Romans 4:20–21

"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.