an earthly sense, we will not see the fulfilment of all that he has promised.
As Romans 4:17 concludes, God is the one who gives life to the dead, because second, this God is the one who calls into existence/being the things that do not exist. Paul here obviously refers to God’s power as expressed through creation, in which “what is seen was not made out of things which are visible” (Heb. 11:3). He is the one true God who calls people, places, and events into existence solely by His divine and sovereign determination. This is an example for us today, since we also must believe that God can and will one day call into being our not-yet-existing redeemed bodies and their eternal home in the new heavens and new earth. Thus, this verse declares God to be sovereign over the two things that baffle human beings most: death and nothingness (Stott, 133). To believe that God is the master of these mysteries is to believe he can do anything. Abraham so believed, and thus rested his hope in God’s promises (Cottrell, J. (1996). Romans (Vol. 1, Ro 4:17b). College Press Pub. Co.).
(Format Note: Some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Vol. 1, pp. 246–258). Moody Press.)
