Romans 4:13

Romans 4:13 says, For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. This is a continuation of the discussion of faith verses the Law.  Paul spent a lot of time discussing this issue, because the Jews were claiming justification by the Law and the necessity of others to follow the Law, and the rituals that they applied to it, in order to be considered a part of God's family.  We need to understand this concept today, so that nothing is added to the requirement for salvation.  We are saved through faith in Christ alone, and none is more saved than another.  Verse fourteen adds, For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:  I believe Paul was stating the basic truth of salvation, for all those who came before Christ and all those who have and will come since, and that is if there is any other way to salvation than through faith in Christ, then His sacrifice on the cross is made void.  We have to firmly claim and proclaim this truth today. Through the promise of Christ alone do we have salvation.  Those who came before Christ looked to the promise in faith, and those who have come since look back on the fulfillment of that promise.  Christ died for the sins of all people for all time.  It is up to each individual how they respond to that sacrifice.  Verse fifteen continues, Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. The law establishes the fact that we are sinners but can do nothing to save us.  We can only earn punishment by the law, since to fail in one point is the same as failing in all.  There are no degrees of sin or minor sins with God, and the law of God makes us aware of those sins.  Verse sixteen states, 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.  Here I believe Paul was pointing out the superiority of the grace of God over the law of God.  Grace is received simply by faith in God, not by our own efforts to become good enough to be God's people.  Grace is for all people, and not just for those born into a particular family or nation.  Still today, the Jews feel that they are the only people of God, but this verse tells us that all who come to God by faith in His grace are the descendants of Abraham.  We are a part of that great nation that God promised Abraham that he would be the father of.  Verse seventeen adds, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.  This verse continues to speak of Abraham as the father of many nations, through the quickening power of God.  Once we accept Christ as our Savior, we are made alive for evermore in our relationship to God.  This is never earned but is always a free gift from God.