Heirs According To Promise

“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” – Romans 4:13

The Apostle Paul was relentless in his defense of justification by faith. Like a skilled lawyer, he chased every objection down the alleyways of Scripture and history. He had already dismantled the arguments of works and circumcision, and now he turned to a deeper misconception—that righteousness and blessing come through the law. But Paul didn’t just argue from logic; he reached into the heart of Jewish history, pointing to Abraham and David as living proof that salvation has always been by faith, not law. “Abraham believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6, NKJV).

Paul reminded his readers of the Abrahamic Covenant, a promise made centuries before the law was ever given. God told Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3), and later confirmed that this blessing would come through Abraham’s Seed—Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16). Even Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). Abraham didn’t earn righteousness by keeping commandments; he received it by trusting in the coming Messiah. That’s why Paul could say, “Only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7).

Long before Moses received the tablets on Sinai, Abraham was declared righteous because he believed. That same faith is what saves us today. If you belong to Christ, “then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). So walk in the steps of faith, not fear. Trust in the finished work of Jesus—His death, burial, and resurrection—and let that trust shape your life. The road of faith is ancient, proven, and paved with grace. Step into it with confidence.

“Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.”

— J. Oswald Sanders