Romans 4:16-25

Romans 4

¹⁶ For this reason, the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace and may be guaranteed to all of Abraham’s descendants—not only to the one who is a descendant by law, but also to the one who has the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷ As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” ^[1]

Abraham’s Faith Was a Firm Trust in God’s Promise

In the presence of God, Abraham believed him who makes the dead alive and calls non-existing things so that they exist. ^{[2] 18} Hoping beyond what he could expect, he believed that he would become the father of many nations, just as he was told: “This is how many your descendants will be.” ^{[3] 19} He did not weaken in faith, even though he considered his own body as good as dead (because he was about one hundred years old), and even though he considered Sarah’s womb to be dead. ²⁰ He did not waver in unbelief with respect to God’s promise, but he grew strong in faith, giving glory to God ²¹ and being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. ²² This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” ^[4]

²³ Now the statement “it was credited to him” was not written for him alone, ²⁴ but also for us to whom it would be credited, namely, to us who believe in the one who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead. ²⁵ He was handed over to death because of our trespasses and was raised to life because of our justification.