Romans 4:13,14 - Righteousness that comes through faith

4:13

Paul has dealt with the “local” problem. God never intended that the Jews be justified by works, indeed such a thing was impossible because of their inherent sinfulness. God’s intention was that the Jews would be justified by faith. Now Paul expands this. He has already spoken of the uncircumcised being justified by faith, he now explains that this was always God’s intention, and God’s vision was far greater than the vision of the Jews.The promise to Abraham (Gen 12:2,3) was that all peoples would be blessed through him. Abraham was to be heir of the whole world. This promise would not be fulfilled through the Law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

There are a number of points worth considering here. The first is that Israel had proved herself utterly incapable of keeping the Law. The Old Testament is a record of this, and the Law and Prophets declare that she could not keep the Law. A second point is that the promise presumes a righteous people. Being saved does not just mean being forgiven, but being made righteous. The Law could not achieve this, but faith can.

4:14

Paul then expands on the impossibility of the promise being fulfilled through the Law. If it was adherence to the Law that was going to be the means of achieving the Promise, then faith was null and the promise void. God declared Abraham justified by his faith (Gen 15:6), so what was the point of this? Moreover, if someone can be made righteous by observing the Law, then they have earned their righteousness and there is no need for faith. But no one can observe the Law perfectly, and perfection is the required standard. Not even, indeed, especially, the Jews could keep the Law. So if adherence to the Law is the means, then the Promise can be discarded and forgotten about.