In 4:11-12, Paul explained that Abraham, who was a Gentile and without the Law - is the father of every person who believes, whether they are circumcised or not. "Circumcision" (which is shorthand for "being a Jew") is irrelevant. Only faith matters. In these next verses, Paul explains why.
Romans 4:13-15 says that The Law makes faith worthless. It also makes God's promise worthless. But where there is no law there can be no sin.
Romans 4:14 For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15 because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
These verses prompted me to ask and seek answers to the following questions:
Q1: What is the “promise” that living by law makes worthless in v. 14?
A1: It’s the promise mentioned in v. 13 – that Abraham and his offspring (aka, "all who believe") would be heirs of the world.
Q2: What does it mean for us to be heirs of the world?
A2: When God promised Abraham that he and his offspring would be heirs of the world, Abraham naturally would have thought of the world we live in as it is. But we know that the world needs redeemed. The ground was cursed because of Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:17), and since then the whole of creation has been groaning, waiting for the time it would be liberated from bondage to decay. This will happen when our bodies are redeemed – at the resurrection (
Romans 8:19-23). Jesus said “The meek will inherit the earth” (
Matthew 5:5), but not the earth as it is now, full of weeds, corruption, and decay. The earth the meek will inherit will be a renewed earth in the last days (
2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1).
I draw the inference from all of this that being “heirs of the world” means being resurrected into a new life with a new earth that is ours.
Q3: How does freedom from law make us feel? What emotions and thoughts are wrapped up in that? Why?
A3: Freedom, fear, celebration, insecurity, security
Q4: How does the Law bring wrath and make sin a reality?
A4: The Law defines sin and demands punishment for lawbreaking. Law simultaneously makes us conscious of sin (Romans 3:30). If human law didn’t say stopping at a stop sign was mandatory, then running a stop sign wouldn’t be a crime. But because the law is there, punishment (wrath) is necessary. The Law of God was never intended to bring salvation. It was to increase man's awareness of guilt, his fallen state, and his need for salvation.
Q5: What are the consequences of God removing the Law?
A5: Sin no longer exists. If there is no law, there’s no way to break it. Christians cannot sin because we are free from anything that defines sin. We have no guilt, no wrath, no condemnation. What we do no longer affects our relationship with God because, as Paul said elsewhere, everything is permissible (but not everything is expedient) (
1 Corinthians 6:12; 1 Corinthians 10:23).
These verses call out the following problems with the Law:
-
Law robs faith of its value
- Law makes the promise worthless
- Law brings wrath
- Law makes sin a reality (v. 15, “where there is no law there is no transgression,” the opposite of which is “where there is law there is transgression”). In the next section of this letter, Paul will add the following for clarity: “for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law” (Romans 5:13)
Romans 4:14
- Law robs faith of its value (v. 14)
- Law makes the promise worthless (v. 14)
Therefore:
- All who are heirs of the promise are free from law, and
- All who are saved by faith are free from law
Therefore:
- Because Christians and are saved by faith, Christians are free from law
| Romans 4:15
- Law brings wrath (v. 15)
- Where there is no law there is no sin (v. 15)
Therefore:
- People who are free from law are free from wrath, and
- People who are free from Law are free from sin.
Conclusion:
Christians are free from sin. Christians cannot sin. They can do wrong, but sin isn’t part of their relationship with God.
|
- Law robs faith of its value (v. 14)Law makes the promise worthless (v. 14)
- Therefore: All who are heirs of the promise are free from law, and
- All who are saved by faith are free from law
Therefore:
- Because Christians and are saved by faith, Christians are free from law (Romans 4:15)
- Law brings wrath (v. 15)
- Where there is no law there is no sin (v. 15)
Therefore: - People who are free from law are free from wrath, and
- People who are free from Law are free from sin.
Conclusion: Christians are free from sin. Christians cannot sin. They can do wrong, but sin isn’t part of their relationship with God.
Let’s look at the broader implications of these verses.
FACT: Law robs faith of its value and makes the promise worthless (v.14)
THEREFORE: All heirs of the promise are free from law.
THEREFORE: All who are saved by faith are free from law.
THEREFORE: All Christians are free from law.
FACT: Law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no wrath.
THEREFORE: People who are free from law are free from wrath;
THEREFORE: People who are free from law are free from wrath and sin
THEREFORE: Christians are free from sin.
Christians cannot sin. They are free from it. They can do wrong, they can do things that displease God and go against His law, but those are not counted as sins because Christians are free from law law that would otherwise condemn it.
Sin is crime – transgression, lawbreaking – and it can only be considered sin if there is law. It is important for us to wrap our hearts and brains around this fact. We can do sinful things, but we cannot sin. We can disobey God’s commands and do things His law forbids, but we cannot sin.
This freedom in Christ scares us (or at least it sure scares me) because I know I’m a sinner and am weak. By nature, I would take that freedom and run with it without regard because I am a self-gratifying creature. Fortunately, God also gives me a new heart and makes me a new creation (which Paul will talk about in a couple of chapters, but I don’t want to jump ahead).
Sin separates us from God. Grace unites us with Him.
In many ways it is like the immunity of a foreign diplomat in America. Those individuals are expected to live under our law. Yet (since 1961) when it comes down to it, they can break our laws when they are in our country without being tried as criminals. They are immune to our laws. And where there is no law, there is no crime. [This analogy works as it is given, but it will break down in several ways when you get deeper into diplomatic immunity. The Wikipedia article on this is good]
Questions I’d like feedback on:
Q1: How should these things affect how we think/feel/react when we learn that a Christian is doing things that displease to God?
Q2: How should this affect how we think/feel/react when we realize that we ourselves have done something that displeases God?
