Romans 4:17–21

"Have made," when Abraham had no children — what did that mean? It was God who spoke and wrote it, and all was according to His settled counsel, and plan, and promise.

People around Abraham might jeer at him for his readiness to believe. But Abraham knew the ground he was standing on, and took God at His word. The decree of God's word is sure ground for faith to rest on. Abraham looked away from himself and his circumstances to God, to His power and His truthfulness.

Faith stands against works, and grace stands against law. The God who gave the promise gives grace, and grace opens the one wide door of faith to Gentiles as much as to Jews. If law had been the principle, only Israel could have made an effort, and even that effort would have been useless. Israel boasted of having the law, but was blind to breaking it and to its own greater exposure to wrath. But grace goes out to the Gentile as much as to the Jew — and the Jew could not limit Abraham's fatherhood of "many nations" to his own people.

"And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness." God credits righteousness to Abraham here because he believed in the Lord as the One who gives life to the dead. This is the character in which He reveals Himself in a world where death reigns. When a soul believes in Him as such, God counts that soul righteous. This shuts man out of any co-operation, for what can he do in a scene of death? Can he raise the dead? Can he open the gates of the grave?

God had justified Abraham, separated him from the world, and given him the promise of a glorious inheritance. Yet in reality, death stood between the justified Abraham and the inheritance of glory.

When Abraham received the promise, he was as good as dead. The God in whom he believed is above human failure and weakness... Now power comes in — God's power. He does not deal with man according to any good or capacity in him. He is the God who raises the dead, and by that power He calls things that are not as though they were. He can make them to be as He calls them. This applies to Abraham's case, to the Gentiles, and, as to the nature of the power, to Christ's resurrection.

Abraham believed God before he had the son. He was completely sure that God could do what He had promised, and so God counted it to him as righteousness. But we believe on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. It is done already. Here it is not believing on Jesus, but believing on God. He has proved what He is to us by raising from the dead the One who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

He "calls into existence the things that do not exist." He chooses "things that are not." Things which do not exist for us, exist for Him. We are glorified in the purpose of God. The thing is as good as done, for His purpose is never overturned by any hostile power.

Contrary to all natural hope, he "believed in hope." That is, he fully trusted God, even though this faith could only look forward. The word "hope" does not suggest the least thought of doubt. He bowed to the spoken word of God and took it simply as that.

Abraham was old and well advanced in years. As far as any hope of children was concerned, his own body was dead, and so was Sarah's womb. He had no natural hope. But God came in and promised that in his offspring all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Now he receives a hope given by God. And so against hope he believes in hope. Against natural impossibility he became divinely certain, standing on the sure ground of "what was spoken" — the sure word of God.

Long before the time God spoke, Abraham against hope believed in hope. What a pattern of faith! On the human side all was hopeless; on God's part there was simply His word. But Abraham believed, hoped, and was not ashamed. God could not fail to make good what He said: "So shall your offspring be."

The word of promise never mentions Abraham's dead body or Sarah's barren womb. So the heart of faith never takes them into account. Abraham believed God, and so he hoped. The promise spoke of life, and he looked for its fulfilment to the living God.

Abraham's faith had this peculiarity, that it was centred in God as the One who was able to raise the dead. If we turn to Genesis 15 we discover that he believed God when the promise was made about the birth of Isaac. He believed that God would raise up a living child from parents who were dead as far as having children was concerned. He believed in hope when it was against all natural hope that such a thing should be.

Faith stands opposed to works, and grace stands opposed to law. The God who gave the promise gave it in grace, and that grace opens the one door of faith — a wide door, open to Gentiles no less than to Jews. If law had been the principle, only Israel could even have made the attempt, and it would have been in vain. Israel boasted of having the law, yet was blind to how often they broke it and to the greater wrath they were exposed to because of it. But grace goes out to the Gentile no less than to the Jew, who could hardly limit Abraham's fatherhood of "many nations" to his own people.

But is it true that the cases recorded in holy Scripture are so special and extraordinary that they give us no precedent? By no means. If any case could be regarded that way, it is surely Abraham's. Yet of him we read: "It was not written for his sake alone, that righteousness was counted to him; but for us also, to whom it will be counted, if we believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification."

The word has a passive, or rather a neutral, sense as well as an active one. It does not simply mean deadness. It is not the state of death, but the act of dying. In Romans 4 it is not simply death, as if Sarah were dead. It is the loss of the power of life that had taken place: he did not think about Sarah's womb losing its vital powers.

"Abraham believed God." Here was divine faith. It was not a question of feeling. Indeed, if Abraham had let his feelings guide him, he would have been a doubter instead of a believer. For what did he have to build on in himself? "His own body now dead." That was a poor ground on which to build his faith in the promise of countless descendants. But we are told, "He considered not his own body now dead." What, then, did he consider? He considered the word of the living God, and on that he rested.

If he reasoned from himself and Sarah, the promise of God was beyond hope, and even contrary to it. Yet he believed in hope, because God had said he would have descendants as many as the stars and the sand. Faith reasons from God and His word, not from self or circumstances.

He was not weak in faith. He accepted the Word of God as true and unbreakable, without weighing the circumstances at all — whether his own dead body or "the deadness of Sarah's womb." He knew that God did not depend on natural strength, either in himself or in anyone else he might be inclined to lean on. Faith in the living God always means refusing all confidence in flesh.

"His own body now dead and the deadness of Sarah's womb" must have weighed on his mind a great deal, even though, in the main, "he considered them not."

Abraham believed that God could bring life from the dead. He believed that God had the power to touch a grave and bring life out of it… From Genesis we know that he was also weak in faith and that he acted in unbelief. But God graciously passes this by. He had, so to speak, forgotten his unbelief and remembered it no more.

If they were really his children, they must receive everything from God, on a ground that guarantees the promise to all the seed, Gentile as well as Jewish. This is all the more clear because in his case and Sarah's they were as good as dead, and they could not fulfil the promise themselves. So God alone could be looked to as the One able to give life to the dead. We Christians believe in the same way: not simply on Jesus, but on Him who raised Jesus our Lord from among the dead, who was delivered for our offences and raised for our justification.

Abraham was called to believe in the power of God that can raise the dead. The believer today is called to believe in the power of God that has raised the dead. God has shown this mighty power by raising Jesus our Lord.

"Abraham believed God." Here was divine faith. It was not a question of feeling. Indeed, if Abraham had been influenced by his feelings, he would have been a doubter instead of a believer. For what had he to build upon in himself? "His own body now dead." A poor ground surely on which to build his faith in the promise of an innumerable seed. But, we are told, "He considered not his own body now dead." What, then, did he consider? He considered the word of the living God, and on that he rested. Now this is faith. And note what the apostle says: "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief" (for unbelief is always a staggerer).

"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief". He did not doubt or limit the grace of God, and say, "This is too good to be true".

Had Abraham been weak in faith he would have considered all the circumstances, which were against it. He would have felt that the promise was too great and so would have staggered at it. He did neither. He took God at His word with the simplicity of a little child... And this, note it, is what here is called strong faith. Strong faith, then, is not so much the faith that performs miracles. It is the faith that simply trusts God to do what He has said, even though all appearances, reason and precedent are against it.

If οὐ is an addition, the meaning would be that Abraham, instead of ignoring the obstacles, took full account of them all (Gen. 17:17), yet as regards the promise of God had no hesitation through unbelief, but on the contrary was inwardly strengthened in faith. If the ordinary reading is right, the meaning is that, far from being weak in faith, he paid no attention to the facts before his eyes whether in himself or in his wife, nor staggered at the promise of God through unbelief, but found strength in faith, giving glory to Him and satisfied that He was able also to perform the promise.

Only unbelief, and limiting God to what man can do, would have made Abraham hesitate. Instead, he "was strong in faith, giving glory to God." What blessed simplicity! What blessed reality! Yet it is the only proper attitude for any creature, let us note it well. To "give glory to God" is the very reason for our existence. If we do not practise "the obedience of faith," we are robbing God of His glory: we neither take our own proper place, nor give Him His.

God never calls it lowliness and meekness to doubt the truth of His word, or the effectiveness of Christ's work. On the contrary, He counts it pride and presumption... Abraham was commended, not because he questioned God's truth, but because he trusted it... And what was the effect? Did it puff him up? Just the opposite. Because he was "strong in faith" he gave "glory to God." The very fact that there was no power in himself only magnified God's grace.

From Genesis we know that he was also weak in faith and that he acted in unbelief. But this is graciously passed by. God, so to speak, had forgotten his unbelief and remembered it no more.

In Abraham's case he believed that God would raise up life out of death. We are not asked to believe that God will do it, but that He has done it, by raising up Jesus our Lord from the dead. How much simpler to believe that He has done it, when He has done it, than to believe that He will do it, when as yet He has not done it.

Scripture says of Abraham that he was "fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised." And again: "Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind." The moment the soul has laid hold of Jesus it is set free from itself. It ought to be fully convinced that everything it needs is found in the object set before it — Jesus Himself.

Abraham was called to believe in the power of God that can raise the dead. The believer today is called to believe in the power of God that has raised the dead. God displayed that mighty power when He raised Jesus our Lord... Now we have the power of God that will bring those He has justified into the glorious inheritance.

"Abraham believed God." Here was divine faith. It was not a question of feeling. Indeed, if Abraham had been influenced by his feelings, he would have been a doubter instead of a believer. For what had he to build on in himself? "His own body now dead." A poor ground surely on which to build his faith in the promise of countless descendants. But we are told, "He considered not his own body now dead." What, then, did he consider? He considered the word of the living God, and on that he rested.

God never calls it humility or gentleness to doubt the truth of His word, or the effectiveness of Christ's work. On the contrary, He counts it pride and presumption... Abraham was commended, not because he questioned God's truth, but because he trusted it... And what was the effect? Did it puff him up? Just the opposite. Because he was "strong in faith" he gave "glory to God." The very fact that there was no power in himself only magnified God's grace.

Isaac was a son given to Abraham by God's promise in his old age. Could he ever have expected that God would one day call him to give that son back, by offering him up as a burnt offering?... As at Isaac's birth he was "fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised," so now he could go forth, "accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead."

Abraham believed God's promise about his descendants — "So shall your offspring be." So he trusted God as the God who can give life to the dead. We are to believe God's testimony about the death and resurrection of His Son, having faith in Him as the One who raises the dead... God counted righteousness to Abraham. He counts righteousness to us on the same principle — the principle of faith.