Romans Part 17
Becoming Abraham's children is not about being saved because of a righteous ancestor, as some Jews mistakenly believed. It is about following in the footsteps of Abraham's faith and walking through the lifelong process of trusting and obeying God.
In Romans 4:13, Paul then speaks of Abraham as the "heir of the world." The Greek word kosmos points to everything. It certainly includes the earth, but it reaches far beyond that. This recalls Jesus' promise in Matthew 5:5 that "the meek shall inherit the earth." Owning the earth is a future privilege of the sons of God. Many people do not understand that God's Kingdom will literally be established on the earth. When Christ returns, the saints will come with Him to the earth to inherit it and extend God's Kingdom from its heavenly dwelling to the whole world. They are not destined simply to remain in heaven while abandoning the earth. Rather, they will participate in healing it. Paul will return to this inheritance in a much fuller way in Romans 8.
Paul is careful to point out that this promise does not come through the law. Keeping the law has never been the means of earning an inheritance. Nature itself illustrates this principle. A child does not earn or deserve an inheritance from his parents. A faithful child receives an inheritance because of the love and goodwill of the parent. It is not owed and cannot be earned but is willingly given. A rebellious child may be disinherited, bringing sorrow to the parent. With God, however, the fault is never on His side.
Faith certainly involves keeping God's law, but not as a heartless checklist. Rather, we keep God's law as a way of honoring our Father and learning to become like Him in character. Paul's point could be summarized this way: the law without faith is dead.
Paul reminds us that where there is no law, there is no transgression. Romans 7:7 explains that the law reveals the knowledge of sin. If there were no law, there would be no sin. If there were no sin, there would be no need for redemption. The entire plan of salvation would collapse, and the sacrifice of Christ would become unnecessary. The fact that Christ died proves that God's law was not abolished.
Paul then returns to grace. Like the love of a parent who freely gives an undeserved gift to a child, grace is unearned and undeserved.
Abraham never doubted God's power to accomplish what He had promised. Other translations say that Abraham became strong in faith or was strengthened in faith. His faith grew through a lifelong process. Faith is not an on-and-off switch. Abraham lived out the principle Jesus later taught in John 15 by abiding in the vine and bearing fruit. He remained close to God, grew stronger in faith, and continued doing what was right.
This lifelong growth reached its climax when Abraham offered Isaac. Hebrews 11:19 explains that Abraham believed God could even raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham believed in God's power to give life in two ways. First, figuratively, God had already brought life from Abraham's own aged and nearly dead body by fulfilling His promise of a son. Second, literally, Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead if necessary. His faith rested completely in God's power.
Paul concludes by showing that becoming Abraham's children is not about being saved because of a righteous ancestor, as some Jews of that time may have mistakenly believed. It is about following in the footsteps of Abraham's faith and walking through the same lifelong process of trusting and obeying God. That process depends entirely upon Jesus Christ, whose perfect sacrifice removes our sins when we repent and whose life now works within us through God's Spirit, enabling us to overcome sin in the flesh and to live according to God's law.
Epistles of Paul is a course taught at ABC by Mr. Steve Myers. Recordings from the 2023–2024 class year are available on the ABC website.
UYA Team | uya@ucg.org
United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.
