Heirs of the World Text: Romans 4:13-17
Introduction: Two Ways to Live
Every man, whether he knows it or not, lives his life by one of two principles. He is either trying to earn his way, or he is receiving his way as a gift. He is either on the treadmill of performance, trying to build a resume good enough to impress God, his boss, his wife, or himself, or he is resting in a promise given to him by a faithful God. He is either a wage-earner or an heir. There is no third option. These two systems are utterly incompatible; they are water and oil, light and darkness, life and death.
The modern world, and tragically, much of the modern church, is built entirely on the first principle. It is a system of law, of merit, of performance reviews and scorecards. Secular man thinks he can build a utopia through legislation, and religious man thinks he can build a stairway to heaven through piety. Both are sons of Cain, bringing the work of their own hands, and both are offended when God rejects their offer and points them to the blood of the substitute.
The Apostle Paul, in this dense section of Romans, is blowing up the foundations of every man-made system of religion and salvation. He is demonstrating that God's covenant with Abraham, the foundational promise of all of Scripture, was never a law-based contract. It was a grace-based testament. It was not a "do this and you will live" arrangement, but a "believe this and I will give you everything" proclamation. And the "everything" at stake is not a small plot of land in the Middle East, but the entire world. The stakes are cosmic, and the principle that secures it all is faith.
The Text
For the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith has been made empty and the promise has been abolished; for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no trespass.
For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be according to grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed 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, "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.
(Romans 4:13-17 LSB)
The Cosmic Promise (v. 13)
Paul begins by stating the breathtaking scope of the promise and the means by which it is obtained.
"For the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith." (Romans 4:13)
First, let the size of this sink in. The promise was that Abraham and his offspring would be "heir of the world." This is not hyperbole. This is the engine of history. God did not promise Abraham a gated community in Canaan while the rest of the world went to the devil. He promised him the whole planet. This is the foundation of a robust, optimistic, world-conquering eschatology. Christ, the ultimate seed of Abraham, has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and He is making good on this ancient promise. The meek, those who live by faith, shall inherit the earth. Not just the sweet by-and-by, but the dusty here-and-now.
But how does this inheritance come? Paul draws a sharp, clean line. It was "not through the Law." It was not a reward for meticulous rule-keeping. It was not a wage paid for services rendered. It came "through the righteousness of faith." This is the central doctrine of the Reformation. The righteousness that makes us right with God is not our own. It is an alien righteousness, a credited righteousness. It is the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, which is imputed to our account the moment we stop trusting in our own performance and start trusting in His. Faith is the empty, open hand that receives this gift. It is not a work; it is the cessation of works as a means of justification.
Law Nullifies Promise (v. 14-15)
Paul then explains why these two systems, law and promise, are mutually exclusive. If you try to have both, you end up with neither.
"For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith has been made empty and the promise has been abolished; for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no trespass." (Romans 4:14-15 LSB)
The logic is airtight. If inheritance is based on performance ("those who are of the Law"), then two things happen immediately. First, "faith has been made empty." Faith, by definition, is trust in another. If you are trusting in your own ability to keep the law, you are not trusting in God's promise. You cannot look to your own resume and to Christ at the same time. One of them must be the basis of your confidence. Second, "the promise has been abolished." A promise is a pledge of a future gift. A wage is a payment for a past performance. If you are trying to earn the inheritance, you have changed it from a gift into a debt that God owes you. You have torn up the testament and replaced it with a works contract.
Furthermore, the Law cannot deliver the inheritance because its function when applied to sinners is not to justify, but to condemn. "The Law brings about wrath." The Law is God's perfect moral standard. When that standard is held up to fallen, rebellious creatures, it does not produce righteousness; it exposes sin. It's like a doctor's x-ray. The x-ray reveals the break in the bone; it does not set it. The Law shows us just how far we have fallen and provokes our sinful nature to rebel even more, thus storing up wrath. It defines our sin with precision, turning it from a general state of rebellion into specific acts of "trespass." The Law's job is to shut every mouth and prove the whole world guilty before God, so that we will stop trying to justify ourselves and flee to Christ for mercy.
The Logic of Grace (v. 16)
Having shown that the law system leads to a dead end of wrath, Paul reveals the genius of God's plan.
"For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be according to grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed 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" (Romans 4:16 LSB)
Here is the divine logic in its beautiful simplicity. The entire system is "by faith." Why? So that it can be "according to grace." Faith is the designated receiver of grace. Grace is unmerited, unearned favor. Faith is the instrument that receives it, precisely because faith has no merit in itself. It is simply looking away from self to God. And what is the result of this faith/grace arrangement? The promise is "guaranteed."
This is the great comfort of the gospel. If your inheritance depended on your perfect law-keeping, it would be the most precarious thing in the universe. You would lose it before breakfast every morning. But because it depends entirely on God's gracious promise, received by simple faith, it is rock-solid. It is guaranteed. It depends on God's faithfulness, not yours.
And because it is by grace, the promise can extend to "all the seed." This is not just for ethnic Jews ("those who are of the Law"). It is for anyone, from any nation, who shares the faith of Abraham. This makes Abraham the "father of us all," the patriarch of a vast, multi-ethnic, global family united not by blood or ritual, but by a shared trust in the promise of God. The true circumcision is of the heart.
The God Who Guarantees (v. 17)
Finally, Paul grounds this entire reality in the character of the God who made the promise.
"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." (Romans 4:17 LSB)
Paul quotes Genesis 17 to show that this global scope was God's plan from the beginning. Abraham stood "in the presence of" this particular kind of God, and this is the God in whom he believed. What is this God like? He is a God of resurrection and creation.
First, He "gives life to the dead." Abraham and Sarah looked at their own bodies, as good as dead, and believed God could bring life from that barrenness. This points forward to the sacrifice of Isaac, whom Abraham received back from the dead in a figure. And ultimately, it points to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the ultimate guarantee that God's promises are true and His power is absolute. Our faith is in a God who specializes in graveyards.
Second, He "calls into being that which does not exist." This is creation ex nihilo. God did not just create the universe out of nothing; He creates a people for Himself out of nothing. He calls the Gentiles, who were not a people, and makes them the people of God. He speaks, and reality rearranges itself to obey. This is the God who stands behind the promise. He is not a limited, tribal deity. He is the sovereign Creator and Resurrector of all things. Therefore, His promise to make Abraham's seed the heir of the world is not wishful thinking. It is a statement of future, historical fact, as certain as the sunrise.
Conclusion: Rest and Receive
So, we are left with the two principles. The way of law, which leads to striving, failure, and wrath. And the way of faith, which leads to grace, rest, and a guaranteed inheritance of the entire world. The first is the way of slavery; the second is the way of sonship.
The application is therefore quite simple. Stop trying to earn what God has freely given. Stop bringing your filthy rags of self-righteousness to a God who offers you the perfect robe of Christ's righteousness. If you are not a Christian, your task is not to clean up your act and then come to God. Your task is to come to God, empty-handed, and believe His promise in Jesus Christ. Believe that He is the God who gives life to the spiritually dead.
And if you are a Christian, live like an heir, not a slave. Your standing with God is not based on your performance this week. It is guaranteed by a promise made thousands of years ago and sealed by an empty tomb two thousand years ago. Rest in that grace. And from that position of rest, get to work. We have a world to inherit. Not by force of arms, but by the joyful proclamation of this glorious gospel of grace, which is the power of God to bring dead things to life.