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Romans chapter four, verses 16 to 21, is an amazing exhortation about the finished work of Christ. It is Paul encouraging the believers for what Christ has already done and that they should not lose hope. So let’s dive into it.
In Romans 4:16–21, it says (reading from the NASB version, but feel free to read from any version you’re comfortable with):
“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, as it is written: ‘A father of many nations have I made you’—in the presence of Him whom he believed, that is, God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that do not exist. 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.’ And 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; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.”
You know that Abraham was promised by God that he would be the father of many nations. And when he was given the promise, he did not have any child. The first point here is that the reason why it is by faith and not by law is so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants. On the other side of the coin, if it was by the law, the promise wouldn’t be guaranteed to all the descendants. Why? It’s because it would only be for those who kept the law, and not for those who didn’t keep the law. The Gentiles would be excluded. That is the reason why it is by faith—so that it will be guaranteed to all the descendants.
Abraham got a promise, and what happened as a result? In hope against hope, he believed. That means, medically, it was impossible for him to have a child, and he was as good as dead. And still, he did not contemplate his own body. He refused to look at things from the outside, but he believed what God had said. He did not consider his own body. He did not consider that he was a hundred years old. He did not consider the deadness of Sarah’s womb. Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was also able to perform.
So why does Paul go to such lengths to say this? It is because the Bible clearly says that we were crucified with Christ. We died with Christ. We were buried with Him. But then we rose with Him, and we are seated at the right hand of God. And we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
Promise by grace and not Law
The first point is that there is a truth that was given by grace and not by law. It is so that the promise would be guaranteed, just like for Abraham, it was in accordance with grace and not by the law. Just like that, for us, it is by grace and not by the law. It is not on the basis of how much I do for Christ, how much fasting I do, how many quiet times I have, how much evangelizing or ministering to the whole world I do, or whether I give myself up completely. That’s not why the promise is guaranteed. The promise is guaranteed in accordance with grace.
Refuse to look from the outside
The second point is that, right now, when I look at myself and when you look at yourself, you know that you don’t seem like the person who has inherited all these blessings. You don’t seem like the person who is one with the Spirit of the Lord. You don’t seem like the person who has been crucified with Christ and is dead to sin. That is what is said over here: Abraham contemplated not his own body, now as good as dead. He refused to look from the outside. You refuse to see things from the outside, which was now as good as dead since he was a hundred years old. Similarly, what we look at outside, we may not be able to understand what has happened to us inside. But we don’t look at things from the outside. We look at things from the inward man, which God has said.
Abraham believed. He did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able to perform. So what should we do? We should not waver in unbelief, no matter what we see outside. Even if you look at yourself, you don’t come up with, “I have two natures.” You don’t come up with, “I need to get crucified again.” But you believe in what God has said—that you have been crucified with Christ. It’s no longer “I,” but Christ who lives in me. And you give glory to God. Worship Him for what He has said, being fully assured. Have an assurance in such a way that nothing can change it.
And you might say, “Okay, what is the guarantee that this has happened?” The only guarantee here is that what God has promised, He will also perform.
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