Romans 4:18–22

Righteousness without the law

. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Before turning to the content of these verses, a word needs to be said about the translation of the opening verse. The NIV translators have rendered the verse, “Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations.” That could sound as though the desired outcome was achieved because Abraham hoped hard enough or earnestly enough. Such an understanding could make Abraham’s belief and hope look like a good work, something he did to accomplish the goal. Any such notion would obviously be in conflict with the whole line of thought Paul has been developing. A better translation of the sentence would be, “Abraham in hope believed that he would become the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him.” That translation is not only grammatically defensible but is also in line with Paul’s emphasis.

God had repeatedly promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son through whom they would become a great nation. Time moved on, however, as Abraham and Sarah waited for the realization of God’s promise. In fact, God waited so long that the fulfillment of the promise came to seem not only unlikely but physically impossible. What Abraham in faith hoped for was really “against all hope.”

At almost one hundred years old (actually 99 years old, Genesis 17:1), Abraham had to face the fact that as far as procreation was concerned, “his body was as good as dead.” Sarah was ten years younger than Abraham (Genesis 17:17), but regarding her situation too, both of them were aware “that Sarah’s womb was also dead,” as Paul puts it. Humanly speaking, the fulfillment of the promise of having many descendants had become impossible. And yet, Abraham “did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

We have previously described saving faith as trust and confidence in God’s promises. Note how that definition is supported here. Abraham’s faith was essentially his “being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Humanly speaking, the chance of Abraham having many descendants seemed impossible, but the more impossible it became from a human point of view, the more Abraham relied on God’s promise and his power to do what he had promised.

Abraham reasoned that, if necessary, God could even bring life from the dead—which is, of course, what God in his good time did. Isaac was truly a miracle baby, born from “dead” parents. Abraham’s faith, with its disregard for human weakness and its unflinching confidence in God’s power, “gave glory to God” and as such “was credited to him as righteousness.”