Romans 4:13-15 - Becoming Heirs of the Kingdom

Romans 4:13-15 - 13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.

Message: The Law brings about wrath and shows us more clearly God's standard and thus, our sin or disobedience from this standard. No way can the Law save us. (1) We are not perfect. (2) That is not the Law's purpose. 

Time: The date of the book is probably 60 A.D. written from Corinth on Paul's third missionary journey. The church in Rome seems to be established and Romans does not speak of any one error in the church that he is addressing. The church had a large Jewish element, but also filled with Gentile converts from paganism, both free as well as slaves.

What the Lord is Saying:

What we have Learned
Righteousness is reckoned or credited to a person through the means of faith, believing in what Christ did for that person on the cross, taking punishment for our sins, which results in a life transformed. This is for the circumcised and the uncircumcised. And this happens in the life of a person while they are uncircumcised. The visible circumcision is a sign of the circumcision of the heart which occurred when the person was uncircumcised. There is no distinction then, all people have the same standard and being circumcised doesn't make a person saved nor does baptism or church membership but those signs are needed today nevertheless. Chronology then is important. For Abraham was credited righteousness 430 years before the Law was given.

Paul has mentioned circumcision before, in chapter 2, and further clarifies what it means now in the life of the believer in Christ was has been credited with righteousness. Verses 9-12 spoke of this and now in verse 13 Paul shifts back to the other thing that the Jew possessed, the Law. This was also spoken of in chapter 2. Paul's presentation in chapter 2 was about the wrath of God and the message that having the Law and/or circumcision didn't excuse people from the wrath. And now in chapter 4, there is also the declaration that having the Law and/or circumcision doesn't mean that people don't need faith.

Verse 13 expresses that the promise that Abraham received from God to be heirs was not because they received the Law, but occurred because God gifted them with righteousness through faith.

Verse 14 states that if the Law was indeed the instrument that God used to save people and the Law made us heirs then faith is not necessary and the Law is what saves. And the promise is nullified. In Old Testament times, faith in God was the instrument or vehicle that credited righteousness and it was faith in a promise that would be fulfilled in Christ. The Old Testament people focus on a promise for we have been shown that before the Law (Abraham) and after the Law (David) people were credited with righteousness by apart, apart from the works of the Law. After Christ, we rest on the testimony of what occurred. After Christ, we look back.

But, the Law wasn't given to save anyone, but the Law was given, verse 15, to point us to our need and expose our sin. The Law exposes the wrath of God. This is why we use the Law of God through the witnessing practice of the Way of the Master. The practice is to go through the 10 commandments to help people simply see that they are law-breakers (as we all are) and by breaking the Law they deserve a punishment and that is hell or separation from God. Thus, the Law leads to the wrath of God. 

Paul doesn't say that without the Law there isn't sin. He states that without the Law there isn't a violation of the law. The law is a sign post in our life that shows us we have sinned. How do we know the speed limit has been broken? Because we know the speed limit and when we exceed it we know that we have not met the standard. But this doesn't mean that we must have a speed limit sign to be unrighteous in our driving.

But, Paul is also not saying that the Law is necessary to sin. Paul has already spoken of in Romans 1 and 2 that the Gentile without the Law still had a law in themselves. They possessed an internal law or conscience where they knew wrong and right. And yet when the commandment came, it declared more clearly and specifically what was wrong. And the Law increases lawlessness because when someone tells me to do something, my natural inclination is "No." People don't like to be told what to do. And so when the standard goes up, we want to shirk away from it. 

Promise: We receive God's promises only through the righteousness of faith.