Paul continues with his example of Abraham's use of faith in the promise of God. Dr. Sproul discusses the promise made to Abraham that he will be the father of many nations. Abraham's expression of faith was imputed to him for righteousness. Dr. Sproul then discusses the principle of imputation.

We will continue with our study of Paul’s letter to the church at Rome. We are still in the fourth chapter. This evening, I will begin reading Romans 4:13–25. I will ask the congregation to stand for the reading of the Word of God:

For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, 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, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

The marvelous Word of God for God’s people. Please be seated. Let us pray.

Again, our Father, we come to this portion of Your holy Word in the spirit of sheer delight with the news it proclaims, which is indeed the best of all possible news, not merely for what it speaks of Abraham but for what it speaks to us, who are his children in faith. We ask that You grant to us a complete measure of understanding of these wonderful things as we examine the text again this night. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Heirs Through Faith

It was said of one of the great Christian apologists of the twentieth century—a man so brilliant that he was in a class by himself—that whenever he was engaged in debate, not only were his arguments so acute and compelling that he virtually annihilated his opponent in such debate, but when he was finished, he dusted off the spot where his opponent had stood. I think of that when I follow the progress of Paul’s argument in Romans 3 and 4, where he sets forth so clearly the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

It is as if the Apostle is so caught up in the magnificence of justification by faith alone that he becomes almost transported mystically by the Holy Spirit because he simply cannot move away from this doctrine. He labors the point, for which I am grateful, because I think he realized that it took this kind of persistence with the doctrine so that no Christian would miss the force of it. Sadly, we have to say in light of church history, perhaps the Apostle did not labor it enough, because in every generation there are those who stand up and oppose this essential truth of the gospel.

As we saw in weeks past, Paul appealed to Abraham as his exhibit A to prove the point that in every economy of divine redemption, there is only one way of salvation, which is through justification that is by faith. In our last session, we looked at how the Apostle Paul reached back again to the life of Abraham and argued the point that before he had done any of the works of the law, before he had offered Isaac on the altar, and before he was even circumcised—as early as Genesis 15—Abraham believed the promise of God, and God counted him righteous in His sight.

Now, the Apostle continues to press home this example of Abraham by saying in verse 13: “For the promise that he”—that is, Abraham—“would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law.”

Let us stop there, where the Apostle hesitates for a second to remind us that Abraham and his seed together are the heirs of God. The Apostle will later say that those who are of Abraham and his seed are joint heirs with Christ. In terms of principal, the only proper heir of God the Father is God the Son. God the Son alone is worthy to inherit the kingdom that His Father has promised. But through the gift of faith and that righteousness that is by faith, those are who are adopted into the family of God become his heirs along with His only begotten Son.

The Law Brings Wrath

Later on in this epistle, Paul will give more details about what it means to be an heir of God, but he introduces the concept here and reminds us that the heirs of Abraham and his seed do not receive the inheritance that is promised to them through the law, but rather through faith. Here is what he says: “For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect.”

What is Paul getting at? He is saying that if the way in which one receives the kingdom of God is through the law, then that would vitiate the primary and central importance of faith. If there is a way to receive the gifts of God apart from faith—that is, through your works and through your striving and attempts at merit—then you would in effect empty the meaning and significance of that faith, which is indeed the lone instrumental cause of your justification.

Paul then goes on to argue the point further when he says that the promise of God to Abraham and to his seed would be “made of no effect.” If it is not of faith, if it is of the law, God’s promises are empty and worthless. Why does he say that? Why does he come to such a grim conclusion if people confuse the ground of justification and think that it comes through the works of the law rather than through faith alone?

Paul answers that question for us: “Because the law brings about wrath.” What the law effects, what the law brings to pass, is not salvation, nor justification, nor forgiveness, but the wrath of God. That is what we get from the law. So, if you are going to put your confidence in the law, the only thing that you can hope to gain by it is the wrath of God. Again, if you seek to base your salvation on your merit, the only thing you will be able to merit before God is His wrath because of sin.

Transgression of the Law of God

Paul goes on to explain further: “For where there is no law there is no transgression.” What does he mean? His point is that if God were to not set any standards, if He were to make no requirements nor impose any obligations upon us, then we would be autonomous. We would be free to do whatever we wanted to do. As Dostoevsky said, “If there is no God, all things are permissible.” We live in a society of lawlessness. We live in a society that seeks to banish the very concept of sin from human consciousness. But to do that, we must first banish God from the equation.

The Westminster divines, in setting forth the Westminster Shorter Catechism, have set for us a simple definition of sin. Question 14 in the catechism begins, “What is sin?” The answer it gives is this: “Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.” That gets at it succinctly, and there are two aspects of that definition.

“Sin is any want of conformity.” That is somewhat archaic language that simply indicates a lack of conformity to the law of God. If God imposes a law or a rule for our behavior, saying, “Thou shalt do this” or “Thou shalt not do that,” and I fail to conform to that law and disobey that commandment, then I am failing to conform to His standard of righteousness.

In one sense, this failure to conform or lack of conformity calls attention to what we call “sins of omission.” We commit sins of omission when we fail to do those things we ought to have done that God commands us to do. If we do not do what He commands us to do, we have failed to conform to His law. But it is not just that negative failure or omission, there are also what we call “sins of commission,” which the shorter catechism definition refers to when it says that sin involves a “transgression of the law of God.”

What is a transgression? When we recite the Lord’s Prayer—which should not be recited, it should be prayed—but when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, sometimes we say, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Other times we hear that prayer articulated by the phrase, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

We have all seen signs in certain places that say “No Trespassing.” That means there is a border over which you are not allowed to step, because if you do you are liable to some kind of prosecution for violating the law that prohibits you from stepping across that boundary. God has also established boundaries by the law. When we transgress, we trespass, we step over the line and break His law. As soon as we do that, we are justly exposed to God’s punitive wrath, not merely the corrective wrath He gives to His children, whom He loves and has forgiven. We still experience that correction through His discipline, but His punitive wrath is when His judgment falls upon impenitent sinners who have failed to conform to His law or have transgressed against His law.

This is a point that Paul will labor more fully in Romans 5. It is one that needs to be labored because we live in such a spirit of lawlessness in our culture today that even Christians do not spend much time thinking about the law of God. Sometimes people even think it is beneath the dignity of God’s love or goodness that He even has laws. But He is the One who made us, He is the One who rules us, and He is the One who is sovereign over us. There is nothing more perfectly rational than that a just and holy God should declare His preceptive will for His creatures. There is nothing at all unjust or irrational about such a God imposing standards and obligations upon His creatures. That is what we learn in the law; we learn what God requires of us and what He commands of us.

If God had never given any law, there would not be any transgression. Without the law there is no sin. That is what the Apostle is saying: “If there is no law, then do what you want.” However, there is a law. God’s law manifestly reveals our sin. It is the law of God that demonstrates our falling short of His glory, the manifold ways in which we transgress against Him.

When you break the law of God—which you and I have done and continue to do—the problem is not simply that we have violated some moral, abstract standard. The law of God, is not an impersonal matter, but a personal matter. When we sin, we do not just sin against some abstract norm or some piece of legislation. When we sin, we sin against the One whose law it is. We do violence to Him, to the Author of our very life. That is why sin is such an egregious matter to His sight. If we seek our salvation through the law, we are on a fool’s errand, because the only consequence of that law for us is that it exposes us to His wrath.

I plead with you to banish from your mind forever any thought of justifying yourself before a holy God by your behavior, good deeds, merits, or work. Just as Dante had posted above the entrance to hell “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” in his Inferno, we should abandon all hope of entering the kingdom of God by virtue of our obedience to the law. Paul is not finished with this, as he will pick it up again later.

Of Faith According to Grace

Paul continues, “The law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.” The Apostle concludes, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise may be sure to all the seed.” This is a complicated sentence. But first of all, he says, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace.”

On the cover of our bulletin each Sunday morning at our church, we have the image of a Celtic cross, then around it we have the solas of the Reformation, including the words sola fide, sola gratia, and solus Christus. That captures the essence of the doctrine of justification as the Reformers recovered it after it was obscured in the Middle Ages. Our justification is by grace through faith because of Christ, therefore, we have those three solas: faith alone, grace alone, and Christ alone.

Paul emphasizes this when he says, “Therefore it”—that is, our justification—“is of faith.” Next we have a purpose clause, something that gives us a reason. Why is it by faith? “That it might be according to grace.” When we really grasp this doctrine of justification by faith alone, we grasp with it the graciousness of our redemption.

When Luther wrote his book The Bondage of the Will in response to the diatribe of Erasmus of Rotterdam, a book that I believe was Luther’s most important work, he argued against the great humanist scholar Erasmus that the real issue lying underneath the surface of the debate over justification was not sola fide but sola gratia, that our salvation is by grace alone. So, Paul says, “It is by faith in order that it might be by grace.” To what end? “So that the promise might be sure to all the seed.”

Called to Be Unwavering

Scripture tells us not to be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. We are not to be double-minded people, vacillating as those being blown in the wind, leaning this way then that way, never coming to a point of conviction nor to a place of assurance regarding our salvation.

When I was a seminary student, one of my classmates took a poll of all the students in my class and asked them this simple question: “Do you know for sure that you are saved?” That question was probing the doctrine of the assurance of salvation. The vast majority, probably all but maybe five of the students in that class, answered that question in the negative by saying that they were not sure.

Significantly, those who answered negatively in the poll said that they believed it was a matter of arrogance to be sure. They took the position and held the opinion that there was something wrong with people who thought they could know for sure that they were in a state of grace and a state of salvation. Is that not amazing when the New Testament gives us the exhortation to make our election sure? We are called not to vacillate, not to waver in our confidence, but to be sure of our status before God and sure of receiving the promises of God. Paul proceeds to set his sights once more on Abraham because he is talking about a faith that is through grace for the purpose that we might be sure of the promise.

Let us look at it from the back side for a second. Suppose your justification, your salvation, depended on your obedience to the law of God. How sure would you be of your salvation? Even more importantly, how sure could you be of your salvation? If you had to look at the law of God and then look at your own life honestly, any assurance that you ever scraped a hold of would be demolished in an instant. That is why Agricola in the sixteenth century said, “to the gallows with Moses,” because every time he looked at the law, he saw his own unrighteousness, and he lost hope because he had no assurance. If justification were according to law, you would have no certainty whatsoever.

But the Apostle says justification is by faith that it might be of grace so that all the seed of Abraham—Abraham and all of those who come after him who follow in his way—may be sure: “So that the promise might be sure to all the seed, 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, ‘I have made you a father of many nations’).”

Once again, Paul is saying that Abraham is not simply the father of Isaac, not only the father of the progeny of Isaac, not only the father of the Jews, but he is the father of the gentiles who trust in the same promise Abraham embraced, by which he was counted righteous before God. Paul labors that we, not just the Jews, are the seed of Abraham, and he labors that we are the seed of Abraham by faith and not by the law.

A Leap of Faith?

Paul continues, “ . . . in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” There is a goldmine in that lengthy sentence. There is so much in there that we could spend just a couple of weeks merely concentrating on that verse.

Let me start by reminding you that when we talk about the faith that justifies, we have to remember that faith has content to it. There is information that must be understood. Historically, we refer to that as the data or the indicia, the information that we believe. We must believe it in the sense of intellectual assent, or what the Reformers called assensus. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, you have heard of George Washington, and you believe that he is the first President of the United States. You know who I am talking about when I talk about George Washington. Do you have intellectual confidence that the proposition “George Washington was the first President of the United States” is a true proposition? You say: “Yes, I believe that. I agree that that’s true.”

But both of those elements—belief and intellectual assent—though necessary elements of saving faith, do not together make up saving faith. The critical element of saving faith is fiducia, personal trust. No one is putting personal trust for redemption in George Washington, I hope. Certainly, when you talk about how you are justified by faith, you are not justified by faith in George Washington; you are justified by a faith that trusts in Christ alone for salvation.

That is the nature of the faith of Abraham. He did not just believe in God; anyone can believe in God. Satan believes in God. The demons believe in God and tremble. But what faith is all about is believing God, putting your trust for your life and death in Him, living by trusting His promises even when you cannot see the fulfillment of those promises.

Sometimes people get this mixed up and think that saving faith is a leap into the dark. How many times have you heard that? Maybe you’ve talked to someone who has said, “That doesn’t make sense to me, and I don’t think those propositions are sound ones,” and you might be tempted to say: “Just close your eyes and take a deep breath. Make a leap of faith, jump into the darkness, and pray that Jesus will be there to catch you.” But Jesus never calls people to jump into the darkness. He calls them to jump out of the darkness. He never asks you to crucify your intellect to become a Christian. Faith is not believing the absurd. Faith is not believing the foolish. Faith is ultimately trusting what is preeminently trustworthy.

Faith Against Earthly Hopes

There is tension when it comes to staking your life on God. Paul says of Abraham in those circumstances that Abraham believed “God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope”—we could translate that as “against all hope”—“in hope believed.” That last statement would seem to give some credence to the idea that true faith is faith that believes against the evidence, against all reason, because here is Abraham who, against all hope, hoped. Is that a leap of faith? Or did he have a reason for faith against all earthly indicators, against all signs that his humanity would save him?

Paul says that Abraham said his own body was, for all intents and purposes, dead. He was one hundred years old. His wife was barren. But God said: “Sarah will have a child. Eliezer of Damascus will not be your heir. The one from your own loins will be your heir.” Abraham looked at himself, and he looked at his wife, and he thought: “This is a hopeless situation. How can I possibly believe that promise?” But then Abraham looked at the One who made the promise and realized instantly that there was nothing hopeless about it. The only thing hopeless was that the promise would not come to pass, because it is impossible for God to lie. It is impossible for God to break a promise.

But what we do in our sin, beloved, is project our own character on the character of God. We break promises, and we live in the midst of people who break promises routinely. We think, “Since we are so accustomed to broken promises, how can we trust this One who promises us against all earthly evidence of things that could possibly happen?”

How could Mary believe the announcement of the angel Gabriel that she would bring forth the promised child? She said, “How can this be, since I know not a man?” Gabriel essentially answered: “Mary, I’m not talking about the power of men. We’re talking about the Author of the universe. We’re talking about the Author of life. With Him, all things in this world are possible.” Mary said, “Yes, be it so unto me according to your word.”

Faith in God’s Power

The key to this text is a phrase that I sort of passed over and to which we need to look at in more detail: “ . . . in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.”

In my sermon at church this morning, I made a passing reference to the power of Satan to perform miracles. I quite vocally took the position that Satan has never performed a miracle. He does not have the power to perform miracles. All his attempts at miracles are frauds and counterfeits because he does not have the power that God alone possesses.

Here is where this text applies. The God of the Bible, the One whom Abraham believed, is the God who can create ex nihilo, who can bring something out of nothing, and who can bring life out of death. Satan could have gone to the tomb of Lazarus and cried to Lazarus to come forth until he lost his voice. Not a grain of life would have stirred in that corpse because Satan does not have the power to bring life out of death. Satan could speak into the void and with all his energy say, “Let there be light,” but not a candle-watt of light would appear, because Satan cannot bring something out of nothing.

Abraham was dealing with God. The God he was dealing with could look at Abraham’s aged, frail, decrepit body and his wife’s barren womb and say, “Let there be,” and Abraham said, “Yes, there will be,” because he put his trust in the promise of God.

That is what it means to be a Christian. Your only hope in life and death is trusting in the Word of God. There is nothing else in which we can trust. Everything that this world offers passes away. Your eternal life rests in the hands, will, and power of God.

Faith Counted as Righteousness

Paul says of Abraham, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.”

I knew a man for a very short period of time when Vesta and I had our second teaching appointment in Boston at a Christian college. We visited the campus before we moved there and asked about finding a realtor who would help us find a home to buy. A woman who was connected to the college was also a real estate agent, and she took us around the area of Hamilton, Massachusetts to look for a place to live. At the end of the day, we came back to her house. This was during the NBA playoffs in the heyday of the Boston Celtics, and I met her husband who was sitting on the couch watching the Celtics game. He had various bottles of medicine in front of him, and he said that he had not been feeling well. He was going to go see the doctor. He thought maybe he had a problem with his gall bladder. I talked to him that evening and watched the game with him. It was the first time I had seen him in my life.

We returned to Pennsylvania for a few weeks before we moved to Boston. While we were back in Pennsylvania, I got word that my friend I had met that night had been diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas and his condition was terminal. I do not know why, but God gave me an enormous burden for that man, such that there was not a night that went by—even before we moved to Boston—during which I did not wrestle with God for that man’s life.

After we moved to Boston, I went every day to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and visited this man, who was called “Deac,” which was short for Deacon. The only thing I could do for him was read the Bible and put ice on his lips. I was with him the day he died. I would go visit Deac even when he could not talk anymore, and he would just point at the Bible. I would read to him from Hebrews where the Word of God said, “Because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself” (Heb. 6:13). Through his last breath, Deac trusted the promises of God. I saw the valiant death of a Christian who believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.

Abraham did not waver. His faith was strengthened. He gave glory to God. He became “fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’”

Trust in Christ’s Work

Paul concludes this section by saying, “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us.” This is why Paul rehearses the history of Abraham. He continues, “It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”

My time is gone as we come to one of the most critical affirmations of the passage I have read tonight. I am going to have to wait until the next time to pick it up, because I want to unpack a what the Apostle means when he says that Jesus was raised for our justification. Our justification rests not only on the perfect obedience of Jesus, not only on the atonement of Jesus, but on the resurrection of Christ. It is His work through and through from beginning to end, and it is in that we are to put our trust, as father Abraham did. Let us pray.

Father, how we thank You for this example of a feeble old man, a hopeless old man, who against hope trusted in hope. He trusted in Your promise that not only could You do what You promise, but that You most surely would do what You promise. Thank You, O Lord, for the riches of the promises You give to us in Christ. Amen.

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.