Romans Chapter 4 Vs. 16

 

The Promise Realized Through Faith

Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, Rom 4:16

be by grace... Because of this it can be for all people.

The power of justification is God’s great grace, not man’s faith.

The following Scripture speaks of this grace 1cor. 1:4 “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;”

Grace (unmerited favor) was offered to each of us (not because we were worthy) but because God loved us each one.

2Tim. 1:9 “Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,”

Just the love of God provided Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord for each of us. Our obligation is to reach out and receive this gift of grace in Jesus Christ. This scripture is just saying that this is talking not only of the believing Jews, but to the believing Gentiles (which is of the faith of Abraham).

Paul then drew his conclusion. Therefore (lit., “On account of this”) the promise comes by (ek, “out of”) faith so that it may be by (kata, “according to the standard of”) grace. Responding in faith to God’s promise is not meritorious, since the promise springs from His grace, His disposition of favor toward those who deserve His wrath. The human exercise of faith is simply the prerequisite response of trust in God and His promise. Since faith and grace go together, and since the promise is by grace, the promise can be received only by faith, not by the Law.

Another reason the promise is by faith is so that it may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring, not only the Jews (those… of the Law) but to all who exercise faith in God. If the promise were fulfilled for those who keep the Law, then no Gentiles (or Jews either) could be saved! But this cannot be, because Abraham… is the father of us all, that is, all who believe (cf. “our” in Rom. 4:1; also cf. Gal. 3:29).