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Law Fails, FAITH Prevails

Romans 4:13–17

There is just this confusion in the world surrounding the matter of salvation and getting right with God. And that is amazing — because the Bible is crystal clear in this area.

Listen to what is out there. You have to be baptized to be saved. You have to belong to this denomination. You have to say this prayer this way. Others claim that if you keep certain sacraments and holy ordinances in the proper way, then you can expect to be redeemed. If you listen to every voice out there, you would be in a terrible fix and you would never know where you actually stood with God.

The Apostle Paul has already told the Jews in Romans 4 that getting right with God is simply a matter of faith. Salvation does not rest in one's obedience to the law. It does not rely on one's good works. Blessings like justification, righteousness, salvation, and forgiveness are all given to us free and clear when we trust Jesus as our personal Savior. That means surrendering at the foot of the cross — not my will, but your will. I deserve the wrath of God. And Jesus took that upon himself as my substitute.

Over the last hundred years, particularly in America, we have converted that into the idea that Jesus is going to make bad little boys and girls into good little boys and girls. That is not the truth. What Jesus did when he became our substitute was come to take dead people and make them alive. That is a much different thing.

After telling the Jews that the law cannot save and that works won't work, Paul proceeds to tell them that circumcision also will not get them to heaven. So if not the law, if not circumcision, if not works — what will? That is the question. And the Apostle Paul answers it in these verses.

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring — not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. As it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations" — in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

— Romans 4:13–17

Point 1 — The Problem with the Law

(Romans 4:13–15)

The key that unlocks the door of understanding in these verses is the fact that Paul is referring to a promise the Lord made to Abraham. That promise is found in Genesis 12:1–3:

Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you, and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

— Genesis 12:1–3

It is basically a threefold promise. God promised to make Abraham the father of a multitude, promised to give his offspring the land, and promised to bless all the nations of the world through him. But ultimately, that promise boils down to a promise of salvation — and it actually points ahead to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, 2,000 years later.

The idea God is trying to get across through these verses is that this promise has nothing to do with the law. How do we know? Because it was given 500 years before the law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The promise and the law are two separate events, and we must not get them confused.

God didn't come down and say, "All right, Abe, you've been a pretty good dude. You've done all I've asked. Because of that, I'm going to go ahead and bless you." That ain't what happened. Abraham failed God. Abraham was merely a frail human, just like the rest of us. The promise he received was not based on his goodness — it was based entirely on the goodness of the Lord. And it swings completely on the hinge of faith.

Faith and the Law Are Mutually Exclusive

Verse 14 makes a point that is easy yet confusing. According to Paul, faith and the law are mutually exclusive. If the promises of God are given out on a merit basis — if God blesses people for their performance — then faith has no place in our lives. You cannot have both at the same time.

If you can get to heaven by keeping the law, then what do you really need faith for? However, if faith alone saves, then it doesn't matter whether you keep the law or not — at least not as the basis for salvation. This is where people ask: does that give me a license to sin once I'm saved? No. You know why? Because your heart has been changed, and your heart won't put up with it. And if you think that in the freedom of Christ you can just sin your way through life because you've got faith in God and you're covered — you might not have gotten the real deal.

The second part of verse 14 goes further: if salvation comes through law-keeping, the promises of God are nullified. What is the point of believing if good behavior is all that is required? If we can please God by behaving right, then we don't need him to get to heaven — we can just get there on our own. The sad part is that no matter how good you are, it is not going to save your soul. No matter how good we try to be, we cannot keep the law perfectly. It just won't work.

The Law Cannot Be Kept

James 2:10 settles this plainly:

For whoever shall keep the whole law, yet is offended in one point, is guilty of it all.

— James 2:10

One broken commandment — and the entire law has been violated. Jesus reinforced this in Matthew 22 when asked which commandment is the greatest:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

— Matthew 22:36–40

There is no such thing as a little sinner. There is no such thing as a moderate sinner. That is kind of like saying a woman is just a little bit pregnant. In the final analysis, if we have broken the law of God in just one point, we are guilty of breaking the entire law. God requires nothing less than absolute perfection from you and me.

The Law Condemns

Verse 15 makes the third problem with the law plain: it is the basis of our condemnation before God. The demands of the law are impossible for us to keep. Therefore, the more God demands from us, the more we fail. The more we fail, the greater our guilt. The greater our guilt, the greater God's wrath is against us. We are in very, very deep.

The Bible tells us no liars will be allowed into heaven. Revelation 21:27 says:

But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

— Revelation 21:27

Ever told one little lie? By the standard of the law, you are out. That is the whole game. Is your name written in the book or is it not? None of us have our names written there until we come to the foot of the cross, surrender our lives to Jesus, and receive redemption — not because of anything we did, but because of what he did when he took the full wrath of God on himself and gives it to us freely.

The bottom line: if you are trusting your ability to keep the law to get you to redemption, you are in a hopeless situation.

Point 2 — The Power of Faith

(Romans 4:16–17)

Here is the other side of the coin. In verses 16 and 17, Paul shows us that salvation by faith is far superior to the law because faith does what the law could never do.

Faith Admits the Need for Grace

Faith realizes human inability to keep the law. It recognizes that salvation must come about by the grace of God — or it ain't going to happen. What does grace mean? It is the unmerited love and favor of God toward sinners. Since salvation is undeserved, everything is entirely based on what God gives, not on what a person performs. That totally rules out the idea of working or performing to obtain salvation.

Faith Assures the Soul

If salvation is produced by keeping the law, then no one can ever be sure they are really saved. How much good behavior is enough? How many good deeds need to be performed? If salvation comes by the law, those questions can never be settled — and assurance becomes impossible.

But is it possible to actually be sure you are saved? Absolutely. 1 John 5:13 says:

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

— 1 John 5:13

That verse is clear. It is possible to be stone cold, rock solid sure you are saved. However, if you believe you have to keep part of the law to be saved, or to remain saved, you can never really know. Did I do enough? Was it the right things?

This is why good deeds come out of good old-fashioned gratitude — not out of striving to secure our standing. We give and serve because we were once lost and now we are found. We were once dead in our sins and now we are fully alive. That changes the motive entirely.

Faith Is Available to Everyone

Verse 17 makes something plain that is easy to overlook: there are no prerequisites. No additional requirements. No restricted list. God has thrown open the doors of salvation and invites everyone who will to come and be saved.

Both the Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

— Revelation 22:17

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

— Romans 10:13

It doesn't matter what your background is. Doesn't matter where you've been. Doesn't matter how you were raised. Salvation is for all people, in every walk of life, in any and every circumstance. When Jesus died on the cross, he died for the sins of the world, and anyone who will come to him can be saved. If there were restrictions on salvation, certain people and groups would be left out — and there is no doubt some of us would be among them. But that is not the gospel.

Faith Rests in the Power of God

Paul describes the Lord in verse 17 in two ways: he gives life to the dead, and he calls into existence the things that do not exist. When Abraham placed his faith in God, he was made alive in God — and he received things from God that were impossible from a human standpoint. A son born when he was 100 and his wife was 90.

That act illustrates the basic problem with the law. The law cannot change the sinner and make him alive. All the law can do is point out our weaknesses and remind us of impending judgment. But when we surrender to Jesus and start walking in the aliveness that he gives us, we change — and we have a joy that we can't even explain, even in the midst of stupid, awful circumstances. It is never going to be by our goodness. It is always going to be by the power of the Lord.

Where Does Your Faith Rest?

Here is what all of this comes down to. It is not about what you do. It never has been. It all boils down to what a person is trusting in for their salvation.

If you believe you must do certain things — keep certain rules — in order to be saved, you are relying on the law. If you feel you must do certain things to remain saved, you are still relying on the law. If you are trusting things, works, and rules to get you to heaven, you have nullified any faith of which you might boast.

But if you are trusting faith to save you, then you know it is not what you do — it is who you know that makes the difference.

Your good works and your good intentions will not save you. However, when your faith is placed in Jesus for salvation, you are declared righteous by God. You are accepted by God. And then God begins the work of changing you from the inside out. Keeping the law demands outward change but can never change the heart. Salvation changes the heart, which produces outward change — not because you are pulling up your bootstraps, but because the Spirit is doing the work. Galatians 2:20 captures what that looks like from the inside:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

— Galatians 2:20

The law is a system of works. Faith is the system that actually works. The law promises life to those who can keep it — but no one can. Faith rests entirely in the one who already did.

Jesus paid it all. We cannot add a single thing to his purchase price. We accept that by faith — and that changes everything.