It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes from faith. 14 For if those who adhere to the law are the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law produces wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 16 For this reason, it depends on faith, so that it may be a gift, and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not to those who only adhere to the law but to those who follow the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, “I have made you father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist. 18 He believed, hoping against hope, that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “Thus shall your descendants be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body as [already] dead (for he was almost a hundred years old) and the dead womb of Sarah. 20 He did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief; rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God 21 and was fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to do. 22 That is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 But it was not for him alone that it was written that “it was credited to him”; 24 it was also for us, to whom it will be credited, who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was handed over for our transgressions and was raised for our justification.
Paul continues to answer his rhetorical question as to whether the promise (divine favor) given to Abraham extended to the Gentiles as well as the Jews (Rom. 4:9). Faith counts for nothing if only those who adhere to the Law are heirs. God who gives life to the dead made a promise to Abraham that he would become the father of a multitude of nations and an heir would be born to Sarah even though Abraham and Sarah were very old (v. 19; Gen 17). God told Abraham, “All the families of the earth will find blessing in you (Gen. 12:3). The universality of God’s gift to Abraham was established. In Genesis 15 Abraham was also promised countless offspring. By the gift of faith Abraham believed God’s promise; “Abram put his faith in the Lord, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness (Gen. 15:6).”
The promise was made to Abraham before he was circumcised. Therefore, the blessings could not have been given to Abraham because he kept the Law. The Law was designed to convict one of sin which calls down God’s wrath (v. 15). Circumcision was the seal God gave to Abraham as a result of his faith. Faith has greater primacy than circumcision since God’s promise depends on faith and applies not only to Jews but to Gentiles if they share Abraham’s faith. Faith was also credited as righteousness to the Gentiles who believed that God raised Jesus from the dead. It is through the death and resurrection of Jesus that the sins of the Gentiles can be forgiven and justified (no longer be subject to God’s just wrath).
Almighty God, it is Christ crucified that saves and Christ crucified that justifies. Through the unmerited gift of faith, we can give glory to You through Your son in the sure and certain hope of the everlasting joy and peace. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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