Intro
Our text today is Romans 4:13-16:
“It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, 15 because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.”i
In the verses just prior to this, Paul has proven from Scripture that the ritual of circumcision is not required for salvation. His theme in this whole chapter is justification by faith alone. Abraham was not declared righteous by performing a ritual. He was justified by his faith in the promise of God.
Now Paul expands his argument to prove that justification is not received by observing the law. That would include circumcision. But it includes all the commandments in the Mosaic Law. In fact, operating with a legalistic mindset is diametrically contrary to justification by faith. Paul makes his argument: (1) In negative terms (vv. 13-15) by showing the impossibility of receiving the promise of God by keeping the law. (2) In positive terms (vv. 16) by demonstrating that justification by faith is the only way to receive the promise of God.
I. INEFFECTIVENESS OF THE LAW AS A MEANS OF OBTAINING THE PROMISE OF GOD (vv. 13-15)
Paul begins with a statement of fact from Old Testament history: “It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise. . . .” The law had not even been given when Abraham was declared righteous. He was not declared righteous because he was doing the things that the law required. He did not even have the Mosaic law in Genesis 15:6. He lived 430 years before the law was given to Moses. In our text, Paul does not mention that timing explicitly like he did in relationship to circumcision back in verse 10. But this fact is implied by Paul’s statement: “It was not through the law that Abraham . . . received the promise.” It couldn’t have been through the law because God declared Abaham 430 years prior to the law.
In Galatians 3:17, Paul not only mentions the 430 years but also insists that the subsequent law of Moses could not invalidate the promise Abraham received by faith. Galatians 3:17: “And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.” Abraham was justified by faith alone, and the giving of the law 430 years later does not reverse that.
The Greek word translated law (nomos) can refer to the Mosaic law or it can simply refer to a set of rules demanding obedience. ii Godet and Murray think nomos is used in our text as a reference to law in general, rather than the Mosaic law specifically.iii However, the context tells us it is referring to the Mosaic law. With the discussion on circumcision dominating the previous section of this chapter and the distinction between Jews and gentiles in verses 12 and 16, the context requires us to interpret nomos in these verses as the Mosaic law.
Having said that, we can apply the principle that Paul is teaching here to all attempts to obtain righteousness before God by legalistic effort. Paul is demonstrating the inadequacy of legalism as a means of justification, and that principle is applicable to any system of law. A legalistic mindset is contrary to the faith Abraham exercised. The legalism in the Mormon and Jehovah Witness cults cannot produce salvation. The moralist will not gain salvation by being a respectable citizen. The Galatian church was ensnared in legalism even after being justified by faith.iv Legalism is a destructive influence that is deceiving millions today.
For the first time in this epistle, we encounter the word promise (epaggelia) in verse 13. The word occurs in verses 14 and 16 as well. To understand our text, we must be clear on what Paul is referring to. The word is singular, not plural. It is promise, not promises. It is preceded by the article the (‘e). So, Paul has something very specific in mind. He describes it as “the promise that he would be heir of the world.” The first part of verse 13 tells us it is to be received by “Abraham and his offspring [spermati].” We know from the previous teaching in this chapter that Abraham’s “offspring” are all those who follow in Abraham’s “footsteps of faith” (v. 12): those who believe. They, along with Abraham, will be heirs of the world (kosmos).
When Paul says, “heir [kleronomos] of the world,” he is not quoting a specific passage in the Old Testament. He is summarizing the revelation that is there. The worldwide scope of the inheritance is indicated by the innumerable descendants that he would have (Gen. 15:5). It is indicated by the promise that he would be the father of many nations (Gen. 17:4-5) and that “all peoples on earth will be blessed” through him (Gen. 12:3).v Later the Davidic promises makes this even clearer. In Psalm 2:8 God says to his Messiah, “Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 72:8: “May he rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
We get a preview of the fulfillment in the book of Revelation. Revelation 11:15 declares: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” In Revelation 19:16, Jesus returns to earth as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” The inheritance is fully realized in the new heaven and new earth described in Revelation 21.
If you are in Christ this is your inheritance. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Rom. 8:16-17). You may be in a low place today. Life right now may be challenging.vi But it’s not over ‘till it is over. When all is said and done, you will be a joint heir with Christ. Let the anticipation of that glorious future lift your spirit and stir you soul with joy and hope.
We get insight on how this promise is fulfilled by reading Paul’s comment in Galatians 3:18. In Romans 4, Paul is not focusing on the Christological nature of the promise.vii It is in his theology, but here he is emphasizing the conditions of the promise. It is by faith, not by works. Therefore, he does not repeat what he said in Galatians 3:18: “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ” (NKJV). The inheritance comes through Messiah Jesus, and as children of faith we participate in that inheritance. In the natural, the promise to Abraham focused on Isaac (Gen. 17:19). But that was only a shadow of the greater fulfillment in the “Seed, who is Christ” (Gal. 3:18 NKJV).
The point Paul is making in Romans 4:13 centers on the means by which Abraham received the promise. It was not by observing the law. It was by believing the promise. That truth would challenge and correct the thinking that many Jews held in Paul’s day. Abraham was declared righteous in Genesis 15:6. It did not happen because he was keeping the law. It happened because he took God at his word and believed the promise. The promise was salvation through Christ, and the inheritance of eternal life in him.viii
Verses 14-15 explain why it had to be through faith and not through the works of the law. “For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless” (v. 14). Dependence on the law is another way of saying legalism. If salvation is obtained by keeping the law, then faith and promise cannot apply. According to Paul, faith and law are antithetical or mutually exclusive. If it is going to be by the works of the law, then faith and promise can play no role in one’s salvation. Paul explained this back in verses 4-5: “Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.”
Oil and water do not mix. Likewise, works and faith do not mix. Religion often attempts to mix them. Under Paul’s leadership, the Galatians were justified by faith. But Judaizers came in and told the people they must now progress by performing the law. Paul corrects this legalistic thinking in Galatians 4:9-11 by saying: “But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.” That’s a very strong evaluation of their condition: “I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.”
There was a man in a church that I previously pastored who decided he could progress with God by observing the Mosaic law. He began to worship on Saturday, instead of Sunday in an effort to keep the Sabbath. He observed the Old Testament feasts. He changed his diet to comply with dietary requirements in the Torah (Rom. 14:17). He even began to wear special underwear in an effort to comply with fabric dictates in the law (Lev. 19:19). His zeal was commendable. But a person can be zealous and wrong at the same time (Rom. 10:2; Phil. 3:6). In a lengthy discussion I showed him the inconsistency of all this with New Testament Christianity. We processed
several passages of Scripture together. When I confronted him with passages like our text today and Paul’s teaching in Galatians, his position broke down. His only defense was to say: “Paul was a false prophet.” Paul’s teaching on this subject is so clear, This man had to accept it or reject New Testament inspired scriptures. It breaks my heart that he has been ensnared the same way the Galatians were being deceived by Judaizers. I continue to pray that God will open his eyes to these truths.
This issue of mixing faith in Christ with Mosaic law was so serious that Paul said in Galatians 5:4: “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” It is either-or, not both-and. You’re either saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9) or you’re saved by works. Paul said in Romans 11:6: “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work” (NKJV). James Boice illustrated this by saying, “It is as impossible to be saved by both faith and works as it is to be setting out from Kansas in the direction of California and New York simultaneously” (emphasis Boice’s).ix There is nothing wrong with congregating on Saturday rather than Sunday.
There is nothing wrong with celebrating the Passover or the Day of Atonement, if it is done with a New Testament mindset.x The moment you think observance of Mosaic law earns you favor with God, you have taken your salvation into your own hands and diminished your trust in Christ. In our text, Paul is talking about the Mosaic law. But any form of legalism is moving in the wrong direction. We certainly had plenty of that in the early days of the Pentecostal Movement. People have trouble sorting out their relationship with the commandments of God. That’s why there is so much about this in the New Testament.xi
If the devil cannot deceive you into an immoral, ungodly lifestyle (Jude 1:4), he will try to put you in the ditch on the other side of the road.xii He will try to turn you toward legalism, so that your faith is turned from Christ to your own works. I have lost people out of my churches because I preached against sin. But I have also lost people out my churches because I preached the truth that is found in our text today. There is something in our flesh that would rather do external religion than to deal with the deep issues of the heart. It is costly to do real New Testament Christianity because it means death to self.xiii
Romans 4:14: “For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless.”xiv The issue is dependence. Are you depending on Christ and his work in your behalf—not only for justification but for sanctification as well or are you depending on your own performance for God’s favor. We live in God’s favor because of grace. Out of that grace, we do all we can to please the Lord (2 Cor. 5:9). But our confidence is always based on Christ and his work in our behalf for our favor with God.
Verse 15 explains “why it is that the inheritance can’t be realized by observance of the law.”xv It is “because the law brings wrath.” Attempts to be justified by observing the law always fail, not because of the law itself (Rom. 7:7, 12), but because of people’s utter inability to live by it.xvi Paul has dealt with this some in Romans 2. In Romans 3:23 he says: “. . . all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Most legalists would agree with the first part of that verse: “all have sinned.” The verb there is in the aorist tense which can indicate past behavior. But in practice they fail to realize the implications of the second half of the verse: “and fall short of the glory of God.” That verb is in the present tense indicating “a continual action. There is a continuous failing.”xvii
When you understand how the law works, you realize the impossibility of using one’s own works as a basis for salvation.xviii Paul pointed this out when he wrote in Galatians 5:2-3: “Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law” (NKJV emphasis mine). Just keeping part of the law is useless. You have to keep every jot and tittle of the law in order to claim your righteous stand before God. James 2:10 says the same thing: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” Pretty good is not good enough. Almost perfect is not good enough. The law requires perfection. The only way a person can be justified before God based on observing the law is to never fail in any point at any time. Only one person was able to do that. His name is Jesus. You may be far better than me. But I am not the standard. The perfect, untainted glory of God is the standard.
Legalists lose sight of this biblical revelation. They meet on Saturday so as not to violate the Sabbath. But do they practice every detail of the Mosaic requirements for the Sabbath?xix Those I have dealt with give themselves a pass on some of those details. Legalists are very creative in maneuvering around their own rules. The Amish are not permitted to own an automobile, but they can ride in cars driven by others.xx In the Pentecostal church I attended as a teenager, the women could not wear makeup, but they could dye their hair. The absurdities of legalism defy logic. Amazing loopholes are developed to keep the system going. But James 2:10 says: For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
Attempting to gain salvation through the law is to misuse the law. Why did God give the law? He gave it to show us our need for a Savior. He gave it to expose our utter inability to live by God’s standards. He gave it to show us how very sinful we are.xxi Galatians 3:24: “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (KJV).
So, salvation must come by grace through faith “because the law brings wrath” (Romans 4:15). If we try to obtain salvation through keeping the law, the end result is not the fulfillment of God’s promise, but condemnation and the judgement that comes on disobeying the very law we were relying on. Why must we receive the promise “through the righteousness that comes by faith” (v. 13)? It is the only system of salvation that works. If God only made the promise available through the law, it would amount to no promise at all. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it: “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.”xxii
Romans 4:15: “because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.” The law raises the stakes on judgment. It ups the ante on your eternal destiny. Sin carries its consequences even if done in ignorance. Sin always provokes judgement.xxiii But once the law is given, people know better. They are no longer just missing the mark (amartia). They are knowingly and willfully violating God-given boundaries. They are committing transgression (parabasis) which carries weightier judgment.xxiv Because of our inability to perfectly fulfill the law, “the law brings wrath” and therefore judgement rather than blessing.
So, in Romans 4:13-15 Paul shows the impossibility of receiving the promise of God by keeping the law. Then in verses 16 he states his point in a positive way by stating how the promise can be received.
II. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH AS THE ONLY WAY OF RECEIVING THE PROMISE OF GOD (v. 16)
Romans 4:16: “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace . . . .” If it is not by grace, you have no hope of receiving it. If it must be earned by your own performance, there is no hope. The law is designed to bring people to that realization so that they will submit themselves to Christ and receive the salvation God has provided by grace.
Last year I ministered to a lady who was relying on her infant baptism and years of religious works for salvation. I met with her and her husband several times trying to show her what Paul is teaching in Romans 4. I could not get her to see the inability of religious ritual and good works to save her. And because of that I could not lead her into biblical salvation. The truths we are talking about this morning are not just abstract academics. Eternal souls hang in the balance on these matters. As long as you are relying on your own works for God’s favor, you are unable to exercise saving faith in Christ. It can’t be faith in my own efforts and faith in Christ’s work in my behalf. It must be one or the other. The barrier of self-sufficiency must be removed. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”xxv
“Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace” (Rom. 4:16). Three glorious words are linked together in that statement: promise, faith, and grace. These are consistent with one another and go together in biblical revelation. Law, works, and wrath go together as well. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).
Grace is based on the goodness and benevolence of the giver, not the ability or performance of the receiver. Grace is commonly understood as unmerited favor, and so it is.xxvi “It is enrichment that we don’t deserve: God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense. . . . It is given to us; therefore it is a gift.”xxvii It is not only a favorable attitude of the giver, but it includes all the enablement that is needed. John Bunyan is credited with writing:
“To run and work the law commands, but gives us neither feet nor hands. But better news the gospel brings, it bids us fly and gives us wings.”xxviii
My friend, you do not need a religion of works. That is something that will make you even more miserable. The gospel does not offer a religion of works. The glorious gospel of grace brings an inward transformation that lights up the sky over your head and fills your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. God’s way of salvation is by grace, and there is no way that could be more glorious.
Do you need the unmerited favor that God offers through Christ? Do you need forgiveness of sin and abundant mercy? Do you need a grace that can give you wings to live in newness of life? It sounds too good to be true. But it is true! And it is offered to you today. Surrender your life to Christ and receive the riches of his grace. That decision can change the entire course of your life and beyond that, your eternal destiny.
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New International Version (2011) unless indicated otherwise.
ii In the New Testament, nomos is often used to refer to the Mosaic law. But sometimes it is just referring to a principle, like the law of gravity. That’s the way it is used in Romans 7:21 where Paul says, “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” As a Christian, he desires to do good, but there is another compulsion, an inward principle or law working against that. So, in that text nomos simply refers to a principle or rule working against that. See Fredrick W. Danker, Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University Press of Chicago, 2000) s. v. “nomos 1. a,” 677; Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 234-234.
iii Both Godet and Murray base their decision on the absence of the article before nomos. However, Gutbrod correctly discounts the idea that the presence of the article distinguishes it as the Mosaic law. He writes, “It is certainly not true that nomos is ‘a’ law as distinct for ‘o nomos, ‘the’ Law.” Godet, Commentary on Romans, 177. John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, 140-141. Gerhard Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967), s.v. “nomos” by W. Gutbrod, 1070.
iv Cf. Gal. 1:1; 3:3; 4:9; 5:7.
v See also Gen. 22:16-18.
vi Cf. Rom. 8:23; 2 Cor. 4:7-10; 1 Pet. 1:6.
vii “Rom. 4 does not focus on the christological implications of ‘seed’ that Paul brings out in Gal.3. The word here is purely collective, the reference being to all who are numbered among the ‘descendant’ of Abraham (cf. also vv. 16, 18; 9:7-8).” Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, NICNT, Stone, Bruce, and Fee, eds. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 274.
viii This includes being “heir of the world [kosmos].” Cf. 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10.
ix James Montgomery Boice, Romans: Volume 1 Justification by Faith Romans 1-4 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book, 1991), 472.
x Paul opposes an obligatory keeping of the Mosaic law including feast days which were a shadow of the fuller revelation that came through Christ (Col. 2:16-17). However, a voluntary celebration of feasts with a New Testament mindset is not forbidden. There is every indication in Acts 20 that Paul observed the Passover in Phillipi (v. 6) and went to Jerusalem for the Fest of Pentecost (v. 16). But we must keep in mind that everything Paul did was motivated by a desire to win others to Christ (1 Cor. 9:20).
xi Our text in Romans 4 is dealing with justification and its relationship with the law. Romans 7 deals more with sanctification and how the law relates to that aspect of our salvation.
xii Antinomianism is
xiii This is addressed more fully in Richard W. Tow, Beatitudes of Christ: Pathway of Blessing (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2024), 173-186.
xiv The Greek word kenoo, translated “means nothing,” is defined as “to cause to be without result or effect, destroy, render void or of no effect.” The Greek word katargeo, translated “is worthless,” is defined as “to cause someth. to lose its power or effectiveness, invalidate, make powerless.” Fredrick W. Danker, Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University Press of Chicago, 2000) s. vv. “kenoo,,” 539 and “katargeo,” 525. “Now he simply states that if observance of the law is decisive, the faith and the promise play no role.” Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, 2nd ed., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, R. Yarbough and J. W. Jipp, eds., 1998 (grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018), 238.
xv Schreiner, Romans, 238.
xvi Cf. Ps. 130:3.
xvii Cleon Rogers, Jr. and Cleon Rogers III, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998), 322.
xviii Cf. Rom. 10:3; Phil. 3:9.
xix Exodus 35:2-3 forbids lighting a fire, most challenging during the winter. According to Numbers 15:35 violators in the community to fail to live up to the standards may need to be put to death.
xx Erik Wesner, “The Amish Buggy (All About Plain Transportation),” Amish America. Accessed at https://amishamerica.com/amish-buggy/.
xxi Cf. Rom. 3:19-24.
xxii Lloyd-Jones, Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 3/20-4.25 Atonement and Justification, 1970 (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 2015), 194.
xxiii Cf. Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 5:12-13; 6:23.
xxiv Cf. Luke 12:47.
xxv For an extensive discussion of what it means to be poor in spirit see Richard W. Tow, Beatitudes of Christ: Pathway of Blessing (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2024), 3-14.
xxvi BDAG defines grace in the Romans 4:16 context as “the action of one who volunteers to do someth. not otherwise obligatory.” Fredrick W. Danker, Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University Press of Chicago, 2000) s. v. “charis,” 2.a, 1079.
xxvii Ray C. Stedman, Expository Studies in Romans 1-8: From Guilt to Glory Volume 1 (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1981), 96.
xxviii “John Bunyan Quotes,” Quotefancy. Accessed at https://quotefancy.com/quote/1113453/John-Bunyan-To-run-and-work-the-law-commands-but-gives-us-neither-feet-nor-hands-But.
