Useful Bible Studies > Romans Commentary > chapter 4
God made a series of promises to Abraham for the benefit of the future members of his family.
The Jews are the people who come from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We can see that many of God’s promises to Abraham are about them. God promises to give them their own country (Genesis 12:7), and that their people would be many (Genesis 15:5).
However, God also intended that the whole world would benefit from his promises to Abraham (Genesis 12:3). God said that he would make Abraham the father of many nations (Genesis 17:6), and not just one nation. That refers to people from all the different nations, who, like Abraham, have faith (belief and trust in God) - Romans 4:16-17. Because they too believe God’s promises, they also can consider Abraham to be their father (4:11-12).
God promises that the world will be theirs (Matthew 5:5; 1 Corinthians 3:21-23; Revelation chapters 20 to 22). They do not claim that promise by a legal right, but by faith as Abraham did (Hebrews 11:8-16). Evil seems so powerful in this world, but they live here as the people of God. God’s people eagerly wait for Christ’s rule on earth to begin (Matthew 6:10). God gives them the strength to be strong during their present troubles (Ephesians 6:10-18).
If God’s people had already received everything as their legal right, they would not need faith. However, without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Therefore, our relationship with God depends on faith. It is by faith that we receive the benefit of God’s promises.
Next part: The judgement of the law (Romans 4:15)
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