Romans 4:18-21 - Hope Against Hope

18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE."
19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb;
20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,
21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

God Said It. That Settles It.

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V. 18 - “hope against hope he believed” - This is an odd phrase. The NLT translates it: “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping-believing...” Because Abraham believed God, he could continue to hope the promise given would remain true. He and Sarah were old, but the LORD had told him.
He had several options: 1) believe his body (and Sarah’s) were beyond hope of having a child;
2) rationalize that even though they were beyond child bearing years, it might be possible;
3) believe that God would do what He said, and place his hope in that promise.
Options 1) and 2) show no faith in God’s word. The third indicates faith that God can do what He says in spite of the physical circumstances or evidence.
The quote, “So shall your descendants be”, is from Gen. 15:5.

“so that he might become a father of many nations” - Many ‘nations’ means great-grand-children, and great-great-grand-children, etc. You know Abraham had to be contemplating the implications.

V. 19 - “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body” - We see on the news that someone just collected $40 million because they had the ‘Powerball’ winning numbers on their ticket. There is precedent - if the person won, it is possible I, too, could win the lottery. (Good luck with that!) There is no precedent for Abraham to draw upon. No way to say, “Well, it happened to ...” He is 100 years old! Sarah, 99! And yet, he believes God’s promise! 

V. 20 - “he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith” - James tells us, “But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways.” (Jam. 1:6-8) He also warns us, “Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.” (Jam. 4:10) Abraham was NOT unstable in his relationship with the LORD.

V. 21 - “being fully assured” - God said it. That settled it.

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Romans 4:13-17 - The Promise to Abraham

13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified;
15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.
16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
17 (as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.

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- -  It Is By Faith  - -

V. 13 - “the promise to Abraham ... that he would be heir of the world” - Not that Abraham would inherit the world; one of Abraham’s descendants would rule the world. All the world, and the people in it would be his.

“was not through the Law” - There is no promise of a Messiah in the Law - Ten Commandments, Sacrifices, Ceremonies, or Festival laws, nor in the Civil portions of the Mosiac Law. These showed the price was blood - but some else’s blood. The sins were placed on another, an innocent, and cast away into the outer darkness.

“through the righteousness of faith” - Does Paul think this concept, righteousness through faith, is vital? He has only repeated it six times in this chapter alone. (v. 3, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13). Faith is mentioned over 30 times in the Letter to the Romans!

V. 14 - “For if those who are of the Law are heirs” - On the other hand - IF following the Law, doing the WORKS without faith can EARN you a place in God’s family - THEN... 

“faith is made void and the promise is nullified” - You don’t need faith!
That is: if faith is void, it is useless.
And, if faith is useless, then the promise made to Abraham based on his faith cannot be true.
Even more, the promise of eternal life on the basis of our faith in Christ is not true.
Get back to work! And work some more! And never KNOW if you have done enough!

Compare that line of thought to “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31)
It may be obvious, but here it is anyway:  BELIEF = FAITH = LIFE.

V. 15 - “for the Law brings about wrath” - The end result of living by the Law is the judgement of God falls on you - mostly because you cannot obey it perfectly. Our image of wrath is anger run wild, uncontrollable destruction. Wrath is vengeance writ large. However, the Biblical view is God handing out judgement against sin.

“but where there is no law... no violation.” - In this half of the verse, ‘law’ is not capitalized, so Paul is making a point using governmental laws rather than Mosaic Law. When you come to an intersection and it has no STOP sign, you won’t get a traffic ticket for not stopping.

The point is this: salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ alone. The Law no longer has any jurisdiction, therefore no penalty can occur as a result of breaking a part of the Law.

V. 16-17 - Verses 16 and 17 are one long sentence. Now, that is a mouthful! I think that sentence can be diagrammed, and broken down - which for me makes it simpler and clearer.
The promise is guaranteed to the descendants of Abraham.
This guarantee is done by God’s grace, and accessed by our faith. Both physical and spiritual descendants of Abraham are recipients of the promise given by God, whom Abraham believed.

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Romans 4:9-12 - Before or After

9 Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, "FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS."
10 How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;
11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them,
12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.

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- -  Whence the Blessing? - -

V. 9 - “Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also?” - Good question. “How blessed is the man...” (See: Psa. 32:2) - Is that for the Jew, or for the Gentile, or for both?
Remember: Abraham is considered righteous based on his faith! God declares him to be so, despite his obvious failures. Where he did not fail was in his faith and belief in God and God’s promises. “And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (See: Gen. 15:6)

V. 10 - “How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised?” - The question is not necessarily “How was it done?”, but “When did this happen?”
Asked and answered.

V. 11 - “He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness” - See the following timeline:

• God promises land to Abraham (Gen. 13:14-17; 15:7, 18).
• God promises Abraham an heir and descendants (Gen. 15:6).
• God establishes a covenant between Him and Abraham (Gen. 17:2-5).
• God sets circumcision as a symbol of the covenant (Gen. 17:9-12).

“so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised” - Abraham is shown here to be the forefather of the Israel nation, and the spiritual forefather of believers. While being an actual ancestor of the Jews, he is a model for Christians. A person can inherit Jewish ethnicity - be part of the Abrahamic bloodline. You cannot inherit his faith, you must have your own. You can copy his example. You can share in the blessings from God, as you exercise your faith in Him.

V. 12 - “the father of circumcision to those... who also follow in the steps of the faith” - All is not lost because you are a Jew. Paul, in Rom. 3:1-2,  emphasizes the Jews have definite advantages. A Jew can be faithful just as Abraham was. Likewise you need not be a Jew to benefit from God’s loving forgiveness.  Believe God’s promises and live accordingly. Jesus died for ALL people, not just Jews. Everyone, anyone, can receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by faith and belief in Him. Paul emphasizes this later in this letter - see Rom. 10:9-11.

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Romans 4:4-8 - David, our Forefather

4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.
5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.
8 "BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT."

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- - What David Said  - -

V. 4 - “his wage is not credited as a favor” - We can see from the OT that workers deserve to be paid when they work. (See: Exo. 22:14, 15; Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:15). Wages are not a gift, but payment for work done. You have earned it. God commanded fairness to workers. He will execute fairness to us as well.

It is necessary to emphasize that whatever work you do, none of it is sufficient to pay off your ‘sin-debt’. Jesus took the guilty verdict against you, a certificate of death, and had it nailed to the cross that killed Him. (See: Col. 2:14). By His death you have been saved from death.

V. 5 - “the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly” - If you don’t work, you don’t get paid. Right? If you work, you receive the agreed upon amount. (See: Matt. 20:1-13b)
Jesus was asked directly by the crowd around Him, “What must we do, to work the works of God?” Their questions indicated they wanted to know what tasks had to be done to please and satisfy God. Their understanding was if they ‘work’, then they ‘receive’ stuff from God.  His answer, “Believe”. (See: John 6:27-29). The work has been done - by Jesus Christ. Faith in Him moves us from ungodly to justified.

It is important - See: Mark 16:16; John 1:12, 3:18, 6:69, 14:11, 20:31; Acts 16:31, 19:4; 1 Pet. 1:8.

“his faith is credited as righteousness” - The his faith here is yours and mine. God is consistent, and impartial. If belief works for Abraham, it has to work for me! Does this mean I am actually righteous? Well, yes, and no. As long as I am in this fleshly body, I will always be plagued with sin. When I die, or Christ comes again, I will be completely transformed, given a new sinless body. I will be just like Him. He will declare that I am His own, and His sacrifice has made me righteous. The only thing I have done to “deserve” this is place my faith and life in His hands. I will finally be righteous. Not progressively (i.e., on the way to being) righteous. Not just positionally righteous - instantly, (i.e., the moment I accept and believe in Christ).

V. 6 - “David also speaks of the blessing on the man” - David would know first-hand about this kind of relationship. David was impetuous, faithful, violent, loving, flawed in many ways. Yet God saw in him the person who could lead the nation Israel. God looks at the heart of the man. ‘Works’ is an external, not an internal way of living - we do not want to acknowledge that. Faith and trust in Jesus must come from within the mind, will, and heart.

V. 7-8 - This is a quote from Psalm 32:1-2. The transgressions are covered, the sins are forgiven, God does not characterize the man as evil - this man is blessed. The second verse of this quote ends “and in whose heart is no deceit”. This is a person who has a right relationship with God.
There is another side of man seen in Psa. 36:1-4 “An evil man is rebellious to the core. He does not fear God, for he is too proud to recognize and give up his sin. The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful; he does not care about doing what is wise and right. He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed; he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; he does not reject what is evil.”

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