The good news that sinful men can be saved apart from good works by grace through faith alone seems to contradict everything Moses taught through the Law; so, in this passage Paul points to the life of Abraham for proof that this truth was found even in the Old Testament. Abraham was declared to be righteous simply because he believed the promise of God, before the Law, apart from the Law, without reference to any good works which might qualify him for favor with God. Thus Abraham becomes the model for all who come to God for salvation.
Vss. 13-15: God’s promise that Abraham would be the father of many nations and would be a blessing to the whole world was not secured by any good thing he did to deserve that honor. It was a gift he received by faith. Because there were no rules to keep to qualify for the blessing, there were no rules that could be broken to disqualify him for the gift. God did it that way so that the blessing would be free and so that Abraham and his descendants would have no doubt about the certainty of God’s promise. We receive the gift of salvation the same way Abraham received the promise of the blessing. We receive salvation by faith apart from good works; therefore, we can be certain of our salvation.
Vss. 17-25: God performed a miracle in Abraham’s life as a practical illustration of what it means for sinful men to be called righteous in God’s sight. God promised that Abraham and Sarah would have a son even though both of them were too old to conceive new life. Abraham actually believed that God would do it; “In hope against hope he believed.” He knew it was impossible, but he believed the promise anyway. The more he thought about it, the more confident he became. He knew that only God could do such a thing; therefore, God would receive all the glory. Paul explains that the birth of the miracle baby to Abraham is like the gift of salvation to us. It takes a miracle for God to save us and make us righteous in His sight. He sees us as holy, even though we are not, and that is what salvation by grace is all about. We cannot earn this honor, but we must believe it in order to receive God’s gracious provision.
The miracle of Abraham’s new son (4:20-22) illustrates the miracle of Abraham’s righteousness (4:3-5). These two events in Abraham’s life were not just for his sake, but for ours as well. Abraham was declared to be righteous because he believed God’s promise of children even though he was an old man. We are declared to be righteous when we believe God’s promise of forgiveness through the death of Christ even though we do not deserve it. We are saved through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was punished on the cross as our substitute, and He was raised from the dead because God was satisfied with that payment for our sin. God offers this incredible (unbelievable) gift to anyone who will believe Him and receive it.
Abraham is a model for all who will live by faith. He was saved by faith, and he became the father of many nations by faith. God wants us to live by faith, too. He wants us to believe him for salvation and to believe Him for the impossible challenges of life as well. When we step out in faith for His glory, He will sustain us. When we move forward in faith, He will provide for us. He will honor our efforts to make Him great in our lives and to make Him known to the world.
